Ponies

Pony by James Adler

• Ponies have teeth at the top and bottom of their mouths and can crop ground as closely as a rabbit. They are highly selective feeders and will graze some areas flat whilst leaving others untouched. This can give some excellent structure but can also give areas of rank grasses if unmanaged.
• Ponies are a bulk feeder rather than a ruminant so have to eat for large parts of the day. They will happily take things that cattle and sheep will not. Examples are gorse, rushes and even bracken. However they are generally more grass rather than browse eaters.
• Ponies are generally not bothered by dogs. Breeding herds may be difficult to manage on publicly accessible sites due to the number of horse riders using an area.
• Ponies are easily trained to an electric fence.