| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| alkarif |
Posted - 16 Feb 2011 : 1:48:18 PM
After the previous articles about the Dartmoor Ponies being culled and shot, fed to the zoo etc. Another article is being highlighted by The Daily Mail.
This again is quite upsetting but anyone who wants to know more about it can access it on the following link.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1357329/Wild-ponies-Bodmin-Moor-dye-neglect-5-rotting-carcasses-3-weeks.html
Sadly, this is happening on our own shores with very little intervention from Welfare Agencies (their hands apparently tied???) How often do we hear this excuse - still the animals suffer.
I've very recently sat at an auction where many ponies were herded in and then auctioned. Many raised the princely sum of 1 guinea the highest priced fetched 15 guineas. All un-registered! Registrations cost more than the pony is worth. The poor creatures were then herded out to meet their fate!!!! These weren't Dartmoors!
So WHY breed year in year out when this is the result? Keep the stallions off the moors and hills, geld more of the colts that are to be kept. This responsibility is down to the owner, IF they can be identified. Prosecutions are too few and far between. IMO.
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| 19 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Kharidian |
Posted - 17 Feb 2011 : 3:19:37 PM
In order to keep the ponies living in natural herds but without breeding so many foals, surely many colts/older stallions can be vasectomised? Obviously they'd also need to be tagged to indicate they'd had the snip but they'd still have their natural herding behaviours but would "fire blanks".
I think this approach was taken for wild Brumbies when the numbers needed to be controlled?
Caryn |
| Libby Frost |
Posted - 16 Feb 2011 : 11:48:05 PM
this is very bad indeed, normally having lived beside the moors at St Breward for years and walked over them , the ponies are a bit thin come March time BUT NEVER LIKE THAT, im HORRIFIED to read that story and very saddened. We live in Bodmin now so dont get up to the moors much, the farmers just leave em to get on with it sadly. |
| NUTTER |
Posted - 16 Feb 2011 : 11:33:23 PM
We had home up till last year as Zenitha next to moor, we had cattle grid in entrance of drive as winter months you would open back door to several taking shelter in the garden and grounds ,
Have to say i rode Bodmin moor though for years from a very early age never had any trouble from them..
We were at the top end of mount, have to say i did not think there was as many now as previous years, so sad..
At sales tho it needs to be monitered also, at sales on Dartmoor year before last somebody purchased a mare and foal and brought them home in back of a van !!!
Disgusting, if people can get away with this and do this how are these animals being cared for after ???
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| Smiler |
Posted - 16 Feb 2011 : 10:18:53 PM
I'm on the forest too but don't have anything to ride so obviously missed the bit about only putting them out for one month lol ! what part of the forest are you in ? I'm beaulieu |
| Cinnypony |
Posted - 16 Feb 2011 : 9:32:19 PM
The stalions were turned out for 3 months in the Forest, as you say, until summer 2009 - when it went down to to 1 month with only a third of the number of stallions - you tend to keep tabs on when the stallions are out when you keep a tarty arab mare at a yard in the forest and you need to train for endurance 
At least the forest is heading in the right direction with responsible breeding - why can't Bodmin and Dartmoor do the same? Why can't commonsense prevail? |
| Smiler |
Posted - 16 Feb 2011 : 9:06:04 PM
yes but there are less foals around in the last few years since starting this cinnypony i think they normally turn them out june till august but may have changed it this year not sure ! |
| Cinnypony |
Posted - 16 Feb 2011 : 8:54:36 PM
In the forest the stallions were only out for June and they had a set number. I think they did the same the year before and comparatively there were much fewer foals last summer.
