Fell Ponies and the Identity Theme of the LDNP World Heritage Site

The Lake District National Park (LDNP) in Cumbria, England was named a World Heritage Site in 2017. Fell Ponies have roamed the Lake District and adjacent areas for centuries, so the World Heritage Site designation provides an opportunity to bring attention to our breed.

Ennerdale Water and surrounding fells in the Lake District

In the press coverage at the time of the designation, the World Heritage Site was said to have three themes that “…underpinned the bid for World Heritage Site status, recognising the Lake District National Park as a cultural landscape of international significance. These include world ranking examples of identity - the dramatic farmed landscape; inspiration - art, literature and love of the place. This in turn sparked the birth of conservation - people fought and invested to look after this special corner of England.” (1) I have previously written about the inspiration theme as they relate to Fell Ponies (click here for more information on the Inspiration theme..).

The Identity theme is summarized above as being about ‘the dramatic farmed landscape.’ However, in another part of the same blog post, the theme has a broader definition: “The acknowledged beauty of the Lake District is the result of thousands of years of industry and agricultural development of the spectacular natural landscape of mountains, valleys, lakes and woodland.” (2) The inclusion of the industrial history of the region is especially important for Fell Ponies.

The Nomination Dossier is a set of documents on the LDNP website that made the case for World Heritage Site status. A group of 25 organizations called The Partnership compiled the dossier, including The Partnership Plan, which is the management plan both for the park and the World Heritage Site through 2020. The dossier has four volumes and hundreds of pages. So far, I have only found the Fell Pony mentioned once, in an appendix. By contrast, the Herdwick Sheep breed is mentioned hundreds of times, no doubt because the breed organization was involved in the Partnership.

Nonetheless, the LDNP has told the Fell Pony Society that they are open to working to integrate our breed into the management of the park and its World Heritage Site status. The Identity theme is an important entry point for that integration. Throughout the Partnership Plan the identity theme is referenced via the interplay between the landscape, farming, and industry. For instance, “Farming, past industry and how communities have adapted to live and work in the Lake District have helped to shape this cultural landscape.” (3)

Stanegarth Clapper Bridge with High Street in the distance.

The Fell Pony and its ancestors played multiple roles in farming’s history in the Lake District. As David Anthony Murray summarized in his first report on the Fell Pony, “Recognised since Roman times as a pony type indigenous to Britain, we owe the Fell pony much. It pulled Saxon ploughs, shepherded Norman flocks and helped drove cattle across the Lake District.” (4) Fell Ponies more recently were used in the region as milk cart ponies (click here for more information) and to take farm goods to market. But ponies also grazed the uplands like the sheep and cattle of the region, so they have also contributed directly to the landscape known today, despite being left out of this description: “This landscape is an unrivalled example of a northern European upland agro-pastoral system based on the rearing of cattle and native breeds of sheep, shaped and adapted for over 1,000 years to its spectacular mountain environment. This land use continues today in the face of social, economic and environmental pressures.” (5)

Belted Galloway cattle near Haweswater

Because farming persists to the present, its place in the Lake District is well known. The presence of industry, however, especially mining, isn’t as well recognized. The Appendix summarizes, “Significant mining of metal ores in the Lake District took place from at least as early as 1000 AD and was developed on a truly industrial scale from the Elizabethan period following the establishment of the Mines Royal. Mining continued to develop from the 18th century and reached a peak in the later 19th and early 20th centuries followed by a decline which saw the last mineral mine close in 1990. Slate quarrying also took place on a small scale from the medieval period and developed as a major local industry from the 18th century. Although it too has declined, several slate quarries are still active in the Lake District.” (6) More specifically, “industrial scale mining for ores of iron, copper, lead and for graphite began during the medieval period.” (7)

Of course, prior to the introduction of engines, the local native ponies provided the ‘horsepower’ for the region’s economy, especially before roads were improved and pack horse routes were how goods of the region got to larger markets in other parts of the country. Pack pony loads included not only slate and metal ore but also fleece, fish, and more. (8) It is unlikely that any facet of the Lake District’s economy or history were untouched by the Fell Pony and its ancestors. David Anthony Murray continues, “[The Fell Pony] was, until 1900, Britain’s pack animal. More recently it pulled recreational traps, worked Cumbria’s farms and the Pennine lead mines and hauled coal and milk. Even 50 years ago, it delivered the Lake District’s post.” (9) (While pit mining using ponies may not have occurred in the Lake District proper, ponies reared on the Lake District fells certainly were ‘exported’ to other counties for use below ground (click here for more information).)

The Partnership’s Plan briefly acknowledges pack horse routes and bridges: “Many of the early packhorse routes survive in the English Lake District fells. In many cases they cross rivers and becks on carefully constructed, single span stone bridges known as packhorse bridges, which add greatly to the picturesque qualities of the landscape. These are largely undated but are likely to have been constructed in the 17th and 18th centuries, replacing earlier, medieval structures.” (10)

Walna Scar Packhorse Bridge (with added modern (ugly!) railings) courtesy Louise Thompson

In 2011, Louise Thompson of Lakeland Pack Ponies shared a very succinct summary of the place Fell Ponies and their ancestors occupied in the cultural landscape of the Lake District: “I have attached a photo of a wonderful pack pony bridge on the ancient route over Walna Scar. The route starts in the Lake District village of Coniston passing the old copper mines, continues up the steep pack pony route, crossing this bridge. The route descends down to the beautiful Seathwaite valley on the other side. Ponies would have carried loads of copper and slate over this pass…. Hardnott Pass is an old Roman road, used by pack ponies carrying goods such as wool and grains from the market town of Kendal [through the Lake District] to the little Roman port of Ravenglass. It is also said that the pack ponies were used by smugglers to collect illegal goods brought to the port, and, quietly in the dark of night, they would disappear into the fells carrying their loads.” (11)

If you are interested in a more detailed article about the use of ponies for packing historically, click here.

Looking towards Heltondale

I am sure that more and better examples exist of how the Fell Pony and its ancestors have contributed to the cultural landscape of the Lake District and its Identity theme of the World Heritage Site. And I am hopeful that those examples are integrated into the National Park and the World Heritage Site. Perhaps the international status of our breed could be an asset in that regard. The Partnership’s Plan states, “World Heritage Site status would require further attention to how the Lake District’s values are interpreted and transmitted, particularly by international audiences.” (12) I look forward to seeing the Fell Pony take its rightful place alongside the Herdwick Sheep as an iconic breed of the region.

