New Forest: £1000 reward to find hit-&-run drivers.

Posted on March 20, 2016 by newforestcommoner
The courting behaviour of the free roaming donkeys cause the vicar of East Boldre to complain to the Verderers.

The free-roaming animals of the New Forest use the roads to get from A-to-B and have right of way over other road users, including  motorised vehicles and bicycles.

I attended the Verderers’ Court recently (March 2016), which is something that I try to do whenever I am able. Apart from meeting my fellow commoners and catching up with all their news, it’s an excellent way of seeing the administration of the New Forest in action. The Verderers Court is an ancient institution, which was reconstituted into its present form in 1877 by an Act of Parliament enabling the Verderers to act as the guardians of commoning, the commoners and the New Forest landscape. The Court of Swainmote, to give it its full title, is open to the public and proceedings are begun by an Agister, in traditional livery, calling ‘Oyez, oyez, oyez. All manner of persons who have any presentment to make or matter or thing to do at this Court of Verderers, let them come forward and they shall be heard. God save the Queen!’ (A presentment is a formal presentation, made by commoners or other members of the public, to the Court concerning Forest matters.)

Hit-and-run incidents involving commonable animals
Before proceedings began at this month’s meeting, however, the Official Verderer stood to give formal notice that the Verderers intend to pursue all drivers involved in hit-and-run incidents affecting commonable animals to the full penalty of law under current animal cruelty legislation, which could include a jail sentence. His statement was given in response to recent incidents where drivers of motor vehicles have fatally injured animals and then left them in agony and distress. At the beginning of the month, in the same incident, two donkeys were abandoned with appalling injuries, one with broken limbs and the other with internal damage; while more recently a New Forest mare was knocked-down and left to die on the Cadnam to Fordingbridge road. The Official Verderer declared that the commonable stock is grazing the New Forest by right, whereas people are driving the roads by privilege.

£1000 reward to find hit & run drivers
The Official Verderer stated that there was no excuse for such incidents and urged drivers involved in accidents with Forest animals to phone the police immediately or, in the event of having no phone or mobile signal, to call at the nearest house to summon help. He said that in one case, where an animal had been hit by a car, the driver had continued on to a dinner party where the others guests, concerned on hearing about the incident, urged the driver to report it. The Official Verderer explained that ‘unnecessary suffering occurs when an injured animal is left without treatment for any length of time that can be avoided’, and he said that whilst damage to a garden fence could be reported within 24 hours it was not acceptable in the case of a Forest animal. In such cases prosecution for animal cruelty would be sought and that a reward of £1000 is offered for information leading to the successful conviction of drivers failing to stop and report an accident involving a Forest animal.

Visitors who feed New Forest ponies are teaching them not to fear humans or cars.

Visitors who feed New Forest ponies are teaching them not to fear cars and are enticing them into the car parks where they can be in danger from vehicular traffic.

If you find a sick, injured or dead pony, cow, donkey, pig or sheep call the Verderer’s Office on 02380 282052 during normal office hours; or 02380 283141 at other times. For sick or injured deer, ring the Forestry Commission on 0300 067 4600 (24 hours).

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New Forest: Easter and the coming of spring.

Posted on March 13, 2016 by newforestcommoner
In 1709 proposals were made to clear the New Forest and build a township for refugees.

A connection with nature is essential for our mental, physical, intellectual and emotional health.

The Easter holidays have a big impact on the New Forest. They traditionally mark the beginning of springtime and the time of year that many visitor attractions open their doors to welcome guests at the start of the season. Tourism is one of the most important economic activities on the New Forest and is a major source of employment for local people. The accommodation providers, pubs, restaurants, retail outlets, transport operators and other local businesses, for example, will all have busily prepared for the thousands of people who will flock to the area during the spring break. Many visitors who come are in search of much needed rest and relaxation, whilst others are keen to exploit the opportunities for more energetic ways of restoring their batteries. But whichever way they go about it leisure and recreational activities are now probably the most significant ways that people of today interact with nature.

