Yesterday evening we attended The Dartmoor Society research lecture in Bovey Tracey. Robyn Petrie-Ritchie, a scientist and farmer on Dartmoor, presented the results of her recent Masters Degree research into pony management on the moor.
The research was born out of the current situation on Dartmoor - where every year there is a massive number of unwanted ponies with at least 600 foals being born and destroyed every year. The research focussed on two separate areas - on the opinions and ideas of the farmers/breeders that owned ponies on Dartmoor; and the behavioural observations of ponies in particular management situations on the moor.
51 pony owners on the moor were interviewed for the research. The results showed that 92% want a change in the way the ponies are managed on the moor. 69% want the stallions to be removed from Dartmoor and a further 10% were unsure of what to do. A few breeders suggested that there should be a clear period for ponies on the moor just as there is for cows and sheep - where all ponies would have to be removed between certain dates. This would allow for management such as worming to take place and to make sure that all animals had been removed.
In 2011, the Dartmoor Commoners' Council conducted their own survey into pony management on the commons. The result of this showed 76% were in favour of stallion removal and 23% were not in favour. No actions were taken from this research in terms of changing management.
The new research revealed that there is no known figure of exactly how many ponies are on Dartmoor. There are 150 registered stallions and there is an estimated number of 1200 ponies altogether. Some owners do not seem to know how many ponies they own/have out on the commons and the list of pony owners held by the Commoners' Council appears to be out of date.
The behavioural research looked at 3 groups of ponies - the first was a herd of mares with a vasectomised stallion, the second was a herd of mares with no stallion, and the third was a group of mares on the contraceptive drug Improvac who were running with a proven stallion. The first group had far fewer foals, some foals were born because the owner had intentionally covered some mares inground (off the moor) with their own stallion. The vasectomised stallion did maintain his body condition and the herd displayed normal behaviours.
The mares living without a stallion maintained their lears, proving that a stallion is not needed to keep the mares in certain areas. There were unwanted foals born to the mares because they were covered by other people's stallions.
The contraception scheme mares didn't stay as tightly grouped together as the other herd groups. They were on a large enclosed area rather than the open moor so it is difficult to determine whether it is an effect from the drug or not.
The drug Improvac is being trialled on the wild ponies as a contraceptive and is not licensed for use in equines. The drug company that produces it states that it is not likely to be licensed for equines in the near future. The ponies on the drug need to be injected, then again 4 weeks later, again in another 6 months and then booster jabs would be required. If the 6 month jab is missed the mare comes heavily into season and then would become pregnant if covered by a stallion. The long term effects of the drug are still unknown. Another research study conducted into horses on the drug Improvac tested 9 horses - one which stayed in oestrus meaning that the mare was constantly in season, posing potential welfare issues.
Analysing the possible management methods and the behavioural results, each come with benefits and disadvantages, but the research results supported the idea that there should be a "No breeding on the open commons" policy.
There were questions after the talk...the cost implications of vasectomisation vs contraception were asked about. The operation for the vasectomy costs approximately £250 and this had previously been met by the Dartmoor Pony Heritage Trust who paid the majority of the sum with the owners only having to pay £50 VAT. The DPHT have now pledged that they would fund (I believe in full?) the cost of vasectomising colts/stallions to help things move forward. Charlotte Faulkner, who was at the meeting, was asked to give a cost for the contraceptive but no response was given.
It was asked why the Commoner's Council currently allow each pony keeper to keep a maximum of 5 stallions each out on the moors. Mary Alford, the Vice Chairman of the Commoners' Council, responded to this question and made it clear that it would be a tragedy if the stallions were removed from Dartmoor. She stated that some pony keepers have up to 5 different lears and this is why pony keepers are allowed a maximum of 5 stallions each.
Another statement was made that a lot of pony keepers on Dartmoor put no time to their ponies at all and if you keep livestock of any kind you need to expect to put time into your animals.
It was a very informative evening and a well attended lecture...it was good to see that the pony keepers desperately want change. We will now have to see whether the Commoner's Council committee listen to the research results and the requests of the pony keepers to take action...
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