Baby’s first bathtime
At just two days old, a playful Dartmoor pony takes the plunge
COAXING a new-born into their first bath is one of parenting’s big hurdles. But this curious Dartmoor pony – just two days-old – needed no encouragement as he jumped hooffirst into a muddy brook.
In a series of delightful pictures, the adventurous chap is seen wading into the water for a refreshing drink under the watchful eye of his mother.
Although hesitant at first, it is not long before he has dropped to the riverbed for a thorough soaking on the warm afternoon.
After dipping his front legs in the muddy water, he topples nose-first into the brook.
Rolling on to his back, he then paddles playfully – albeit carefully observed by his mother and another mare – as he tosses and turns to ensure every inch of his glossy brown coat is covered.
Foals can often walk just 30 minutes after being born, happily galloping alongside their mothers within 90 minutes. But typically they would not take a bath until they are around three weeks old, with many youngsters being shocked, or even upset, by their first aquatic experience.
However, bucking the trend, this foal seemed to thoroughly enjoy his bath.
Just minutes after entering the brook he drags himself up from the cool waters to bound off through the long grass on the moor. Water dripping from his coat, he was captured prancing into the air as his mother grazes peacefully nearby.
Though clearly pleased with the results his bathing antics, the foal was left looking somewhat dishevelled after his adventure until he had dried off. The young pony is one of number of foals born in Dartmoor National Park between May and August. They spend most of the time in small herds of mares with one adult stallion on the moors.
However the animals are not are not truly wild, as they are all owned by farmers who let them out on to the commons to graze for most of the year.
Historically, all Englishmen had a right to graze on the Commons of Devon, with many people using the opportunity to graze their cattle up until the 1920s.
Archaeologists believe ponies roamed Dartmoor as far back as 3,500 years ago.
Still one of the area’s most beloved animals, they were first officially record in AD 1012, when a reference was made to the ‘wild horses’ of Ashburton. The breed reached the height of their fame in the 1920s, when Prince Edward – later Edward VIII – started to breed ponies near Princetown, a village nestled in the national park.
A century ago, there were 30,000 Dartmoor ponies roaming the moors. However, now there are just 1,500 mares left. Financial woes have also meant that hundreds of foals are being culled.
The ponies falling numbers last week prompted a local farmer to controversially suggest that the public should start eating pony meat to save them from extinction.
Charlotte Faulkner, a volunteer for the Dartmoor Hill Pony Association, said: ‘It’s the most beautiful place in the world but it won’t be here if we don’t have our ponies.
‘The whole structure of the moor depends on the way it’s grazed and managed.’ How- ever for this pony and his mother, there’s still plenty of time to enjoy the delights of the moor together.
As summer approaches, the Dartmoor ponies begin to shed their trademark thick coat to enjoy the balmy weather.
In the autumn they are herded onto farms in a process called ‘the Drift’. This gives locals time to check over their herds and decide which foals are strong enough to be weaned. Those ready to be sold are sent to pony sales, where people raise the money needed to keep their herd.
Watched by mum, the little foal rolled on to his back