tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24710577573440142732024-03-13T17:17:12.577-07:00mitch mcfarlane photographya blog combining 2 of my favourite things - photography and horsesmitch mcfarlanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11808927806997888443noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2471057757344014273.post-30724654365212751272015-08-28T09:14:00.000-07:002015-08-28T09:14:05.053-07:00<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Dales ponies were bred to have</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> great strength
and endurance, so that they could be used as</span></span> pack ponies. T</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">he lead mining industry flourished in the Dales area from Roman
times until the mid-nineteenth century.
An ‘ingot’ of
lead known as a ‘pig’ weighed a hundredweight (112lb<span style="font-family: inherit;">/</span>8 stones/51kilos).<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span> One of these ingots was slung from each side of wooden pack saddles in ‘pokes’ which were
sacks made from strong sacking. </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Wow, that's <span style="font-family: inherit;">nearly two of me they used to carry!</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">You can see how strong and powerful they are <span style="font-family: inherit;">from</span> this photo...look at that big butt! </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbPELMr5_40lIJO6F1gc_tOrHAjNmNmN_p93nw6J3HYmwjHNojick9s8pk0lzn-xqt_hLXzRgxA4dEf3PzTML76VYqSUOgyDJ14w742WmwQ8KjdUidXnqG66WwNeknRi8zBmb2nmxXL-Md/s1600/AAA_3081c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbPELMr5_40lIJO6F1gc_tOrHAjNmNmN_p93nw6J3HYmwjHNojick9s8pk0lzn-xqt_hLXzRgxA4dEf3PzTML76VYqSUOgyDJ14w742WmwQ8KjdUidXnqG66WwNeknRi8zBmb2nmxXL-Md/s320/AAA_3081c.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> Blue roan Dales pony</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The pack ponies worked in gangs of up to 25
ponies, they were well trained and knew their names. They didn't wear a bridle, but they did wear muzzles to prevent them
eating the grass at the edge of the lead roads. This grass was
contaminated by the fine powder which fell from the sacks of the lead
ore. If eaten it caused the ponies to become ‘bellond’ an incurable form
of lead poisoning. The ponies sometimes covered up to 200 miles a week.<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></span><br />
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Dales ponies grooming</div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The pack pony men rode the
pony at the back, and the front pony often wore a bell which could be heard
for miles around when weather conditions were calm. They had to sleep rough on
route and carried onions, oatmeal and cheese to see them through until
they reached the next Inn. Sometimes the ponies were connected to each
other by plaiting a loop into the tail for the halter of the pony behind
to be tied. The coming of the turnpike roads and the railways
diminished the widespread use of pack ponies. Inn’s reverted to farms
and the sound of the packhorse bell was to be heard no more.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> Bay roan Dales pony</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This breeding has remained to this day though and they are well known for their strength and endurance. This is what the <a href="http://www.dalespony.org/Breed.html" target="_blank">Dales pony society</a> says about the breed:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> "Dales Ponies are
renowned for the quality of their hard,
well-shaped feet and legs, which should display beautiful dense, flat
bone. Their action is straight, high and true. They are good movers, really using their
knees and hocks for
powerful drive. They have
tremendous stamina, an iron constitution, high courage and great
intelligence, combined with a calm temperament." </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Bay Dales pony</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Please click on the photos to see them larger, and don't forget to check out my <a href="https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/MitchMcfarlanePhotos" target="_blank">Etsy shop</a> </span></span></div>
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mitch mcfarlanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11808927806997888443noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2471057757344014273.post-18261998007609285722015-08-02T12:41:00.000-07:002015-08-26T07:33:26.672-07:00A beautiful baby boy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Dales mare and foal</div>
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As I mentioned before, the Dales pony is sadly on the Rare breeds watch list as 'critical' (less than 300 registered breeding females in the UK) and are one of the two breeds of native pony most at risk of extinction - the other one is the Eriskay pony.</div>
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<a href="https://www.rbst.org.uk/Our-Work/Watchlist/Watchlist2" target="_blank">Rare breeds watch list</a></div>
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Thankfully their numbers are on the rise, and there are many breeders determined to bring back the numbers of foals born.<br />
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Roandale Dales pony stud are expecting quite a few foals this year, and their first one had just been born two weeks before I was there, so I was lucky enough to photograph him.<br />
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Dales pony foal</div>
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The foal is a beautiful bay roan colt.</div>
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He certainly wasn't shy to come and say hello, especially once his mum came up to see me...he even came right up and sniffed my hand. Look at those amazing eyelashes!</div>
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Bay roan Dales colt</div>
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Please click on the images to see them larger.</div>
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<br />mitch mcfarlanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11808927806997888443noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2471057757344014273.post-45963005755174675892015-07-19T12:12:00.000-07:002015-07-19T12:12:58.285-07:00So I keep finding out things about the British native pony breeds that I didn't know before. I thought that the Dales ponies were always black or dark brown. <br />
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Black Dales pony</div>
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But I was wrong - this is what the Dales pony society says about the Dales' colours - "colours are predominantly black,
with some brown, bay, grey and
rarely roan".<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguMiFVZA0C9yGWQkPpe9A9X9aQe8Oh_316zAqhHSvGAt3oLsTfdzKSsBNWVH1hKAv2ZBqJ4YZs9ixO33LWksmpjnTbfzCZuMWXFh4k3ispYP1eIcy_XmK_M6hMyy8I1oS5YPnqsysjpkqj/s1600/AAA_3066c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguMiFVZA0C9yGWQkPpe9A9X9aQe8Oh_316zAqhHSvGAt3oLsTfdzKSsBNWVH1hKAv2ZBqJ4YZs9ixO33LWksmpjnTbfzCZuMWXFh4k3ispYP1eIcy_XmK_M6hMyy8I1oS5YPnqsysjpkqj/s320/AAA_3066c.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Grey Dales pony</div>
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In fact it turns out that the blue roan and bay roan colouring in Dales is very, very rare! It seems it was undesirable for a while and they were discouraged and nearly lost in the breed forever. Thankfully they are gaining favour again, and the owners of <a href="http://www.daleslogger.com/" target="_blank">the Roandale stud</a> where I took these photos are actively breeding the roan colours. They have a very handsome blue roan stallion (which I unfortunately didn't get a photo of as he was indoors at the time). The Dales ponies come in bay roan and a blue roan, both very beautiful.<br />
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Blue roan and bay roan Dales</div>
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Horse colours and how they are bred is a very interesting science - some genes are more dominant / recessive so many colours are harder to get. Here is a very interesting chart on horse colours and how different genes effect the final colour <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/pin/151503974937951113/" target="_blank">colour chart</a> </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwgu7z0CJDDydNbZfB6UhyphenhyphenybeHBK-BEFtnrzsnBRLBPWYXRNusciR08H90m0v_cdSeD_PjlNNgmZz0jcgK9gawLbjcWDCphDVg6JqsAmvcirzMpFny7aDhQ1M0G86-tiKlCy5eRrMsG5WY/s1600/AAA_2860c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwgu7z0CJDDydNbZfB6UhyphenhyphenybeHBK-BEFtnrzsnBRLBPWYXRNusciR08H90m0v_cdSeD_PjlNNgmZz0jcgK9gawLbjcWDCphDVg6JqsAmvcirzMpFny7aDhQ1M0G86-tiKlCy5eRrMsG5WY/s320/AAA_2860c.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Bay Dales pony</div>
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I'm really enjoying this project, and all the fascinating things I am finding out about our lovely British native breeds.</div>
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**Please click on the images to see them larger.</div>
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mitch mcfarlanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11808927806997888443noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2471057757344014273.post-19554634571399741082015-06-26T08:51:00.001-07:002015-06-26T08:51:46.731-07:00A trip to the Dales (Teesdale)So, after a bit of a break from photographing the British native ponies, I finally arranged a trip to the north of England to photograph some native Dales ponies. The Dales ponies are on the <a href="https://www.rbst.org.uk/Our-Work/Watchlist" target="_blank">Rare breeds survival trust watch list</a> as 'critical' which is at the very top of the endangered breeds. This means there are very few breeding Dales ponies around, and they are in danger of going extinct, which is very sad as they are wonderful ponies. <br />
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Dales pony mare with her young foal</div>
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I had always thought that the Dales ponies were from the Yorkshire Dales, but they are actually from a much larger area. The Dales Pony is a native of the upper dales of the eastern slopes of the
Pennine range, from the High Peak in Derbyshire all the way to the Cheviot Hills near
the Scottish Border, so that covers North Yorkshire, Durham and Northumberland areas. The favoured breeding areas have always been the
