Our Exmoor Ponies

Lunar New Year 2026 begins on 17th February, and this year's animal of the zodiac is the horse.

Horses are considered in conservation terms as ‘ecosystem engineers’; those species that shape habitats for other wildlife, creating natural solutions and increasing biodiversity.

Our East Reserves Site Manager, Mark Monk-Terry, tells us about the great work our Exmoor ponies do at our Old Lodge Nature Reserve, and why they are so important to the landscape of the site.

“Our three Exmoor ponies at Old Lodge were given to us by Adam Henson, farmer of ‘Countryfile’ fame, many years ago and are very much at home browsing the heathlands all year round. They are intelligent and adaptable animals that move around the site browsing on a variety of plant species. They regularly visit their favourite areas of grassland before moving on in search of coarse grasses, sedges, rushes and woody plants. They are extremely good at browsing Gorse and help us to stop it dominating the heathlands.

Exmoor ponies are a rare native breed and are very hardy, with a double winter coat, so need very little management. We check them most days and they always have access to water and shelter in amongst the Pine trees. They tend to stay close together as a group of siblings and avoid close contact with people. As well as browsing the grasses and Gorse, we sometimes see them digging out nettle areas or rolling on their backs, dust bathing, which helps to create bare ground for invertebrates. They also help spread fungal spores - the rare Nail fungus, so named for its shape, is occasionally found at Old Lodge, and will only be found on pony dung. So, if you see us on our knees, investigating pony poo, you now know the reason why.”