1. “Euphoria as Lake District becomes a World Heritage Site,” July 9, 2017, at http://lakesworldheritage.co.uk/blog/2017/july/euphoria-as-lake-district-becomes-a-world-heritage-site/ as accessed 2/28/20.

2. Same as #1.

3. “Section 2.0: Outstanding Universal Value, Special Qualities, Risks and Vision,” p. 29, Volume 4: Partnership Plan, Nomination Dossier at https://www.lakedistrict.gov.uk/caringfor/policies/whs/lake-district-nomination as accessed 2/28/20.

4. Murray, David Anthony. The Fell pony: grazing characteristics and breed profile – a preliminary assessment, P.O. Box 550, Leicester, England, p. 378

5. “Section 1.0: Executive Summary,” p. 31, Volume 4: Partnership Plan, Nomination Dossier at https://www.lakedistrict.gov.uk/caringfor/policies/whs/lake-district-nomination as accessed 2/28/20.

6. “Appendix 1: Lake District Special Qualities,” p. 274, Volume 4: Partnership Plan, Nomination Dossier at https://www.lakedistrict.gov.uk/caringfor/policies/whs/lake-district-nomination as accessed 2/28/20.

7. Same as #6, p. 272-3.

8. “Early History,” on “About Fell Ponies” page at www.fellponysociety.org.uk as accessed 20 November 2018.

9. Same as #4.

10. “Section 2.a. Description of the English Lake District,” p. 107, Volume 4: Partnership Plan, Nomination Dossier at https://www.lakedistrict.gov.uk/caringfor/policies/whs/lake-district-nomination as accessed 2/28/20.

11. Email from Louise Thompson to author, 11/1/11.

12. Same as #3, p. 81.

North American Fell Pony Population Status - 2019

As we have all been taught to do this past year, I will blame Covid for my tardiness in generating an update on the North American Fell Pony population. Each year I review the stud book of the Fell Pony Society to learn about changes to the North American Fell Pony population. This review is based on the 2019 stud book, and the review will quickly be out of date when the 2020 stud book is published in the spring of 2021. Nonetheless, there are important points to be made by the 2019 analysis.

The chart below shows how the population has changed since 2000 through 2019. The blue bar is the resident population. Red shows foals born in the year, and green is imports in the year. At the bottom of the bars is purple, showing deaths in the year.

Here are the highlights of my review of the 2019 stud book.

• There are just under 700 registered Fell Ponies in North America.

• As our population ages, the number of deaths annually is understandably increasing, with nine in 2019.

• The number of foals was slightly less than the previous year.

• In 2019, we had seventeen breeders, the most ever. Just as I found last year, half of the breeders in 2009 weren’t still breeding in 2019.

• There were three new breeders in 2019, which is about the same increase we see each year.

• There were about thirty new owners of registered Fell Ponies in 2019.

For me, it seems like there are lots of Fell Ponies in North America now. Compared to when I got started, there’s more than 20 times as many! Yet there really aren’t that many, and there are lots more people who need to learn about this breed because they will fall in love! Thank you for the role you play in the stewardship of this breed in North America.

(c) Jenifer Morrissey, 2021

There are many more observations about the Fell Pony breed in my book Fell Ponies: Observations on the Breed, the Breed Standard, and Breeding, available internationally by clicking here or on the book cover.

Crossing the ‘Stream’ and Other Small Lessons

One of the challenges of being a Fell Pony breeder is figuring out how to fit riding and driving training into the reproductive schedules of my mares and my related workload. Sometimes, of course, mares have years when they are open, so there’s plenty of opportunity then. But when they are bred or have foals at foot, my answer is often to do things in small, frequent doses. For instance, recently when the days have been incredibly short in December and the weather has been unusually pleasant and warm, I have been looking for excuses to be outdoors. So, I’ve been taking a few minutes with each mare to do something each morning when I have them in the paddocks at the barn.

In my experience, there’s always something small to be worked on, even if I don’t know what it is in advance. Just preparing to mount and mounting often gives me an idea, such as reminding one of my girls about the importance of standing still during mounting. Or once underway, I need to remind a mare to maintain the particular gait I’ve asked for. In one mare, turning as we approached the paddock fence revealed a braced neck, so we’re working on that. Improving responses to leg aids is another one that has come up since one mare is very good in that department and the others not so much by comparison.

One morning we’d had a light snow, which is all we are getting right now in our drought. Runoff from the barn roof after the sun warmed things up created a very small ‘stream’ through the paddock. I didn’t think anything of it until I was riding one of my mares, and she stopped at the edge. I realized I had never ridden her through water before; our ridden work had not progressed that far back when we had regular access to live water for such lessons in Colorado. So my work with her that morning became learning to carry me across the ‘stream,’ though it wasn’t really much more than wet soft ground. Nonetheless, she refused just like equines will sometimes do when asked to cross water, so it was a good opportunity to carry out an important lesson.

One short lesson is nice, but stringing small lessons together over multiple days is even better. And with six fillies/mares, the total time is a good match for my schedule. As is always the case when working with ponies, consistent, purposeful attention makes for rewarding progress.

© Jenifer Morrissey, 2020

More stories like this one can be found in my book The Partnered Pony, available internationally by clicking here or on the book cover.

Rose is Missing

I arrived at the barn after breakfast. As usual my beloved Fell Pony mares were there awaiting my arrival after their night out on the hill. Except Rose was not there. My heart pony was missing.

Rose has a bit of an independent streak, as shown here away from the herd back left. That independent streak of course makes her a great trail pony.

I threw some hay and closed the gate so the other five ponies would stay put, and I opened a gate to the barnyard so that Rose could enter if she showed up. Then I started calling. Usually Rose comes when she hears me, but then usually she is not far from the rest of the mares and this time she was missing, so I was a little concerned. I continued calling as I walked a little way west to get a good view, but then I headed east toward where I had last seen the herd on the hill. And I kept looking back toward the barn hoping Rose would be there, but she wasn’t.

