New Forest pony

New Forest Pony

New Forest Pony at Spy Holms
Distinguishing features	Very sturdy with plenty of speed. Excellent temperament makes it an ideal children's pony. All colours are acceptable except piebald, skewbald and blue-eyed cream. Most are bay, chestnut or grey.
Country of origin	England
Horse (Equus ferus caballus)

The New Forest Pony is one of the recognised mountain and moorland or native pony breeds of the British Isles.^[1] Height varies from around 12 hands (48 inches, 122 cm) to 14.2 hands (58 inches, 147 cm); all heights should be strong, workmanlike, and of a good riding type; they are valued for hardiness, strength, and surefootedness.

The breed is indigenous to the New Forest in Hampshire in southern England, where equines have lived since before the last Ice Age; remains dating back to 500,000 B.C. have been found only 50 miles (80 km) from the heart of the modern New Forest. DNA studies have shown ancient shared ancestry with the Celtic-type Asturcón and Pottok ponies. Many breeds have contributed to the foundation bloodstock of the New Forest pony, but today only ponies whose parents are both registered as purebred in the approved section of the stud book can be registered as purebred. The New Forest pony can be ridden by children and adults, can be driven in harness, and competes successfully against larger horses in horse show competition.

Ponies grazing on the New Forest are owned by New Forest commoners – people who have "rights of common of pasture" over the Forest lands; an annual marking fee is paid for each animal turned out to graze. The population of ponies on the Forest has fluctuated in response to demand for youngstock. Numbers fell to fewer than 600 in 1945 but have since risen steadily, and thousands now run loose in semi-feral conditions. The welfare of ponies grazing on the Forest is monitored by five Agisters, employees of the Verderers of the New Forest. Each Agister takes responsibility for a different area of the Forest. The ponies are rounded up annually in a series of drifts, to be checked for health, wormed, and tail-marked; each pony's tail is trimmed to the pattern of the Agister responsible for that pony. Purebred New Forest stallions approved by the Breed Society and by the New Forest Verderers run out on the Forest with the mares for a short period each year. Many of the foals bred on the Forest are sold through the Beaulieu Road pony sales.

Characteristics

Ponies on Setley Plain

The breed standard for the New Forest pony is set by the New Forest Pony Breeding and Cattle Society. The upper height limit for a New Forest pony is 14.2+¹⁄₄ hands (58.25 inches, 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: competition type A, 138 centimetres (54 in) and under; and competition height B, over 138 centimetres (54 in). New Forest ponies are to be of riding type, workmanlike, and strong in conformation, with a sloping shoulder and powerful hindquarters; the body is deep, and the legs are straight with strong, flat bone, and hard, rounded hooves.^[2] Larger ponies, although narrow enough in the barrel for small children to ride comfortably, are also capable of carrying adults. Smaller ponies, though not suitable for heavier riders, often have more show quality. The New Forest Pony has free, even gaits, active and straight, but not exaggerated, and is noted for sure-footedness, agility and speed.^[3]

The ponies are most commonly bay, chestnut or grey, but may be any coat colour except piebald, skewbald or blue-eyed cream. Palominos and very light chestnuts are only accepted by the stud book as geldings and mares. Blue eyes are not permitted. White markings on the head and lower legs are permitted, except for those 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.^[2] Ponies failing to pass these standards may not be registered in the pure-bred section of the stud book, but are moved to the X-register. This in turn means that their offspring cannot be registered as pure-bred New Forest ponies, as the stud book is closed and only the offspring of pure-bred registered ponies may be registered as pure-bred.^[2][4]

New Forest ponies have a gentle temperament and are renowned for their intelligence, strength, and versatility.^[3] They are on the whole a sturdy and hardy breed,^[5] but congenital myotonia, a hereditary muscle disorder, was identified in 2009 in a New Forest pony foal by researchers in the Netherlands, the first time the condition had been identified in equines. It is associated with a missense mutation on the CLCN1 gene, which is the causative gene for the condition in goats and humans. As the gene has a recessive mode of inheritance, for a foal to show clinical signs it must inherit the mutated allele from both parents.^[6][7]

