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: mare
New Forest: outwitted by a greedy pony!
I went to visit a commoning friend of mine recently while they were feeding hay to the cows in one of their fields, and thought I could be of some assistance by opening and closing the gate for them. Ordinarily … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest cattle, New Forest pony
Tagged cattle, commoning, field, food, grass greener, greedy pony, hay, mare, meadow, New forest, Open Forest, other side, plans, pony, winter
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New Forest: lost a pony and found a stallion
This week (May 2016) I found one of my mares that I hadn’t seen in a while. The Agister had seen her. Other commoners had seen her. Possibly many visitors –walkers, cyclists, horse riders, bird watchers etc. – had seen … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest pony
Tagged dam, foals, Forestry, Lynx effect, mare, mating, New forest, sire, stallions
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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: annual colt and stallion inspections
I attended the annual Stallion Inspections at Beaulieu Road last weekend, to watch the selection process for the colts and stallions that will sire future generations of New Forest pony. The weather was forecast for sunny intervals and, when the … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest pony
Tagged breed, breeding, colt, Commoner, foal, inspection, mare, New forest, NFCDA, NFPB&CS, Open Forest, pony, sire, stallion, stud, Verderer
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New Forest: four pony scheme 1890
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 … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest pony
Tagged Arabian, breeding, Commoner, foal, Four Pony Scheme, mare, New forest, New Forest Pony Association, pony, purebred, Queen Victoria, stallion
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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 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 ponies with moustaches
I was in the pub recently watching the rugby (November 2014). Many of the players in the England squad were sporting moustaches, in support of ‘Movember’, to raise awareness of prostate cancer. As I looked around the room there were … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest pony
Tagged Commoner, facial hair, fuzz-toppers, gelding, gorse, holly, mare, moustache, Movember, New forest, pony-mo, Pony-tache, stallion
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Colt hunting on the New Forest
On the New Forest ponies are always referred to as ‘colts’ irrespective of whether they are mares or geldings, young or old. Every now and then it becomes necessary for a commoner to catch-up an individual pony or mare with … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest Commoner, New Forest pony
Tagged Agister, colt-hunting, Commoner, corral, cow boy, drift, foal, lasso, Latin America, mare, New forest, North America, Open Forest, pen, pony, pound, round-up, tailing, Wild horses
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