|
|
Each Autumn a new crop of foals descend upon Mitchelcombe Farm. We do not take any of the foals to the pony markets, they are all kept on farm where they begin careful training in preparation for sale.
The ponies are drifted in off the commons during October and this is when the foals are weaned from their mothers. After a couple of weeks we begin training the foals and usually by late November we have a selection of handled foals for sale. Each year we send out as many foals as possible to carefully chosen foster homes for the winter months, which forms an invaluable part of their education. They normally go to their foster home in pairs where they benefit greatly from one to one handling, a daily routine, being handled by a variety of people including children and from experiencing different environments. If you think you could help by being a foal foster carer then please contact us for further details and an informal chat If you are interested in seeing for yourself how we halter break and train the foals from wild, then please contact us. We run popular courses each Autumn, the training methods we use are invaluable skills to use with any horse or pony, wild or tame. We are happy to report that for a second season Kingston Mauward College in Dorset took two of our breeding mares on loan at the rare breed section of their animal park. The mares were there for educational purposes, to educate visitors about the plight of the Dartmoor pony and the valuable work that is being done to preserve semi-feral Dartmoor ponies. Both mares foaled at the college and the two foals were of course quite a visitor attraction. Over the summer they have been getting used to lots of people and showing off the wonderful temperament of the Dartmoor breed. |