upper dales of
the rivers Tyne, Wear, Allen, Tees and Swale. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg7rzeXlsEP2LvtPFI_NnBtOFhTZZGWv3D5o8O_35Gss9azOkXd6YOgAbMF3gzqogszR_tqKCzzDUeJmx1mvGRVAs8nBso37mYHlXs0MjvAEemZCT-1hfh2K8RlTFF1gL_06fxqnNhfw0c/s1600/AAA_3006c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg7rzeXlsEP2LvtPFI_NnBtOFhTZZGWv3D5o8O_35Gss9azOkXd6YOgAbMF3gzqogszR_tqKCzzDUeJmx1mvGRVAs8nBso37mYHlXs0MjvAEemZCT-1hfh2K8RlTFF1gL_06fxqnNhfw0c/s320/AAA_3006c.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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A Dales pony with a view of Teesdale behind</div>
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They were bred in this area, where the lead mining industry flourished from Roman
times until the mid-nineteenth century, because they were excellent pack ponies. <br />
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Unfortunately, there are no wild or completely free roaming Dales ponies on the Dales anymore, so I found a Dales pony breeder that breeds ponies true to type, and has them out grazing on the Teesdale hills over looking the beautiful Dales area.<br />
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This is the website of the very kind people who let me photograph their lovely ponies:<br />
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<a href="http://www.daleslogger.com/" target="_blank">Roandale stud Dales ponies</a><br />
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As usual I found the ponies and hung out with them for quite a few hours
(which went far too quick) to get some natural shots of the ponies
doing their thing.<br />
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Dales pony</div>
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Please click on the photos to see them larger, and remember I have many of my pony images for sale in my <a href="http://www.mitchmcfarlanephotos.etsy.com/" target="_blank">Etsy shop</a> <br />
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<br />mitch mcfarlanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11808927806997888443noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2471057757344014273.post-45468500457408828422014-11-12T06:04:00.000-08:002014-11-12T06:04:50.119-08:00First off, I'm sorry I have been away for so long, but I'm back now and will try and be more regular with the posts...I have a lot of photos to post !<br />
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I wanted to share a few more photos of Dartmoor ponies, as I have a few nice ones of some pedigree registered Dartmoor ponies.<br />
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Dartmoor pony </div>
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As I explained in my last few posts there are different types of ponies running on Dartmoor national park. Whereas the Dartmoor hill ponies are all different shapes, sizes, and colours the ponies that are bred and registered as pedigree Dartmoor ponies by the Dartmoor pony society are all bred to a certain standard.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1EpzHIX0-DRdNVNXZWhUm7yS0nB1TPNn4wUAyK1RdMKm5wcFfboZtn3xxuFGKzkopE6fSJ1uKPgCLZOEbub2VQfEIdZedruj5TTxiybAzB4Qi_XtWgLUhiTOpmVeZge8T8sENfb7Ioe0W/s1600/DSC_8011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1EpzHIX0-DRdNVNXZWhUm7yS0nB1TPNn4wUAyK1RdMKm5wcFfboZtn3xxuFGKzkopE6fSJ1uKPgCLZOEbub2VQfEIdZedruj5TTxiybAzB4Qi_XtWgLUhiTOpmVeZge8T8sENfb7Ioe0W/s320/DSC_8011.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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Dartmoor pony</div>
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Their height should not be more than 12.2hh, their colours are bay, brown, black, grey, chestnut and roan. Piebalds and Skewbalds are not allowed. Excessive white markings are discouraged. They should be sturdily built, but with quality.</div>
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Full breed standard <a href="http://www.dartmoorponysociety.com/aboutthebreed.html" target="_blank">here</a> </div>
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Dartmoor pony foal</div>
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The pedigree pure bred Dartmoor is not so often seen on the commons beacuse they are
too valuable to be left out, and also to prevent uncontrolled breeding with
non-registered animals, but there are some especially if you know where to look. I got some insider knowledge of where to find some from <a href="http://www.lowertownfarmdartmoor.co.uk/home" target="_blank">Lowertown Farm</a> because they breed pedigree and heritage Dartmoor ponies, and keep a few out on the moors.</div>
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They told me where I might find some of their ponies, so I went in search of them. After struggling through lots of gorse and bracken I found them !</div>
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Mare and foal</div>
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These wonderful little ponies are still on the endangered breeds list at the moment, but let's hope that with some successful breeding they will be able to come off that list.</div>
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Please click on the photos to see them larger. </div>
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And don't forget you can check out <a href="https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/MitchMcfarlanePhotos" target="_blank">my Etsy shop</a> to buy prints and canvas of my horse and pony photos.</div>
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mitch mcfarlanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11808927806997888443noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2471057757344014273.post-8319289116642465302014-03-20T16:01:00.000-07:002014-03-20T16:01:08.067-07:00Dartmoor hill ponies<br />
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Dartmoor hill pony and foal</div>
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Apparently, over two thousand years ago, Phoenician traders
introduced ponies to the West Country. These original ponies evolved
into two distinct breeds, the Exmoor and the Dartmoor.<br />
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The ponies
now native to Dartmoor have adapted to suit whichever part of the Moor they
live on. The colours are mainly bay, grey, chestnut and black, with
some coloured ponies and even some spotted ponies.<br />
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Just over one hundred years ago, the pony
breeders showed a split into two categories. One group began to concentrate
on selectively breeding for the show ring with strict breed standards. The other group bred more for usefulness and suitability for various kinds of work.<br />
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Dartmoor hill pony</div>
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The mining industry found the native Dartmoors very useful, and
crossed them with Shetland ponies for working underground. The farming industry
required a sturdy weight-carrying pony, so ponies who were strong and
had good depth of bone were chosen as breeding stock. And when they were needed to be more sporty, for example as polo ponies, they were bred with arabs and thoroughbreds. They have been used as riding ponies and driving ponies.</div>
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Dartmoor hill pony</div>
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So with all these different bloodlines that have been introduced it means there is a great variety of ponies on the moors today. The common
characteristics hardiness and good
temperament. have remained the same though.</div>
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Dartmoor hill pony</div>
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Only a pony that has been bred on the commons of Dartmoor, by a registered
Commoner, and whose sire and dam run on the Commons, is a Dartmoor Hill
Pony.</div>
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Dartmoor hill pony</div>
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These are all photos I took on Dartmoor, showing the variety of different types and colours of Dartmoor hill pony. Please click on the photos to see them larger.</div>
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More info on Dartmoor hill ponies here:</div>
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<a href="http://www.dartmoorhillpony.com/" target="_blank">Dartmoor hill ponies</a> </div>
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mitch mcfarlanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11808927806997888443noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2471057757344014273.post-1592063570134703502014-02-04T15:38:00.000-08:002014-02-05T00:36:23.831-08:00Different types of ponies on Dartmoor<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I have had a lot to learn about the ponies living on Dartmoor - I thought, probably like many people that there was just one type living feral there, but there are actually several different types. Here is an overview:</div>
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A coloured Dartmoor hill pony</div>
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Dartmoor was designated a National Park in 1951, but there have been ponies there a lot longer. Ponies help to give Dartmoor its unique character and are one of the attractions for visitors to the area. They are an integral part of the moorland landscape and are a part of the area’s cultural heritage. Ponies are also important for conservation grazing particularly on certain habitats such as wet permanent pasture.</div>
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There are many ponies living feral on the moors, but there are several different types - it's quite confusing !<br />
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Firstly, there is the pedigree Dartmoor pony - this is the true to type Dartmoor Pony with known breeding and is recognised as a vulnerable breed by the <a href="http://www.rbst.org.uk/equine-information" target="_blank">Rare breeds society</a> . These are the Dartmoor pony breed that you will see being shown at pony shows. They are represented by the Dartmoor pony society, have a strict breed standard, and are bred selectively, so that they have become more refined ! You will not see many of these running free on the moors. </div>
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<a href="http://www.dartmoorponysociety.com/" target="_blank">The Dartmoor pony society</a><br />
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Dartmoor hill ponies<br />
