Above: 2003 Stallion Inspections, from:
www.newforestpony.com/ponytales/ponytales.htm
Photo by: Barry Whitcher

Above: Two riders waiting for ponies to come their way at a drift, from:
www.newforestpony.com/ponytales/ponytales.htm
Photo by: Barry Whitcher

Above: Ponies driven towards a pound, from:
www.newforestpony.com/ponytales/ponytales.htm
Photo by: Barry Whitcher

To see more stories and photos of the drifts, stallion inspections, and the agisters, visit:

Kay Bailey's Pony Tales
www.newforestpony.com/ponytales/ponytales.htm




Willoway Nightingale, a New Forest Pony imported to Canada by Drena & Colleen Young.



For more information on New Forest history and societies, visit:

The New Forest Pony Breeding & Cattle Society
www.newforestpony.com

A History of the New Forest Pony
www.hants.gov.uk/newforesthistory/poniesof.htm

Verderers of the New Forest
www.verderers.org.uk

New Forest Commoners Defense Association
www.newforestcommoners.co.uk

England's Cowboys - Agisters of the New Forest

Imagine, if you will, a sort of community pasture. Except, instead of open grassland, it’s a forest. Instead of cowboys with ropes and western saddles, there are agisters who ride english. And there aren’t just cattle pastured here, there are also donkeys, pigs, sheep ... and ponies! Now imagine that these ponies have grown into their own breed and are recognized throughout Europe for their jumping and dressage abilities - and you will have some idea of the fascinating history of the New Forest Pony!

The history of the New Forest Pony is truly fascinating, and much tied up with the particular history of the New Forest in England and ancient English commoning rights. The ponies derive their name from the place in which they were first bred, an area of woodland know as the “New Forest” covering approximately 37,500 hectares in Hampshire. Ponies have been recorded as running in the New Forest for about a thousand years, and the New Forest Pony Breeding and Cattle Society notes that “Canute's Forest Law of 1016 records the presence of horses among the other wild animals of the Forest. Just how and when all the ponies passed into private ownership is not certain and few written references to them have come down through the years but in general the New Forest Pony always seems to have been valued for it's docility, hardiness, strength and sureness of foot.”

The area was declared as the New Forest by William the Conqueror. However, the commoners of the region had held certain common law rights since pre-Conquest times, and these common-law rights are still practiced today. To be considered a New Forest Commoner, a person must occupy (own, rent, or lease) a piece of land which benefits from Forest/Common Rights. The Forest Atlas of Rights is kept by the Verderers’ Office, which was created in 1877 and controls and regulates development and agricultural use of the New Forest.

Sue Westwood, clerk to the Verderers, explains, “(The Atlas) consists of 7 huge bound volumes of maps on which were drawn dark lines to indicate individual parcels of land. Each bit of land was given a "Tithe" Number to identify it. Under the Tithe Number is written a P, M, O, T, S or an F. These indicate which rights attach to the land. P means Pasture, which is the right to turn out ponies, cattle and donkeys onto the Forest. Mast is the right to turn out pigs in the pannage season. The pannage season is a period of 60 days usually commencing in September. The dates are agreed each year and are dependent upon the acorn crop. O means Marl. Marl is a type of clay which was used to improve the poor soils around the Forest for agricultural purposes. T = Turbary which is the right to cut peat turf to burn. Marl and Turbary are no longer exercised in the Forest. S indicates the right to turn out sheep.Very few sheep run on the Forest. It is not particularly suitable - too many dogs! F means Fuelwood and is a very sought after right. Basically it means the Forestry Commission is obliged to provide for free a certain amount of wood to the occupier of the property to which the right attaches. There are only about 100 properties left which have the right of fuelwood. The Forestry Commission "bought-out" the rights from many of the owners years ago before having woodburning stoves became so popular. The rights of Turbary and Fuelwood are the only ones which attach to a building; all the rest attach to land.”

Though there are some families who have been commoning for many generations, they are unfortunately gradually dying out, as the price of property and land in and around the Forest is extremely high. Sue explains, “People from London and elsewhere with lots of money will buy up property in the Forest, often as second homes. They are not interested in commoning or if they are, they only want to keep one or two ponies because they look pretty. They have no idea how to catch a semi-wild pony and rely entirely on the Agisters to look after their stock. They very often give up after a year or two because it is too much trouble.”