However I gather that some were still only making £10.50 at the sales..... |
| Smiler |
Posted - 16 Feb 2011 : 8:07:37 PM
if they are microchipped you cant tell who they belong to by site and you cant get close enough to run a scanner on them , you would need to brand them or tail mark them so you can see visible signs to reconise the owner they brand and tail mark here i know there are many more ponies on dartmoor/bodmin but something has to be done |
| Red Rum |
Posted - 16 Feb 2011 : 7:59:51 PM
This is disgusting we worry about animals in Egypt and it is happening on our own doorstep. Could the breeding stock be ear tagged like cows so that the owners could be found, or should they all have microchips.  |
| suneagle |
Posted - 16 Feb 2011 : 7:55:18 PM
when i was in cornwall we had one of these ponies called murphy he was the nicest and sweetest ponys ever, he had to be gelded and i broke him in and he was sold and doing very well pony clubbing now :) so i cant see why they cant be rounded up and sold on? they make great kids ponies |
| Geena |
Posted - 16 Feb 2011 : 7:39:28 PM
When I went to Chagford pony drift sales a few years ago they put a guinea miunimum on them, well to say the meat man went home with quite a full lorry is an understatment |
| Geena |
Posted - 16 Feb 2011 : 7:38:23 PM
When I went to Chagford pony drift sales a few years ago they put a guinea miunimum on them, well to say the meat man went home with quite a full lorry is an understatment |
| Zenitha |
Posted - 16 Feb 2011 : 7:36:26 PM
Our land is right on the edge of Bodmin Moor (eg it is seperated by a fence !) These ponies usually look very poor over the Winter, even through their thick coats. I used to put my 'waste' haylage over the fence for them, until one day I had a massive row with one of the local farmers who has grazing rights on the moor - he wasn't happy because my feeding them (only a paltry amount - I couldn't afford more )was 'attracting' them to that area, and he wanted the grazing for his sheep  What grazing ? There is NOTHING on the moor over the Winter, and very little Spring or Summer. I have no idea how ANYTHING survives on it.
Also there are countless ponies hit by cars every year - it is heartbreaking and no one seems to claim responsibility for these poor animals. They are constantly churning out foals, and although it has never happened to me, many riders claim to have been harassed / chased by stallions on the moor.
It is awful to see the poor pregnant mares over Winter, still with a foal at foot |
| alkarif |
Posted - 16 Feb 2011 : 6:52:40 PM
Some interesting view-points. I think when the Animal Rights Bill was reviewed, they didn't give enough rights to the welfare organisations. Particularly in the case of 'wild' native ponies out on moors/hills/forests or common land around the British Isles.
The particular sale I mentioned previously was a welsh pony sale at Hereford the back end of last year. But atypical of many sales up and down the country. (Happens every year). I must also say that I have in the past seen Arabian youngstock, (excess to demand), put through similar markets. Again un-registered, un-accompanied (no-one in the box with auctioneer). Not seeen this recently though! So hopefully this practice has ended with a restraint on breeding practices seen to be a more acceptable action for the persons concerned. Either that or maybe they closed down and moved on to something else!!!!!
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| Smiler |
Posted - 16 Feb 2011 : 3:57:55 PM
yes i agree Roseanne but its the only option no othe way really is there ? if they dont remove all colts over 2yrs then the breeding of surplus stock will continue , a lot of the forest stallions are kept in a huge field up the road from me they are also graded and put out in certain areas each year , i know these other ponies are moe of a problem as they are not graded or handled etc but this is the only option i can see to help them anyone else have any good ideas ? it will be mammonth task in fact the biggest task would be to get the farmers to agree  |
| Roseanne |
Posted - 16 Feb 2011 : 3:28:42 PM
How on earth do they round up all the 'wild' stallions and colts in these wide expanses? Sounds the ideal solution but it's hard to imagine them being able to, especially in woodland. |
| Smiler |
Posted - 16 Feb 2011 : 3:08:25 PM
new forset stallions are removed over the winter months now and i think spmething like this needs to be done in bodmin/dartmoor etc to reduce the numbers maybe put stallions out one every years etc and remove all colts etc the most inportant thing is to be able to idenify them on the new forest if any animal is really bad the agisters contact the owner and get the owners to take them back to there holdings to fatten up the newforest is not perfect but they are improving things all the time
i have no idea where to start people have complained about these ponies plights before but there is always an excuse why they can't emove the stallions etc etc this problem has been going on now for a couple of years |
| Callisto |
Posted - 16 Feb 2011 : 2:29:48 PM
So what would be the best way to address this - Start petitioning DEFRA to take action and force people to control the numbers of ponies being bred? Or challenge the Welfare Agencies to stop wringing their hands and get on with doing something concrete? Sometimes it is hard to believe that we live in the 21st Century, sentencing these poor ponies to such short brutal lives is positively dickensian.
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| Smiler |
Posted - 16 Feb 2011 : 2:10:04 PM
completly agree with you these ponies need to have some kind of making like the forest ponies so you can identify the owners , and it happens more than we know where ponies are sold to the meat man or shot to supply zoo's etc ,
alkarif what sale did you attend and what type of ponies/horses where these you saw ? |
