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: pony
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: the pony, an innkeeper and a judge!
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, … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest
Tagged Compton Arms, Hampshire Advertiser, innkeeper, judge, Mazeppa, New forest, oats, ostler, pony, Rufus Stone, Rufus the Red, Southampton County Court, Stoney Cross, true story, William II
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New Forest: The Big Freeze 1963-1964
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 … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest pony
Tagged 1963, 1964, Big Freeze, Deputy Surveyor, emergency, feeding, freezing temperatures, hay, keepers, New forest, pony, snow
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New Forest: harvesting holly for Christmas.
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 … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest customs, New Forest pony
Tagged butcher, Christmas, Evergreen, harvesting, holly, ivy, Lymington, Lyndhurst, New forest, pony, railway, seagull, Victorian, Workhouse
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New Forest ponies: search and find or hide and seek?
The New Forest has taken on a completely different look and feel since the onset of late autumn. Many of the birds that were regularly encountered over the summer months have, like the tourists, migrated elsewhere. The atmosphere is tranquil … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest flora & fauna, New Forest pony, Uncategorized
Tagged Commoner, Cow, deer, Fallow, fawn, find, foal, genes, New forest, pony, search, trees
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Why did the New Forest pony cross the road?
When travelling across the New Forest have you ever wondered why the free-roaming ponies will cross the road in front of you, even if they have seen you coming? Their hearing is excellent and they have good all-round binocular vision, … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest pony
Tagged brain size, cross, equine, foal, free-roaming, Hampshire, horse, instinct, learning, logic, memory, New forest, pony, predator, prey, road, Wild horses, wolf, wolves
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New Forest: mucky talk!
Being a commoner enables me to practice a method of farming that pre-dates recorded history. The ancient commoner would have orally passed on his or her learning and wisdom to the next generation. This ensured that the chain of folk-knowledge, … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest pony
Tagged Agister, droppings, dung, dung beetle, dung fly, excrement, ivermectin, mucky talk, Nail Fungus, New forest, parasites, pony, toilet, wild horse, wild pony, wildlife, wormer, worming
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New Forest: poachers, smugglers and amorous donkeys!
During a trip to the New Forest recently I happened to pass through a village where a cricket match was taking place. All the players were dressed in white and the pitch was a manicured village green that was surrounded … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest pony
Tagged Agister, amorous, bandits, Boldre, burglars, cattle, civilised, courtship, cricket, donkeys, East Boldre, immoral, J W Gunning, jack, jenny, John R Wise, lawlessness, New forest, pony, smugglers, stallion, thieves, vagabonds, Verderers, vicar, William Gilpin
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The Spanish Armada and the equine invasion
In August 1588 Queen Elizabeth I delivered one of the most famous speeches of her reign in which she is said to have declared; ‘I know I have the body of a weak, feeble woman; but I have the heart … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest pony
Tagged Asturcón, Calais, galleons, Gravelines, horses, invasion, Medina Sedonia, mules, New forest, North Sea, pony, Pottok, Queen Elizabeth I, Spanish Armada
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Facial expressions clue to horse talk
Researchers have recently (August, 2015) confirmed what many horse owners intuitively knew, that horses display complex emotions in their facial expressions. However, using a system known as EquiFACS (Equine Facial Action Coding Systems) the research team were able to use scientific methods … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest Commoner, New Forest pony
Tagged action units, body language, body talk, communication, domestic, emotion, EquiFACS, Equine Facial Action Coding Systems, facial expressions, feelings, horse, horse talk, New forest, pony, pony etiquette, predator, prey, social, wild
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