As I kept looking, I alternated between hoping for the best and fearing the worst. I had heard an odd sound while I was eating breakfast, but I hadn’t investigated. Now I feared maybe it had been Rose crying for help, so I looked down steep hillsides and into ravines wondering if she had fallen. Rose is my only pony in my most important conservation line, so I also started the calculus of what I would do if I had lost her. Trying to think positive, I reflected on her independent spirit, illustrated by the photo here of her away from the herd. I willed her to be out there somewhere, safe.

I walked and called for nearly an hour before ending up back at my house ready to request help. Then I saw a black object about a quarter mile to the west on the pony side of the calving pasture fence. Was it a calf loose or was it Rose? I started walking in that direction and indeed it was a pony trotting toward the barn. Relief! And a few choice words about all the worry she caused me! I headed to the barn and greeted her warmly before putting her in with the other mares. I then tried to get past the anxiety that was still running through my body so I could get on with chores. But the story of Rose being missing wasn’t over.

The herd of elk that Rose was near. The pony pasture is over the ridge to the left.

I heard Bruce drive up to the cake bin on the other side of the barn to fill his caker before feeding bulls. I walked over to share about my long, searching walk. He somewhat chastised me for not calling him for help. Then he asked if the missing pony had a star. Yes, I said, thinking it a strange reaction to my story. Then more of Rose’s story came out. Bruce had been feeding the calves to the southwest of the barn when he saw a large herd of elk in the adjacent pasture. His first thought was to wonder how much fence they had ripped out, since that had been a recent regular occurrence. Then he saw a black animal and thought, ‘that bull looks odd.’ Then he realized it wasn’t the resident bull in that pasture, it was an equine. As he drove closer, he saw that it was actually a pony. Rose approached him and willingly went through the gate he opened to return her to the pony pasture. He said she then departed at a very purposeful pace toward the barn.

We may not ever know the rest of Rose’s story from that morning. Why did she stray from the other mares? How did she end up in that other pasture? Did the elk take out fence up higher and she followed them down? She and I had ridden in that other pasture about six months before, so she knew the territory. I had thought Rose’s vigorous trot toward the barn when I had seen her after searching was odd. Now I knew she actually couldn’t come when I called but she did come as soon as she was back in the right pasture and was able. I will of course go investigate if the elk did indeed take out fence. Each time I have checked the herd morning and night since then, Rose has been with them. Clearly something unusual happened that morning. With Bruce’s chastisement in mind, now I will also be sure to check with him before I commence any search for a missing pony!

© Jenifer Morrissey, 2020

More stories like this one can be found in my book What an Honor, available internationally by clicking here or on the book cover.

I Don’t Think it’s Coincidence

Red arrow points to the notifier, the sole visible pony, in this case Matty.

It has happened often enough now that I don’t think it’s a coincidence.  I go out just before dark to see my Fell Pony mare herd.  The mares run on a very large pasture, and I usually don’t know where they are on it when I begin my walk.  Often, though, one pony will make themselves visible, alerting me to where the rest of the herd likely is.  Then, just as often, that pony disappears, and it’s up to me to remember the location and navigate to it.

Not all members of the mare herd play the role of notifier.  Usually it is the lowest pony in the herd, Calista; sometimes it is the lead mare Matty.  Tonight it was Honey, briefly, before she disappeared.  I assume they hear my voice, or they hear the stallion Asi’s call and his gate open when I feed him first.  They know I am out and about.  It is up to me to scan the hill and the lowlands, or as tonight, to note the behavior of the calves in their feed pasture since they find the ponies a curiosity when they are near the fence.  Then the notifier makes themselves briefly visible, and I begin my walk in their direction.

While I don’t think it’s coincidence that there is a notifier pony, I also don’t want to believe it’s coincidence.  That the notifier makes themselves visible briefly is heart-warming.  To think they want me to know where they are and to come visit is a thrill.  I find observing these ponies in as close to as natural a setting as I can provide them to be fascinating.  Once again I realize one lifetime with them will not be enough.

© Jenifer Morrissey, 2020

You can find more stories like this one in my book What an Honor, available internationally by clicking here or on the book cover.

A Dominance Move?

Bowthorne Matty’s tail head is just showing at the bottom of this picture that I took mounted of the herd following us.

I had prepared all the feed buckets and was beginning to halter and tie my Fell Pony mares prior to feeding them.  As always, I haltered and tied the lead mare first, intending to work my way down/through the herd.  As I walked to the next pony, I heard a scuffle behind me and thought I saw a lower ranking mare threaten the tied mare.  It’s of course my job to protect any pony that is tied because they can’t protect themselves, so even though I wasn’t certain that I’d seen the lower ranking mare make a dominance move, I haltered and tied her next just in case.

The next morning it was gloriously beautiful.  The mares hadn’t come in on their own, so I went out in search of them.  I knew the day was going to be good when I found a piece of petrified wood near the herd, my first such find since moving to the Black Hills of South Dakota the year before.  The day then continued in that uplifting vein when I rode the lead mare into the barn with the rest of the herd following.  I get such a thrill out of riding with the herd like that!

Not long after the ride commenced, when we entered an open area, I noticed the same lower ranking mare pick up speed and head straight toward us in a somewhat threatening way.  Before I could decide on a plan to protect my mount and me, one of the other mares ran between us, pushing the threatening mare away.  My savior stayed between us and the threatening mare the rest of the way into the barn. 

The next day, the farrier was here to trim hooves, and he was working on the lower ranking mare.  That mare’s foal was separated from her while the farrier was working.  The foal had decided she’d been separated from her mother long enough and approached the fence dividing her from her mother.  She apparently got too close to another mare because that mare pinned her ears, snaked her neck out, and chased the filly a short distance off.  Immediately the lead mare used the same behavior to chase off the filly’s pursuer.  I was fascinated by this seeming disciplinary behavior by the lead mare of the pursuing mare.

I always find how my ponies interact to be fascinating.  Mostly the herd is peaceful, so I don’t very often get to see the sorts of behavior I did on these days.  The display by the lead mare doesn’t require anything on my part.  But now that I have two observations that a change in leadership in the herd may be underway, I will be more observant of herd interactions.  I need to protect not only myself but also any tied pony until the ramifications of the dominance moves by the lower ranking mare work themselves out.

