Native Pony Sites

Connemara

Dales

Dartmoor

Exmoor

Fell

Highland

New Forest

Shetland

Welsh

The Moorland Mousie Tust

In 1929 a book, primarily for children was first published. The book Moorland Mousie tells a series of short stories during the life of an Exmoor pony, from his birth within a herd on Exmoor, to his working life as a domesticated pony. These wonderful tales are still remembered with affection and the book became a great ambassador for the Exmoor pony thus helping to ensure its popularity for some time.

The Exmoor pony has roamed freely for as long as anyone can remember. Their ancestry goes back thousands of years. Recent studies have suggested that they may well be directly descended from the original British wild horse, their breeding unhindered by man, their unique qualities still clearly visible.

Since then, their numbers have depleted for several reasons. The arrival of the combustion engine meant that farmers no longer needed to rely on the ponies to look after their land and take them to market. Their children would start to look at other, more fashionable breeds for their pleasure riding and the final catastrophe came during the Second World War when many ponies mysteriously disappeared, it is believed, to supply the depleted meat market. Their numbers dwindled to 50 and it is thanks to the dedication of the hill farmers that over the years the numbers steadily grew and the worldwide population is now over 1,000.

Sadly, despite their versatility and their rarity value, the Exmoor ponies are not given the recognition they deserve. They are strong, hardy ponies, relatively easy to manage once tamed and have an added bonus in that they are excellent grazers. Ponies are being used nationally for their grazing abilities on SSSI sites and Nature reserves.

The Exmoor Pony has, in its time been a packhorse, a family friend, a farmer’s workhorse and a reliable mode of transport - the original off-roader! It is an unsung national treasure. It has survived an Ice age, but has now become victim to a modern age of tractors, equine fashion trends, and four-wheel drives. For the welfare of the breed we need to train ponies and people to find them a new vocation for a new millennium.

And so, some seventy years on from the Moorland Mousie books, The Moorland Mousie Trust has been formed. We have been a registered Charity since March 2000. The Trust aims to redress the current status problem facing the Exmoor pony. We hope that by education and positive reinforcement we can promote the Exmoor as the ideal family pony, both nationally and internationally.

email: moorland.mousie.trust@ntlworld.com

Newsletter

Gift Aid Form

Horse Loan/Rescue

Contact any of the following Charity rescue centres if you would like to have a horse or pony on loan. All sizes, shapes and ages available, some suitable for a variety of disciplines - others companions only. Donations to help run these very worthy causes are welcomed by them all- please help if you can.

Bransby Home of Rest for Horses 01427 788464 Bransby

Horses & Ponies Protection Association 01282 455992 HAPPA

Redwings 01508 481008 Redwings

Remus Memorial Horse Sanctury 01277 356191 Remus Sanctuary

The British Horse Society 08701 202244 British Horse Society

The Brooke Hospital 02079 300210Brooke Animal Hospital

The Home of Rest for Horses 01494 488464Home of Rest

The International league for the Protection of Horses & Ponies 01953 498682 IlPH

The Thoroughbred Rehabilitation Centre 01995 605007TRC

Beware

Stolen

Please take a look at www.equine-world.co.uk and Horse & Owner Reunited

Small Animal Rescue

Nettie Trigg runs a Rescue Home in Felixstowe for Rabbits, Guinea Pigs, Gerbils, Hamsters, Mice, Rats & Hedgehogs.

She has lots all colours wanting a new home.

Can YOU give a home to one or two of them? If so give Nettie a ring on 01394 671735

She would also be pleased to receive bales of straw/hay, bin liners, newspapers and any Bric-a-Brac for table top stalls

or a donation to help feed all her little inmates!!

Local web site BHS

BHS Eastern Events / Training Days

Local BHS Approved Riding Establishments

Hawkins Farm Riding Stables, Mendlesham Green, Stowmarket IP14 5RB   01449 766264

Newton Hall Equitation Centre, Swilland, Ipswich IP6 9LT   01473 785616 office@nhec.co.uk   NHEC

Poplar Park Equestrian Training Centre, Heath Road, Hollesley, Woodbridge IP12 3NA   01394 411023

Valley Farm Riding & Driving Centre, Wickham Market, Woodbridge IP13 0ND   01728 746916 sarah@valleyfarmonline.co.uk   Valley Farm

BHS Riding & Road Safety

Riding & road safety training and tests may be taken at BHS riding centres. They can also be held at suitable livery yards, minimum of 8 persons.

