There has been a lot of chat about various aspects of being a New Forest Commoner on the site in recent weeks. There was even a reference to `a State Run Herd`and it made me remember a letter I had written to the local newspaper back in the year 2000 in response to just such a suggestion. I keep a daily journal,and took from it a very,very, brief description of our winter. To be a `commoner` is a lot more than having grazing rights attached to your land. The land has to be well mantained,you need to have buildings in case of injury or illness and also to store forage. I do hope that my short 'Diary'conveys the right message to you about our lifestyle.

Brief extracts from a Commoners' Forest Diary Year 2000

Some three weeks ago you printed a letter from R.S. Barratt. One of his suggestions was that the Forest ponies became a state herd, looked after by Rangers. It set me thinking, and I have summarised some extracts from my diary, giving an honest and brief account of the winter on our holding. We are 'small commoners' running a herd of around eighteen ponies.

September - We got four foals in off the mares to give the mares a better winter. The foals were weaned (twenty four hour care in stables), wormed (£6. a dose), and halter broken. Two were sold privately, two were kept on the holding through the winter, so had to be fed daily and given shelter during the terrible weather conditions. We had a foal born on September 13th, so made the decision to bring the mare and foal in for the winter. The alternatives were (1) Shoot the foal, and leave the mare out. (2) Leave them both out, and then probably have to get them in later.
September & October, all ponies were wormed both on and off the Forest.

November - Two yearling colts were brought into the holding to be fed daily through the winter, one to be a future riding pony as my riding pony is now twenty two years old. When he retires I have to have a pony to ride out and check my stock. One is to be put before the Verderers in April, to see if he is stallion material. Every day throughout the winter ponies on the holding are fed hay and/or hard feed. Weaned foals are stabled at night, as the weather conditions are the worst on record. The mud gets deeper every day, and the jobs get harder.

December / January - Rain, rain and more rain, the conditions are the worst we have ever known. New Forest ponies are very hardy, but constant rain week after week, is taking its toll. Feed time is very hard work at the moment, we call it 'feeding the weather'.

February - Two mares on the Forest need a bit of help but pick up quickly. Another mare has to come home with a serious eye injury (twice daily bathing and eye cream). She stayed with us for three weeks, being fed twice a day. Another mare on the Forest was also found to have a slight eye injury, but she was treatable on the Forest. Foot and Mouth hits the British Isles, and our movements are severely restricted. Normal Forest activities grind to a halt, and we do not see any of our friends for the rest of the winter. We try to keep an eye on Forest running stock without to much movement onto the Forest, consequently failed to see early signals of trouble with a three year old filly, with teething problems. Mud now at the top of our wellies. Running short of hay due to more ponies in than usual. Buy in some more, and also more Sugar Beet. Treat one filly for mud fever, which takes approximately two weeks to heal

March - Get in three year old filly with teeth problems, by now having lost condition, and also having been injured by the stallion. Treat several wounds, call in the 'Tooth Fairy' and then commence a high protein feeding programme. Learn of cancellation of Verderers stallion passing, so have two year old colt gelded. Spend half a day at the vets, pay a one hundred and thirty pound bill, followed by two weeks isolation and care for the colt.

April - Drying up a bit, and grass growing but still cold. No April Sale, and possibly no sales this year. What shall we do with our youngstock that we have brought through the winter, and are quiet and halter broken?
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Believe it or not this is a way of life to us, and we very much want it to continue, and with it the survival of the New Forest, and its ponies.
A state run herd looked after by Rangers? I think not!

That really puts the current economic crisis in perspective. God forbid the likes of foot and mouth reappear. One good thing did come out of that awful time, was Mini?Again a very late foal.

The thing that always intrigued me about the idea of a State-owned herd was - how on Earth would they expect to operate the drifts? Five Agisters working alone ? Casual (untrained, no experience, no idea) labour for the season ......

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In a state run herd, would they need drifts? There woundn't be any marking fees, branding or tail cutting. Foals could be taken of as & when. They would probably use quad bikes anyway, god think of the health & safety regs

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Carole, that's very interesting indeed. Jane another good thing that year - Ted was born!. thinking back I remember the mud (no ponies for us back then) and the cows stuck in the field behind us because of foot and mouth, it ended up resembling a bog - all 5 acres of it. Of course that was back in the days (just) of the stallions running out all year round.

I would just love to read a risk assessment for drifts run on quad bikes. Its scary enough on horseback (and that's just watching)

Glad you found it interesting,Penny,that is what I hoped for, I keep a daily journal with everything in it, perhaps The National Park Authority would like an in depth 20yr record of commoning,plus my O.H. could provide a complete financial record. That is frightening! On the subject of drifts,organised drifts are a fairly modern thing,when I was a child commoners just got together and went and got what they wanted at that time. Of course the welfare standards were much lower then,it was a case of the survival of the fittest.

matey was born to!

thats good carol, it reminds me off talking to my lovely auntie!



unless your name is seabint, nothing i say implies anything to do with you.

Interesting read Carole.

They'd have to have some kind of round-up, to worm the stock, and to identify animals and do a census of numbers in order to maintain their 'identification' on the Verderers' lists and keep the DEFRA abrogation for passporting, etc. on the Forest!

Otherwise, they'd have to do them anyway in order to passport everything!

One way or another, with all the new regulations on identification, they'd have to be drifted!

And if they were using quad bikes, how could the NPA possibly say that mountain bikes were a problem .......

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