© Jenifer Morrissey, 2020

More stories like this one can be found in my book What an Honor, available internationally by clicking here or on the book cover.

Where the Rising Sun Hits First

Living in a steep-sided valley, I am very conscious of how the sun rises differently with the seasons.  In the summer, my house gets very early morning light because the sun rises in line with the valley.  In the winter, the opposite is true.  The lower sun must make its way over a high southern ridge, slowing the arrival of first light.  My neighbor gets winter sun nearly a half hour before I do because his house sits higher and where the valley is broader. 

Several people have shared with me that their ponies come when they’re called.  These comments have been made to me in response to seeing photos of me with my ponies high on the hill of the pasture and hearing stories about bringing them down to the barn.  There have been suggestions that I need to train my ponies to come when they’re called so I don’t need to walk and climb after them.  These suggestions have caused me to think about why I don’t do that.

One reason is that I don’t need to train my ponies to come when they’re called; they already do that (usually!)  I just don’t call them in very often, so I had to ask myself why that is.  The answer is that I like to see what they choose to do without direction.  To some extent it is feedback on my leadership and the patterns I’ve established for what I expect of them.  And to some extent it is information about how they live the many hours of the day when I’m not with them.  I then use that information to enrich the time we do spend together.

One of the things I notice this time of year is that they are usually at the barn when I get there in the morning.  Then there are the occasional times when they are not.  What I have noticed is that they are at the barn of their own volition when the night has been cold and the sun has risen and warmed the barnyard before anywhere else.  And they are not at the barn when the sun isn’t out and the weather is inclement or if the night was warm and they don’t need a morning sunbath.  They have shown me that the rising sun hits the barn first this time of year.

I have used this information when working with my young filly.  I’ve been continuing to build her foot handling skills and doing preliminary farrier work.  We are working at liberty (she stands untied,) and some mornings she is more cooperative than others.  What I have learned is that those mornings when the herd has come to the barn on their own are when she is most compliant.  If I introduce a new variant of our foot handling routine, then, I do it on those sorts of mornings.  I wouldn’t have necessarily known to do that if I had made a habit of calling the herd in rather than let them show me what they prefer about sunbathing on cold mornings.

So while it is very possible that I could save myself some walking by calling my Fell Ponies in each morning, I choose not to call them because there is so much I can learn about them if I let them naturally join me or not.  At this point in my stewardship of my ponies, I prefer that sort of dialogue about behavior.  I like that they get to teach me, not just the other way around.  I like that they showed me where the rising sun hits first.  When I learn something like that, it enriches my life and, I hope, theirs. 

© Jenifer Morrissey, 2020

You can find more stories like this one in my book What an Honor, available internationally by clicking here or on the book cover.

Maybe It Was Aimee?!

When my Fell Ponies first started climbing high on the hill here, I asked, “I wonder who’s leading that adventure?”  (Click here to read the story.)  I figured that that leading pony would be a great trail pony.  I had several possibilities in mind.  There was Matty, the herd leader, of course.  And there was Rose, my trail and heart pony, and there was Calista, my young mare born on the fells of Cumbria.  None of them, though, had seemed particularly interested in exploring the hill.  A few days later I got a possible answer about who that adventurous lead pony might be. 

After the ponies’ initial adventure, when I got to the barn one morning to start chores, five of the seven members of the mare herd greeted me.  Madie and her five-month-old daughter Aimee were the missing ponies, and I figured they were out on the low elevation portion of the pasture somewhere as they often were that time of morning.  I expected they would appear before long as they normally did.

I prepared all the vitamin buckets, a sound that usually brings in any stragglers, but there was still no sign of Madie and Aimee.  I called to them several times, since Aimee often comes running when she sees or hears me.  They still didn’t appear, so I set Madie’s and Aimee’s buckets aside and fed the ponies that had come in, doing my normal inspection of their physical and mental wellbeing.  I then turned them all loose and pondered what to do about Madie’s and Aimee’s unclaimed buckets.  I walked out on the low portion of the hill to the west and didn’t see them, which seemed odd, so I carried the buckets to my house to check around the hill to the east, one of their favorite hangouts.  When they weren’t there either, I became a little concerned.

As I walked back to my house, I pondered what my next move should be.  Should I just assume they were all right and would reunite with the herd during the day?  Should I double check the lowlands to the west to be sure I hadn’t missed them somewhere?  I was tired and didn’t relish the idea of another mile or two of walking.  I stopped to take a deep breath then looked up on the hill.  I was astonished to see two black specs halfway up the hill.  Madie and Aimee!  They were in behind some trees so not visible from the barn.  I saw Aimee raise her head and look toward me when I called to her, but she made no move in my direction.  Okay, I told them, have a good day!  I returned their buckets to the barn to be fed another day.

A friend who met Aimee during the summer suggested that perhaps it was Aimee who had led the herd up on high that first time.  I could see the logic; Aimee certainly has the makings of a lead mare, but at such a young age I wondered if the herd would follow her.  But then I had seen Aimee lead her mother up in elevation a month before.  I will never really know, of course, which pony led the herd on that first adventure on the hill that day, but I’ve now added Aimee to the list of possibilities!

© Jenifer Morrissey, 2020

You can find more stories like this one in my book What an Honor, available internationally by clicking here or on the book cover.

Binoculars are My New Friend!

It was just before sunset as I walked to the stallion pen to feed my Fell Pony Asi.  As I walked, I scanned the hill south then east then west looking for the mare herd.  I saw a bunch of dark-colored animals, so I noted the location so I could look from a better vantage point.  When I got to that point, though, there were two bunches of dark-colored animals.  Too many!  I was confused!  It was then that I realized that I would have to get friendly with binoculars.

While one of those bunches of dark colored animals was indeed the mares, the other was four pair of cows and calves who had wandered over the hill from the neighboring pasture.  In the failing light of the day, glassing them allowed me to be sure that the ponies were all grazing or would look up when I called goodnight.