Being out-of-doors
Gone are the days when everyone was familiar with the farming calendar and the importance of the Countryside Code*; or grew vegetables and kept chickens, geese, ducks and pigs in their yards and gardens. We are no longer immersed in the circle of life, of watching creatures being created, born and dying. Nor do we understand the growing seasons, of what produce is available when and what can be grown locally or what is imported. Our species was never designed to be as disconnected from the rest of the natural world and its processes as we are now. We spend a fraction of the time out-of-doors and interacting with nature when compared to our ancestors. Whether we recognise it or not, those moments when we can look at trees, feel the wind and rain on our faces, smell the aroma of the warm earth after summer rain, or see wildlife in its natural setting are vital to our mental, physical, intellectual and emotional health and welfare.

Springtime breeding
But as necessary as these moments are to us, to the wildlife that shares the New Forest environment the availability of, and access to, its natural resources are a life or death reality. Easter also marks the beginning of essential springtime breeding activity of many species of wildlife on the Forest. From now until July the ground-nesting birds, small mammals and reptiles, for example, will be attempting to reproduce. It is crucial that we do not disturb them and do all that we can to support them. Adopting simple strategies, such as staying on the designated footpaths or cycle tracks, keeping your dogs close to you when walking them, and not leaving litter, or even picking up litter even if it’s not yours, will go some little way to protecting the wildlife of the New Forest and preserving its ecology for future generations of visitors.

Take care when on the New Forest not to disturb ground nesting birds from March until July.

Take care when on the New Forest not to disturb ground nesting birds from March until July.

*The Countryside Code explains how people can enjoy the countryside responsibly.

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New Forest: squirrel-pie anyone?

Posted on February 28, 2016 by newforestcommoner
The New Forest was once home to a vast population of red squirrels.

The New Forest was once home to a vast population of red squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris).

Like it or not, the history of the New Forest is firmly interconnected with the practice of hunting. It was for this purpose that William I established the landscape as a Royal Forest, in the eleventh century. While most people associate royal hunting with medieval game species, such as wild boar or red deer, modern hunting is more often connected with the fox. However, in times past the New Forest was also renown for its squirrel hunts. The Forest was once home to a vast population of red squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris), whose numbers were controlled because of the damage they caused to the trees. Men armed with ‘snogs’, which were basically pieces of wood with lead weights wired to the ends, would throw the weapon into the tree to knock the squirrels down. Red squirrels, by all accounts, would make a tasty meal provided that there was more than one in the pot!

A case of squirrel hunting
A case connected to squirrel hunting occurred in the Lyndhurst Petty Sessions in 1889, when four men were summoned for, and pleaded guilty to, the wilful damage of fir trees in Hazeley Wood. The damage had occurred whilst the men, ‘with loaded sticks, which broke off the boughs of the trees’ were out squirrel hunting. The Chairman of the bench presiding over the prosecution asked why the old Forest custom was being interfered with. The Deputy Surveyor, at that time, explained that whilst he had no objection to the hunting of squirrels he did not want this activity conducted in the enclosures, which were for the growing of trees, ‘where even shooting is not permitted’ by gentlemen with licenses. He reported that complaints had been made to him about ‘squirrel hunting on Sundays, as the men who were out made a tremendous noise, and around Lyndhurst it was quite like pandemonium. It was so bad that respectable people were afraid to walk about in the Forest because of the conduct and language used by the men there engaged in squirrel hunting.’ The Deputy Surveyor, therefore, asked the bench to rule against squirrel hunting in the enclosures and on Sundays. The defendants were consequently each fined 2s 6d, and the costs. They were further warned not to make any disturbance in the Forest or to disgrace Sundays in future. Their experience no doubt served as a warning to others.

Invasion of the grey squirrels
Sadly there are no longer any red squirrels in the New Forest. Their demise was not as a result of hunting but due to the introduction and subsequent invasion of the non-native grey squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) in the late nineteenth century, which ousted the smaller, native species from its homeland territories. As well as being bigger and able to store more fat to see them through leaner winters, the grey squirrel also carries the Squirrel pox virus to which the red squirrel has no immunity. Even though attempts were made to supress grey squirrel numbers, by the middle of the twentieth century they had begun to dominate the New Forest, as in other areas, and the red squirrel was eventually evicted. Locally the red squirrel is now confined to Brownsea Island, near Poole, and the Isle of Wight.

