Dartmoor Ponies
Listening as I often do to Radio 4 very early in the morning I was amazed to learn several amazing things about Dartmoor ponies.
I love Dartmoor ponies. I had always thought they were genuinely wild, which included being owner-less. Left alone to their own devices as they have for thousands of years, but looked after in that strange, amazing part of Devon that I love so much.
Well, turns out they're not. They're owned by farmers in the region but are pastured on common land. Every now and again they are brought in to be checked over, foals are weaned, some are sold. That's what my mate and I saw in October this year when we were there.
They used to be used in the mines - pit ponies - up until 1986. That's well within my lifetime.
They used to be sold as meat to European countries including Belgium up until the 1990s. My first thoughts on hearing that was that must have explained their dramatic cut in numbers, but actually the opposite is true. It's the drop in the demand for their meat that's directly led to their rapid decline.
Fortunately, there are people who are trying to boost their numbers, but tourism is nowhere near enough. So, they are 'adding value' to the stock by getting them used to people to sell as riding ponies. That's to boost their profitability, and therefore lead to people still wanting to farm them, including pasturing them on Dartmoor which is where they are so well suited.
I love Dartmoor ponies. I had always thought they were genuinely wild, which included being owner-less. Left alone to their own devices as they have for thousands of years, but looked after in that strange, amazing part of Devon that I love so much.
Well, turns out they're not. They're owned by farmers in the region but are pastured on common land. Every now and again they are brought in to be checked over, foals are weaned, some are sold. That's what my mate and I saw in October this year when we were there.
They used to be used in the mines - pit ponies - up until 1986. That's well within my lifetime.
They used to be sold as meat to European countries including Belgium up until the 1990s. My first thoughts on hearing that was that must have explained their dramatic cut in numbers, but actually the opposite is true. It's the drop in the demand for their meat that's directly led to their rapid decline.
Fortunately, there are people who are trying to boost their numbers, but tourism is nowhere near enough. So, they are 'adding value' to the stock by getting them used to people to sell as riding ponies. That's to boost their profitability, and therefore lead to people still wanting to farm them, including pasturing them on Dartmoor which is where they are so well suited.