Ponies put to work at famed reserve
THE flora and fauna of a renowned nature reserve is about to be given a huge helping hand with the arrival of six Dartmoor ponies.
The RSPB has teamed up with the Dartmoor Pony Heritage Trust (DPHT), which has arranged for the ponies to be relocated to the charity’s headquarters in Bedfordshire where they will help to restore the nature reserve through their natural grazing habits.
Dartmoor ponies are prized for their hardiness, even temperament, and ability to eat plants that other ponies and horses might baulk at. Their habit of browsing vegetation and trampling it as they go helps prevent plant life taking over heathland and creates a range of different habitats for invertebrates, making it an even more attractive home for everything from bugs to birds.
Importantly, Dartmoor ponies tend to create ‘latrines’ in the same area that attract a whole host of invertebrates and insects, which are, in turn, food for reptiles and birds.
The ponies’ arrival at the RSPB’s headquarters, The Lodge nature reserve, coincides with the DPHT’s 16th birthday.
Dru Butterfield, co-founder of DPHT, said: “Visitors will be able to see these beautiful ponies doing what they do best, creating fantastic habitats for wildlife, as they do all over Dartmoor. I can think of no better way to celebrate our work in securing the long-term future of the Dartmoor pony than sending ponies to the heart of the RSPB.”
The ponies, named Kevin, Podkin, Pook, Barramoor Tom, Black Magic and Wistman’s Winter Jasmine, were supplied by Dartmoor farmer Paul Pearse and his wife Vicky.
Mr Pearse said: “To help secure the future of the Dartmoor pony it’s essential that we find them a use. We know they make superb riding and driving ponies but, as farmers, to see them in their natural habitat always pleases me most.”
This is not the first time that the RSPB has called on Dartmoor ponies for their services – in Labrador Bay in Devon, they have helped the redlisted cirl bunting population increase from three pairs to 30.
Alan Kell, warden at The Lodge, said: “We are so excited to be welcoming Dartmoor ponies to The Lodge. Before their arrival we used mowers and diggers to mimic what ponies do naturally, so asking the Dartmoor Pony Heritage Trust for help in recruiting some new team members made a lot of sense. They’re settling in nicely, and I can’t wait to see how they reinvigorate the reserve.
“We’d like to say a big thank you to the Dartmoor Pony Heritage Trust for all their work in making this happen, especially after the coronavirus pandemic meant the planning has now spanned two years.”
The Dartmoor Pony is on the Rare Breeds Survival Trust’s endangered list. The ponies will stay at The Lodge for the next three to four months.