History

Ponies have grazed in the area of the New Forest for many thousands of years, dating back to before the last Ice Age.^[8] Spear damage on a horse shoulder bone discovered at Eartham Pit, Boxgrove (only about 50 miles from the heart of the modern New Forest), dated 500,000 BC, demonstrates that early humans were hunting horses in the area at that time,^[9] and the remains of a large Ice Age hunting camp have been found close to Ringwood (on the western border of the modern New Forest).^[10] Evidence from the skeletal remains of ponies from the Bronze Age suggests that they were similar to the modern Exmoor pony.^[11] Horse bones excavated from Iron Age ritual burial^[12] sites at Danebury (about 25 miles from the heart of the modern New Forest) indicate that the animals were about 12.2 hands (50 inches, 127 cm) – the same size as the smaller New Forest ponies of today.^[13] There has been a tradition of linking the ancestry of the New Forest pony to Spanish horses which swam ashore from wrecked ships at the time of the Spanish Armada, but, as the New Forest National Park Authority states, this "is an idea that has long been accepted as a myth."^[14] However, a genetic study by Checa et al. in 1998 suggested that the New Forest pony has ancient shared ancestry with two endangered Spanish Celtic-type pony breeds, the Asturcón and Pottok.^[15][16]

11th-century Normans shipping horses to England: Bayeux Tapestry

William the Conqueror, who claimed the New Forest as a royal hunting ground,^[17] shipped more than 2000 horses across the English Channel when he invaded England in 1066.^[18][19] The earliest written record of horses in the New Forest dates back to that time, when rights of common of pasture were granted to the area's inhabitants.^[20] The offspring of Forest mares, probably bred at the Royal Stud in Lyndhurst, were exported in 1507 for use in the Renaissance wars.^[8]

Probably the most notable stallion in the early history of the breed was the Thoroughbred Marske, the sire of Eclipse, and a great-grandson of the Darley Arabian.^[21] Marske was sold to a Ringwood farmer for 20 guineas on the death of Prince William, Duke of Cumberland, and was used to breed with "country mares" in the 1760s.^[8][22]

In the 1850s and 1860s it was noted that the quality of the ponies was dropping as a result of poor choice of breeding stallions, and it was recommended that Arab blood be introduced to improve the breed. The census of stock of 1875 reported just under 3000 ponies grazing the Forest, but by 1884 the number had dropped to 2250. Profits from the sale of young ponies affect the number of ponies that commoners are prepared to breed. The drop in numbers on the Forest may have been a consequence of the introduction of Arab blood to the breed in the 1870s, resulting in animals less suitable for use as pit ponies, and the increase in the profits from dairy cattle. The introduction of Arab blood also reduced the ponies' natural hardiness and ability to thrive on the open Forest over winter. There was some demand for the better-looking ponies as riding horses, and for driven work until the introduction of motor vehicles. The Second World War drove up the demand for, and thus the market value of, young animals for horse meat.^[23]

The Society for the improvement of New Forest Ponies was founded in 1891; they organised a stallion show and offered financial incentives to the owners of good stallions to run them on the Forest.^[24] In 1905 the Burley and District NF Pony Breeding and Cattle Society was set up to start the stud book and organise the Breed Show;^[8] the two societies merged in 1937 to form the New Forest Pony Breeding and Cattle Society.^[25] Total numbers of stock (including cattle) grazing the Forest dropped from around 3500 each year between 1910 and 1914 to 3130 in 1916. There was a rise in pony numbers from 1917 to 1920, driven by an increase in market value, but numbers subsequently dropped steadily, until by 1945 there were only 1485 animals depastured, of which 571 were ponies.^[26] By 1956 the number of ponies depastured on the Forest had risen to 1341. Twenty years later numbers were up to 3589, peaking at 4112 in 1994 before dropping below 4000 again; it was not until 2006 that numbers once again exceeded 4000.^[27]

As part of ongoing efforts to improve the hardiness of the breed and return it to a more native type in the 20th century, animals of other breeds (notably Welsh, Hackney, Fell, Dales, Highlands, Dartmoors, and Exmoors) were introduced to the Forest, but since 1930 only pure-bred New Forest stallions may be turned out.^[28] The New Forest Pony Breeding & Cattle Society has been publishing the stud book since 1960. New Forest ponies have been exported to many parts of the world, including Canada, the US, Europe, and Australia,^[24] and many countries now have their own breed societies and stud books.

