The Gallery
Learning about and practising commoning on the New Forest.
In medieval times a forest meant an area preserved for royal hunting, and not a wooded area as it does today.
The Agisiter ensures welfare standards of the free-roaming animals are maintained.
The ‘architects’ of the New Forest.
The New Forest landscape supports many species of plants, insects, birds and mammals. It should be valued as a reserve for nature.
One of many gatherings where Commoners can exchange news, information and knowledge.
Pannage season is part of the ancient commoning rights and a popular tradition.
Traditional management practices, particularly commoning, have conserved the ecological diversity of the Forest.
Category Archives: New Forest pony
New Forest: modern tools and ancient practices
Commoning is an agrarian system that has been practiced on the New Forest since before the Norman Conquest in 1066 and is one of the most ancient forms of agriculture known to man. The basic principles, of farming by using … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest Commoner, New Forest pony, New Forest Pony Drift, Pannage season
Tagged access, Agister, commoning, Customs, drifts, emergency services, Forestry Commission, gateway, heritage, horsemen, illegal parking, New forest, Norman conquest, Pannage, point to point, traditions, Verderer, working forest
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New Forest: that’s what pony friends are for!
If you have been out on the New Forest recently (July 2015) you may have noticed that the free-roaming ponies seem to be doing a lot of ‘mutual grooming’. Two ponies will stand next to one another and scratch or … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest pony
Tagged allogrooming, foals, friendship, herds, horses, instinct, mares, mutual grooming, New forest, ponies, social bond
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New Forest: Eclipse – the son of Marske
In the month of May, just under 250 years ago, began the career of the most celebrated racehorse of his day and one of the most famous Thoroughbred horses in history. Foaled in 1764, Eclipse was a mean tempered colt … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest pony
Tagged Bisterne, breeding, Duke of Cumberland, Earl of Abingdon, Eclipse, foal, George II, George Stubbs, Georgian, guineas, mares, Marske, New forest, New Forest pony, Racehorse, racing, Ringwood, Spilletta, stallion, stud, Tattersalls, Thoroughbred
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New Forest: stallions vs geldings – boys will be boys!
Regular visitors to the New Forest will be aware that at the moment (updated May 2017) the stallions have been set loose to run with the free-roaming mares, causing much excitement among the herds of semi-feral ponies. Generally speaking the New … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest pony
Tagged biodiversity, bull, Byelaw, castrated, colt, courtship, filly, gelding, herd dynamics, mare, New forest, Open Forest, pig, pony, sheep, stallion, territory, Verderer
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New Forest: stallion areas 2015
Each year stallions are released onto the Open Forest to run with the free-roaming mares to sire the next generation of New Forest pony. The stallions are carefully selected by the Verderer’s of the New Forest, the Commoners’ Defence Assocation and … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest pony
Tagged Commoners Defence Association, New forest, New Forest Pony Breeding & Cattle Society, stallion, Verderers
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New Forest stallion inspection: choosing the next generation of pony sires
I recently attended the annual New Forest stallion inspection, held at the Beaulieu Road Sales Yard, where the next generation of pony sires were selected. It was an interesting process to witness and the colts and stallions that were presented … Continue reading
Posted in Beaulieu Road Sales, New Forest, New Forest pony
Tagged batchelor herd, colt, Commoners Defence Association, foal, judges, mare, New Forest pony, New Forest Pony Breeding & Cattle Society, stallion, Stallion Scheme, Verderers of the New Forest
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New Forest: killing with kindness.
Since writing last week (March 2015) about people hand-feeding and petting the free-roaming ‘wild’ ponies on the New Forest I’ve had several readers get in touch to tell me about incidents they’ve witnessed. Some of these incidents have included families … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest pony
Tagged Agister, alkaloid, architect of the Forest, Byelaw, colic, digestive system, donkey, equine, fatal, herbivore, New forest, New Forest pony, poison, toxic, Verderer, wild ponies
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New Forest: visitors feeding ponies could be spreading equine disease
Keeping free-roaming ponies on the New Forest is a pleasure and a privilege. Walking through the woodland pathways and along the heathland tracks in search of my mares are journeys always full of anticipation and enjoyment. At this time of … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest pony
Tagged Agister, bacteria, Beaulieu Road Sales, bio security, contagious, donkeys, Dr Green, equine distemper, feral herds, horses, New forest, ponies, Pony Drift, respiratory disease, strangles, strangling, Streptococcus equi, Verderer
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New Forest: gorse cutting provides a pony’s ‘ready meal’
I recently received a call from a commoning friend of mine who told me that the Forestry Commission was cutting the gorse bushes at Godshill. I was urged to go and have a look at a curious sight. Sure enough … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest flora & fauna, New Forest pony
Tagged Fabaceae, Forestry Commission, furze, gorse, New forest, pony, Ulex europaeus
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New Forest: the perils of ponies living wild
My ponies have gone back out on the Open Forest (January 2015). For a while now they have been indicating that they have had enough of being kept on the holding. They have seemed restless and impatient to be back out … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest Animal Road Traffic Accidents, New Forest pony
Tagged feral ponies, Hampshire County Council, hand feeding, horses, New forest, New Forest Transport Strategy, pony, Reflective Collar Initiative, road sense, road traffic accident, road traffic collision, RTA, RTC, Verderer
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