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Secondly, are the ones you will see most often - these are known as Dartmoor hill ponies. Only a pony that has been bred on the commons of Dartmoor, by a registered Commoner, and whose sire and dam run on the Commons, is a Dartmoor Hill Pony.<br />
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There are many variations of colour and type of Dartmoor hill pony, but they are all hardy and can survive on the moors all year round. There are some that are Small and round like Shetland types, there is the coloured type, spotty type and the classic Dartmoor type.<br />
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<a href="http://www.dartmoorhillpony.com/" target="_blank">Dartmoor Hill Pony Association</a><br />
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Classic Dartmoor type hill pony<br />
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Third, there is the Heritage Dartmoor pony. This is where certain unregistered, but true to type Hill Ponies are given Heritage Trust List (HTL) status. HTL status was granted several years ago to The Dartmoor Heritage Trust, a charity not connected with
the Dartmoor Pony Society, to allow farmers on Dartmoor to obtain payments to assist them to retain their
unregistered but true to type herds on the Moor.<br />
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They remain unregistered, but can if approved and they meet certain criteria enter the Dartmoor Pony
Society/Duchy of Cornwall Upgrading Scheme. This is where several generations of Heritage pony are bred with a pure bred stallion, and if they pass inspection they can become registered as a pedigree Dartmoor !</div>
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<a href="http://www.dpht.co.uk/" target="_blank">Dartmoor pony heritage trust</a><br />
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After scrabbling through lots of gorse and bracken I found these two young ponies, along with a mare and foal - they belong to <a href="http://www.lowertownfarmdartmoor.co.uk/" target="_blank">Lowertown farm</a>. The one on the right is a pedigree Dartmoor, and the one on the left is a pedigree X heritage pony. </div>
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More to come about the lovely Dartmoor and Hill ponies in the next few blogs, so be sure to check back.</div>
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mitch mcfarlanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11808927806997888443noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2471057757344014273.post-43300264438830447782014-01-10T11:57:00.000-08:002014-01-20T06:54:27.320-08:00Get an Exmoor pony !!<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS1VTkqO8Nrzr07WOrZoQzFiM_XKzx9iu4YAgtQLu9KKmrIgBz5H1z1EmcSzNnq6MIiQwbH0IjsaJ1xyE9qP6uSfyTv7Msj5rq-Wc4egAVMrj9N-brWN1qyLQ7IL5-z6A4yeg-SOJVZMNl/s1600/DSC_8155c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS1VTkqO8Nrzr07WOrZoQzFiM_XKzx9iu4YAgtQLu9KKmrIgBz5H1z1EmcSzNnq6MIiQwbH0IjsaJ1xyE9qP6uSfyTv7Msj5rq-Wc4egAVMrj9N-brWN1qyLQ7IL5-z6A4yeg-SOJVZMNl/s1600/DSC_8155c.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a> </div>
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Shy Exmoor pony</div>
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What is the future like for these wonderful British native ponies that are classed as a rare breed? Hopefully, they have a positive future, along with all other British native breeds of ponies and other animals. We need people to realise how wonderful these little ponies are.</div>
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Exmoor pony in sepia</div>
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They make lovely children's ponies, but can also be ridden by small adults as they are very strong. They are very hardy and can live out all year round, so they are easy to care for. They are very intelligent and fun to ride. Exmoor ponies are also very adaptable to most disciplines, ridden and non ridden.</div>
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One thing these ponies are excelling at is horse agility, which is a very fun thing to do with your pony. Last year Bear - a most gorgeous Exmoor stallion won the horse agility world championship. Take a look at this amazing video of him at play, with his owner Dawn Westcott.</div>
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Y3pkku71Sw" target="_blank">Bear at liberty agility</a></div>
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Exmoor pony</div>
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Thankfully people are realising their worth for another job, which hopefully will help secure their future too. They are being used for conservation grazing. What is conservation grazing? <span style="font-size: small;">Whole herds of varying numbers are used for managing interesting landscapes in a low intensive way to encourage the wildlife and plants that these areas support. Sites need grazing to remove the scrub and rough grasses. More info here from the Moorland Mousie trust that have ponies available for this job.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><a href="http://www.moorlandmousietrust.org.uk/about-conservation-grazing.php" target="_blank">Conservation grazing</a></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">There are quite a few sites around Britain that are using Exmoors for this as they are an excellent choice for the job. Read about one of the sites in the South Downs where they are using Exmoor ponies for conservation grazing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://sussexponygrazing.co.uk/exmoor_ponies.html" target="_blank">Conservation grazing on the South Downs</a></span><br />
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If you are loving the Exmoor ponies and would like to read more about them there is a really good blog you can follow:<br />
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<a href="http://www.exmoorponyclub.co.uk/index.php?/blogs/" target="_blank">Exmoor pony blog</a><br />
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And there is a particularly heartwarming story about the rescue of an orphaned foal on Exmoor here:<br />
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<a href="http://www.exmoorponyclub.co.uk/index.php?/blog/11/entry-197-the-discovery-of-monsieur-chapeau/" target="_blank">Monsieur Chapeau</a><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Next blog will be about the lovely little Dartmoor ponies ! </span></div>
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<br />mitch mcfarlanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11808927806997888443noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2471057757344014273.post-88262528647375409482013-12-05T07:35:00.000-08:002013-12-05T07:35:00.909-08:00Moorland Exmoor foal project<div role="article">
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Exmoor foal</div>
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As I mentioned in the last blog, the Exmoor pony is an endangered breed, which is really sad, as they are so beautiful and adaptable, and make wonderful riding ponies.</div>
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It would be easy to think that they are endangered because there are not enough of them left to breed in significant numbers, but this is not the case. Unfortunately, quite a few of those born each year are culled. How could such a terrible situation arise ?</div>
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<a class="uiLinkSubtle" href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=752049371476749&set=a.540926019255753.135334.540890129259342&type=1"><abbr data-utime="1385587886" title="Wednesday, November 27, 2013 at 1:31pm"></abbr></a><a class="uiLinkSubtle" data-hover="tooltip" href="https://www.facebook.com/ExmoorPonyClub#" rel="dialog" role="button"></a> </div>
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Quote from <a href="http://www.equinetourism.com/exmoor-pony-clubs-moorland-exmoor-foal-project/" target="_blank">equinetourism.com</a> </div>
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"Because of strict grazing quotas and the breeding programmes, most
foals, especially colts, must leave the moors each year and find good
homes. Sadly, those that do not manage to find good homes are often sent
for meat" </div>
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Quote from <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ExmoorPonyClub" target="_blank">Exmoor Pony Club facebook page</a> </div>
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"Up until now, there has been a communication gap between the moorland
farmers and potential homes that has resulted in a significant number of
foals being culled, when there may well have been better opportunities
for them. It is clear that more help is needed to promote and market the
availability of the foals and the moorland herds - in addition to all
the good work that is already being done.<br /> <br /> There is also the
fact that more good homes may be available if some of the foals can be
socialised and handled to make them more appealing to potential owners.
When the existing pony organisations are up to capacity, there are still
plenty of foals that need a helping hand to make the successful
transition from the moor to domestic life."</div>
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Foal running back to his mum</div>
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Is there anything being done about this ? Thankfully, yes.<br /> </div>
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This year <a href="https://www.facebook.com/HoltballExmoorPonyStud" target="_blank">Holtball Exmoor Pony Stud</a> / <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ExmoorPonyClub" target="_blank">Exmoor Pony Club</a> is running the
Moorland Exmoor Foal Project to help support and promote the moorland
farmers of Exmoor and their ponies. Here is how Nick and Dawn Westcott are helping (taken from their Facebook page)<br /> <br />
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WHAT WE ARE DOING ABOUT IT<br />
So this year, we are buying some moorland foals and giving them their
initial socialisation and training, after which we will be looking for
good homes for them. The ponies will come to Holt Ball after inspection
and be socialised using positive, trust based training.<br /> <br /> HOW IS THIS PROJECT FUNDED?<br />
In our first year of running this scheme, there is no funding or
support and the price we will be able to achieve for the ponies after
their initial training will not even begin to cover the project costs.