The next morning when I fed Asi, I again scanned the hill and spotted a bunch of dark colored animals to the west.  Of course I didn’t have the binoculars with me, so I wasn’t sure if it was the mares or not.  I debated whether to walk east to the house for the binoculars or west to see if I could get a more accurate look.  I chose west, which ended up being the wise choice because the cattle came into view low on the hill, so it was indeed the mares up higher.

The next day, just after sunset, I saw dark objects moving across the hill midway up.  This time I went back to the house for the binoculars because it was late and I didn’t have time to waste any footsteps.  Those dark objects ended up not being the ponies.  There were four elk grazing where the ponies had been a few days before.  A pony then came into view farther down the hill where it was clear that it was indeed a pony, so I glassed that area and ascertained that all were well.

One night I found the ponies just before dark without need of visual assistance.  And with them was a herd of deer, seen to the left of the ponies in the picture here.  The hill is alive with creatures, and I can now see more of them with my new friend:  binoculars!

© Jenifer Morrissey, 2020

Even at Thirteen Degrees!

They were in high spirits as they came running down the draw to greet me, kicking their heels in the air, rearing with necks arched, running circles around each other, manes and tails flying about with their breath making small clouds in the cold air.  My Fell Ponies had every right to be edgy since the temperature was just thirteen degrees Fahrenheit, there were snow flakes in the air, and a breeze made it feel all the more frigid.

After I bid each pony a greeting, I attempted to depart before the cold seeped into my clothing any more.  One pony then another asked for a second greeting by blocking my way.  I headed toward a narrow trail that climbed up out of the draw, thinking that route would discourage followers, and it did, except for one.  My heart pony Willowtrail Wild Rose followed me nimbly on the rocky, snow-covered path while the rest of the herd ran down and around and out of sight.  I thought for certain that Rose would want to go to her friends when we climbed high enough that they came into view again.  But no, she chose to stay with me.  I was flattered by her choice.

Nonetheless I was anxious to go home where it was warm, but Rose was making it clear she wanted my attention.  She gladly accepted serious rubbing of her chest but then she clearly wanted more, even at thirteen degrees.  Okay then, I told her, let’s do a little game.  We were amongst a few pine trees, so I asked her to go around one.  She went up, around, down, and back up the slope to me, clearly proud of herself, so then I asked her to walk between two closely spaced trees.  I congratulated her on her accomplishment again.  Rose seemed satisfied and headed down the hill at a fast trot to regain her friends who were once again displaying their high-energy antics.  Meanwhile Drybarrows Calista was watching what we were doing and was coming to investigate, joining me shortly after Rose departed.

These ponies are so fascinating.  They have dozens and dozens of acres to explore and they have each other to interact with, yet Rose still chose my company and then demanded some sort of engagement as if I could provide her with something she wanted that her fellow ponies could not give her.  It was a high compliment indeed.

© Jenifer Morrissey, 2020

More stories like this one are in my book What an Honor, available internationally by clicking here or on the book cover.

“Quit Coaching the Ponies!”

Arrow pointing to location of ponies on the hill, taken from the stallion pen with Asi’s butt for context!

Shortly after the ponies and I moved to Scotty Springs Ranch last year, ranch co-owner Bruce Murdock starting telling me he couldn’t wait to see the ponies high on the hill.  It was in part because he hoped to see them perched regally on high and see them running with manes and tails flowing.  But it was also in part because he knew I brought them in each morning for vitamin buckets and inspection and training.  He hoped they would be as far away as possible to make me hike!  Well, it took a year but he got his wish!

The first hike way up the hill was an adventure.  As I started the second one the next day, though, I texted him saying “quit coaching the ponies!”  His accurate but annoying retort was, “the Fell Ponies of Cumbria.”  I responded with, “the fell of Scotty Springs!”

My young dog Ace looking at Calista emreging from under the pine tree.

We had three inches of snow overnight, and when I emerged from my house that morning, I looked up the hill and saw four black specs two-thirds of the way up.  I called out to them, saying they ought to come down and meet me at the barn.  I could tell they heard me because they had their heads up and faced in my direction, but I didn’t see any of them moving.  After I fed my stallion, I looked up the hill, and they were still on their same perch, looking in my direction.  One then moved slightly off and down, so I was hopeful they were headed in my direction, so I headed to the barn to prepare buckets.

Arrow points to where ponies were waiting for me above the barn as I came off the hill.

After the buckets were ready, I saw the other three ponies close to the barn, so I brought them in.  Then I looked up the hill again and realized that bringing the ponies in off the hill had just gotten more complicated.  Fog had covered the upper reaches of the hill, and I could no longer see the four ponies up there.  And because I could no longer see them, I also didn’t know exactly what route to take to get to them because making that journey was so new to me.  I wasn’t looking forward to the trek this time either because I was in winter-mud boots that were not my first choice for hiking on a rocky snow-covered hillside.  But I set off with my dogs for another climb of the mountain.

When we got up into the fog, stories told by people like Tom Lloyd in Cumbria of treks on the fells through fog easily came to mind.  When I got to where I thought the ponies were, there were no tracks at all in the snow, so I knew I was in the wrong place.  I decided I needed to go higher, so I began climbing again veering west.  Thank goodness something made me turn around because I saw a pony come into view through the fog across the hill to the east of me.  It was Drybarrows Calista who so often is the one that notifies me of the herd’s location.  I thanked her loudly and saw Willowtrail Mountain Honey descending farther away.  I turned around and started following them down.

The barn emerges from the fog and Calista comes to greet me. Her head is turned in order to discourage Ace the dog from trying to herd her.

As I got almost all the way down, the barn emerged from the fog and I could see my four hill climbers between me and there.  Calista, in her generous way, came to me to say hello as I got closer (her head is turned oddly in the picture; she was discouraging my young dog Ace from trying to herd her).  I haltered the lead mare and the others followed us to the barn in high spirits.  I was happy to have made it down in one piece and thankful I hadn’t needed to lead a pony down while picking my way down the slope.  I trust in time I’ll come to know the hill better so I’ll be better able to climb to the ponies wherever they are and do so more efficiently.  This time I will admit that the adventure into the fog was a fun way to start the day.

