Conservation Grazing

I thought I would copy this piece to the blogger as it might be of interest. It's about two of our 'conservation grazing' ponies.

Misty and Star have been doing a really good job conservation grazing for the Devon Wildlife Trust. The ponies are visually checked daily by a DWT warden. These two little Exmoor cross mares are semi wild – they have done basic and limited handling so they can be headcollared to have any general maintenance done (using our particular methods) but so that they would not willingly come up to anyone – the trauma of ear notching means that they are much too wary of people to volunteer themselves for any kind of interaction.

In December 2008 it was time for the girls to have their six monthly check up – to have their feet trimmed and a general check over to decide if they are still OK to stay on the site. As usual for these occasions, a band of volunteers came to help drift the ponies in to be checked. The key to getting a successful outcome to these occasions is preparation! On site, the first step was to create a safe enclosure for the ponies to be drifted into. Some round pen panels make a simple mobile handling unit. The access to the site is via an old banked track which makes a perfect channel for the ponies to move along and we decided that a 5 bar gate that had been installed along this lane would be the perfect location for the enclosure as it could form one side of it. A gate of panels was set up and left open for the ponies to go into the pen but arranged so it was easy to close when the time was right. Another DWT warden was there to help with the drifting (round up) as well as the DWT “lookerer” who was hoping to get to see the ponies at much closer quarters than usual.

The drifting was quite a simple process – the route from the conservation site to the pen is walked and people are placed at vulnerable spots – places where the ponies might move in the wrong direction – this might be footpaths leading off somewhere else or large gaps in woodland. The idea isn’t to scare the ponies to keep them out of the spots – just having someone standing in a spot is enough to make them not go there. When the route is secure, part of the volunteer party enters the site and, at a distance, moves slowly but steadily behind the ponies, moving them in the right direction. Walking towards them at a distance is enough to move them forward – there is no shouting or arm waving or dramatic effects. It didn’t take long at all to drift the ponies once everything was set up – perhaps 10 or 15 minutes. The girls trotted out of the site and along the banked track. Cilla had decided to be in front of them, walking towards where they needed to go, but with her back turned so as not to be confrontational. Star and Misty followed Cilla up the track and into the pen - Cilla having by then climbed out over the 5 bar gate to stop any unsuspecting walkers who might be on their way down, and to just make sure the girls didn’t consider jumping out. This really shouldn’t happen (because everything should be calm) but in case of unforeseen circumstances, we didn’t want the girls heading off towards the road. Once the girls had passed the vulnerable spots along the access path, the people blocking routes steadily walked behind the girls at a distance just to block the way back. Everything is judged carefully so that the ponies are given time to be calm and to consider where they are but by having people blocking routes it helps the ponies make the right decisions on where to be. When everything was right, the gates for the enclosure were gently pulled across the path.

After allowing the girls a little time to settle, Paul and another volunteer went in and quietly headcollared the ponies. Misty and Star were in really good condition – well covered to go into the winter but not too fat. You’d almost think they had been brushed for the occasion. The girls had lots of burrs caught in their manes and so the handlers spent some time de-burring them, then Paul tended to their feet – only a tidy up was required. Both DWT wardens were absolutely amazed that all of this was possible. They admitted to us that they thought we would be spending all day trying to round up these ponies and they expected us to lose them in the woodland!! As they had never managed to get anywhere near the ponies and having never seen these methods in action before, they had thought that headcollaring, stroking and hoof rasping, all in a calm manner, would be impossible. They found the whole thing amazing and asked lots of questions. The “lookerer” even went in with the girls and was able to stroke them for the first time – something she never thought she would be able to do.

After all the checks, the girls were led back down to their site and released from their headcollars. All that was left was to dismantle the enclosure. That should be it for another six months; they’ll have another check in the summer.