So we are welcoming sponsorship, support, donations - large or small, in
whatever form - to help fund this project.<br /> <br /> THIS IS NOT A 'RESCUE' PROJECT<br />
We do not want to pitch this as a 'rescue project'. This is a project
run by Exmoor farmers for Exmoor farmers to support, promote and manage
the moorland foals who need to come off the moor and try to find them
good jobs and good homes, rather than culling them. The Exmoor pony is
an Endangered Breed and too many of our genuine moorbred ponies are
being wasted through lack of viable opportunities. We want to help
change that.<br /> <br /> HOW YOU CAN HELP:<br /> If you'd like to get
involved to help with the care and management of the ponies, visit us to
observe some of their training, generally lend a hand, or become a
sponsor, or make a donation - then please get in touch with us.<br /> </div>
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Beautiful Exmoor foal</div>
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If there is anything you feel you can do to help these beautiful Exmoor ponies please get in touch with Nick and Dawn Westcott <a href="http://www.equinetourism.com/exmoor-pony-clubs-moorland-exmoor-foal-project/" target="_blank">Here</a> . Please help secure the future of this wonderful British native breed, and help save these lovely foals.</div>
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Few months old foal</div>
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mitch mcfarlanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11808927806997888443noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2471057757344014273.post-12943607684457850922013-11-15T04:49:00.000-08:002013-11-15T06:12:05.561-08:00Camo ponies<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
When we first arrived at the <a href="http://www.exmoor-nationalpark.gov.uk/" target="_blank">Exmoor National park </a>we drove through some pretty villages, and then we went over a cattle grid, so we knew we were into the open part of the park and that the Exmoor ponies would be somewhere - but it's a huge area and there are only small numbers of ponies, so we had to drive really slowly and look very carefully. The Exmoor ponies are very camouflaged amongst the colours of the moor.</div>
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Thankfully, due to my well tuned 'pony radar' I spotted something moving in the bracken. We slowed down and spotted a few more dotted around. It was a herd of ponies. I was so pleased as we had come a long way for these ponies ! </div>
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Exmoor ponies</div>
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As you can see from the photos the Exmoor pony is well fitting for their environment. Their colouring falls within a limited range of bay, brown or dun, with black points (with no white markings) and as such they blend in very well against their native background of heather, grass and bracken. They should have mealy markings on the muzzle and around the eyes.<br />
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Exmoor pony</div>
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It's not just their colouring that is suited to the environment - they are very well adapted to survive out on the open and sometimes very bleak moors. The ponies are very stocky and strong, with deep chests and large girths, the large capacity of the digestive system is important in winter as they consume large quantities of rough material which provides them with internal warmth.<br />
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The prominent flesh around the eye provides a defence system against harsh weather, and is known as a "toad eye" .<br />
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The ponies have neat, hard feet, and their legs are short. They have well laid back shoulders and a deep chest. The ribs should be long, deep, well-sprung and wide apart, with a broad back and level across the loins. <br />
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In summer their coat is close, hard and bright, but in winter they grow a coat in two layers - the hairs next to the skin are quite fine in texture and form a layer of insulation; the outer hairs are coarser and greasy giving waterproof protection.<br />
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The tail is neatly set in and the fan of short hairs near the root of
the tail is called a snow chute . The mane, forelock and tail are thick
and full, and also shed water efficiently.</div>
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Exmoor pony<br />
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It's sad to think that these amazing British native ponies, who are so adapted to our environment, are so rare and are on the rare breeds list as endangered. And what's even more tragic, is that many of the foals born on Exmoor are unwanted - no one wants to buy them and many end up as zoo food ! Thank fully many of the breeders and a charity called <a href="http://www.moorlandmousietrust.org.uk/" target="_blank">moorland mousie trust</a> are working hard to change this. More about that in my next blog, so be sure to check back soon.</div>
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<br />mitch mcfarlanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11808927806997888443noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2471057757344014273.post-63394485892180448562013-10-30T05:25:00.000-07:002013-10-30T05:25:10.249-07:00An ancient breedLast month we took a really long drive down to the South of England, to the county of Devon. In Devon are the large areas of wild and bleak moors called Exmoor and Dartmoor. Both of these areas are home to large numbers of wild roaming ponies - the Dartmoor pony and the Exmoor pony - both completely separate breeds.<br />
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First I will write about the Exmoor ponies, as they are the oldest of the two breeds. They are actually a very ancient breed - they have descended from the indigenous British Hill type pony, without too much inter breeding with other breeds. You can see they have a very ancient look about them:<br />
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Exmoor pony</div>
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They were first domesticated by the Celts when they came to Britain, and they trained them to pull their chariots. The first written records of ponies on Exmoor are in the Doomsday book, when Exmoor was designated a royal forest. From the Doomsday Book onwards there is little written evidence of the Exmoor Pony but records from the 1500s onwards reveal that the equine population of the moor varied in numbers rising to as many as a thousand at times. The moors, as part of the Royal Forest, were controlled by wardens who ran native stallions there but it is known that non-Exmoor mares were sometimes allowed to roam with these herds.</div>
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Wild Exmoor pony</div>
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In 1818 the forest was sold and one of the wardens, Sir Thomas Acland took 30 ponies and founded the Acland herd (now known as the Anchor herd running on Winsford hill - which is where I spent the day photographing). A few other farmers also took a few ponies and founded herds, some of which also still exist.</div>
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In 1921 the Exmoor pony society was founded to keep the breed pure and promote them. For a while the ponies did really well, and were used as children's ponies, helping with shepherding, ploughing and grazing the commons, but during and after the war years the ponies had a rough time due to absent owners, moorland gates left open, trigger happy troops and butchers using them for a meat source during rationing. In 1946 only about 50 ponies remained and only 6 pure-bred filly foals were registered for the whole of Exmoor.</div>
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<a href="http://www.exmoorponysociety.org.uk/" target="_blank">Exmoor pony society website</a> </div>
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Exmoor mum and baby</div>
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Thankfully Mary Etherington, a keen supporter of the breed, and a few other dedicated breeders saved the breed - cattle grids gradually replaced the gates and the boundaries to the commons were secured and the numbers gradually grew. The numbers are still increasing, now stand at around 3000 ponies worldwide. This might sound a lot, but they are still on the Rare breeds survival trust's watch list as 'endangered' - only one up from 'critical'. </div>
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<a href="http://www.rbst.org.uk/equine-information" target="_blank">RBST watch list</a></div>
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Shy Exmoor yearling</div>
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Please click on any of the photos to see them larger.</div>
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And please go here to see prints for sale:</div>
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<a href="http://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/MitchMcfarlanePhotos" target="_blank">My shop with lots of lovely pony prints for sale</a></div>
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mitch mcfarlanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11808927806997888443noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2471057757344014273.post-45189070111636287932013-10-11T12:02:00.001-07:002013-10-11T12:02:30.028-07:00The Queen's favourite<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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Highland ponies</div>
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The Highland pony is an ancient breed, although there have at times been other breeds introduced into their breeding - including Arab, Clydesdale and Percheron to make them larger and stronger. They have had many roles throughout history, including logging, carrying stags for the shooting parties and going to war. </div>
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Yellow dun Highland pony</div>
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They have also been favoured by the Royal families down through the years: </div>
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Queen
Victoria talks about riding Highland ponies. In "Life in the Highlands" the Queen describes a September day
in 1842 when she and Prince Albert were the guests of the Duke of
Atholl at Blair Castle: "We set off on ponies to go up one of the hills,
Albert riding the dun pony and I the grey, attended only by Sandy McAra
in the Highland dress. We went out the back way across the ford, Sandy
leading my pony and Albert following closely, the water reaching above
Sandy's knees" </div>
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Queen
Elizabeth II is patron of the Highland pony society and In 2007 she
opened a full-time Highland pony stud at Balmoral. One of her ponies won its class at the Royal Highland show in 2010. She is also often seen
riding Highland ponies around the estate.</div>
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Mouse dun Highland pony</div>
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However even after all their popularity and hard work they are still on the watch list of British native pony breeds - they are listed as 'at risk'</div>
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<a href="http://www.rbst.org.uk/equine-information" target="_blank">List of breeds on the equine watch list</a></div>
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Dark grey Highland pony</div>
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Hopefully their popularity may come back and people will realise how adaptable and fun to ride they are, even for adults, and they will be able to come off the rare breeds watch list. </div>
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White Highland pony</div>
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Scottish Highland pony</div>
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*Please click on the photos to see them larger</div>
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<a href="http://www.mitchmcfarlanephotos.etsy.com/" target="_blank">Go here to purchase prints</a></div>
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mitch mcfarlanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11808927806997888443noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2471057757344014273.post-69536585445777960182013-08-23T10:03:00.001-07:002013-08-23T10:03:48.706-07:00What is the difference between dun and buckskin ?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Back in April of this year, we went to stay for a long weekend up near Aviemore in the Highlands. While we were there I wanted to see if I could find any Highland ponies living feral to photograph for my British native pony project.<br />
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We found some information from various people saying they had spotted ponies on the Loch Ericht Estate, near Dalwhinnie. The ponies are wintered out on the estates vast land, but are quite often seen near Loch Pattack. As with all of these large estates, people are welcome to walk, cycle and horse ride on their land because of the Scottish right to roam laws, which is great.<br />
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The land where the Highland ponies might be, and Loch Pattack are at least 7 miles from any public roads, so we decided to take our mountain bikes and ride up to the area along a track. Even though it was the middle of April, it was freezing, and there was still snow on the higher ground - we were having extremely cold weather for that time of year !<br />
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We wrapped up with lots of layers and I put all my camera equipment in my rucksack and off we set. It was a lovely ride, the scenery was beautiful and while we were cycling I was warm enough, but as soon as we stopped I started getting cold. Unfortunately, I only managed to shoot for about an hour before I was frozen and I had to give up, but I got a few really nice photos.<br />
