Healthy herds

While there are advantages and disadvantages to any horse’s lifestyle, most people accept that natural is best. Rebecca Hamilton-Fletcher MRCVS explains what we can learn from semi-feral herds

- Rebecca Hamilton-Fletcher

BRITAIN is justifiably proud of its indigenous native ponies, who have adapted over centuries to their unique environments. Historic laws continue to allow the running of livestock (including those ponies, cattle, pigs and sheep owned by “commoners” with inherited rights) on three of our National Parks – Exmoor, Dartmoor and the New Forest.

They range freely in semi-feral herds, and are essential to the grazing management of these forest and moorland areas. They provide their owners with an age-old way of life and an active role in local conservation. The sale of foals and breeding stock can also provide an important income.

There is no question that semi-feral herd life can be tough (see box, far right), especially for very young or old individuals, and on the exposed moorlands of Exmoor and Dartmoor. However, many of the veterinary issues often seen in routine general practice are rarely encountered in these herds.

So how does their health compare with that of domesticated equines, and what can this tell us about our management and how we can improve things?

BALANCING THE SCALES

MUCH of semi-feral horses’ robustness is due to their staple diet of ad-lib sparse, poor-quality grazing, together with the daily distance travelled while foraging. These mean that fitness levels are consistent and obesity is rare.