Guest 699- Registered: 3 Jun 2010
- Posts: 292
see the konik ponies are back at commbe valley / winless down, only 4 i think
be nice to have kaddy back as well !!!!!!!
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
glad to hear that ron, we lost our last two a few weeks back, taken back by wildwood trust i understand.
very popular creatures and also heavily in demand to graze wetlands.
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
seemed very settled today, hopefully they will be left alone during the school holidays.
Guest 657- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 3,037
They are so beautiful.
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
certainly are jeane nice to see the two foals growing steadily bigger.
Guest 640- Registered: 21 Apr 2007
- Posts: 7,819
Always great to see pictures like that Howard. great stuff!
Alec Sheldon
- Location: Dover
- Registered: 18 Aug 2008
- Posts: 1,037
Beautiful animals, who do they belong to ?.
Guest 651- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 5,673
Have a feeling they are from Wildwood nr Canterbury but managed by the White Cliffs Countryside Partnership
Been nice knowing you :)
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
that's my understanding, no idea how long we will have them for this time.
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
difficult to get past them today, grazing right up to the gate.
the two foals are coming along nicely now, getting bigger all the time.
Alec Sheldon- Location: Dover
- Registered: 18 Aug 2008
- Posts: 1,037
Lovely pictures Howard, are they really tame, ie can you stroke them?
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
i don't stroke them myself alec, i don't want them to be too trusting.
the one in the bottom picture followed me for about 50 yards which made me nervous as the mother might think i was trying to lure it away.
they must have got used to me though none of the adults took an interest and carried on grazing.
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
just to let people know the 6 konik ponies have been moved today from clarendon field to maxton field for the next 6 weeks.
volunteers are required to check on them, ideally someone from mount road or nearby.
anyone looking in and can spare a day or more each week is urged to ring w.c.c.p.
on 01304 241806 monday to friday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. where everything will be fully explained.
Guest 653- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,540
I had a phone call a week or so ago about the danger that the Konik ponies and the Dexter cattle, on the Heights, present to youngsters who spook them.
I wrote to WCCP asking if they could provide me with a reply to give the person who contacted me. My own view (is it wise for me to give my own view ?) is that they are a valuable asset to the well-being of the Heights.
I met with Melanie Wrigley of the WCCP on Tuesday afternoon and we had a good walkabout and chat. I'll reproduce her written reply below - it is quite long, but makes a lot of sense.
"Dear Councillor Walkden
Thank you for contacting the WCCP about the local residents concern over the Konik ponies and Dexter cattle on the Western Heights, being 'spooked' by the children and the possibility of the animals running into other people as a result. We do appreciate people's concerns.
Unusually, we have to graze two adjacent fields, at the same time, at Clarendon and Maxton field at the moment. Most years we usually only graze one of these fields at a time. However, this year there has been exceptional circumstances with excessive rain, which has lead to a mass of vegetation growth, and exacerbated by the late arrival of the Konik ponies to the Western Heights from South Foreland Valley (at St. Margaret's) because of them having foals; this has lead to a shorter grazing period. And we cannot graze these fields in winter.
Therefore, we have Konik ponies in Maxton and Clarendon fields until roughly the end of November, and Dexter cattle in Clarendon field for about 2 months, to meet the criteria of our Stewardship agreement.
Both the Konik ponies and the Dexter cattle will be moving off these fields and to other sites for the winter. The Konik ponies have been on a site were they are used to people. The Dexters are cows and calves without horns.
The WCCP will continue to clear scrub to widen out along the pathways in some places where there are potential bottlenecks. The plan is to clear far more scrub when the Heritage Lottery Funding becomes available from next winter, to help open up the whole site.
It is the lack of grazing that has led the grassland to grow bushes and trees (to scrub up). If the site isn't grazed it will become, for example, like the thicket that has developed on Plum Pudding hill opposite the Western Heights, where access is now extremely limited by thorny scrub as a result.
The children will be back to school this week. So hopefully it will reduce the probability of this behaviour happening.
However, the WCCP can offer to do the following to help improve the situation:
1. Continue an education programme, including going into local schools, to talk to the children and staff about the need for calm behaviour near the grazing animals. And why having the grazing animals on site is so important for the landscape, access, historic landscape and wildlife. There was some mention that eastern European children were seen throwing stones at the cattle. So we could liaise with the Councils Immigrants Community Officer.
2. Also, clear scrub back at pinch points, and widen areas were people and animals may meet on paths. We ideally also need more local residents volunteers to come to help with the practical work and checking the animals if possible?
3. Ask the local people to ask children not to chase or 'spook' the livestock, and if they see such antisocial behaviour on site, that local residents be encouraged to call the Police on telephone number 101 to report such behaviour and to get the dog warden out on site if appropriate.
4. The WCCP could speak directly to the dog warden and see if he can visit Maxton and Clarendon more frequently over the coming weeks if possible.
5. Ask if Community Payback Team(s) could come out and clear scrub at Maxton.
6. We have informed our volunteer lookers and wardens about the situation.
Also, I can meet you on site to discuss if that would be helpful? I'll be available next Monday after 9.30 am; Tuesday from 2pm onwards or Wednesday morning or about 4pm Wednesday.
I hope that this has given you the appropriate information to respond to the resident that rang you and allay his fears.
WCCP will continue to monitor the situation.
Thank you.
Yours sincerely
Mrs Melanie Wrigley
White Cliffs Countryside Partnership
Office telephone number: 01304 241806"
Horses and cattle have been grazing on the Heights for hundreds, probably thousands of years, so it is nothing new, but what a beautiful sight to behold and so valuable to the Heights too.
Common-sense (not so common nowadays though), would suggest that parents and perhaps grandparents would talk to their children/grandchildren about this wonderful activity and tell them to be sensible up there and definitely NOT spook the animals.
Roger
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
very thorough reply there roger and should allay doubts and fears about the ponies.
i know of only once incident of children provoking the cows or horses and have seen hardly any unaccompanied children up the heights over the school holiday.
point 5 from melanie is a good one, work needs to be done on the scrub and there are simply not enough volunteers to carry it out, not helped by the wet summer either.
Guest 653- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,540
Thanks Howard.
I didn't know that none of the oaks on the Heights are native to England - one of them is from Turkey - and they are quite prevalent.
Roger
Guest 651- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 5,673
Roger - the vast majority of the trees on the Heights are self-sown sycamore which damages the heritage but has little, if any, benefit to the wildlife.
Certain people didn't like it on the Western Heights thread but the rare chalk grassland is at threat from the undergrowth, gorse, sycamore, scrub that is taking over hence why the more that is removed the better, and why we advised CGI that suggesting screening developments with trees is definately not wanted !!
Been nice knowing you :)
Guest 653- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,540
Thanks Paul.
I think that most of these trees, sycamore or not, are probably self-sown and as you say Paul (like Melanie did too) that they add nothing to the Heights.
Roger