Eat them to beat them!
The grey squirrel though has few supporters among the Forest folk. Apart from their detrimental impact on the red squirrels they also heavily predate on birds eggs and their chicks, and cause serious damage to the Forest’s trees. It is a nationwide problem that has earned the grey squirrel, which number over 2.5 million, the status of ‘pest’. One of the solutions to the grey squirrel infestation has been an ‘eat them to beat them’ approach that has called upon mainstream celebrity chefs, such as Jamie Oliver, to include grey squirrels in their recipes. Sporting and wild game chefs, such as Hugh Fernley Whittingstall of River Cottage and chef Pascal Aussignac, of Michelin-starred Club Gascon, have long advocated using grey squirrel meat as a free-range alternative. However, environmental journalist George Monbiot caused outrage amongst animal-lovers last year by preparing and cooking a grey squirrel on BBC TV’s Newsnight programme, which perhaps suggests that wild squirrel meat is not destined to become a supermarket staple just yet. Would you be tempted to a slice of squirrel-pie, sup on squirrel-stew, or perhaps try a taste of squirrel-sausage?

Wild meat is a popular free-range alternative to intensively farmed meat.

Wild meat is a popular free-range alternative to intensively farmed meat.

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New Forest: four pony scheme 1890

Posted on February 22, 2016 by newforestcommoner
Only ponies habituated to the New Forest are turned out.

In 1871 the New Forest pony was described as ‘lath-legged, small-bodied, and heavy-headed’.

In the last decade of the nineteenth century efforts were made to improve the breeding of the New Forest pony to fulfil a ready market for ‘the large class, daily increasing, who use good ponies in light carts instead of larger horses and carriages.’ In an age that was entirely horse-drawn this was an important development and those whose livelihoods relied on producing good saleable ponies were quick to respond. It was generally agreed that ‘nowhere is there a larger stock of brood mares of a hardy, active and wiry stamp’ although it was recognised that ‘thirteen hands high is the height that appears best suited for the district, or rather that Forest feeds allows…[but] when bought young and run on better pasture, another hand is often added by natural growth.’ However, the size of the New Forest pony wasn’t as much an issue as its looks. One commentator remarked in 1871 that the ponies were ‘lath-legged [meaning that the pasterns were straight and upright, the fetlocks short, the legs straight and flat], small-bodied, and heavy-headed.’ It was therefore decided that immediate action was needed to breed a pony more attractive for light-harness work.

New Forest Pony Association
Those tasked with improving the New Forest pony agreed that it was easier to change the stallion, which could produce 50 foals in a year, than it was to change the mare, which could only produce one. Therefore, in 1890 the New Forest Pony Association introduced the ‘Four Pony Scheme’ for the purpose of ‘keeping four suitable stallions in-hand or to run in the Forest.’ (Breeding in-hand requires the close supervision of the stallion and mare together, whereas turning the stallion loose on the Forest, where he could roam free and select mares of his choice, would allow nature to take its course.) Generally speaking, the higher the value of the stallion or mare, the more likelihood that a higher level of supervision to their courtship would be required – after all investments needed to be protected and valuable mares needed to be sheltered from the ‘scrub’ stallions.

The Four Pony Scheme
The first stallion to join the ‘Four Pony Scheme’, in 1890, was Sprig of Shillelagh, an ex-Irish Steeplechaser, who was kept at Harrow Farm, Bransgore, to service visiting mares. The following year Exmoor, Hebridean, Blue Roan, West Highlander and Brockenhurst Joe joined him and were turned out on the Forest ‘in various quarters and kept in pasture during the winter season.’ According to reports Blue Roan and Hebridean both died in the Forest in the early autumn of 1892, ‘having done good service.’ Unfortunately the report does not mention exactly how the two stallions died but it was recorded that Blue Roan had been earlier ‘knocked about’ by another horse, to such an extreme that the offending animal had to be removed from the Forest. To the scheme was also added Abeyan and Yurasson, two purebred Arabian stallions loaned by Her Majesty Queen Victoria, who were kept at stud by Lord Montague of Beaulieu and David Jones of Warborne, in Boldre, respectively.