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The Highland ponies when we first spotted them</div>
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As you can see there were four of them, and some really pretty colours - a dark mouse dun, a yellow dun, a very dark dapple grey and a white one.</div>
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Two of them were very inquisitive and decided to come over and see what we were up to.</div>
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Dark dapple grey Highland pony</div>
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Look at the highlights on this one - women pay lots of money to have hair like that ! </div>
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Yellow dun Highland pony</div>
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This brings me to a very interesting question - What is the difference between a dun and a buckskin ? (my Icelandic is called buckskin on her passport, but she looks the same as this Highland pony) Highlands are never classed as buckskin, only dun - so are they the same thing? Actually, no, even though they can often look very similar. It's all down to genetics.</div>
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Both dun & buckskin can be a golden/yellow/creamy coloured body with a black mane,
tail and legs. The body colour can range from a light, creamy colour to a
deep, rich yellow or gold. But they are different because each of them come from a different dilution gene on a bay base.</div>
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Buckskin comes from a cream dilution gene on a bay horse.</div>
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Dun comes from a dun dilution gene on a bay horse.</div>
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Dun horses also always have at least one primitive characteristic – a
dorsal stripe, striping on their shoulders, legs and/or forehead.</div>
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For a more detailed explanation, with pictures to help, see this article:</div>
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<a href="http://www.theequinest.com/buckskin-dun/" target="_blank">Dun or buckskin ? That is the question !</a> </div>
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You can just see his dorsal stripe in this photo. </div>
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Yellow dun pony bum</div>
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mitch mcfarlanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11808927806997888443noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2471057757344014273.post-9816039008001330272013-07-26T08:40:00.001-07:002013-07-26T08:44:40.139-07:00The Highland ponies lovely coloursThere were only 3 ponies at this location a very dark bay, a bright bay and white, so these ones weren't that unusual. Some Highland ponies come in very unusual colours, and many of them have a dorsal stripe and zebra markings on their legs showing how closely related they are to the ancient breed.<br />
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Here is what the breed description says about the colours: <span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"> "A range of duns-mouse,
yellow, grey, cream. Also grey, brown, black and occasionally
bay and liver chestnut with silver mane and tail. Many ponies
have a dorsal stripe and some show zebra markings on legs. Shoulder
stripe often present. A small star is acceptable but other white
markings are discouraged. Foal coat often changes and many ponies
change colour gradually as they grow older, especially those
with grey hairs interspersed with the original colour. Others
show a slight seasonal change in colour between winter and summer
coats. Broken colours are not allowed"</span> <br />
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Dark Highland pony</div>
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Bay Highland pony</div>
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White Highland pony</div>
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I will be putting up more photos of different Highlands in different colours from our other photographing trip in Dalwhinnie, so be sure to check back soon.</div>
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White pony in black and white</div>
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White pony in sepia</div>
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mitch mcfarlanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11808927806997888443noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2471057757344014273.post-33703612973940379322013-07-03T07:59:00.000-07:002013-07-03T07:59:27.603-07:00Highland ponies and deer stalking <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Native highland ponies</div>
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The highland ponies we saw at Glen Feshie were very large and chunky for a pony, as you can see from the photos - they are more like a draft horse build.<br />
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Highland pony</div>
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They have been intentionally bred to be like this, so that they could be used for their many jobs in the Highlands of Scotland. <br />
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<span class="hamlet">Their strength and size would have made them a
suitable mount as a war horse, as far back as the days of William
Wallace and Robert the Bruce. It is said that Robert the Bruce faced the
attack of the army of King Edward II, sat astride a Highland pony.</span><br />
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Other jobs they have had over were as <span class="hamlet">pack ponies, transporting goods in large wicker
panniers attached to a wooden pack saddle. They were used on
farms, where the crofters used them for ploughing,
forestry, and haulage. In later years, Country Estates found the
Highland pony useful for bringing game and deer down from the hills.</span> The ponies handlers are often called ghillies and the ponies are called garrons.<br />
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This is a job some of them still do - as was mentioned in my last blog <br />
<a href="http://mitchmcfarlane.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/spot-ponies.html" target="_blank">The ponies of Glen Feshie</a><br />
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Their size ranges from 13hh - 14.2hh (132cms - 148cms) but they are very very strong for their size. It is said they can carry up to 17stone. A full grown stag could easily weigh that much and they carry these across the hills after a days hunting.<br />
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White Highland pony</div>
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If you want, you can pay lots of money to one of the large Scottish estates in the Highlands and try this for yourself ( not the carrying of the stag - but joining a shooting party ! )</div>
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<a href="http://www.scottishhighlandswebsite.co.uk/stalking-in-the-highlands-c404.html" target="_blank">Deer stalking in the highlands</a> </div>
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<a href="http://www.thefield.co.uk/features/529836/Highland_ponies_on_the_hill.html" target="_blank">Article from 'the field' shooting magazine</a> </div>
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I would just like to mention that although deer stalking is regarded by many as a necessary part of Scottish life, I do not personally endorse it - I am against all blood sport.<br />
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Beautiful Highland pony</div>
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mitch mcfarlanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11808927806997888443noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2471057757344014273.post-91745643711580634622013-06-20T10:01:00.000-07:002013-06-20T10:04:46.657-07:00Spot the ponies...So, I'm back on track with the British native pony blog. I have been away a bit too long, but I'm planning on writing more regularly now. I have lots of lovely horse and pony photos to share.<br />
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Highland ponies are next on my list. I have a few from a trip we made to Loch Ericht Estate, near Dalwhinnie, back in April. We also went away last weekend to the Glenfeshie Estate near Aviemore.<br />
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There are no Highland ponies in the wild any more, so the only way to really see them roaming free in their native environments (not in paddocks) is to go to one of the large Scottish estates where they keep Highland ponies. Most of these estates still have the tradition of deer shooting during the hunting season. A lot of them invite their shooting parties to stay and go hunting for sport. Many of them still keep Highland ponies for carrying the deer back to the house. When they are not being used during the hunting season, they are often turned out to live semi feral out on the Highlands. The estates own 1000's acres of land covering mountains, glens, moors and lochs.<br />
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We had researched and found that there are usually Highland ponies living out semi feral on the Glenfeshie estate near Aviemore. There is a long glen (valley) with a wide river running through the middle. Usually the ponies are to be seen on the East side of the river so that's where we decide to look for them.<br />
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The Glen is private land so you can only go in on foot or bike. We were walking. We parked the car and started our walk along the river. The day was lovely and sunny and great for photos so I hoped we would find the ponies. It is very scenic and it was a very nice walk, but we had to walk for over 5 miles before we got to the end of the glen, and we still hadn't seen the ponies. Then we spotted them...but, they were the other side of the river.<br />
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Spot the ponies...</div>
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The river is quite wide, and very cold so we didn't fancy crossing. There should be a bridge about 1 mile back, but it had been washed away a few years ago, so there was no way to get to the ponies. How frustrating. The only thing we could do was walk all the way back and try again the next day, but on the other side of the river, so we walked all 5 miles back along the river.</div>
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Typically, the next day the weather was dull, and overcast - not great for photos, but we decided to go anyway and hope it cleared up. We walked the 5 miles the other side of the river to the grassy spot where the horses had been the day before, but they weren't there. They had walked down to the river. Thank fully they hadn't actually crossed back over, but they were standing in the stony dry river bed, which isn't as photogenic as the lovely bit they had been in the day before. </div>
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Anyway I did my best and took some photos. It was just really frustrating that the day before they had been in a much nicer place and the weather and light had been way nicer - but that's what being a photographer is all about !</div>
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Here are two photos of the ponies - more to come soon. </div>
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Bay Highland pony</div>
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Highland ponies</div>
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*You can click on any of my photos to see them larger.</div>
mitch mcfarlanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11808927806997888443noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2471057757344014273.post-16634368398462036162013-02-21T08:46:00.000-08:002013-02-21T08:56:57.419-08:00The many jobs of the Fell ponyThe Fell ponies have an interesting history, and have had many jobs through the years. <span class="hamlet">They are native to the fells of North West
England, and it's thought that the breed was established as far back as the
Roman times, when they would have been caught and tamed
from their natural habitat, and would have been used by the Romans for
transportation of materials to build Hadrian's wall.</span><br />
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<span class="hamlet"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hadrian%27s_Wall" target="_blank">About Hadrians wall</a> </span><br />
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Fell ponies on the fell</div>
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In the winter
of 1492-93, 11 Kendal traders made a total of 14 journeys to
Southampton
with pack horses carrying loads of cloth - a journey of about 300
miles, which even on today's modern roads would be a tough journey !<br />
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<span class="hamlet"></span>Fell ponies were even used for transporting the deceased to
graveyards (they are still used today, by undertakers who conduct traditional
horse drawn funerals).<br />
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Over the years the Fell pony's more domestic duty would have
been as a pack pony, transporting minerals from the mines and corn to
the mills. They would also have been used on
farms for general duties such as harvesting, haymaking and carrying a
shepherd across steep terrain. They were also used to hunt wolves that might have been a threat to the sheep on the fells.</span><br />
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matching fell ponies</div>
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<span class="hamlet"></span> <span class="hamlet">It is said that
during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Cumbrian smugglers would
have used Fell ponies for transporting their contraband from the coast.
