Active Dartmoor goes foal spotting

 It was brought home to me yesterday how lucky these glorious mares and foals are to have this part of the moor, and the village as well to call home. We were driving across the moor between Princetown and Ashburton to visit Adventure Clydesdale and passed several bands of very scrawny, rough coated thin ponies of all colours and sizes. Many of them had foals at foot, but quite a few looked as if they were struggling to cope with the demands of feeding them.

The mares and youngsters here seem to have an easier time of it, even though high up on the North Moor here the weather can be savage and hard to deal with. They seem to have discovered the joys of a fairly easy, quiet life in and around the village, and funnily enough the visitors do tend on the whole to be respectful of their space. There are some beauties here, these two are slightly different types but absolute crackers!

I wish something could be done to give the little ones we saw yesterday a bit more of a chance, they look as if they are having a tough time of it. So many visitors were stopping on the side of the road to take photographs, but I can't help but think they will go home with a slightly skewed idea of what a Dartmoor Pony really looks like, not much of a likeness to the emblem on the National Park signs of the iconic pony.

So far this year, we've got this little piebald colt, a really sweet skewbald filly and today a tiny bay filly who's pictures will appear soon!
These ponies are just as tough and hardy as any Dartmoor pony needs to be, they cope well with the extreme weather up here, but they're bright and smart enough to  take the easy life when it's available to them!