Author Archives: newforestcommoner

About newforestcommoner

Keeping the history, ecology and cultural traditions of the New Forest alive through practice of 'commoning'. Sharing information about #NewForest & #commoning.

New Forest: Wet! Wet! Wet!

Posted on January 3, 2016 by newforestcommoner

The downpours of late (January 2016) have created lakes in my fields and paddocks and my home-kept ponies are looking decidedly soggy and miserable. The ground beside the field gates has been churned into mud, as the ponies parade up … Continue reading →

Posted in New Forest | Tagged 4X4, authorities, bogs, carriage, catchment, cyclists, flood, footpath, ford, Hampshire Fire & Rescue Service, mires, mud, New forest, rain, river, Royal Life Saving Society, water, watercourse, Wet! | Comments Off

New Forest: harvesting holly for Christmas.

Posted on December 21, 2015 by newforestcommoner

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 | Comments Off

New Forest: the bully-boy Conqueror, hunting and warfare.

Posted on December 13, 2015 by newforestcommoner

William the Conqueror is a source of fascination to me. As the man who created the New Forest, his motives and actions also continue to be debated by many historians and scholars. For some he was the first medieval conservationist, … Continue reading →

Posted in New Forest | Tagged 1066, 1079, boars, bully, England, Guinness World Records, hart, hind, horses, hunting, martial skills, Medieval, New forest, Queen Matilda, red deer, royal hunting, stag, unenclosed, warfare, William Conqueror | Comments Off

New Forest: ‘animal aware’ road users.

Posted on December 6, 2015 by newforestcommoner

In 1903 at Brook occurred the first death of a New Forest animal, a pony, caused by a motor vehicle. Since then livestock injuries and fatalities have become a sad but regular statistic. Information about road traffic incidents, involving commonable … Continue reading →

Posted in New Forest, New Forest Animal Road Traffic Accidents, New Forest pony | Tagged animal aware, animals, cattle, donkeys, florescent, Forestry Commission, Hampshire Constabulary, Hampshire County Council, high-viz, luminous paint, New forest, New Forest District Council, New Forest Trust, ponies, reflective, road deaths, traffic incidents, Verderers | Comments Off

New Forest ponies: search and find or hide and seek?

Posted on November 29, 2015 by newforestcommoner

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 | Comments Off

Why did the New Forest pony cross the road?

Posted on November 22, 2015 by newforestcommoner

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 | Comments Off

New Forest: mucky talk!

Posted on November 15, 2015 by newforestcommoner

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 | Comments Off

New Forest: the truth about the ‘wild’ ponies.

Posted on November 8, 2015 by newforestcommoner

Without doubt one of the best things about visiting the New Forest is seeing the ponies that inhabit the heathland, woods and lawns wandering freely about. Although the New Forest ponies are often referred to as ‘wild’ this is not, … Continue reading →

Posted in New Forest, New Forest Commoner, New Forest pony | Tagged Common Rights, Commoner, domestic, horse owner, horse rustler, horse thief, New Forest pony, owned, semi-feral, thieves, truth, wild pony | Comments Off

New Forest: tales of the unexpected

Posted on November 1, 2015 by newforestcommoner

As most people know, All Hallows’ Eve or Halloween celebrations have their origins in a festival for the dead that involved rituals to remember and pay respects to dearly departed loved ones, saints or martyrs. These rituals included observances such … Continue reading →

Posted in New Forest | Tagged All Hallows, Beaulieu Abbey, free traders, ghost, graves, Halloween, highwayman, Holmesley Enclosure, New forest, occult, smuggler, spectre, supernatural, tales of the unexpected, undead, zombies | Comments Off

New Forest: racing the cows

Posted on October 25, 2015 by newforestcommoner

Being a commoner is never dull. My commoning friends not only share their adventures with me but also, on occasion, provide me with opportunities to have a few of my own! I was visiting a friend and fellow commoner recently … Continue reading →

Posted in New Forest, New Forest cattle, New Forest Commoner | Tagged Commoner, cows, galloping, New forest, ponies, racing | Comments Off