Pony Stud Book Society
A report of 1892 declared that the pony owners who used the Association’s stallions were ‘well pleased with the produce obtained, the more so as the [stud] fee paid was nominal only.’ The scheme was, apparently, also increasing the numbers of pony owners who were subscribing to the scheme convinced, no doubt to participate, by the prices that the improved progeny were fetching in the sales ring, ‘which were considerably above what is generally obtained for the ordinary stock’. Consequently an approach was made by the Pony Stud Book Society in 1892 about recording the bloodlines of the best Forest ponies and there was much debate about the best way of going about this task. One suggestions was that the best Forest mares ought to be paraded at the annual show where their suitability to be entered into the studbook could be decided. But to much laughter and shouts of ‘Hear! Hear!’ the response given was that although ‘it was a good suggestion, … it would exclude some, as many a good mare would see her owner further before she is brought to a pony show.’

Since 1930 only purebred stallions have been permitted on the Open Forest to sire the next generation of New Forest pony.

Since 1930 only purebred New Forest stallions have been permitted on the Open Forest to sire the next generation of New Forest pony.

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New Forest: the great mouse invasion 1814

Posted on January 31, 2016 by newforestcommoner
The pattern of gnaw-marks in these hazelnut shells are consist with those of a wood mouse.

The pattern of gnaw-marks in these hazelnut shells are consistent with those of a wood mouse.

Whilst moving bales of hay from the barn recently I noticed in one of them an imprinted circular shape that was about the diameter of a coffee mug. In the shallow impression were several empty hazelnut shells. Each of the shells had a circular hole gnawed in the top, through which some creature had eaten the nut within. On my holding there is a large patch of hazelnut trees that produce an abundance of nuts, but each year it is generally a race to see who will get to the ripened fruits first, me or the squirrels. My discovery seemed to suggest that there was yet another rival vying for a share of the autumnal spoils. I was excited at first to think that I might have a dormouse (Muscardinus avellanarius) resident on my holding but further investigation revealed the culprit to be only a wood mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus). Unlike the dormouse, which is protected species, wood mice, also known as field mice, are one of the most numerous of the small mammals. According to one estimate there is one wood mouse for every two people in the UK*, which is good news if you are a tawny owl or fox, for example, which relies upon the small nocturnal rodent as an important source of food.

The great mouse invasion
Mice, and other animals (including the pigs at pannage season) feast on the nuts, acorns and mast produced by the trees in the New Forest. The trees make their fruits in order to reproduce and their strategy for dealing with the feasters is to produce more fruit than the animals can eat. Fingers, or rather, twigs crossed! However, in 1814 Lord Glenbervie wrote to Sir Joseph Banks, the famous naturalist who took part in Captain James Cook’s first great voyage (1768–1771), asking for advice and apprising him of the most astonishing circumstance that had occurred in the Forest of Dean and the New Forest concerning ‘an account of the unexampled devastations committed by Field-Mice, during the years 1813 and 1814.’ Apparently the number of mice, which were reported to be in the tens of thousands, far exceeded the availability of food and the mice had begun eating the Forest’s trees. This ‘plague’ of ‘pernicious little animals’ was reported to have caused widespread loss of tree plantations as the mice ‘devoured the bark of the young plants, all round from the ground to the height of about six inches, and in many instances gnawing the root itself through and through.’

Solutions to the swarm
Solutions to the great mouse invasion involved several tactics, some of which appeared quite desperate. Cats were released into the forests but, while they certainly roamed ‘a considerable distance’, no one was sure if they had satisfied themselves with the mice they had caught without hunting for others; various poisons, such as arsenic, were tried and mixed up into a kind of paste with grease, flour and cut glass, but although the bait was taken there was little evidence the poison had been effective;  mousetraps were used but being made of wood swelled up in the damp of the forest and became useless; large swathes of bushes, ferns, furze and rough grass were cleared to expose the mouse runs to the larger predators and birds of prey but it proved so time consuming and costly that this tactic was abandoned. The most effective defense against the mouse swarm was to dig small pits into which the mice fell and couldn’t get out from, where they were collected in their hundreds. Foxes, stoats, weasels, kites, hawks and owls were all said to have gorged on the glut of mice.  Unfortunately none of the reports explain why the great mouse invasion began or indeed how it ended but seasoned forest keepers and woodsmen said that they had never seen anything like it before.