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<span class="hamlet">The Post Office also used the Fell
pony to deliver the mail to the most remote areas. </span><br />
<span class="hamlet">During the late
1800s, trotting races grew in popularity at social events such as
shepherds meets and fairs. Many Fell ponies excelled at this sport, with
some Fell ponies even attracting local fame.</span><br />
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<span class="hamlet"> Mum and baby</span></div>
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mitch mcfarlanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11808927806997888443noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2471057757344014273.post-7033577245149264382013-02-07T10:13:00.000-08:002013-02-07T10:13:18.960-08:00Grey Fell poniesI have now learnt something very interesting about Fell ponies - I had always thought Fell ponies only came in black, but while up on the Fells I noticed quite a few of the ponies were grey - there were a few that were very dark steel grey and a few that were light grey.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmI_lD2H90WhnIM4YsMCaa_mtQiZTk6Ot2qygNwXvhy7zKYywF8HPSy6D7eQPXw9MrKLfdh4cqnvs0lsxJCYBRqFBH33lgNhUeNudfb_00cwoa_WPytHD_I45eRcA14ooD7VjmbyNLm5pm/s1600/DSC_5077cfell-pony.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmI_lD2H90WhnIM4YsMCaa_mtQiZTk6Ot2qygNwXvhy7zKYywF8HPSy6D7eQPXw9MrKLfdh4cqnvs0lsxJCYBRqFBH33lgNhUeNudfb_00cwoa_WPytHD_I45eRcA14ooD7VjmbyNLm5pm/s320/DSC_5077cfell-pony.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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Dark grey Fell pony</div>
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I asked the owners of the ponies if they were all Fells and they told me that they were, and that Fell ponies come in brown, black, bay and grey. Black is the predominant colour, although dark brown used to be the predominant colour many
years ago. They also mentioned that the grey used to be quite rare, but they are now becoming more common. They own a grey stallion.<br />
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Light grey Fell mare</div>
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It was interesting to hear about their herd and how they manage the ponies that live on the Fells. Carole told me<br />
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"We have approx. 16 breeding mares on the fell
together with young females who will in time be bred
from as the older mares cease to breed. There are also
one or two geldings which we offer for sale. The stallions (2) are
kept down at the farm as there are bridle paths across the common
and it would not be safe for riders to encounter stallions and also
we want to be sure which mares are mated with which
stallions. The herd stays on the fell for most of the
year. The mares are brought down to foal in May / June
and to be covered again by the stallion, after which they are
returned to the fell until late October, when they are brought down in
order for the foals to be weaned. The mares are returned to
the fell and the filly foals are wintered inside for
the first winter. Colt foals (apart from any being kept
as future stallions) are sold at the Fell Pony sale at the end of
October at Penrith."<br />
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Grey Fell pony</div>
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Some of you readers might not have read my older posts, where I mentioned that many of the British native breeds of pony are on the 'Rare breeds survival trust' watch list. This is a list of the breeds of British ponies that are at various stages of being endangered. It goes from 'critical' to 'at risk'. The fell pony is on the watch list as 'at risk', which isn't as bad as some of the British breeds, but is still not very many - it means there are only 900-1500 breeding mares in the world. This isn't really a huge amount, so its good to see that there are several studs like <a href="http://www.lunesdalestud.com/" target="_blank">Lunesdale </a> still breeding and promoting this lovely breed, as well as a breed society<br />
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<a href="http://www.fellponysociety.org.uk/" target="_blank">The Fell pony society</a><br />
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Hopefully one day these beautiful ponies will be off of the list all together.<br />
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<a href="https://www.rbst.org.uk/equine-information" target="_blank">The RBST equine watchlist</a><br />
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Beautiful grey Fell pony</div>
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mitch mcfarlanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11808927806997888443noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2471057757344014273.post-56293960633382200002013-01-29T09:08:00.000-08:002013-01-29T09:11:59.912-08:00Finding the Fell ponies<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy3PWPSqq-7AJTUQ2D2tU2Zlfdh2gHoT6qZXmCyiTXE_-v0B-9AcBKxe-2xrL9OkrBVGMsfEoXSL_sjEHXLAKkF00EOcx1DIBd1bZSWbNdZwyLitlQnMtFIlCm5xZfVmytTdJlcYDGQ9QO/s1600/DSC_5244c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy3PWPSqq-7AJTUQ2D2tU2Zlfdh2gHoT6qZXmCyiTXE_-v0B-9AcBKxe-2xrL9OkrBVGMsfEoXSL_sjEHXLAKkF00EOcx1DIBd1bZSWbNdZwyLitlQnMtFIlCm5xZfVmytTdJlcYDGQ9QO/s320/DSC_5244c.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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2 beautiful Fell ponies</div>
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Shawn and I decided at short notice to have a week in the lovely lake district in Cumbria, as it's only 2 hours drive from where we now live, and we hadn't been there before. This is the area that the beautiful Fell ponies originate from. I couldn't visit that area and not try to find some feral ponies to photograph, so I did a quick bit of research to see where I might be able to find some.<br />
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I emailed the owners of <a href="http://www.lunesdalestud.com/" target="_blank">Lunesdale Fell pony stud</a> - they are Fell pony breeders that have grazing rights on Roundthwaite common, and asked if there were any Fells out on the common that I could photograph. They said there was, and I was welcome to go to the common and look for the ponies, but they also mentioned that they may be hard to
find. What I hadn't
realised was the common is really large - over 6 miles long and quite wide, including many hills and valleys. They normally go out on a quad bike to find them and even then it can take hours !<br />
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The huge area where the Fells roam</div>
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Well, I really wanted to see them so Shawn and I (it was me really) decided to go for a drive around the area
and see if we could find a way up to the common and decide if it was worth
looking for them. We drove to the area through some country lanes and into a little village. <br />
I looked up onto the hills ahead, and guess what - I spotted
some tiny black dots on the horizon. Shawn thought they might be cows, but I was convinced they were
ponies.<br />
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We stopped and asked a farmer if we could get up to where they
were, and he said the best way was to go back down the road, and then up through some fields onto the ridge, and
then to walk along the ridge. So we parked the van, near the place he had pointed out and got
ready to walk up. Just then a cross looking man came out of his house and asked what we were doing, he then said the
way we wanted to go up would involve walking through his field, and he told us he
would not allow us to go through his land ! We were a bit disappointed,
and headed back towards the first farmer. He very kindly took us to one of
his fields further along and showed us another way up to the ridge. The
field was really, really steep, and I was a bit worried as he said there was
a bull in the field somewhere !<br />
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After about 1/2 hour climbing up the
hill we got to the stone wall around the common and climbed over. The
ponies were right there :-) I felt so lucky that I had found them.<br />
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very quietly took a few photos from a distance, as I didn't know how tame they were. They tolerated me but as soon as I tried going closer they ran away. So I took a few more photos from a distance, then this time got closer and closer very slowly. They let me get quite close, and I just watched them and took photos for ages. After a while they realised I was no threat, and got quite inquisitive - quite a few of them, including some foals, came right up to me and sniffed and nuzzled me. It was such a lovely feeling that they felt that safe with me.<br />
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Fell pony saying hello</div>
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Inquisitive Fell pony foal</div>
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I had a lovely time being with these beautiful native ponies, and it is great to see them in their natural setting, looking healthy and as nature intended.</div>
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Please look back for the next blog as I have lots more lovely photos, and I will be writing about Fell ponies, and their origins, characters etc</div>
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mitch mcfarlanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11808927806997888443noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2471057757344014273.post-8054743947894312442013-01-10T05:35:00.000-08:002013-02-20T03:02:23.917-08:00Happy new year <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Happy new year to you all - I hope you had a good time over the holidays. </div>
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I really must get back to the blog now. I have lots to catch up on - I already have the Fell ponies and New Forest ponies to write about, and this year I would like to visit Shetland or the Highlands to photograph them, and I also want to go to Yorkshire to photograph the Dales ponies. Then that just leaves the Exmoor and Dartmoor ponies. I'm not sure whether to include the Irish Connemara ponies in this project as I'm not sure whether they are British ( as far as I know they only roam feral in Southern Ireland, although they would have once been all over Ireland, and Northern Ireland is British ! ) What do you think - please leave your thoughts in the comments as I would love to hear your opinions on this. </div>
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Just one last blog with photos on the Carneddau Welsh mountain ponies:</div>
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White Welsh pony mare</div>
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The wild Welsh mountain ponies might have an uncertain future, but the section A Welsh ponies, which are the closest to the wild mountain ponies, are very popular. There are also 3 other types of Welsh pony categories ranging in size from under 12hh to exceeding 13.2hh with no upper limit.</div>
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The Welsh Stud Book contains registration details of four "types" of
Welsh Ponies and Cobs. These types include the Section A Welsh Mountain
Pony, Section B Welsh Pony, Section C Welsh Pony (Cob type) and Section
D Welsh Cob. Each Section, or type, has specific characteristics, but
all retain the pony character, versatility and excellent temperament of
the Welsh breeds.</div>
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Because these ponies were the hill farmers' main means of
transport, herding sheep and wild ponies over rough and mountainous
country, they had to be hardy, balanced and fast. This
ensured that only the best were bred from. These qualities, combined
with a natural jumping ability, and the temperament of their Welsh
Mountain Pony forebears make the Welsh ponies and cobs really great riding ponies and all rounders.</div>
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You can read about the breed standard and characteristics on the Welsh pony and cob website</div>
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<a href="http://wpcs.uk.com/breed_information/section_a_b/" target="_blank">Welsh mountain section A and Welsh pony section B</a> </div>
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<a href="http://wpcs.uk.com/breed_information/section_c_d/" target="_blank">Welsh pony cob section C and Welsh Cob section D</a> </div>
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I think this Welsh mountain stallion is beautiful and even though he is wild and a bit unkempt he really shows where the different types of Welshies get their looks from.</div>
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Welsh mountain pony stallion</div>
