New Forest Pony, Fawley Inclosure |
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| Distinguishing features | Very sturdy and with plenty of speed, excellent temperament makes ideal children's pony. All colours are acceptable except piebald, skewbald and cremello. Mostly bay, chestnut and grey are seen. |
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| Country of origin | England |
| Horse (Equus ferus caballus) | |
The New Forest Pony or New Forester is one of the recognised Mountain and moorland or Native pony breeds of the British Isles.[1] The breed is valued for its hardiness, strength and sureness of foot. It is indigenous to the New Forest in Hampshire in southern England, and thousands of ponies[2] can still be seen running loose there.
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There have been references to the New Forest Pony as far back as 1016. Stud books have been in existence since 1906, and the breed has been purebred since 1930.
Before then, as part of ongoing efforts to improve the New Forest pony, animals of other breeds (notably Welsh, Arab, Thoroughbred, Hackney, Fell, Dales, Highlands, Dartmoors and Exmoors) were introduced to the Forest.
The earliest written record of horses in the New Forest dates back to 1016 when rights of common pasture were granted to the people living in what was a royal hunting ground.[3]
The cattle and ponies living on the New Forest are not completely feral, but are owned by commoners (local people with common grazing rights), who pay a fee each year for each animal turned out.[4] The animals are looked after by their owners and by the Agisters, employees of the Verderers of the New Forest – the Verderers are a statutory body with ancient roots that shares the management of the forest with the Forestry Commission.[5] Around 80% of the animals depastured on the New Forest are owned by just 10% of the commoning families.[6]
The ponies living full-time on the New Forest are almost all mares, although there are also a few geldings. For much of the year the ponies live in small groups, usually consisting of an older mare, her daughters and their foals, all keeping to a discrete area of the Forest called a haunt. Under New Forest regulations, mares and geldings may be of any breed. Although they are predominately New Foresters, other breeds such as Shetlands and their cross-bred descendants are also found in some areas.
Stallions must be registered New Foresters, and do not run free on the Forest all year round. They are normally turned out during spring and summer, when they gather mares into larger groups and defend them against other stallions. A small number (usually less than 50) are turned out for a limited period,[7] usually between May and August, to ensure that foals are born neither too early (before the spring grass is coming through) nor too late (as the colder weather is setting in and the grazing and browsing on the Forest is dying back) the following year.
Drifts to gather the animals are carried out in autumn – most colts and some fillies are removed, and the remaining fillies are each branded with their owner's mark. Many animals are wormed at this time, and anything considered too 'poor' to remain on the Forest are also taken off. Ponies are also fitted with reflective collars in order to reduce traffic fatalities.[8][9] Many owners choose to remove a number of animals from the Forest for the winter, turning them out again the following spring.[10] Animals surplus to their owner's requirements are often sold at the Beaulieu Road Pony Sales, run by the New Forest Livestock Society.[11] Ponies' tail hair is trimmed, and cut into a recognisable pattern to indicate that the pony's grazing fees have been paid for the year. Each Agister has his own 'tail-mark', and the pony's tail mark indicates the area of the Forest where the owner lives.[12]
The Agisters keep a constant watch over the condition of the Forest-running stock, and an animal can be 'ordered off' the Forest at any time during the year.[4] Colts are assessed in their two-year old year by the New Forest Pony Breeding and Cattle Society for suitability to be kept as stallions, and any animal failing the assessment must be gelded. In addition, in the spring (usually March) of each year, stallions also have to pass the Verderers' assessment before they are permitted onto the Forest to breed.[7] Otherwise, the lives of the ponies are relatively unhindered by humans unless they need veterinary attention or additional feeding, when they are usually taken off the Forest.
New Forest Ponies are raced in an annual point to point meeting in the Forest, usually on Boxing Day, finishing at a different place each year.[13][14] The races do not have a fixed course, but are run across the open Forest, with the location of the meeting place being given to competitors only on the previous evening, and the actual starting point of the race only revealed once riders have arrived at the meeting point. This means that detailed knowledge of the Forest is a great advantage for riders, with different competitors often taking different routes around obstructions such as inclosures (forestry plantations), fenced paddocks and bogs.
The upper height limit is 148 cm. There is no lower limit but New Forest ponies are seldom under 12 hands (48 inches, 122 cm). They are normally shown in two height sections 138 cm and under (competition type A) and over 138 cm (competition height B). The New Forester has a well built frame, muscular hind quarters and a good depth of body. The head should show pride, the shoulders should be well sloped with deep reach, and the legs show an even line with strong joints and solid hooves. New Forest ponies should be of riding type. [15] The larger ponies, while narrow enough for small children are quite capable of carrying adults. The smaller ponies, though not up to so much weight, often have more show quality. The New Forest Pony has free, even gaits, active and straight, but not exaggerated.
New Forest Ponies are most commonly bay, chestnut or grey, but may be any colour except piebald, skewbald or blue-eyed cream. Palominos and very light chestnuts are only acceptable as geldings and mares. Blue eyes are not permitted. White markings on the head and legs are permitted. However, white markings are not permitted that occur behind the head and above a line parallel to the ground from the point of the hock in the hind leg to the top of the metacarpal bone or bend in the knee in the foreleg.
The New Forest Pony is considered to have a gentle temperament, and the ponies are noted for their intelligence, strength and versatility. They are noted for friendliness, intelligence, strength, versatility and are nearly always willing-to-please. They are also renowned for their sure-footedness, agility and speed.[16] New Foresters are amongst the most approachable of all the native British pony breeds, perhaps because of their history of frequent contact with humans.
New Forest ponies make excellent ponies for gymkhanas. They are also used for show jumping, cross-country, dressage, driving, and eventing. [17] They and their cross-breeds are still the 'working pony of choice' for local farmers and commoners, as their sure-footedness, agility and sound good sense will carry them (and their rider) safely across the varied and occasionally hazardous terrain of the open Forest, sometimes at great speed, during the drift season.[16]
New Forest ponies can not only carry adults, they can compete on equal terms with - and beat - much larger horses while doing so. The New Forest Pony Enthusiasts Club (NFPEC) is a registered Riding club whose members compete only on pure-bred registered New Forest ponies; the NFPEC Quadrille Team won the Riding Clubs Quadrille at the London International Horse Show at Olympia in 2010.[18]
Fear, Sally (2006), New Forest Drift: A Photographic Portrait of Life in the National Park, Perspective Photo Press, ISBN 0-9553253-0-7
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