Tag Archives: New forest

Christmas on the New Forest

With Christmas fast approaching I have been thinking about some of the New Forest traditions and folklore connected to the festive season. The idea was sparked during a recent visit to check my stock, when I saw a man harvesting … Continue reading

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The ticklish impertinence of the New Forest fly

In 1895 a local newspaper published ‘Notes on Injurious Insects’.[1] Chief among these perilous mini-beasts was the forest fly (Hippobosca equina) aka horse louse fly, side-fly, or crab-fly, a bloodsucking pest that ‘causes great annoyance to the horses in the … Continue reading

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New Forest: Autumn colours signal pannage season

Autumn on the New Forest is always a time of spectacle. The breaking dawn bursting upon the ancient landscape painted with reds, lilacs, browns and oranges is a visual treat guaranteed to draw wonder from those who rise early enough … Continue reading

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New Forest: forest laws, punishment and reform

Nowadays we think of a forest as a place covered in trees but in medieval times it was understood to be a reserve for royal hunting. However, a ‘forest’ could also include whole villages and other settlements, as well as … Continue reading

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New Forest Stallion Areas 2019

Each year, licensed New Forest stallions are released onto the Open Forest to run with the free-roaming mares and sire the next generation of New Forest pony. The stallions are carefully selected by the Verderer’s of the New Forest, the … Continue reading

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New Year and good health!

Shortly after the New Year begins, it seems that we are bombarded with advertising on television, social media, in magazines and via the Internet for holidays in the sun or sure-fire ways of getting fit or losing weight. It always … Continue reading

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New Forest: registering foals with the Breed Society

Pure bred, forest born, New Forest foals are an important asset to the New Forest’s ecology, culture and economy.  This week has therefore marked an important milestone in my commoning career to date, as I have registered my foals with … Continue reading

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New Forest: good fences make good neighbours.

‘Good fences make good neighbours’ is an oft-quoted phrase that could have been coined with the New Forest and its free-roaming animals in mind. Whilst the New Forest is referred to as ‘the largest tract of unenclosed land in southern … Continue reading

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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

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New Forest: haymaking in the sunshine

It’s been a busy week this week. I’ve been collecting bales of hay off the fields to be stored and used over the winter for my animals. Haymaking has been part of the farming calendar for over 6,000 years and … Continue reading

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