Peat bog saved by hungry ponies

Exmoor ponies are used on many conservation sites very successfully

A herd of rare ponies are moving to a Cumbrian nature reserve, in an effort to protect a fragile peat bog.

The six Exmoor ponies will stay at Cumbria Wildlife Trust's Drumburgh Moss national nature reserve, near Carlisle.

The peat bog is one of the last remaining on the Solway Plain and needs constant work to preserve its native plant species.

The ponies were arriving on Tuesday to eat their way through unwanted scrub on the site for the next four years.

Belinda Lloyd, northern reserves officer for Cumbria Wildlife Trust, said: "Grazing of invading moss is essential to prevent invasive species from dominating and drying out this important wetland habitat.

Native ponies

"The ponies will also add to the experience of visiting this special site and I hope they greatly enjoy their new home."

Exmoors are an endangered breed and one of our oldest native ponies and their ancestry goes back to the original British hill pony.

They are particularly suited to open and wet ground that would be difficult for other grazing animals to live on.

Juliet Rogers, from the Moorland Mousie Trust, who has supplied the ponies added: "Sadly, despite their versatility and their rarity value, Exmoor ponies are not given the recognition they deserve.

"They are strong, hardy ponies, relatively easy to manage, once tamed, and have an added bonus in that they are excellent grazers - a fact that is now recognised, as they are used on many conservation sites very successfully."