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: New forest
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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New Forest: Christmas customs and traditions
Christmas is a time for celebration, merry social gatherings and observing Yuletide customs. In the New Forest during times past traditional mummers plays were performed at Christmas. The plays were usually folk dramas, often featuring Father Chrismas, the heroic figure of … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest customs
Tagged Boxing Day, carol singing, custom, Father Christmas, go gooding, mummers plays, New forest, point, point-2-point, scales, snogs, squirrel hunt, squoyles, St George, tipeering, Tradition
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New Forest: The cow and the cattlegrid
I was in the pub one evening last week (December 2014) and offered a lift home to a long established commoning friend of mine. We drove across the Forest chatting away until, within a couple of hundred yards of their … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest cattle, New Forest Commoner
Tagged cattle, cattle grid, Commoner, commoning, Cow, heifer, herd, New forest
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New Forest: Beaulieu Road Sales
Last week (November 2014) the final pony sales of the year were held at the purpose built sales ring in Beaulieu Road. Not only is this a chance to see native ponies being auctioned but a real opportunity to witness … Continue reading
Posted in Beaulieu Road Sales, New Forest Commoner, New Forest pony
Tagged Auction, Beaulieu Road Sales, donkeys, foal show, guineas, Lyndhurst, New forest, New Forest Livestock Society, RSPCA, sales ring, semi-feral, viewing pens
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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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New Forest: Lane Creepers
Before the New Forest was fenced and gridded the free-roaming stock ranged widely outside the official boundary. Commoner’s ponies were known to reach as far as the eastern suburbs of Southampton, down into Christchurch in the southwest, and almost into … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest Commoner, New Forest pony
Tagged hobbles, Lane Creeper, New forest, New Forest boundary, New Forest pony, perambulation, pound
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The New Forest and The Great War.
Watching the Remembrance Day service was particularly poignant this year. World War One, which lasted from 28 July 1914 until 11 November 1918, began a hundred years ago. When seeing the expressions on the faces of the men and women … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest Commoner, New Forest pony, The Great War
Tagged artillery, battle, cavalry, Cenotaph, Commoner, First World War, Great War, horses, Lyndhurst, memorial, New forest, pony, Rememberance Day, Salisbury Plain, Verderers, War Office
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New Forest: home to the commoners
The practice of commoning on the New Forest fills me with fascination. Learning about its history is totally absorbing and as I discover more about the events, community, and characters that have maintained the commoning system the more I want … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest Commoner
Tagged Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, colt-hunting, Commoner, Commoners Dwelling Scheme, commoning, Doomesday Book, drifts, New forest, New Forest Commoners Defence Association, New Forest National Park Authority, second homes, self-sufficiency
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The New Forest: the future of commoning
The New Forest is an ancient landscape that has survived into modern times. It is a place of exquisite natural beauty, which is internationally recognised for its importance to wildlife. Because of its distinctive geography it has never been cultivated … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest Commoner
Tagged Commoner, commoning, Middle Ages, New forest, Nova Foresta, Pannage, Parliamentary Commission, pastoral, symbiotic
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Bringing the ponies home.
When the clocks go back each autumn the daylight hours become fewer and the weather is generally more inclement. It’s a testing time for the commoners and can make searching for stock on the Open Forest quite an undertaking. I … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest Commoner, New Forest pony
Tagged colt-hunting, homing instinct, New forest, New Forest pony, Open Forest, round-up, Verderer
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