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Some last photos from Carneddau - they seem to be very itchy ponies !!</div>
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You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours</div>
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Little foal in the middle wants a scratch too</div>
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Its my turn</div>
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The stallion has to scratch his own bum !</div>
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Just one last photo - what do you think of this ? It was an experiment, but I think I like it :-)</div>
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Welsh pony in pink</div>
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I'm really looking forward to writing the next blog - it will be about the beautiful Fells of Cumbria. I have some great photos of them, so please come back to read it.</div>
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<br />mitch mcfarlanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11808927806997888443noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2471057757344014273.post-2832184385017400662012-11-30T05:51:00.000-08:002013-02-20T03:03:39.184-08:00Taming the wild ponies<div style="background-color: white; border: medium none; color: black; left: -1001px; overflow: hidden; position: absolute; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; top: -1000px;">
“People assume they are too wild to tame,” said Mr Thomas, of Crymych, Pembrokeshire.<br />
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Read more: Wales Online <a href="http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2011/06/25/happy-horse-whisperer-who-tamed-wales-wildest-mountain-ponies-91466-28938196/#ixzz2DcPU11D1" style="color: #003399;">http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2011/06/25/happy-horse-whisperer-who-tamed-wales-wildest-mountain-ponies-91466-28938196/#ixzz2DcPU11D1</a></div>
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“People assume they are too wild to tame,” said Mr Thomas, of Crymych, Pembrokeshire.<br />
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Read more: Wales Online <a href="http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2011/06/25/happy-horse-whisperer-who-tamed-wales-wildest-mountain-ponies-91466-28938196/#ixzz2DcPU11D1" style="color: #003399;">http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2011/06/25/happy-horse-whisperer-who-tamed-wales-wildest-mountain-ponies-91466-28938196/#ixzz2DcPU11D1</a></div>
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Welsh mare and foal</div>
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Here is some more about one of Britain's wildest pony breeds (and one of the most endangered) living on the Carneddau Hills in Wales. <br />
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They are actually pretty wild, on alert all the time and are very suspisious of anything unusual happening around them.<br />
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While I was there I was quietly watching a group of ponies having a nap in the sun. They were all quite relaxed, but some were still on the lookout.<br />
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Welsh ponies dozing in the sun</div>
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Quite relaxed </div>
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All of a sudden, out of no where came a scary plastic bag flying about on the wind. The ponies were all instantly awake and running from the 'predator'.</div>
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Fleeing the plastic bag</div>
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They ran for a bit then stopped to see if they were being chased by the scary bag, and when they realised that the bag was just a bag, they soon settled down again and began to graze.</div>
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An article from Wales online written in June 2011 explains how the wildness of the ponies could be contributing to the decline of them, and why the farmers who owned the ponies decided to ask Barry Thomas a local horse whisperer to help - here is a small piece from the article:<br />
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" “People assume they are too wild to tame,” said Mr Thomas, of Crymych, Pembrokeshire. </div>
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Read more: Wales Online <a href="http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2011/06/25/happy-horse-whisperer-who-tamed-wales-wildest-mountain-ponies-91466-28938196/#ixzz2DcPU11D1" style="color: #003399;">http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2011/06/25/happy-horse-whisperer-who-tamed-wales-wildest-mountain-ponies-91466-28938196/#ixzz2DcPU11D1</a></div>
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“People assume they are too wild to tame,” said Mr Thomas, of Crymych, Pembrokeshire.<br />
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Read more: Wales Online <a href="http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2011/06/25/happy-horse-whisperer-who-tamed-wales-wildest-mountain-ponies-91466-28938196/#ixzz2DcPU11D1" style="color: #003399;">http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2011/06/25/happy-horse-whisperer-who-tamed-wales-wildest-mountain-ponies-91466-28938196/#ixzz2DcPU11D1</a></div>
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“People assume they are too wild to tame,” said Mr Thomas, of Crymych, Pembrokeshire.<br />
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Read more: Wales Online <a href="http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2011/06/25/happy-horse-whisperer-who-tamed-wales-wildest-mountain-ponies-91466-28938196/#ixzz2DcPU11D1" style="color: #003399;">http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2011/06/25/happy-horse-whisperer-who-tamed-wales-wildest-mountain-ponies-91466-28938196/#ixzz2DcPU11D1</a></div>
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“Therefore they are not marketable, they cannot be sold, they cannot fetch a price, so the farmers cannot afford to keep breeding them.</div>
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“There are only around 200 of the ponies left on the hills of Snowdonia, so anything that can be done to save them must be done.”</div>
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After an end-of-season sale last year in which 45 of the Carneddau ponies were sold for just £430, Mr Thomas was asked to see if he could do what nobody has ever done before: tame and train a Carneddau pony.</div>
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The Carneddau Pony Society hoped the training would help increase the animals’ market value, which in turn would give the Snowdonia farmers the incentive to breed them."</div>
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A similar thing had been done before by Monty Roberts, the American 'horse whisperer' when he had tamed and trained a wild Mustang. Barry Thomas is actually one of Monty's students and was glad to accept the challenge.<br />
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He captured 2 of the wild ponies and brought them back to his farm. He did succeed in taming and training them, and there was a programme filmed about it but unfortunately I can't find it to watch. Whether it has helped with the popularity of the Carneddau wild ponies, or whether people will want to own them is to be seen, but the Carneddau ponies more domesticated cousin - the Welsh section A pony, is very popular. In the next blog I will look at the breed characteristics and see why they are such great little ponies.<br />
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<a href="http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2011/06/25/happy-horse-whisperer-who-tamed-wales-wildest-mountain-ponies-91466-28938196/" target="_blank">Read the whole article here</a> <br />
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Beautiful chestnut mare</div>
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<br />mitch mcfarlanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11808927806997888443noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2471057757344014273.post-21001447328947946042012-11-20T08:50:00.003-08:002012-11-20T08:54:27.633-08:00Welsh ponies outsmart Henry VIII<br />
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Welsh mountain pony</div>
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This isn't the first time the Welsh mountain ponies have been threatened with extinction. The ponies were nearly made extinct 100's of years ago, around the beginning of the 16th century. Apparently King Henry 8th, who had a reputation for killing anyone and anything that got in his way, demanded that the ponies all be destroyed. His reasons for this were that they were too small - too small to carry a knight in full armour ! Luckily he didn't succeed, and some of the ponies survived. <br />
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The Romans recognised their strength and agility though, and used them for many jobs while they were in Britain, and even took some back to their homeland .<br />
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They were also used in the 19th century by the coal miners to pull carts down into the coal mines. That must have been a pretty miserable life for them. Some of them even lived in the mines, staying in stalls built down there and living on hay, never seeing the light of day.<br />
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All this has made them very tough and strong, and made them into the hardy little ponies that they are today. The welsh pony and cob society says "Bred in the mountains and wild regions of Wales for many generations,
their acknowledged beauty does not mean they are merely a 'pretty toy' —
centuries of 'survival of the fittest' has ensured the sound
constitution, iron hard limbs and great intelligence"<br />
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<a href="http://wpcs.uk.com/breed_information/section_a_b/" target="_blank">society website</a><br />
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You can definitely see they are tough and hardy little ponies, but they are also very beautiful.<br />
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Some more photos here of the Welsh mountain ponies on Carneddau. It started rain while I was photographing them, but they were starting to get used to me and I didn't want to leave so I carried on taking photos. I didn't realise how wet my camera lens was getting, until I look at the photos later - you can see the photos getting more and more misty - but I actually think it gives quite a nice effect, kind of like a soft filter !<br />
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Yearling welsh pony</div>
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This one has dreadlocks as he's loosing his winter coat.</div>
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Yearling welsh pony</div>
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Beautiful welsh mare</div>
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Welsh mare and foal</div>
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Even though people have recognised the ponies usefulness and adaptability during the centuries, they are still facing an uncertain future. Some are being used for land conservation, but they are not very saleable, going for only a few pounds each at the sales. In the next blog I will write about how a Welsh horse whisperer was bought in to try and help improve this.</div>
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Remember many of these prints can be purchased on my website or my Etsy shop</div>
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<a href="http://www.mitchmcfarlane.com/" target="_blank">my website</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/mitchmcfarlanephotos" target="_blank">my etsy shop</a></div>
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mitch mcfarlanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11808927806997888443noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2471057757344014273.post-40410706569776931042012-10-18T07:44:00.000-07:002012-10-18T07:47:20.219-07:00cheeky foal<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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There were about 4 or 5 foals in the herd I was watching, all only a few days old. One of them had spotted me watching him and got a bit shy. He went and hid behind a gorse bush, so I couldn't see him. It didn't take long for him to got curious though and he peeped his head out from behind the bush.</div>
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welsh pony foal<br />