Another price of progress has been an increase in road traffic and hence pony casualties throughout the forest. All but the main roads are unfenced, and though the speed limit is set at 40km/hr, there are, of course, drivers who go too fast. Some owners put reflective collars around their ponies’ necks, which can help somewhat. The fencing of the main roads splits the forest into three parts, and while the Verderers have accepted this as a necessity to protect the animals, to split the forest with fencing any further would be too limiting to the animals’ roaming habits.

Though this may sound discouraging, the New Forest Pony breed is gaining a lot of fans in England and around the world as it proves to be well suited for sport horse disciplines. A pony improvement program was started in 1891 as the Society for the Improvement of New Forest Ponies, founded to set standard for the stallions allowed to run in the forest. A separate society, the Burley & District New Forest Pony Breeding & Cattle Society, began registering mares and youngstock in 1906. In 1938, the two societies merged as The New Forest Pony Breeding and Cattle Society, which oversees all New Forest Pony registrations and stallion inspections. No outside blood has been allowed since mid-1930’s.

Ponies that run free in the New Forest today are looked after by the four agisters, each of whom look after one of the four districts. The agisters use both a horse and vehicle to patrol their district. A pony is identified as belonging to a district by the way that their tale is cut. The ponies usually stay in a certain area, called a ‘haunt,’ which provides their basics such as food, water, and shelter. Sue Westwood explains, “Each haunt covers several square miles but if you look you will find the same animals in the same area at the same time of day, each day. It helps considerably with their management except that if you want to move a pony for a particular purpose, it is often difficult to get them to stay in the new place! Some travel miles to get back ‘home.’ The only time they change their grazing pattern is if the weather is really foul or perhaps when the hunt has gone through.” Winters are mild and seldom see snow, but if any pony’s condition falls below the standards which are set by the Verderers, the agisters will round it up and call its owners to take it home.

Stallion inspections are held each spring to determine which stallions will be turned out into the forest. Registered New Forest stallions are inspected and licenced - they must pass inspection of a panel of three judges from The New Forest Pony Breeding and Cattle Society, vet checks at two years old and five years old, and grading and performance tests. Commoners present their animals at halter, and are judged by a panel consisting of both commoners and pony panel judges. Stallions are inspected and scored, and approximately the top 30 will run in the Forest for about two months in the spring. Though stallions had previously been turned out all year round, they are now restricted to spring so foals are born early enough to have a good first winter.

Ponies are rounded up in annual fall events called a ‘drifts.’ The drift season starts in August and runs until the end of October. There are fourty-four drifts altogether. The ponies are rounded up into wooden corrals called ‘pounds.’ Volunteer riders are used to help round up all of the ponies, most of which are semi-wild! The drifts are directed by the agisters. Ponies that are rounded up are then branded with their owner’s brand, have their tales cut to mark which district they belong to, dewormed, and if necessary they are fitted with a reflective collar. Foals may also be weaned or ponies removed for sale at this time.

Kay Bailey, who writes “Pony Tales” for The New Forest Pony Breeding and Cattle Society, describes the excitement of the pony drift: “Riders assemble at 10am. After receiving instructions, they set off to position themselves around the edge of the area they are going to drive the ponies. At a given signal the round up begins and the ponies are driven into the pound; some of the older mares know what's going to happen and will try to escape!”

She notes that, “The number of ponies currently depastured on the forest is approximately 3000,” though not all are eligible to be registered with the Society.

Because of strict selection, grading, and inspection processes, and the passion of the New Forest Commoners, the New Forest breed has truly evolved into an excellent all-around sport pony. The most exciting development for the New Forest Pony is the increase in ponies being bred outside of the New Forest, and the increase of exports, not only to the rest of the U.K., but also to Europe, North America, and Australia.

This month's Sport Pony Magazine Online features Willoway Nightingale in our Outstanding Pony Profiles, a New Forest Pony mare imported from England to Canada. The 2004 New Forest Pony Breeding and Cattle Society stallion selection will be held on April 17th; watch for updates!

Thanks very much to Sue Westwood, Clerk to the Verderers, for her lengthy email! Thanks also to Kay Bailey for the kind permission of the use of her photos and story quotes!

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