© Jenifer Morrissey, 2020

Champion Horse Judge and Champion Friend

Linda Murdock with her beloved granddaughter Jackson and Willowtrail Mountain Honey

You can bet that as soon as I learned that my friend Linda Murdock had been a champion horse judge in her younger years, I began quizzing her every chance I got.  I would have her judge selected line-ups of my Fell Ponies or have her explain a particular aspect of conformation.  She helped me take pictures and make measurements for saddle fit.  She helped me deliver Willowtrail Henry to his owner in Ohio and then visit three Fell Pony owners on the way home.  When I moved to Scotty Springs Ranch, she took her horses out of the horse pasture so that my ponies would have it all to themselves.

I met Linda and Bruce when I bought an Australian Shepherd puppy from them.  Before long we were talking on the phone about breeding dogs and then cattle, which they had been doing for decades, and eventually about Fell Ponies.  When my husband died, they immediately offered a place for me to land with my ponies and all the logistics to get us from there to here.  For the past eighteen months they have been my closest friends and companions.

Tragedy struck a week ago.  Linda was taken from us in an accident here on the ranch.  There is a huge gaping hole where she once was the answerer of questions, the giver of advice, the solver of problems, the volunteer for errand runs or road trips, the shoulder on which to share bad news or happy circumstances.  There are dogs and cats and horses and cattle that miss her attention and try to coach those of us who remain to do better. 

I gave her granddaughter Jackson a ride on a pony for the first time without Linda.  Jackson was thrilled, and the rest of us remembered how much joy Linda showed when her pink princess became a cowboy.  Linda, all of us were made better by your presence in our lives.  You are greatly missed.

© Jenifer Morrissey, 2020

The family encourages remembrances to your favorite animal rescue.

I’d Like to Know Who Led that Adventure!

My house, which is at the same elevation as the barn and foaling shed, is just below the top of the tallest tree left of center.. The ponies are below that stand of trees (the dark spots).

Late in the afternoon I watched the ponies heading up the hill.  The day before was the first time I had found them more than fifty feet above the barn, and then it was only three of them.  The hill has about 400 feet of elevation change, with the lower reaches gradually rising, and the upper reaches being quite steep.  For their first year here, which they’ve just completed, the ponies have stayed in the lower reaches.  Now though, they are running out of forage and it is cool enough that they can venture farther from water for longer periods, which I expect are what inspired the climb. 

Right before starting late afternoon chores, I saw a line of dark spots about two-thirds of the way up the hill moving left to right across the steepest part of the hillside (I wish I’d taken a picture!).  On closer look I saw that it was definitely six of the ponies.  I tried to get a bearing on where they were since when I began my climb to visit them, I would be under them and unable to see their location.

As it turned out, I missed them and hiked all the way to the top then northeast along the ridge until I could see them below me.  Two of the ponies were bedded down resting, a choice I definitely understood after making a similar climb!  What I really wanted to know, though, is who had led them on their adventure.  That pony would make a great trail pony!  The first pony to greet me when I descended to the herd was Drybarrows Calista, my fell-born girl, and she seemed bright-eyed compared to the rest of the herd.  She’s low down in the herd hierarchy, so it’s hard for me to imagine she was the leader.  Maybe in time I’ll be shown the answer!

Between the top and the ponies, I was rewarded for my efforts with discovering a very large elk antler (often called a ‘shed’).  When I got to the ponies, I was also rewarded when the sun burst through the clouds on the western horizon and cast pink light on the hill tops.  The camera I had with me doesn’t like low light, hence the fuzzy image of Calista and the shed and the pink light.  What a fun outing!

© Jenifer Morrissey, 2020

More stories like this one can be found in my book What an Honor, available internationally by clicking here or on the book cover.

Calista Claims Her Spot

Calista at the periphery of the gang of three

I am always watching how my ponies interact:  who likes who, who pushes who around, who stays with who in the pasture, who mutual grooms who, etc.  Three of my mares are very tightly bonded, so much so that one of them will vocalize whenever the three aren’t together.  One mare that was born with me but then was away for three years has never been able to insert herself into that threesome, despite being back for five years.  An outside mare that I bought is often to be found off by herself rather than with any of the other ponies.

When I decided to import my mare Drybarrows Calista, I asked her breeder where she stood in the herd hierarchy (knowing of course that there’s no such thing as a strict hierarchy in equine herds.)   When I was told she was in the middle of the pack, I considered that good news since it meant she was likely to fit in and wouldn’t exhibit aggressive behavior in a quest for leadership nor be a loner.

This fall I have been running all my mares together again for the first time since late winter and for the first time with the outside mare that I bought.  It has been interesting to see Calista adapt to this situation.  During the summer I ran her with the outside mare, so I assumed that she would continue to buddy up with that mare because she was head of their herd of two.  Calista would vocalize when she couldn’t find her buddy, making me think they were indeed herd mates.  But occasionally I would find her with the mare with foal at foot, and the outside mare was off somewhere by herself.

With three choices before her, Calista has made it clear, though, where she prefers to be.  She doesn’t want to be head of her herd of two, and she hasn’t bonded to the mare with foal.  She prefers to be with the gang of three mature mares, even if she’s on the periphery of their herd.  It’s hard to argue with her choice.  Those three are strong, confident mares, probably like the herd that Calista was born into on the fells of Cumbria.  I will watch with great interest how Calista’s relationship with the gang of three evolves.

© Jenifer Morrissey, 2020

You can find more stories like this one in my book What an Honor, available internationally by clicking here or on the book cover.

The Pink Princess Cowboy and the Pony

When I told my friend Bruce that I’d had a dream about his granddaughter riding my Fell Pony mare Rose, he said he’d had the same dream. So when I found out Jackson was due to visit soon, I made sure Rose was ready for her precious cargo. Jackson is just two and a half years old, so riding means sitting on a pony that I lead with Grandma Linda spotting her (or sometimes Mom or Dad).

When Linda and Jackson showed up the first day, I realized I hadn’t prepared Rose for the tutu. The pink poofy skirt is apparently a favorite of Jackson’s. Fortunately, Linda was able to convince Jackson to take it off before riding, and while Rose would likely have been fine with it, I was glad we didn’t have to find out. The pink theme remained, though, with Jackson sporting pink bib overalls, pink boots, and a pink tinged helmet. (Please note that we know the helmet isn’t perfectly fit; we will get it right eventually.) Smiles on Jackson’s and Linda’s faces made my day!

