No.309 · Mammals · Common

New Forest pony

Equus ferus caballus

They wander the lawns, the heath and the village streets as if they own the place. They aren't wild: every pony belongs to a commoner, under grazing rights over 900 years old.

When to see a new Forest pony

All year, mostly at dawn, by day and at dusk.

What else is about in January

Time of day

Dawn
Day
Dusk
Night

Where to see a new Forest pony in the UK

The New Forest. Grazing the lawns by the Bolderwood sign, and everywhere else you look.

These are real places in Britain, the same ones the game uses. Check the reserve or landowner's own guidance before you go.

New Forest pony facts at a glance

Best time: All year, all day: on the short-grazed lawns and open heath. Foals in spring and early summer.
Where in the game: the New Forest (lawn, heath and stream)
Size: Up to 148 cm at the shoulder (the breed limit)
Population: About 5,000 on the Forest; the Verderers put it at just over 5,500
Status: A hardy native breed, owned by commoners. Not wild in the legal sense.

Diet

Grazes the Forest's lawns and heath, and that grazing is what keeps them open.

Habitat

The New Forest's open lawns, heath and woodland edges.

Breeding

Mares foal in spring and early summer. Stallions are turned out only briefly each year, currently May to June, under limits set by the Verderers.

Field signs

Lawns grazed short as a bowling green
A pattern clipped into the tail, showing the owner's marking fee has been paid and which Agister's area it's from
A brand on its coat: each commoner has their own

Did you know?

Commoning goes back over 900 years, to the time of William the Conqueror.
Their grazing helps rare wildflowers such as chamomile and wild gladiolus, which support the Dartford warbler and southern damselfly.
Five Agisters watch over the animals for the Verderers, and run about 40 round-ups, called drifts, between August and November.

Photo tip

Get low and use a long lens from a polite distance, and the pony fills the frame with the heath behind it. Early light on the lawns is the shot.

Be a good naturalist

Don't feed or touch them, however friendly they seem. Human food can harm them, and feeding teaches them to come to cars and people. They aren't pets.