Exmoor ponies are unusual in that they are one of the few remaining free living breeds of ponies in the UK. The various herds live naturally on parts of Exmoor and other areas of the UK and are as self sufficient as it is possible to be in modern times. The Exmoor pony is still considered to be an endangered breed. Without a committed network of farmers and breeders to enable this to happen - who have worked tirelessly to retain the purity in the herds - the Exmoor ponies would not be here today.
In order to manage the herds, an age old system of gathering is carried out each autumn. The herds are brought off the moor and inspected. Grazing quotas in the moorland areas are strict, so there is always a surplus of youngstock which can not be turned back out on to the moor - and homes have to be found for these ponies.
Exmoor ponies need to be individually identified to determine which herd they come from and which is which pony. The current method used is hot branding, plus the legally required microchip. There is much discussion about hot branding, and whether an alternative method of identification can be used to avoid it. However, freezemarking requires the youngsters to stand still for a period of time, which is not felt to be practical. While microchipping is more humane, it is only effective once the ponies are in close contact. Hot branding has been banned in Scotland (September 2010) but is still currently allowed in England and Wales. For ponies that are definitely not going back out into free living areas, and become socialised to human contact, hot branding is not necessary (and is actually illegal, ref: Animal Welfare Act 2006 and the Mutilations (Permitted Procedures) Regulations (England) 2007 as they can be identified by their microchip.
From 9 September 2012, the Exmoor Pony Society rules were changed on hot branding. Now, foals may only be branded on the rump and with a maxium of four branded marks (the previous limit was up to seven marks on their shoulder and rump). However, the Exmoor Pony Society is still allowing the hot branding of some domestic Exmoor ponies foals, in addition to the semi-feral foals. There is very strong feeling from all of the equine welfare organisations and veterinary associations that all hot branding of domestic foals - and arguably, foals leaving a free-living situation - should be ceased, as it is not necessary for their welfare benefit or management. It is felt that the practice causes 'unnecessary suffering' to the animals, all of whom are micro-chipped for individual ID. Read full information research and opinion here: Equine Tourism Community Hot Branding thread.
Many people are keen for the organisations involved in the preservation and conservation of Exmoor ponies to research alternative and humane means of visual identification for the free-living herds.. Hopefully, resources are being put into coming up with a suitable alternative, so a smooth transition can be made. Exmoor ponies have an unfair reputation of being 'difficult', 'tricky' and even 'impossible' to handle. However, when their first contact with humans is often forced restraint, combined with the memory of lasting pain through having three large hot brands burned into their shoulder and flank, this is hardly surprising. Research has shown that when wild foals are not hot branded, they are easier to socialise and more trusting of humans. See Penelope's Progress for a case study example. The British Equine Veterinary Association and the British Horse Society both favour the ceasation of hot branding as a form of identification for Exmoor ponies. Hot brands often cause permanent damage to the skin, are are often impossible to read, even at close range, for much of the year, on many ponies. However, it is essential that the free-living ponies can be easily visually identified, at least with their herd number, so their owners can be contacted in the case of an emergency.
Gathering Exmoor pony herds
The free-living Exmoor pony herds are gathered one a year, in the autumn. The sheer size of the task involved in gathering, checking, inspecting and sorting the herds requires much organisation and many volunteers each year. Up until this point, the herds and their young have been living freely and relatively undisturbed out on the moor, so they are unused to human contact.
Weaning & handling foals: It is necessary for the foals to be weaned at this time and, depending on logistics, some are weaned at the time of inspection - while others are returned to their mares for a period before weaning. The wild pony handlers need to be competent and sensitive in order to cause the foals minimum distress. If foals are not handled using positive, trust-based methods of horsemanship - and suffer harsh, forced restraint - , they can become fearful and difficult to handle subsequently, and find it hard to make a successful transition into domestic life. Responsible farmers and herd owners are putting in place structured pens and humane 'crushes', which enable the stock to be handled with minimum distress.
It is important to remember that, without this system and the commitment and dedication of the farmers and breeders, it is very likely that this important and special breed would have been lost to us completely - or otherwise cross-bred and its purity and distinctive characteristics lost forever.
To read more about handling Semi-Feral Moorland Exmoor Ponies, find out more in the popular Moorland Exmoor Pony Foal Project Blog
Find out more about Exmoor ponies at the Exmoor Pony Club www.exmoorponyclub.co.uk
What happens to Exmoor ponies who come off the moor?
Some of the ponies may be used for conservation grazing and continue to live relatively freely in groups. Some of the fillies are returned to the moor or kept in ground for future breeding stock. Unless a colt is destined to be run on as a potential stallion, colts must come off the moor or they may be able to cover mares, even as yearlings - which would upset the breeding programme. Competent, sensitive homes are needed to socialise the colt foals to human contact, so they can be tamed, gelded and eventually started to saddle. Once used to humans and able to be ridden, the geldings make fanastic ambassadors for the breed and are enjoying success in the show ring, at top level.
If conservation or domestic homes cannot be found, unwanted colts are unfortunately culled, or sold for meat. Exmoor ponies are highly intelligent, strong and well conformed and, with the right handling, make superb riding ponies for adults and children . So this is a terrible waste of an endangered breed. The Moorland Exmoor Pony Foal Project gave 21 Moorland Exmoor foals a good start in its first year in 2013.
Winning the trust of Exmoor pony foals
When the foals go to into domestic situations - with time, patience and sensitive handling, their trust can be won and they become highly trainable. Once a foal has been hot branded, the process of winning their complete trust is much harder and they will always display an inherent apprehension and enhanced flight instinct, which is greater than an unbranded pony. This is apparent in varying degrees depending on the character and temperament of the pony and some cope better than others. What may be be seen as an 'unaffected' pony can also be described as 'frozen watchfulness' or a pony that has 'shut down'. Others can be highly temperamental with an enhanced flight instinct in times of perceived danger. All of this is unnecessary and the result of what is effectively 'trauma' at a very young age. So if you have the opportunity to view your foal BEFORE inspection, you can ask for it not to be hot branded and make the job of socialising it a lot easier, for you and the pony.
Company
Exmoor pony foals can benefit greatly from the company of an older mare or gelding and other youngsters, so they are best not isolated or kept on their own. It is also certainly not advisable to take a foal and just put it out in the field simply as a companion for another horse - you may be trying to catch it for some time!
Exmoor pony foals need time, patience and sensitive contact to help them make the transition to domestic life. Once this is achieved, they go on to provide years of fun, friendship, satisfaction and pleasure. The Exmoor pony is hugely versatile - they make wonderful riding ponies (carrying up to 12 stone) and driving ponies and they are also enormous fun to show in hand in Exmoor and Mountain & Moorland classes. They excel at the new equestrian sport of Horse Agility and this can be competed both in hand and at liberty. |
