Active Dartmoor meets the new foal.

First Belstone foal of 2014

Its always so exciting when the first foal of the year enters the world in Belstone, pretty much the whole village will know about it and wander out to take a look. This little piebald beauty was born several days ago but his mum rushed him off to some secret location, only returning yesterday with the rest of the herd.

I'm really happy that the little bay filly who was born last August will soon have a playmate, this new baby is strong and playful already. The thing I am surprised about is his colouring, he's out of this lovely Alford mare, so I'm looking forward to finding out if they actually bred her to a black and white stallion or if there's a wild chap out on the moor creating havoc!

Herd member comes in close for a look and a sniff.

 The other mares always take a great interest in the new baby, two seconds after I took this picture the foal's mum came roaring in to chastize this light bay mare for getting just a little bit too close.

 It's sometimes hard to tell with these girls, but quite a lot of them look as if they are at various stages of pregnancy. I say hard to tell, because they always look healthy, happy and in really great condition. More than can be said for some of the poor wretches I've seen in photos over the last few days on other areas of the moor. It's worrying, because if a mare is skinny and struggling to feed her foal at this time of year when the grass is growing so well, there is definitely something amiss. A visitor told me yesterday that they had been over at Sheepstor and come across a small group of ponies in shocking condition, ribs and backbones clearly visible.

 Let's all hope that one day all the ponies on the moor are as well cared for, and as well catered for in terms of quality of grazing land in their areas, as these ponies. Those of us who live in Belstone and the hundreds of visitors who visit the village for walks each year find enormous pleasure in these beautiful, sweet tempered and gentle iconic Dartmoor Ponies.