Uses

New Forest ponies are used for gymkhanas, show jumping, cross-country, dressage, driving, and eventing.^[29] In the past, the smaller ponies were used as pit ponies.^[23] 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.^[3]

The ponies can not only carry adults, they can compete on equal terms with – and beat – larger equines while doing so. The New Forest Pony Enthusiasts Club (NFPEC) is a registered Riding club whose members compete only on purebred registered New Forest ponies; their team won the British Riding Clubs Quadrille at the London International Horse Show at Olympia in 2010.^[30] The British Riding Clubs Quadrille is a national competition, with only four teams from the whole of Britain selected to compete at the National Final.^[31][32]

Ponies on the New Forest

Stallion in courtship ritual near Homlsley Camp

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 an annual fee for each animal turned out.^[33] The animals are looked after by their owners and the Agisters employed by the Verderers of the New Forest – the Verderers are a statutory body with ancient roots, sharing the management of the forest with the Forestry Commission and National park authority.^[34][35] About 80 per cent of the animals depastured on the New Forest are owned by just 10 per cent of the commoning families.^[36]

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 the ponies are predominately New Foresters, other breeds such as Shetlands and their cross-bred descendants are also found in some areas.^[5]

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 several groups of mares and youngstock into larger herds and defend them against other stallions. A small number (usually less than 50) are turned out for a limited period,^[37] generally 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.^[38]

Ponies gathered in a pound at a drift

Drifts to gather the animals are carried out in autumn. Most colts and some fillies are removed, along with any animals considered too "poor" to remain on the Forest over the winter. The remaining fillies are each branded with their owner's mark, and many animals are wormed. Ponies are also fitted with reflective collars to reduce traffic fatalities.^[39][40] Many owners choose to remove a number of animals from the Forest for the winter, turning them out again the following spring.^[41] Animals surplus to their owner's requirements are often sold at the Beaulieu Road Pony Sales, run by the New Forest Livestock Society.^[42] Ponies' tail hair is trimmed, and cut into a recognisable pattern to show that the pony's grazing fees have been paid for the year. Each Agister has his own "tail-mark", indicating the area of the Forest where the owner lives.^[43] 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.^[33] 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; any animal failing the assessment must be gelded. In addition, in the spring (usually March) of each year, stallions have to pass the Verderers' assessment before they are permitted onto the Forest to breed.^[37] Other than this, 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.^[44]

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.^[45][46] The races do not have a fixed course but are instead run across the open Forest, so competitors choose their own routes around obstructions such as inclosures (forestry plantations), fenced paddocks, and bogs. Riders with a detailed knowledge of the Forest are thus at an advantage. The location of the meeting place is given to competitors only on the previous evening, and the actual starting point of the race is only revealed once riders have arrived at the meeting point.^[45]

References

Bibliography

• Fear, Sally (2006). New Forest Drift: A Photographic Portrait of Life in the National Park. Perspective Photo Press. ISBN 978-0-9553253-0-4. 
• Tubbs, C.R. (1965). "The Development of the Smallholding and Cottage Stock-keeping Economy of the New Forest". The Agricultural History Review. http://www.bahs.org.uk/13n1a3.pdf. Retrieved 19 April 2012. 

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: New Forest Pony

• The New Forest Pony Breeding and Cattle Society
• The Verderers of the New Forest
• New Forest Livestock Society
• New Forest National Park Information
• New Forest Pony Association (USA)
• New Forest Pony Association of Australia
• New Forest Pony Owners and Breeders of Australia
• New Forest Pony Society of North America
• New Forest Pony Belgium
• New Forest Pony, Norway
• The Swedish New Forest Pony Society
• The Danish New Forest Pony Society
• Netherlands New Forest Pony Studbook
• New Forest Pony Society of Finland

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