The ponies which transformed conservation grazing

Two decades ago two ponies were moved to a forest after foot and mouth disease meant large swathes of land were no longer being grazed by cattle.

The Exmoor ponies were moved to Kielder Forest in Northumberland as one of the first environmental projects funded by the People's Postcode Lottery.

In the last two decades the tiny project has proved a success with ponies now being used across England to graze tough grasses and conserve landscapes.

Juliet Rodgers brought the original ponies to the forest and said it had been "phenomenal" seeing the impact they had had improving the north-east of England.

She said she was a little sceptical about the project initially, but the ponies have actually thrived despite the bleakness of the area.

"I was not sure it was going to be a good place for them all year round but it has got a lot warmer in winters and the ponies seem to do very well," Rodgers said.

"It has been a great success from everybody's point of view, they get rid of a lot of the rough grass."

One of the original ponies is still at Kielder but others have been rotated between various nature reserves in the region.

Stephen Comber, flexigraze manager at Kielder and other conservation sites, said the ponies provided a slow change to sites rather than the damage to nature which machinery can cause.

"I had doubts at the start but they are great characters," he said.

"It is great when you see them in the wetlands, they come galloping towards you through and the water droplets create a rainbow behind them."

The ponies have made escape attempts when they have spotted an opportunity.

Rodgers said: "When the water in the reservoir nearby dropped a lot the ponies managed to get through the fence which did not go low enough.

"There was an outward bounds course going on in Kielder Forest nearby and the ponies scared some boys who thought they were bears."

The animals have not only benefited the environment but the people who come to see them, Rodgers said.

"People take pictures of them and the lovely thing is they are really good for your mental health as they are such calm creatures," she said.

"Walking out to them over the viaduct near Kielder gets you out in nature and now you can see the ospreys there too."

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