The next day Linda and Jackson arrived with a pink-trimmed saddle and saddle blanket that Linda had bought. We put it on Rose and found out it fit her, and I was surprised how good pink and black go together! Jackson was stylish with her dark glasses, and I soon learned that when I asked her to smile for the camera, she stuck out her tongue, so my pictures of her smiling are more impromptu. Jackson had apparently been saying over and over again after her ride the day before, “I’m riding a horse!” and she treated me to that refrain several times on our next ride. By day four, I got her to say, to my delight, “I’m riding a pony!”

So far, Rose has been a champ, as I expected her to be. Even after having her hooves trimmed and then on our windiest ride she has been perfectly behaved. Jackson’s dad warned me that I had started something, and I replied that it was a thrill for me to share my ponies. And I told Linda these rides are a little thing I can do to help Jackson be bonded to this ranch and ensure its future.

After I realized the pink theme was a fixture and I knew I didn’t have a pink halter or lead rope, I at least made sure I chose colors that wouldn’t clash. I fully expect that someday, if Jackson’s interest continues, that my black ponies will sport pink more completely than Rose has so far!

© Jenifer Morrissey, 2020

More stories about ponies bringing joy to life can be found in my book What an Honor, available internationally by clicking here or on the book cover.

Fell Ponies and Hot Weather

I appreciated my inquirer’s concern when they asked about how Fell Ponies do in hot climates.  Southern California was of particular interest to them.  I shared what I knew about Fell Ponies there and in other places with hot summers.  And then our first summer began here in South Dakota.  I now have more first-hand experience than I did when my inquirer asked their questions.

I have never seen my ponies sweat like they have during this summer that has been five to fifteen degrees warmer than our warmest days in Colorado.  Nonetheless, the ponies seemed to get by just fine.  I did what I could to keep them comfortable. 

• I made sure they had access to drinking water, which here is in automatic waterers so it’s reasonably fresh and clean so they are inclined to drink it.  And we cleaned the waterers just to make sure.

• I made sure they had access to loose trace mineral salt.  I learned a long time ago that salt blocks aren’t necessarily ideal for equines because their tongues aren’t as rough as those of cattle so they may not be able to get what they need out of blocks. 

• I made sure they had places to stand where they could catch breezes.  I know some Fell Pony owners rely on fans to accomplish this when their landscape doesn’t allow for it.

• I made sure they had access to shade.  As one friend so aptly put it, “Our ponies are black!”  At least most Fell Ponies are black, and in hot summer sun, their coats get very, very warm.  This was an advantage during our long winters in Colorado, but it is a challenge during longer hot summers here.  Shade is in sheds, under trees, or behind hills at either end of the day.

It is this last one that I need to make improvements upon next summer.  My stallion Asi told me by his behavior that his shed isn’t to his liking in the heat.  He was rarely in it or around it to use its shade.  So I plan to build him a wall-less shelter next spring for shade and put it where he likes to stand, which likely has good breezes as well as good views of his mares.

I have been told that this summer has been 15% hotter and 30% drier than normal for here.  I am sure our second summer will teach me even more about keeping my ponies comfortable in hot weather, even if it’s closer to average.

© Jenifer Morrissey, 2020

More stories about Fell Ponies and weather can be found in my book What an Honor, available internationally by clicking here.

High Heat to Snow Flakes

The ponies and I are experiencing a bit of physiological shock.  In 48 hours, we went from a high in the 90s (33 degrees Celsius) to a high in the mid-30s (3 degrees Celsius).  In addition to the change in temperature, clear skies turned to rain which turned to snow, and lots of wind blew.  Many of us were left shivering. 

When we lived in Colorado, it wasn’t uncommon to have these sorts of swift weather changes in the spring and fall.  A few things are different for us here in South Dakota, though.  For instance, in Colorado, at 9,000 feet in elevation in the Rocky Mountains, we rarely saw temperatures as high as we have had here.  Nor for as many days in a row; this summer we’ve seen more hot days than we were accustomed to, with one of the hottest at 100 degrees (38 degrees Celsius) just the day before. 

Another thing that I recognize that I took for granted in Colorado is how protected we were from wind.  Here we get hit by wind both from the west and the east, and while we’re protected compared to most places in South Dakota, we still experience more wind here than we did in Gould.  My late husband chose to build his home where he did because it was protected.  I heard today that the first pony shed he ever built that stood well for 17 years in Gould, and that I gave to a friend when I moved, was blown over onto its roof where it is now located about 20 miles north of where we lived.  In a testament to Don’s carpentry prowess, the shed was not damaged despite being rolled.  And his judgment about our home’s location and wind was confirmed.

As the weather dried out, the ponies quit shivering but stayed opinionated.  The ones that were confined got extra hay at extra feeding times.  The weather is supposed to warm up, with no more snow in the forecast at the moment.  I am grateful that the ponies are tough, and I appreciate that they require me to toughen up, too!

© Jenifer Morrissey, 2020

From White-Eyed to Willing

Pearl loading easily by the fourth day

It’s so good for me to have an older Fell Pony here to work with because it reminds me to not take for granted all the work I do with my youngstock.  Recently I’ve been working with three-year-old Pearl on trailer loading.  It was gratifying to see her progress from white-eyed to willing.

Pearl of course has loaded into trailers before; she had to to get here!  And she didn’t offer any resistance to being loaded when I met her breeder half-way after I bought her.  Nonetheless, when I knew I needed to take Pearl on a ride in the trailer, I decided to be sure she was willing and able since it had been six months since I’d last asked her to take a ride and we’d only had that one experience together.

On our first day, when we approached the trailer, she started getting concerned.  Her head came up, she started moving away from the trailer as far as the lead rope would allow, and she started showing the whites of her eyes.  I let her stand about six feet away while I went ahead of her into the trailer.  I put a little pressure on the lead rope, asking her to come towards me, and when she shifted her weight the slightest bit, I released the lead rope.  Having established that communication pattern, I got her to approach the trailer a footstep at a time and then sniff it warily.  After several minutes, she stepped up and in.  Clearly she was able to load, but she was not confident about it.

