When They're Gone, They're Gone

One of the barriers to successful life off the moors that Exmoor pony foals face is that many people (even experienced horse people) are not equipped with the skills to humanely and sensitively create a suitable environment/facility or carry out the initial socialisation/taming of semi-feral ponies.

This can lead to misunderstanding, fear and reactive use of containment/force/coercion, which can cause deep-rooted wariness and defensiveness in the ponies.

Too often, the youngsters are then left running in fields or otherwise unhandled, maturing to be defensive, feisty, fearful and resistant to human contact. This can exacerbate fearful and aggressive reactions in the 'handlers' and cause Exmoor ponies, at 3 or 4 years of age to be routed to unscrupulous people, dealers or slaughter, or foisted on charities.

It's no good skirting around the issues - how can we help Exmoor pony foals make a successful, humane and satisfactory transition from the moor to other opportunities - without compromise to their welfare and wellbeing?

This question needs answering and solving.

I wrote Wild Pony Whispering to endeavour to help people understand more about the behaviours, psychology and human, trust-based methods of socialisation and handling that help the ponies make a successful transition from their semi-feral start in life. The book has had three reprints and topped equestrian and animal best-seller lists. The following year I wrote Wild Stallion Whispering to help people understand more about training older Exmoor ponies through the story of our moorbred stallion, and after that Wild Herd Whispering which conveys more real-life Exmoor pony stories and insights into herd connection and dynamics. All have sold successfully. But let's face it, they are still a drop in the ocean with regard to getting the message out there to help Exmoor ponies and how they're treated.

This year, we've seen a depressing apathy return to the breed with regard to trying to find homes for foals, and also older ponies and stallions. Routing ponies to slaughter, particularly when in foal, simply because they may be difficult to rehome - is inexcusable.

The Exmoor pony genome project is unfortunately floundering.

There's been no audit into the Exmoor pony registration system that causes such long delays, or failure, to properly register Exmoor ponies.

There is still no progress in establishing a suitable upgrading system to embrace the perfectly good purebred Exmoor ponies languishing outside of recognition, status and the dangerously small breeding gene pool - due to a ridiculously and stubbornly closed stud book.

Apathy, frustration and indifference permeates various of the younger generation of Exmoor pony herd owners with regard to finding good opportunities for foals bred, or actively socialising and taming foals in preparation for life off the moors.

The Exmoor pony breed is critically endangered and we humans are letting them down. And this is happening on our watch.
No blaming previous generations.
The buck stops with us.

Take a look at the pedigree foal registration numbers for 2019. RIP foals who didn't even get put forward for registration - or who didn't even get to be born due to their dams being sent for slaughter, in foal.

It's time that all of us involved in the Exmoor pony breed dealt with the rot in the system, kicked into touch the nasty bunch of bullying 'enthusiasts' who taint the breed's image and repulse so many from being involved in the ponies - and get a grip on what's happening.

Because if we don't, we risk losing perfectly good Exmoor ponies and herds, not just on Exmoor but across the UK and overseas too.

By now, we should have:
- sorted out the incompetent registration and DNA verification delays ;
- have an exciting Exmoor Pony Genome Project progressing - and it is not;
- have a system for upgrading excluded purebreds to the stud book;
- dealt with the bullying, discrimination and cronyism within the breed society;
- vastly improved methods for transitioning semi-feral foals from the moor;
- established an effective promotion and marketing programme for the moorland ponies of Exmoor, and beyond;
- be running a highly successful and profitable annual Exmoor Pony Festival that is inclusive and embracing to all;
- pulled our bloody socks up with breed management.

Instead the situation is regressing.

Who to contact:
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)
Exmoor-Nationalpark
Rare Breeds Survival Trust

It needs sorting out.
Because when they are gone, Exmoor ponies are gone.

*Critically endangered: Exmoor ponies are on the Rare Breeds Survival Trust's Endangered Watch List as 'Endangered' which means 300-500 breeding mares. However, when you consider the number of actively breeding semi-feral mares living in the free-living herds of their indigenous natural moorland environment of Exmoor National Park, they are questionably and unfortunately 'critically endangered' (300 or less active breeding mares)?