In medieval times a forest meant an area preserved for royal hunting, and not a wooded area as it does today.

Wood mice (Apodemus sylvaticus) are noctural residents of the New Forest.

*BBC Wildlife: http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Wood_mouse

 

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New Forest: pistols at dawn and rough music!

Posted on January 25, 2016 by newforestcommoner
The New Forest was a popular venue for duels.

The New Forest was a popular venue for duels, which originate from the medieval chivalric tradtion.

In October 1816 it was reported in The Sporting Magazine that a duel had taken place ‘in the neighbourhood of the New Forest’ between a Capt. Fairman and the Hon. Butler Danvers, which was attended by their respective surgeons and seconds. However, things did not go smoothly for the two gentlemen trying to settle their differences in the time-honoured fashion. Apparently the police were aware that the confrontation, which had been planned for several days, was due to take place and were determined to prevent it. Thus constables pursued the two protagonists and their entourage across country for most of the morning. The duelling men had apparently attempted many times to take aim and fire at one another but had been prevented from doing so by the nearness of their pursuers. In the end they had to fire at one another while being charged-down by the police. Both men were arrested and promptly taken to the home of county magistrate Mr Stourges Bourne, where they were bound over to preserve the peace and fined 500l. each. Sadly the report does not mention what caused the two men to undertake such determined single combat in the first place.

Chivalric codes of conduct
The upper echelons of society used duelling foremost as a way of deciding a point of honour, rather than necessarily for exacting revenge or actually killing their opponent, and the cause of the quarrel could be very trifling indeed. Duelling had a strict code of conduct that the combatants were expected to observe. Indeed, many books were written on the subject to aid those unfamiliar with the etiquette of single combat. Duels on the New Forest were not uncommon and one of the first documented examples occurred in the twelfth century. The last duel between Englishmen, which involved a fatality, occurred in 1845 not far from the New Forest. The Forest would have been a place where duellists could sword-fight or, later in history, shoot pistols at one another generally undisturbed. It was not necessarily a private matter either because society gossip would know and repeat what slight, insult or scandal had provoked the duel in the first place, which was probably why the outcome of the duel would be widely reported in the newspapers. Duelling has its origins in chivalry, hence the elaborate rules and manners associated with it, and its demise was due to it becoming socially unfashionable, rather than because of laws imposed against it.

Riding the skimmington or rough music
The common people also had their methods of soothing social tensions and often resorted to ‘riding the skimmington’ or creating ‘rough music’, which consisted of making lots of noise on pots and pans outside the house of the person, or persons, believed to have caused offence to members of the community. In January 1871, a skimmington was reported at Eling where the home of Thomas and Annie Stephens was being noisily ‘serenaded’ by a group of boys. Mrs Stephens came out of the house to fire a warning shot from a pistol, to frighten the boys away, and shot Gilbert Broomfield in the head wounding him. Broomfield admitted that he was on bad terms with the Stephens but said that he only happened to be passing by at the time with a galvanised iron bucket, with which he was going to use for a wash. It was generally agreed though that the shooting was an unfortunate accident. The jury acquitted Mr Stephens but Mrs Stephens, who fired the shot, was convicted.

In 1709 proposals were made to clear the New Forest and build a township for refugees.

When all the duelling and rough music had been done, harmony returned to the New Forest.

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New Forest: the pony, an innkeeper and a judge!

Posted on January 17, 2016 by newforestcommoner
The Rufus Stone.

The Rufus Stone is a popular visitor destination on the New Forest.

