Koniks at Lowther.

[Gloi]

Lowther Estate have just deleted a post saying they were using Koniks on their land for conservation grazing which caused rather a stink.
They used to hold the Fell Pony Stallion show there and there are herds of Fells grazing on the adjacent land and yet they bring in non native ponies when part of their remit is s conservation of native plants and animals.
I hope the Fell Society really fight them on this, there is much bad feeling about it.

 

[Dave's Mam]

It's happening on a few places.

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

Lowther Estate have just deleted a post saying they were using Koniks on their land for conservation grazing which caused rather a stink.
They used to hold the Fell Pony Stallion show there and there are herds of Fells grazing on the adjacent land and yet they bring in non native ponies when part of their remit is s conservation of native plants and animals.
I hope the Fell Society really fight them on this, there is much bad feeling about it.

They have apparently responded this morning to say that they also have 8 fell ponies, they are going to run them in 2 seperate herds and note the differences in ecology etc.
Why oh why did it take over 500 people overnight asking why they were importing rather than using a breed that has been there and adjacent for generations, before they made a response today? Beggars belief.

 

[Tiddlypom]

Has someone got a vested interest in breeding and/or importing these Koniks?

 

[Gloi]

Has someone got a vested interest in breeding and/or importing these Koniks?

Wouldn't surprise me. Always follow the money if something is suspicious. The Koniks are subsidised somewhere along the line but I can't remember who by but it involves lottery money.

 

[ester]

Why importing I thought we had spares/too many here, though some were supposed to be moving closer to a different fen and they’ve yet to appear.

It is weird that they’ve become a thing, lowther also isn’t low lying (previous argument for them) I presume?!

 

[Dave's Mam]

They have responded to Ruth on the Hoof.
Update from Lowther Estate
They replied with a lovely and detailed email explaining that they do have Koniks but have also recently acquired a foundation Fell pony herd with links to the Lowther family history who they intend to breed from (not crossing with koniks). The 8 Fell mares are in foal and they will bring a stallion in later this year.
They will graze the two herds in separate places on the Estate to see how they compare - it will certainly be interesting to observe them and see how they both get on.
Hopefully we will see more photos and information about their Fell ponies in the future

 

[Squeak]

Hopefully organisations/ estates will realise that the public prefer the native ponies to ones that are imported! It really does seem crazy to be importing ponies when we have such lovely M&M's.

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

Hopefully organisations/ estates will realise that the public prefer the native ponies to ones that are imported! It really does seem crazy to be importing ponies when we have such lovely M&M's.

Unfortunately the RSPB and also the Wildfowl and Wetland Trust took the lead on importing the foreign breeds to some of their sites without any consultation of the British native breed society's. They have experts they use, ones who have successfully used these ponies on projects in Europe. These experts have not had involvement with the British breed society's at all.
This has been raised a number of times in the last few years. Neither organisation wishes to engage in discussions, they can't see why they should consider any change.....

 

[Gloi]

Koniks in projects in Europe

Dutch rewilding experiment sparks backlash as thousands of animals starve

A scheme to rewild marshland east of Amsterdam has been savaged by an official report and sparked public protest after deer, horses and cattle died over the winter

www.theguardian.com

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

Koniks in projects in Europe

Dutch rewilding experiment sparks backlash as thousands of animals starve

A scheme to rewild marshland east of Amsterdam has been savaged by an official report and sparked public protest after deer, horses and cattle died over the winter

www.theguardian.com

I remember that, didnt stop the promoters from plugging the breed all over tho

 

[Gloi]

They have improved their image since then

‘We make nature here’: pioneering Dutch project repairs image after outcry over starving animals

Oostvaardersplassen reserve reshaped conservation in the 1980s as nature was allowed to take its course, now it is rewilding in a more managed way

www.theguardian.com

 

[Cloball]

Unfortunately the RSPB and also the Wildfowl and Wetland Trust took the lead on importing the foreign breeds to some of their sites without any consultation of the British native breed society's. They have experts they use, ones who have successfully used these ponies on projects in Europe. These experts have not had involvement with the British breed society's at all.
This has been raised a number of times in the last few years. Neither organisation wishes to engage in discussions, they can't see why they should consider any change.....

The rspb near me thankfully has a little herd of carneddau Welsh ponies, very sensible and they talk a lot about them.

 

[dominobrown]

Why importing I thought we had spares/too many here, though some were supposed to be moving closer to a different fen and they’ve yet to appear.

It is weird that they’ve become a thing, lowther also isn’t low lying (previous argument for them) I presume?!

The castle is relatively but not that low, but the estate is vast and covers a lot of fell land.
Lowther estate has been up to all sorts, including kicking out old tenant farming families etc, and changing the use of their farms. Not popular at the moment!

 

[Cloball]

Such a shame as the fell pony society are pretty keen on promoting conservation grazing for the breed. Prince phillip used to drive his Fells at lowther every year. I wonder what happens with the results of this comparision?

 

[Gloi]

There's also some lovely tracks on the estate that are set up as cyclepaths that riders are banned from.

 

[Petalpoos]

I suspect it is the result of the people who make the decisions knowing nothing about horses. They probably Google “Which breed of pony for conservation grazing?” and go with that. We have New Forest ponies grazing on one of the NT sites by me (Cissbury Ring) and Koniks at the boggy Sussex Wildlife site at Waltham.

 

[Caol Ila]

There has been some annoyance about using Koniks in the Insh Marshes near Kingussie, instead of Highlands. When pressed about it, RSBP said that Koniks come from wetland areas of Poland and are better suited to that terrain.

That might well come from marshlands, but are they really better at grazing them than native breeds? Dunno. I have always wondered if there's another reason, like someone getting some kind of ££££ to import the Koniks.

 

[HopOnTrot]

As long as they don't start importing Heck cattle!!!

 

[Cloball]

I wonder if it's biased data, if all the studies are with koniks on wetlands then of course they are going to be the 'best'.
Aren't they cute.

 

[Petalpoos]

The koniks are a very cute colour, so maybe that helps?

 

[Caol Ila]

The koniks are a very cute colour, so maybe that helps?

Plenty of mouse dun (and dun of all shades) in Highlands!

 

[Petalpoos]

Plenty of mouse dun (and dun of all shades) in Highlands!

True

 

[Dave's Mam]

They're definitely not as cute as Exmoors!