WESTBURY & District U3A were delighted to welcome Ann Sevier who lives and farms in the New Forest.
Ann’s family were Flemish weavers who came to this country in 1650. They married into local families and became commoners of the New Forest.
The New Forest is now a national park and to the surprise of many people is not covered in trees. It has the largest area of lowland heathland and bog in Europe and is a SSI containing many rare species of insects and flowers which have been there since the ice age. It is the ponies and cattle which maintain the forest and allow for the variety of flora and fauna.
Ann explained that the ponies are out in the forest all year, with the young ponies growing a much thicker coat to cope with the cold winter weather. The worst weather for them is cold, wet rain, they prefer the dry and cold and are not unhappy in temperatures as low as minus twelve degrees.
New Forest ponies are a rare breed and because of the economic situation, not so many are bred at present. The ponies are ideal for children to ride and most are sold for this purpose. Visitors find them fascinating but the commoners ask them not to feed the ponies. If they are fed regularly they can turn and bite if no food is forthcoming and then will then have to be put down because they cannot be sold for riding.
Ann explained that gorse is an important food for the ponies because they can eat the soft tips all year round which is why it is burned in March when the shrub is dry, but the ground and roots still wet, so that it reshoots quickly. As summer progresses, ponies are often found in the valleys and under railway arches in order to catch the breeze.
Visitors will notice that cattle are also farmed. These are brought in during the autumn so that they do not eat the acorns which are poisonous or crab apples which make them ill. They then go back out in spring. Pigs are then let out in the autumn to eat the acorns.
Ponies are rounded up during August and September and Ann told some amusing stories of how difficult this can be. The ponies are counted and sorted out. They are then either hot branded, which does not burn the skin, just the hair, which then regrows much thicker, or micro-chipped. New Forest ponies are either sold privately or in sales, with many going abroad. At present there are some 3,500 New Forest ponies in the forest. Ann answered many questions over the tea and coffee which followed.
Our next meeting is on 10th November at 2pm in the URC Church Hall.
We were reminded that the new Pilates group meets on Wednesday afternoons 2 -3pm in the URC Church Hall. It is designed for the older age group and the tutor is also a registered osteopath.
