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.
Tag Archives: Agister
New Forest: autumn drifts in
A sure sign of autumn in the commoner’s calendar is the commencement of the pony drifts that take place each year. The drifts are round-ups that are conducted by the Agisters and commoners with the aim of collecting together as … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest Commoner, New Forest pony, New Forest Pony Drift
Tagged Agister, autumn, Commoner, community, district, drift, New forest, ponies, pony, pound, round-up, Tradition, Verderers
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New Forest: some stallion stories
To celebrate the New Forest pony breeding season, which runs from Monday 14th May until Monday 18th June*, and is when licensed stallions are released to run with the free-roaming Forest mares, I thought that I would take a look … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest Stallion
Tagged aggressive, Agister, agricultural show, animal, breeding, Eclipse, foal, Hampshire, horse, horseflesh, horsepower, kicked, Lymington, Lyndhurst, mail coach, mare, Marske, money, pets, pony, prize, Salisbury, Southampton, stage coach, stallion
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New Forest: ponies and pigs can be friends
Autumn is definitely here. Pannage season is upon us and the annual pony drifts are currently underway*. During the drifts the semi-feral ponies and foals are rounded up for inspection, released back onto the Forest or taken away to be … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest pony, New Forest Pony Drift, Pannage season
Tagged Agister, commonable, Commoner, equine, familiar, fear, flip out, frightened, horse, livestock, New forest, Pannage, peril, piggy, pigs, pony, porcine, smell, swine, terrified, welfare
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New Forest: £5000 reward for finding ‘Hit & Run’ drivers
The Open Court sessions at the Verderers’ Court are a great way to learn about the Forest’s management and see one of its ancient institutions in action. Each month (except August and December) the public are welcome to attend and … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest Animal Road Traffic Accidents
Tagged £1000, £5000, accident, Agister, animal, cattle, collision, commonable, Commoner, Commoners Defence Association, court, Cow, death, driver, fatal, free, Hampshire, hit, hit & run, horse, Horse Welfare Trust, incident, injury, New forest, New Forest Pony Breeding & Cattle Society, NFPB&CS, pig, police, pony, reward, roaming, RTA, run, speed, steer, suffer, traffic, vehicle, Verderer, wild, witness
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New Forest: signs of the times
As my regular readers will know, the drift season has started. The season runs from August until November and entails rounding up the ponies across the New Forest in a series of drifts that take place in approximately 40 locations. … Continue reading
New Forest: self medication and creature comforts
The free-roaming ponies, cows, donkeys and, during pannage, pigs on the New Forest are usually able to take care of themselves and do not require the constant attention required by their intensively farmed or field-kept counterparts. Even the process of giving … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest cattle, New Forest flora & fauna, New Forest pony
Tagged adder, Agister, animals, cattle, commoners, commoning, cows, donkeys, Forestry Commission, healthy, heifer, injured, lame, New forest, pharmacy, pigs, ponies, self medication, sick, snake bite, unwell, venom, Verderer, welfare standards
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New Forest: Stallion Areas 2016
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 … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest pony
Tagged Agister, breeding, foal, mare, NFCDA, NFPB&CS, stallion, Verderer
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New Forest: £1000 reward to find hit-&-run drivers.
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 … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest pony
Tagged £1000, Agister, cyclists, death, donkey, fatal accident, foal, hit and run, New forest, police, pony, reward, road accident, road incident, Swain mote, Verderer
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