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He kept getting shy and hiding back behind the bush, and then peeping out again, each time a little bit further. He was being very cheeky and was definitely playing with me ! In the end he realised I was no threat and wanted to show off. He ran out from behind the bush and started running around, keeping making glances my way - I couldn't help laughing at him - he was so cute. </div>
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practising his trot</div>
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speeding up</div>
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He ran around for a few minutes - trotting, cantering, galloping and bucking - he was having great fun, but then he suddenly got embarrassed, and ran back and hid behind his mum.</div>
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welsh mare and foal</div>
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He was still watching me and knew I was watching him. After a while he ran off again, up and down the hill, round and round, until he got tired and ran back to his mum for a rest.</div>
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welsh mare and foal</div>
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I had the best time watching him, and he made my day. Its amazing how he was only a few days old but was able to do all the paces and even buck already ! He was a real show off as well, maybe he will grow up to be the stallion of his own herd one day.<br />
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This is a lovely shot of his mum.<br />
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wild welsh pony</div>
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Lets hope that the Carneddau ponies future is safe, and that they continue to grow in numbers, and remain on the hills. Luckily we are now starting to realise that the wild and feral native ponies of Britain are very important and need protecting. They are very important to our heritage, but also are very useful in land conservation. This is a quote from a very interesting BBC news article from 2008:<br />
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“Theses mountain ponies are very special to us in Snowdonia. Not only do
they contribute to our cultural heritage, the Welsh mountain ponies and
their genetics has an important role to play in sustaining the
diversity of plants and insects on the mountain slopes. Their grazing
patterns mean that they keep vegetation low on the mountain in winter
and provide a good source of food to the chough during the winter. This
in turn allows the fragile habitats of the highland to be revitalized
when the sheep aren’t there.”</div>
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You can read the whole article here<br />
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<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/northwest/sites/nature/pages/caerneddau_ponies.shtml" target="_blank">Article on the welsh carneddau ponies</a><br />
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<br />mitch mcfarlanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11808927806997888443noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2471057757344014273.post-42529995949634839192012-10-09T07:17:00.000-07:002013-02-20T03:39:14.843-08:00Finding the Welsh poniesAs part of my plan to travel the length and breadth of Britain to photograph all the British native ponies in their native environments, I next visited Wales.<br />
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After quite a long drive of about 6 hours, and after driving through some places with funny names ( one place was called Pant, which we thought was really funny due to being very immature ) we arrived at the South of the Snowdonia National park.<br />
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I hadn't had time to do much research on where to find the feral Welsh ponies, but I knew they were somewhere in the park. It wasn't until the next day when I started driving through the park that I realised it is massive !<br />
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<a href="http://www.eryri-npa.gov.uk/home" target="_blank">snowdonia national park website</a><br />
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How on earth was I going to find the ponies ? I asked around at some tourist information places and finally a woman found out they were near a place called Aber common and pointed to an area on the map near the top of the park.<br />
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We drove to the area but couldn't find a road that seemed to go where we wanted to go. We eventually took chance and headed up a very steep, tiny single track road. We got to the top and there was a car park and some paths up onto the hill, so we decided to take a look. A man walking his dog just got back to the car park and I asked him if he had seen any ponies. He said no he hadn't seen any ponies today, but he was a local and said they were around somewhere up on the hill or in the valley. He said there are 3 small herds in different areas, and some had just had foals. Sometimes he would see them other times he didn't. I was so excited we had found the right area, and that they had foals, but I was a bit worried we wouldn't find them.<br />
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As we walked up through the gate I saw a National trust sign that said 'Carneddau' and remembered that during my research I had read about the feral Carneddau ponies, so we were definitely in the right area for seeing some proper feral ponies. <br />
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The Carneddau ponies are in the group of Welsh ponies called Welsh
section A mountain ponies, and the ones on Carneddau common are truly
feral and have been here for 100's if not 1000's of years. Welsh mountain section a ponies are on
the endangered breeds list as vulnerable, although the wild ones are extremely rare.</div>
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We walked up the hill to the left rather than into the valley, and carried on a little. After about only 1/2 mile or so we spotted the ponies in the distance - I couldn't believe how lucky we were.</div>
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We crept up slowly and quietly as they are not handled or used to humans being too close.</div>
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Feral Welsh Carneddau mountain ponies</div>
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I sat and watched them for a while, but kept my distance as they knew I was there. I slowly crept a little closer. One of the ponies gave me a shifty look and moved the others away a bit. He was beautiful and strong, and had the most amazing long mane. I knew by the way he was behaving that he was the stallion.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio3R4vW5R-k1n3kvWKy0GQyFKFZaVTGIWq-6YIewbSvcTIwhNfUIlOrtwyz_bIG4Dr5R8cnWyT7y3k6NXPfIwFFo0XhLS0nad-sVCkbGEq94BIz1_-tatLQXreRah2xRlUtfOqGKG-KJ_M/s1600/DSC_3201welsh-pony-stallion.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio3R4vW5R-k1n3kvWKy0GQyFKFZaVTGIWq-6YIewbSvcTIwhNfUIlOrtwyz_bIG4Dr5R8cnWyT7y3k6NXPfIwFFo0XhLS0nad-sVCkbGEq94BIz1_-tatLQXreRah2xRlUtfOqGKG-KJ_M/s320/DSC_3201welsh-pony-stallion.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Carneddau pony stallion</div>
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I hung around with them for a few hours and they gradually got used to me, allowing me to get fairly close, but never too close. I managed to get some lovely photos of them, so please read the next blog to see more photos and find out more about these lovely little rare and endangered ponies.</div>
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mitch mcfarlanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11808927806997888443noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2471057757344014273.post-39680017162466927752012-09-25T07:53:00.000-07:002012-09-27T05:26:17.244-07:00I want one <br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">I was very taken with the Eriskay ponies on the Island. I thought they would be very timid and wary of humans, so at first I stayed quite a distance away from them and kept very quiet. I had my long lens on my camera in order to get close enough shots. </span></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3ewU4byqH45wAX7aXSOQcwhppAPOxdk3oKnBVqDmSJpZWgW82q5A0HkX5wFW33OfdzaY3A-fKCcoJGGMA2Hxs3AFU9wuTlhhXmS7-nvndt5ymSp2sZgqfKdBb7UavPocVwMk85W3vHWnD/s1600/DSC_2772eriskay-pony.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3ewU4byqH45wAX7aXSOQcwhppAPOxdk3oKnBVqDmSJpZWgW82q5A0HkX5wFW33OfdzaY3A-fKCcoJGGMA2Hxs3AFU9wuTlhhXmS7-nvndt5ymSp2sZgqfKdBb7UavPocVwMk85W3vHWnD/s320/DSC_2772eriskay-pony.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">But within a few minutes I was surrounded by inquisitive and nosey ponies ! They all wanted to know what was going on, and came over to have a look. Even the little foals and yearlings were coming right up to me and nudging me. It actually became quite hard to take photos of them as they kept shoving their noses into the camera lens.</span></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEialMj4su8dADNK_uXdAFI_I-_m-EmL2SEu0bVkWuOSjTlwJRpBSbGb9WBViJNIIeIIA-XKQPG_mlEC5X63qjRvOvwsDMTaIELzDLgGLmF5vlYhbUdb5mOg89ERf3ind4RaXJaGiayIm4xQ/s1600/DSC_2664d90bw-eriskay-pony.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="background-color: #eeeeee;"><span style="background-color: white;"></span></span><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEialMj4su8dADNK_uXdAFI_I-_m-EmL2SEu0bVkWuOSjTlwJRpBSbGb9WBViJNIIeIIA-XKQPG_mlEC5X63qjRvOvwsDMTaIELzDLgGLmF5vlYhbUdb5mOg89ERf3ind4RaXJaGiayIm4xQ/s320/DSC_2664d90bw-eriskay-pony.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> Nosey Eriskay pony</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">After
I had said hello to them all and they knew I was a friend they
gradually wandered off to graze, and occasionally popped over to say
hello.</span></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQO2SSPX0PkITdW0mWfEWRmYgQofArljOyOKWfdMuwFeHqYBuERj1shsKTJOqEM9WDu_OrqSLRsjoOwVBNvsa1uZzUFqymgKBJzDawblLWUptVKyFuT3jK_UuAJaqT3eqIP774npjJe2Ib/s1600/DSC_2824d90.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQO2SSPX0PkITdW0mWfEWRmYgQofArljOyOKWfdMuwFeHqYBuERj1shsKTJOqEM9WDu_OrqSLRsjoOwVBNvsa1uZzUFqymgKBJzDawblLWUptVKyFuT3jK_UuAJaqT3eqIP774npjJe2Ib/s320/DSC_2824d90.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> My new friend - I want to take him home !</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">The Eriskay pony society breed standard says of their temperament:</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">"Eriskay Ponies should be placid and amenable with no signs of viciousness or aggression".</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"><a href="http://www.eriskaypony.com/theeriskaypony.htm" target="_blank">Breed standard</a> </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">This is certainly how this little herd were. And it's why they made excellent all round, useful ponies back in the old days, when they did a bit of everything, and had to be relied on to be safe and sound for the children to ride.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Quote from the Eriskay pony society: </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">"Today,
Eriskay Ponies can be seen competing in all spheres of equestrianism.
Members of the Eriskay Pony Society regularly take part in activities
such as hunting, dressage, show jumping, show hunter, cross country,
pony club eventing, team games, western riding and driving. Although
they stand between 12.0 and 13.2hh they are strong for their size, have
terrific stamina and can carry a light adult with ease. They also make
excellent driving ponies, Lesley Cox from Cheshire has had tremendous
success with her tandem driving ponies, competing at FEI level and
winning regularly.</span></span> <br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Other
Eriskays make excellent family ponies, with their human friendly
characteristics coming to the fore playing football in the garden with
the kids, or working with special needs children as RDA ponies."</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://www.eriskaypony.com/" target="_blank">Eriskay pony society</a> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">From what I saw of these lovely ponies, I would definitely recommend them as a child's or family pony ( or even a small adult like me ) :-) </span></span></span></span></span></div>
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Eriskay pony in the reeds</div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> Eriskay ponies in the reeds</span></span></span></span></span></div>
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mitch mcfarlanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11808927806997888443noreply@blogger.com0