I recently discovered a rather amusing but true story concerning a New Forest pony, an innkeeper and a County Court judge, which was reported in the Hampshire Advertiser in December 1891. The events of the story began earlier that year, on Friday 14th August, when a Mr Meek decided to take a friend on a visit to the Rufus Stone. He hitched his New Forest pony to a cart and off he and his companion went. They stopped at the Compton Arms, at Stoney Cross, and put the animal in the charge of the ostler (a groom) telling him to take care of it and to give it a feed. Mr Meek watched the ostler settle his pony into a stall before setting off with his friend to look at the monument marking the spot where King William II (otherwise known as Rufus the Red) was slain by an arrow. Shortly after Mr Meek had gone, however, a party arrived in a large charabanc and the ostler decided to give the stall that had Mr Meek’s pony in it to the bigger animal belonging to the new arrivals. However, Mr Meek’s pony was quite comfortable where he was ‘thank you very much’ and didn’t want to leave the stall. So, the ostler decided that force was necessary and proceeded to try and bodily evict the little equine. Well, the pony was having none of this rough treatment and fought back! The result was that the pony escaped and disappeared into the Forest still kicking, having given the ostler sore shins for his trouble. Mr Meek returned a while later from his excursion only to discover his pony had gone and that he was facing a rather long walk home.

Wise judge, good judgement
By the time the case came to Southampton County Court, some months later, Mr Meek was seeking damages of £50 – which included £25 for the pony, £7 7s for the new set of harness that the pony had allegedly been wearing at the time, £6 14s 6d for veterinary attention and other costs, £1 for reward money and £10 for his trouble. However, the hotel owner countered these demands and denied any responsibility whatsoever. Never was there such a pony, he argued. ‘What moral man could do to keep that wild and furious creature within bounds was done and no more could be done.’ He called witnesses to prove that the behaviour of the animal towards the ostler was ‘worse than that of the fiery, untamed steed of  “Mazeppa”*, and excelled in reckless agility the prancings of the bounding buffalo of the plain.’ Apart from anything else fumed the innkeeper he was still owed for the bucket of oats that the ostler had fed to the pony! (According to testimony the results of the magic grain on the pony’s demeanour was stupendous.) Nevertheless the wise judge ruled somewhere in the middle telling Mr Meek that he couldn’t come to court with ridiculous claims for fanciful expenses, and to the innkeeper that couldn’t escape his liability. He ruled £10 in favour of Mr Meek and there was an end to it. So the moral of the story is never feed oats to a New Forest pony or try to manhandle it unless you want trouble!

New Forest ponies are used to a meagre diet, rather than high-protein rations.

New Forest ponies are used to a meagre ‘natural’ diet, rather than high-protein grain rations.

*Mazeppa was a poem, written by Lord Byron in 1819, in which the young commander of a Cossack unit – Ivan Mazepa – has an affair with a Countess but, upon discovery of the illicit amour, the hero of the tale is tied naked to a wild horse that is then set loose. The poem describes his suffering and trauma whilst on this unfortunate (and uncomfortable) journey.

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New Forest: The Big Freeze 1963-1964

Posted on January 10, 2016 by newforestcommoner
The ponies must be hardy to survive in the wild.

New Forest ponies are hardy enough to survive in the ‘wild’, even during short periods of severe weather.

The rainy weather of late (January 2016) has meant that I’ve had to have a bit of a reorganisation in the hay barn to make room for a vehicle that doesn’t like starting in the wet and cold. I had thought only animals liked their creature comforts but this particular mechanical workhorse, though reliable and trustworthy in all other respects, obviously needed a little TLC and I was prepared to make an exception for it. In order for it to fit into the barn though I had to move a large quantity of baled hay and rearrange the pallets on which they were piled, but it was worth the trouble to preserve the starting capabilities of a much-relied upon vehicle. Adverse weather conditions are always a test for the commoners, as indeed they are for farmers in general, and bring challenges that often need effort and a certain amount of ingenuity to overcome. In some cases, like my recent experience, the solution is simple whereas in others the conditions are so severe that they require the involvement of the whole community and, in extreme cases, the whole country.

