WOW, what a week!

All the ponies came off Ashwayside and Varlehill well, but a very welcome conversation with the local game keeper highlighted a small group who had evaded capture and a team of ridden ponies and quads were dispatched to retrieve them.

Winsford hill clearance was made easier by great weather conditions, good radio signal and visibility helped enormously and after two ‘break backs’ on the Trig point the ponies moved forward past Folly and onto Draydan Knapp easily .

The well trodden paths followed by generations of the ponies back to the farm were followed in time honoured tradition.

The car followers ensured the safe passage of the herd past the cattle grid at Mounsey Hill Gate onto South Hill before moving off the hill onto the farm with a lot of galloping and kicking of heels with delight as their hooves felt the green turf of the meadows.

The photographers were hiding in the old hedge line and captured some super images.

Back in the paddocks the ponies were left to settle before sorting of the mares and foals and health checks began.

Six foals came in 3 colts and 3 fillies and one pony for re-inspection.

The ponies that will be covered in 2015 remained inground while the other mares’ hooves and condition were looked at prior to returning to the hill.

Only one old mare was too poor to turnout and we said farewell to her as she would have suffered over the winter and a lame pony had vet treatment on her fetlock and will remain on the farm till she is sound.

The ponies then decided to break out of the holding field and scale a bank and a couple of fences just to challenge us,which caused a long delay while fences had to be repaired and the escape artists recaptured! Luckily the ponies were fine but the boundaries were tested!

An internal gate then gave way as several ponies enjoyed a good itch against it ;and a group of mares who needed microchipping following their arrival from Scotland to join the reintroduction of lost bloodlines to the moor, got mixed up with the broodmares and foals- another delay while they were sorted out.

Our inspectors from the Exmoor Pony Society passed all the foals, the fillies have all been retained for replacement stock and two specially selected colts were kept. All were branded with their individual identity number and herd symbol for entry into the stud book and hair samples taken for DNA analysis.

Our new ponies were microchipped for ease of management and introduced to the herd.
The Stallions were very interested with the mares about but will have to wait till spring to meet them to ensure no late foals next year.

We now have Anchor JaffaCake, Jaguar, Jabberwocky, Jacquard, Joyous and Jampuff .

Two foals will be handled for the Exmoor foal show later in the year.An older but fabulous quality mare has been kept inground again to be handled in the hope she will be shown in-hand next summer with a foal at foot.

A late lunch was then served back at home for all our fantastic team of helpers .

The tradition of presenting ‘HERD STICKS’ to individuals who have supported and helped the herd over the years awarded two new sticks in 2014-firstly to Ruth Charles who has visited, photographed, helped, shown and gathered now for several years and a younger member of our ‘Anchor Herd Family’ Sam Harris was presented with stick number 11 for being our eyes and ears on the moor all year round and again helping gather annually with her mother being actively involved as well.

Thank you everyone especially Andrew Hagley for helping us with the Anchor herd, they are a very special part of our family tradition.

Looking forward to the spring already .