Mare Having Difficulty Foaling on Gibbett Hill, Dartmoor

SWEP received a message at 10pm on the evening of the 29th from the RSPCA to say that there had been a mare having difficulty foaling on the Gibbett Hill area of Dartmoor.  Early the morning of the 30th an officer attended Gibbett Hill and checked on the condition of the ponies there.  Meanwhile, our local enquiries paid off and a local pony keeper was able to tell us that the owner of the pony had responded at 5pm the previous afternoon to a report of a mare in trouble .  The dead foal had been removed and the mare had been given antibiotics.  All the other ponies on the common were checked by our officer and were in good condition.

Early reponses are crucial to ponies with foaling problems, and for ponies needing emergency treatment.

Abandoned Ponies Bodmin Moor

A group of 3 ponies were reported to us as being abandoned.  These ponies are actually being illegally grazed on private land.  This is a very common problem that we encounter on Bodmin.  The notches on the outside of the pony's ears in the picture above indicate who owns it. 

People have witnessed farmers cutting fences and removing gates in an effort to get their animals onto private land to graze on Bodmin.  When contacted about their animals they deny ownership or refuse to move them.  This is a big problem for private land owners, particularly when the animals being grazed are in poor condition, or are ill.  Many local residents are frightened of the local farmers and fear of reprisals if they report ponies in bad condition.

Herd of 40 Abandoned Ponies on Bodmin Moor

Our officer also visited a herd of 40 "abandoned" ponies.  Again, all the adult ponies had ear notches relating to one farmer.  The private land owner has repeatedly tried to move the ponies back to where they should be living but the next day the gate to the moor is open and the ponies return to the private land.

Report of Bodmin Ponies in Poor Condition

SWEP was contacted by a family who were concerned about the condition of a group of ponies living on a common of Bodmin Moor.  On visiting the common, it was apparent that the ponies had been in poor condition but were improving because the grass quality has just started to pick up... but there were 2 big elements of concern. 

- This lame pony with very overgrown feet was found by our officer and reported to both Defra and the equivalent of a Commoner's Council on Bodmin.  After 1 week of trying to get some action for the pony, we were told by the authorities that the pony was being removed from the moor to have her feet trimmed.

- A large pile of dumped grass clippings were being feasted upon by a herd of ponies.  Members of the public who are frustrated by continually seeing ponies in poor condition throughout the winter, even when they have reported them to the authorities, feel that they have to take action themselves to help.  Although people think they can help ponies by feeding them extra food, food such as grass clippings are very dangerous for horses to eat and cause colic.  Our officer removed a quantity of the clippings and reported the case to the Bodmin Commoners' Council contact so that the owner was informed. 

Update: Our initial attempts to report the lame pony to the commoners were quite difficult.  After a week of trying to make contact, we were eventually told that the owner of the pony was out checking it on the moor twice a day...but their description did not relate to this pony.  We were then told that the pony was being removed from the moor that afternoon to have its feet trimmed.

Update: On Friday 3rd June our officer returned to this common.  We had previously been told that the grey pony in the video had been removed to have her feet trimmed but there was no sign of her on the common.  It is likely that she may have been shot.

Dartmoor Hill Pony Foal Neglect

This little Dartmoor "Hill" Pony foal has a story to tell.  She is around 9 months old and belongs to one of the most well known breeders on the moor.  As well as having been illegally earnotched, this foal's hooves give another indication of neglect.  We have been told that red rings of growth in the hooves, as can be seen on all 4 feet of this foal, indicate a period of malnutrition.  This appears to verify reports that during the autumn and winter, many farmers who had removed Hill ponies from the moor were keeping them in barns and were not feeding them.  The newer growth at the top of the hoof probably corresponds with this foal being brought back out onto the moorland.

Skeleton of Foal Discovered

One of our SWEP officers discovered a skeleton of a foal right alongside a main road.  This would have been a Hill pony foal and sadly, even though it was by a main tourist route, it was left undiscovered.  Owners of ponies and other livestock on the moor are required to be checking their animals every day.  Herds tend to keep to certain areas and have patterns as to where they roam. 

Many people don't realise that a carcass can be stripped down to a skeleton by predatory carnivores within just a few days.

Dartmoor "Hill" Pony Mare Stuck in a Leat

SWEP discovered this heavily pregnant "Hill" pony mare stuck fast in a leat in the "White Works" area of Dartmoor.  She had been there for some time and was not moving at all.  We called the fire brigade who promptly attended.  They were able to successfully rescue the stuck pony.  The mare was unharmed from her ordeal, and after a short while grazing at her recovery spot, she returned to her herd.  The photos above show her after her ordeal, with her legs coated in mud from the leat.  This is quite a remote area and she was very lucky to be discovered.

Pregnant Mare in Poor Condition

This Dartmoor "Hill" pony mare was found by SWEP in poor condition on the Princetown to Yelverton Road, near Dousland.  We reported the pony to the Commoners.  The farmer reportedly checked on the pony but decided to leave her out on the moor. She was monitored by SWEP over the following weeks and she gradually began to improve as the grass picked up, as shown in the photo below.

Branded Dartmoor Hill Pony Update - One Week On

See http://www.people4ponies.blogspot.com/ for more information

Pony Badly Injured From RTC on Bodmin Moor

A member of the public reported this injured pony alongside the Liskeard to Pensilva road.  They had found the mare the previous evening - it was standing but very reluctant to move.  Checking on the pony the next morning, the informant rang SWEP because the pony was in the same place and now had cuts and blood on its hind legs where it had tried to get up and down during the night.

SWEP contacted the Cornwall Defra office, and a vet was on scene within 20 minutes.  The pony had suffered nerve damage to one of its front legs, most likely trauma from being hit by a vehicle.  The owner was contacted, and the pony removed from the moor to be seen/treated by the owner's own vet.

Mutilated Dartmoor Hill Pony with Third Degree Burns

This Dartmoor Hill Pony has been so badly hot branded that it has untreated third degree burns.  It has also been illegally ear-notched.  This mark was intentionally made by the owner of this pony (who actually featured on BBC Countryfile about the mass slaughter of Hill Ponies).  For more about this case, visit http://www.people4ponies.blogspot.com/ or http://www.people4ponies.co.uk/

Galaxy - Dartmoor Hill Pony Foal with an Internal Deformity

This moorland, Dartmoor Hill Pony foal, named Galaxy, was donated to SWEP by a lady who rescued him by buying him from a farmer.  Galaxy was born at the end of autumn/beginning of winter so he had a challenging start to life - most foals are born in the spring or summer.  He came from the Long Ash area, which is where we have been attending callouts this winter. 

Things were looking bright for Galaxy once he arrived at the yard.  He had no external deformities apparent.  Very sadly, when the vet came to castrate Galaxy, what should have been a fairly simple operation turned into something of a nightmare - Galaxy had an internal deformity which caused serious complications during surgery.  The vet tried his best to fix the problem but it soon became apparent the the scale of the problem was beyond repair.  Galaxy was put to sleep whilst still under the anaesthetic of the operation.

Filming with BBC Countryfile

Today we were filming with BBC Countryfile on Dartmoor.  They are filming a feature about the mass slaughter of "Hill" ponies on Dartmoor.  SWEP does not support the culling of ponies and believes the true solution to the mass overbreeding is to remove ALL the stallions from the moor, something which has already been done by the responsible pony keepers.

This foal featured in the programme and we were able to make our own short video about it...