The Big Freeze 1963-1964
One such instance started on Boxing Day in 1963, when it began to snow. The softly falling flakes were at first a charming feature of the Christmas holidays but were in fact the prelude to what was to become known nationally as the ‘Big Freeze’. As temperatures across the country plummeted, lakes, rivers, and even the sea in some coastal regions, began to freeze. The winter of 1963/4 is the coldest since 1740, with minimum recorded temperatures of lower than -20 °C. In January and February 1964 more snow arrived and freezing gale-force blizzards created snowdrifts that were reported to be as high as 20 feet (6.1m) in places. The whole country was affected, with many roads impassable, schools and businesses closed, villages cut off and power-lines brought down. Farmers everywhere struggled to tend to their animals. Temperatures remained below zero ensuring that the snow stayed on the ground for months.

Emergency feeding of New Forest ponies
The commoners of the New Forest, quickly realising that the cold weather would be setting in for a while, began to organise supplementary feeding for the ponies across the Forest. However, it would not be until March 1964, when the thaw began to set in, that this ‘emergency’ regime would no longer be required. Feeding stations were set up at strategic parts of the Forest by volunteers who would take hay to a set location at a regular time, and dole out bales to the ponies. The availability and location of barns for storing hay was crucial to the process. It took a while before the semi-feral ponies in each location understood the routine, but once they associated the vehicles struggling through the snowdrifts with food supplies they quickly assembled to be fed. Animal-lovers from across the country sent in donations and local people offered their assistance in setting up other feeding stations across the Forest. The snow was so deep in places that the ponies were unable to travel to their regular watering places and were reduced to drinking from puddles on the roads or eating snow to quench their thirst. Ingenious commoners were able to dig down into the ground to find free-flowing water that created make-shift watering holes. The Deputy Surveyor also gave permission for the commoners to cut down holly as fodder for the ponies because the keepers were doing the same for the deer. No one at the beginning of the year ever envisaged just how long the unprecedented bad weather would last, but the committed effort of volunteers who, day-in-day-out, struggled against the elements ensured the welfare of the animals was maintained and so helped to increase their survival rates.

New forest ponies are very well adapted to the rigours of living 'wild' but need supplementary feeding in severe snow.

During the Big Freeze of 1963/4 supplementary feeding of the free-roaming New Forest ponies was needed.

Top photo courtesy of Paul Chambers.

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New Forest: Wet! Wet! Wet!

Posted on January 3, 2016 by newforestcommoner
The bogs and valley mires are important New Forest habitats.

The bogs and valley mires are important New Forest habitats.

The downpours of late (January 2016) have created lakes in my fields and paddocks and my home-kept ponies are looking decidedly soggy and miserable. The ground beside the field gates has been churned into mud, as the ponies parade up and down the fence line each afternoon in their impatience to be fed. I have to push the barrow loads of hay further and further up the hill in order to deposit the piles onto ground that isn’t poached. On the flip side though, my free-roaming ponies out on the open Forest continue in good health and have kept much of the condition that they gained on the good summer grass. The recent temperatures have been so mild that they’ve not yet had to use their fat reserves to stay warm. Provided the inclement weather is not unduly prolonged they should remain well. The wet weather doesn’t seem to affect the free-roaming ponies too badly as they know all the tricks for avoiding the worst of it.

Danger of bogs and mires
Of course the recent heavy rainfall will mean that the watercourses across the New Forest will be filling up. The Forest catchment is fed by a series of unconnected steams that begin in areas of bog and heathland mire. These bogs and mires are areas of precious habitat that can be deceptive looking, even in summer. Unwary walkers, horse-riders or careless Forest animals have been trapped in their murky depths whilst trying to cross what otherwise looks like ordinary open heathland. Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service are regularly called out to attend such incidents and frequently urge people using the Forest to remain on the footpaths to avoid a similar fate. In times past, before the tracks and pathways were so helpfully laid and maintained by the authorities, strangers to the Forest would be warned of the dangers of traversing the Forest and the bogs in particular. The reason was (and still remains) because the free-roaming ponies and cattle make tracks through their territories that lead to the best grazing, shelter and water. To the uninitiated human traveller these tracks can resemble footpaths that simply lead nowhere and can get them hopelessly lost. Travellers of old were therefore told to follow carriage tracks, rather than hoof prints, especially when traversing the bogs and mires. The ‘wild’ Forest ponies can safely travel where ridden or driven horses can’t. If there were no signs of where carriage wheels had been on the opposite side of a bog even people on foot were advised not to attempt a crossing.