We took a short ride, during which she pawed a lot and spread lots of manure all over the trailer floor.  When it came time to unload, she again was very unconfident, hesitating at the edge of the trailer floor, lowering her head and sniffing and looking at the ground before jumping out of the trailer rather than stepping out and down.  All in all, though, that she loaded and unloaded with as little effort as she did was great news.  The next goal was to get her more confident about it so when we’re in an unfamiliar place, she will hopefully not have second thoughts about trailering.

Pearl unloading more confidently than she did the first day though still with a jump.

The next day we repeated everything just as the day before, and she loaded more quickly with less white showing in her eyes.  The next day the same, except there was less manure in the trailer and no white showing in her eyes.  I took both as a sign that she was a little less concerned about the ride.  The next day she stepped right in after me.  She was still a little hesitant about unloading but much less so.

Since she’d loaded so well, the next day I asked for something a little different.  Instead of me going first, which has some safety disadvantages, I led her to the trailer opening and then asked her to go ahead of me.  I was pleased when she did so without concern.  Then she unloaded the calmest she had yet. And there was a single pile of manure in the trailer, undisturbed. Great feedback!

We’ve now taken a few days off, so I will repeat our little exercise again to see if and how much she regresses so I know how much more work we have to do.  My goal is for her to be not just able to load but to load and unload calmly and without hesitation so that in different circumstances we can trust each other.  So far, so good!

© Jenifer Morrissey, 2020

There are more stories like this one in my book What an Honor, available internationally by clicking here or on the book cover.

A Pony Excellent Adventure

Nearing the end of the day, I was in the mood for an adventure.  I had scouted the location a few days before, and the stars all seemed correctly aligned for the adventure to turn out well.  I went to get my Fell Pony mare Madie and her daughter Aimee.  It was time for Aimee to cross water for the first time.

When we lived in Colorado, the ponies crossed water regularly because the Michigan River ran through their summer pasture.  Here, we have wonderful hills but no live water, so I had to create the opportunity to cross water, hence the adventure.  I couldn’t have been more thrilled with my two homebred girls.

The first step was to load the girls in the horse trailer.  Again, back in Colorado, taking rides in trailers was a regular part of life because summer pasture was four miles from home, so all my ponies get excited when I have the trailer hitched, thinking that there will be abundant green grass at the other end of the ride.  But here, there is no reason to trailer the ponies because the hill pasture is right outside our door.  Aimee and Madie, then, hadn’t been in a trailer in three months, and back then Aimee was just a month old, so it was still a novel experience for her.  Nonetheless, our adventure got off to a good start when Aimee followed her mom right into the trailer.

The trip to the river took 25 minutes, and was quite varied, from highway speed to corduroyed gravel to rough two-track. When we got to the river, I put on my rubber boots and unloaded the girls, neither of whom had ever been to the Cheyenne River before.  I opted to lead rather than ride Madie across the river to be as sure of success as I could be.  I hadn’t ever ridden Madie across a river before, though she’d crossed it on her own, and this one was new to me, too, so I felt leading her was the best strategy.  This lesson was for Aimee, after all, not Madie!

When I had scouted the river a few days before, I had decided on a particular crossing point that was wide and shallow (about seven inches at its deepest.)  Madie followed me through the coarse grass on the bank and down into the river and across without hesitating.  Aimee hesitated for a moment at the bank and then followed her mom.  Success!  I had a foal once who would not follow his mom across the river until several days of opportunities had passed, so I was ecstatic that Aimee was as confident with this adventure on the first try as she has been with everything else.

We went back and forth a few times before the failing light of the day dictated an end to our adventure.  The girls loaded up without hesitation, another success, and we returned home without incident.  I will repeat the water-crossing experience for Aimee when the stars align again.  The access road is not passable if it is wet, and the river is low right now because the region it drains hasn’t had much rain in the past month.  The river can easily become swollen and too high for safe crossing if a rainstorm hits northeastern Wyoming or southwestern South Dakota.  For now, though, I will savor the excellent adventure I shared with Madie and Aimee and my canine companions.

© Jenifer Morrissey, 2020

You can read more stories like this one in my book What an Honor, available internationally by clicking here or on the book cover.

Jackson's Present

Jackson, Linda, and Asi

My neighbor Linda stopped me on the road and said, “We were coming to look for you.  Jackson got you a present.”  Jackson, Linda’s 2-year-old granddaughter, was sitting in the passenger seat of Linda’s Jeep.  Linda asked Jackson to hand something to her, and then Linda handed it to me.  “Asi!” she said.

Linda and Jackson had been to the farm supply store.  While there, Jackson had surprised Linda by saying “Asi!”  Asi is my Fell Pony stallion whom Jackson sees whenever she comes to the ranch to visit.  On the store shelf was a small figurine of a black stallion with flowing mane and tail.  Actually, there were three of them, and Jackson had to have all three.  One for her room here at the ranch, one for her room at home, and one for me.

I was, of course, incredibly touched.  And terribly impressed.  That Jackson at her young age would see a resemblance between Asi and the figurine – well, kids are amazing!  And then that she would want to have three figurines of Asi and give one to me – well, kids are amazing!  Linda and I often chuckle together about Jackson’s preference for pink and purple clothes and toys, but more often than not, there’s a horse theme to them.  As Jackson’s mom told me once, “Linda may get her veterinarian granddaughter yet!”

This story got even better two days later.  Jackson had returned home with her parents for her first day at preschool.  Linda couldn’t wait to show me the picture on her phone that she received.  Pointing, she said, “Aimee!”  Jackson was holding a small black stuffed pony that she had named after my young Fell Pony filly.  Jackson and Aimee have known each other since a few days after Aimee was born, and Jackson asks to visit Aimee every time she comes to the ranch.  They seem to have a mutual admiration society.  Only now I understand how deep Jackson’s admiration of Aimee is.  First day of school?  Really? Amazing!

I am keeping the figurine that Jackson gave me at the barn.  Each day when I do my chores I take it out of my feed shed and put it where it can watch over the pony proceedings.  While it might look more like a Friesian than a Fell Pony stallion to some, to me it will always be Asi, thanks to Jackson!

© Jenifer Morrissey, 2020

More stories like this one can be found in my book What an Honor, available internationally by clicking here or on the book cover.