Maizy
Well-Known Member
as title!
Countryfile -Exmoors and Kelly Marks on BBC1 now.
- Thread starter Maizy
- Start date
AMW
Well-Known Member
really enjoyed that.
Having bought unhandled foals could empathise
Having bought unhandled foals could empathise
rascal
Well-Known Member
Really enjoyed that, i had an Exmoor for 5yrs he was brilliant, sadly i need something about 3 hand bigger! Lovely character
teddyt
Well-Known Member
I didnt enjoy it. Not the kelly marks bit but the fact that the Adam bloke thinks its acceptable to breed ponies and sell them unhandled except their branding! i know he acknowledged the lack of handling but it really p1sses me off when breeders do this.
Did you see the size of the ones he sold? Goodluck to the new owners starting them off! It would be soooo much kinder and less stressful to the ponies and safer for people if they were handled from foals. Irresponsible breeding imo.
And i know kelly marks did a good job but i also hate the thought of weaning a foal and separating it into a stable away from its friends. He was going on about it being stressed, well no sh1t sherlock! I know it was all for tv but there is a better way.
Did you see the size of the ones he sold? Goodluck to the new owners starting them off! It would be soooo much kinder and less stressful to the ponies and safer for people if they were handled from foals. Irresponsible breeding imo.
And i know kelly marks did a good job but i also hate the thought of weaning a foal and separating it into a stable away from its friends. He was going on about it being stressed, well no sh1t sherlock! I know it was all for tv but there is a better way.
Tinypony
Well-Known Member
Not Kelly's fault, but it didn't really show you much did it? I would have like to know what happened in the hour she was in the stable with the foal. I'd have also like to know that the foal moved about the stable a bit, because the impression given was that it just stayed in the corner. Easy to flood a baby if it doesn't move it's feet.
Dogstar
Well-Known Member
You have a good point teddyt but Exmoors are endangered so I guess it's a good thing that he is breeding them anyway, whatever his lack of handling effort..
minesadouble
Well-Known Member
I'm with you Dogstar - I hardly think you can call this 'irresponsible breeding' when the breed is endangered.
teddyt
Well-Known Member
So what future do all these unhandled exmoors have then? How do they see the farrier for a start!
Why cant he breed them AND handle them i.e. be a responsible breeder. There is far more to breeding than just getting a foal on the ground!
By handling them he actually gives them a better chance of being less endangered, because more people would be able to take them on, ride them, show them, breed them and so on. Fewer people can manage unhandled exmoors than handled ones. Fewer still would want to keep them/be able to keep them feral in their natural environment.
So personally i do think his way of breeding is irresponsible and endangered or not, the breed (and individual ponies)would have a better future if they were given a better start.
Why cant he breed them AND handle them i.e. be a responsible breeder. There is far more to breeding than just getting a foal on the ground!
By handling them he actually gives them a better chance of being less endangered, because more people would be able to take them on, ride them, show them, breed them and so on. Fewer people can manage unhandled exmoors than handled ones. Fewer still would want to keep them/be able to keep them feral in their natural environment.
So personally i do think his way of breeding is irresponsible and endangered or not, the breed (and individual ponies)would have a better future if they were given a better start.
AmyMay
Situation normal
Had to switch over - can't bear Kelly Marks.
ISHmad
Well-Known Member
From what they said on the programme they do come in to have their feet trimmed. Confined in a crush if last nights programme was anything to go by.
A friend of ours has got three Exmoors and they are fabulous very versatile ponies. Will be interested to see what she made of the programme last night. I'd also have liked to have seen exactly what the process was with that little filly.
A friend of ours has got three Exmoors and they are fabulous very versatile ponies. Will be interested to see what she made of the programme last night. I'd also have liked to have seen exactly what the process was with that little filly.
itsme123
Well-Known Member
They wouldn't have their feet trimmed in the wild. Do you think the commoners on the forest are irrisponsible too? (recommend you google and find out how wild NF's are bred, raised and handled, and yes, sold... )
The guy admitted he felt branding wasn't right, and that they'd be microchipped in the future.
Some of the best ponies I've known are wild off the hills, sold, then handled and given one to one attention. The people who buy these ponies, believe it or not, DO actually know what they're doing. Having not been mollycoddled and faffed around with from birth is often an advantage. Thats not to say that handling from birth is wrong, just that everyone has their own ways and no one way is completely 'right'.
The guy admitted he felt branding wasn't right, and that they'd be microchipped in the future.
Some of the best ponies I've known are wild off the hills, sold, then handled and given one to one attention. The people who buy these ponies, believe it or not, DO actually know what they're doing. Having not been mollycoddled and faffed around with from birth is often an advantage. Thats not to say that handling from birth is wrong, just that everyone has their own ways and no one way is completely 'right'.
teddyt
Well-Known Member
There is a vast difference in terrain and nutrition between ponies on the moor and those kept on Adams farm- on prime cotswold grassland, with grass sown to maximise meat yield for his sheep and cattle AND supplementary feeding! Hence there will be a vast difference in growth and wear of the ponies feet kept in these 2 environments.
Im not disputing that people who buy a feral pony from the moor know what they are doing. And nor am i saying that the ponies shouldnt be reared in the traditional manner. But on Adams farm the ponies are not in their natural environment.
Bad handling is often worse than no handling. But i dont think he even owns a headcollar- the one on the filly was brand new and it didnt fit! That said quite alot to me.
Yes, of course carrying on breeding natives in their natural environment should happen. But i personally believe that if people want to breed ponies/horses and sell them as show or ridng horses (as Adam is) then even basic handling and human interaction makes their future much more secure and less stressful.
How many horse owners do you know that have a few spare hundred acres of moorland to keep these ponies in their natural environment?! So based on the environment where most of these ponies will end up who would have a better future- a handled youngster or an unhandled one? There are fewer people able to manage unhandled ponies, which narrows the market further.
He did acknowledge several things, such as the branding and that he wanted all the ponies to be more like the one mare he could walk up to. So i hope he does do more handling in future. There are thousands of ponies bred and unhandled every year in this country and look where they end up- in auctions, charities and the meat man. If a rare (or any other)breed is to be given more of a chance I strongly believe that breeders should act more responsibly for their foals futures and imo that means handling from a foal, not waiting until it is 4 and is built like a brick sh1t house!
Im not disputing that people who buy a feral pony from the moor know what they are doing. And nor am i saying that the ponies shouldnt be reared in the traditional manner. But on Adams farm the ponies are not in their natural environment.
Bad handling is often worse than no handling. But i dont think he even owns a headcollar- the one on the filly was brand new and it didnt fit! That said quite alot to me.
Yes, of course carrying on breeding natives in their natural environment should happen. But i personally believe that if people want to breed ponies/horses and sell them as show or ridng horses (as Adam is) then even basic handling and human interaction makes their future much more secure and less stressful.
How many horse owners do you know that have a few spare hundred acres of moorland to keep these ponies in their natural environment?! So based on the environment where most of these ponies will end up who would have a better future- a handled youngster or an unhandled one? There are fewer people able to manage unhandled ponies, which narrows the market further.
He did acknowledge several things, such as the branding and that he wanted all the ponies to be more like the one mare he could walk up to. So i hope he does do more handling in future. There are thousands of ponies bred and unhandled every year in this country and look where they end up- in auctions, charities and the meat man. If a rare (or any other)breed is to be given more of a chance I strongly believe that breeders should act more responsibly for their foals futures and imo that means handling from a foal, not waiting until it is 4 and is built like a brick sh1t house!