Crossing a swollen ford
In modern times too it is often helpful to have an indicator that shows the way when the reliability of the path to be travelled is in doubt. On a recent trip to visit a fellow commoner, under grey skies and in slamming rain, as I crossed the swollen ford into the village a group of cyclists were eyeing up the flood waters and clearly fancied their chances of getting across on their bikes. On seeing me approach in my 4X4 they decided to watch my progress to get an idea of the depth of the water. As I drove slowly but determinedly through the rapids a small bow-wave formed over the vehicle’s bumper. The audience observed my manoeuvre with an almost scientific interest. With their calculations complete the decision was quickly reached that they ought to dismount and walk their bikes over the nearby footbridge. It was a good job they did. If the depth hadn’t put them off crossing the ford the speed that the water was travelling certainly should have. According to the Royal Life Saving Society two feet (60.96cm) of water moving at enough speed can wash away a car, whilst only six inches (15.24cm) can take you completely off your feet. After safely crossing the ford via the footbridge the little group eventually pedalled off disconsolately but soaked with nothing more treacherous than the falling rain.

Water flow after heavy rain.

The New Forest catchment is fed by unconnected streams that begin in areas of bog and heathland mire.

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New Forest: harvesting holly for Christmas.

Posted on December 21, 2015 by newforestcommoner
Many trees on the New Forest display a distinct 'browse-line', over which ponies cannot reach.

Many trees on the New Forest have a distinct ‘browse-line’, over which ponies cannot reach.

Last month (posted December 2015), as I made my way into the New Forest to check on my free-roaming ponies, I came across several contractors harvesting holly for the Christmas trade. This winter activity has long been a legitimate part of commoning and has always been a ‘ticket-of-leave affair’ regulated by the Forest authorities. In times past the holly would be sent up on the train, from places like Fordingbridge railway station (which closed in 1964), to London to be sold to the retailers for decorating their stores. It was a sign that Christmas was coming. According to one Victorian eyewitness; “many of the butcher’s shops in London owe their brightness at the festive season to the New Forest, to the mutual advantage of butcher and forester.” But this seasonal colour was not just reserved for the London shops. In 1892 Lyndhurst shops were described as,

Just now wearing a very gay and seasonable appearance, many of the shops being decorated, amongst them the butchers seem determined to keep up their prestige. Mr. J. Strange has a splendid display; Mr. Taverner has also a capital show, their shops being tastefully decorated with holly and ivy.’

The celebrations at the New Forest Workhouse Union, Lyndhurst, would be reported in the newspaper each Christmas, which one year commented on the particularly striking use of Forest evergreen as ‘being prettily decorated, the adornments presenting a fresh and bright appearance.’ Harvesting the evergreens was also an important source of income, particularly for the New Forest Gypsies, who ‘know well to cut the best berried branches early before the birds spoil them.’

A flock of seagulls or a herd of ponies?
As I watched the contractors cutting the holly I could see herds of ponies following on behind like so many flocks of seagulls after the plough. The ponies were taking advantage of the fallen foliage and leaf scraps for a quick and easy meal. They were doing a great job of hoovering up where the men and the trailers had been. Holly, like gorse, is a prickly meal but one that the free-roaming ponies will eat over the winter when there’s not a lot else growing. However, not all holly leaves are prickly. If you stand under a holly tree and look up you will see that above the browse-line, the point where the ponies cannot reach beyond, all the leaves of the holly are smooth. It was these leaves that were being dropped by the men and were being eaten by the ponies. The ponies must be familiar with this curious aspect of human behaviour because as soon as they spied the vehicles and trailers making their way down the tracks, the ponies began to follow behind just as sure as if someone had rung a dinner bell. The lucky ones who managed to get there first and tucked in for the feast must have felt that Christmas had come early!

Traditional healthland management practices are appreciated by the ponies who benefit from the cutting and harvesting activities.

Traditional healthland management practices are appreciated by the ponies who benefit from the cutting and harvesting activities.

Please note: Only contractors licensed by the Forestry Commission are permitted to cut and remove holly (and other vegetation or herbage) from the New Forest.

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