For dates of tests contact the riding centres direct.

or Mrs S Green BHS Road Safety Officer on 01394 411251 for further details & names of trainers.

A member of the international Riding for the Disabled Association, whose President is HRH The Princess Royal, the Hollesley Group was founded in 1985, based at Poplar Park Equestrian Centre at Hollesley, near Woodbridge. In those early days, the Group organised riding and carriage driving sessions on Mondays and Fridays for adults with physical and/or mental disabilities, and an informal hour for three children on Sunday mornings. The rapidly increasing number of requests received from adults and children to participate in our activities led to the decision to set up our own dedicated centre and, in 1993, we leased fields and redundant agricultural buildings at our current location, Pettistree Hall Farm, Sutton, Woodbridge.

A band of volunteers from the Group, with much valued assistance from local individuals and companies, inmates from HMP & YOI Hollesley Bay, and people on community service schemes, undertook extensive renovation work at the Sutton site involving initial cleaning, plumbing, drain clearing, fencing, painting, stable building and re-roofing. During this work period, friends in Boyton kindly accommodated our animals and we were delighted when we were able to take our horses and ponies to their new home at Sutton. We were eventually able to construct our own indoor riding school, thanks to grants from the National Lottery and other charities and trusts, and we undertook our own major fundraising programme to contribute to this essential asset, which means that we can continue with riding sessions during bad weather.

Since that time, our activities have greatly expanded. We now run six riding and carriage driving sessions for adults during the week and a Saturday morning riding session for 18 children. Adults come to us from resource units in Ipswich, Woodbridge, Felixstowe, Saxmundham and Stowmarket and the children are directly referred to us by their doctors or physiotherapists. It is widely recognised in the medical profession that riding and carriage driving provide valuable therapeutic exercise for disabled people, as well as giving them the opportunity to develop their social skills.

Although a member of the Riding for the Disabled Association, our Group is totally self-supporting and has to raise funds to meet all running costs (buildings maintenance, rent, insurance, water, electricity, farrier and veterinary expenses, tack repairs, animal feed, etc.). We carry out the regular maintenance work at the Centre and are fortunate in having regular help from Hollesley Bay inmates. Fundraising is an essential ongoing concern and we organise various events to provide income. We are immensely grateful to other charities and trusts, local individuals, organisations and companies for their support, without which we would be unable to continue to provide activities for the many disabled people who attend the Centre, deriving so much enjoyment and benefit from their visits.

Two ongoing fundraising activities are the Group’s 100 Club and the Sponsor a Pony Scheme. Participants in the 100 Club pay £12 a year for a number which is entered in the monthly draw; the size of prizes depends on the number of participants. There are no overheads (apart from an annual licence fee of £17.50 paid to Suffolk Coastal District Council), with 50% of the remaining income allocated to prizes and 50% going directly to the Group. Members of the Support a Pony Scheme make a donation of £10 a year (for individuals) or £20 a year (for companies) and in return receive a photograph of the pony they sponsor together with a newsletter with details of the pony’s wellbeing and activities.

Riding and carriage driving sessions cannot function efficiently and safely without a sufficient number of able-bodied helpers and we are always glad to hear from anyone with a couple of hours to spare who might be interested in attending these sessions. No "horse knowledge" is necessary as we instruct all helpers - just patience, good humour, warm clothes and stout footwear! Anyone interested may contact the Group Chairman, Shirley Green, on 01394 411251, or the Group Secretary, Rosemary Hepburn Clarke, on 01394 411490.

IPSWICH HORSE SOCIETY

Details from Margaret Walton 01449 711427 or Anne Johnson 01449 613923

Next ride is on 8th June 2008 at Winston Hall

IHS rideJune08.doc

Click here for a copy.

Next show is on 26th July 2008 at Trinity Park

Bridleways & Quiet Lanes

Link to Bridleways & Quite Lanes

Mid Suffolk Bridleways Association

For details of this local group please contact Ann Langley 01728 685402

East Anglian Farm Rides

NEW The Suffolk Project details from Gerda Warner

Link to East Anglian Farm Rides Essex

Or details from Nigel Dyson

Camino Riders

Details from Elizabeth Barrett

Anglian Distance Riders

Link to Anglian Distance Riders