Humbled by My Herd

It happened again. And it reminded me of a twelve-hour period this summer when they did it twice. ‘It’ is my Fell Ponies making choices that lighten my chore load when they could easily choose differently. They leave me pleased, surprised, touched, and humbled.

My mares and foals came into the barn to eat the hay I had left for them, humbling me by then staying there until I returned to shut them in for the night.

Earlier this fall, we were going out to dinner, and I couldn’t find the mares with foals out on the hill before we left. I had been putting them out on the hill in the morning and in at night and then letting the open mare herd out at night and in during the day. I fed the open mare herd in their paddock then opened the gate to the other paddock where I spread hay in hopes that the mares with foals would come in while I was gone. When I returned after dark, the mares and foals had indeed come in, eaten the hay, and then stayed, despite the gate still being open to the hill. Of course, it wasn’t just me that was appreciative. So was the rest of the herd so they could go out for the night.

The next morning when I arrived at the barn, there was something odd about the area near the round bale of hay that I had been feeding out of. Some spoiled hay that I had set aside had been disturbed. Then I saw a pile of equine manure nearby. My mind immediately began wondering which pony was out and then how did they get out. The mares and foals were in the corral where I expected them to be, and I could see ponies in the draw near the barn on the hill pasture. I thought maybe they had breached the fence in the draw, but when I double-checked, all the open mares were also where they should be. It was very odd, then, to find manure near the hay bale. Surely it was one of the ponies and not someone else’s equine? Someone else’s equine would have had to travel miles to get to that spot, with lots of more interesting grazing in between. But how had one of my ponies gotten out of the pasture and who had put her back in?

The answer came an hour later when I was reminded that fence repair was underway on the cattle corrals on the other side of the barn. The repair work involved tearing out old fence and putting in new. Some of the fence along the pony pasture had indeed been torn out but had not yet been rebuilt. Then the gates to the lane from the corrals were open. Okay, that explained how a pony could have gotten out, but who had put them back in? That question remained unanswered.

Next I decided to check the fence repair project. Sure enough, there were pony tracks going through the opening in the fence and then through the cattle corral toward the lane. And then the unanswered question got answered. There were also tracks going in the opposite direction. The wandering pony or ponies had put themselves back where they were supposed to be. This was despite the availability of a hay bale and ungrazed grass and unexplored territory. This was despite needing to reverse a 50 yard venture that navigated two corrals and two gates, a distance of lane, plus the opening in the pasture fence. I found it remarkable that the escaped ponies had unescaped themselves.

I am humbled that my ponies, when they could choose to stay up on the hill where there is plenty of grass to graze, instead come to the barn when I need them to.

I pondered my mares coming in and staying in the night before and then a wandering pony putting themselves back where they were supposed to be after being out on an adventure. I progressed from being pleased to being surprised to being touched to being humbled. They had clearly made decisions with me in mind. They recognize my patterns of care for them and they were responding to them. It wasn’t just one pony; it was several of them, running in two different herds. I am obviously not telling them what to do or forcing them to do these things. They are choosing to do so just as they choose to follow the lead of a head mare on the pasture when they could do otherwise. They were acting as though I am a respected member of their herd. I am still pondering the implications of that honor.

Despite being more than two decades in, it’s a humbling experience sharing life with these ponies.

© Jenifer Morrissey, 2023

The Rosehip Trip

Several weeks ago when I shared a picture of bright red rosehips and my Fell Pony mare Willowtrail Wild Rose, a Fell Pony colleague in England commented on the photo and mentioned rosehip syrup. I’d never heard of rosehip syrup before, so I reached out to the colleague, Christine Robinson, for her recipe. My curiosity was further raised, so I then put collecting rosehips on my list. We were in the midst of warm fall weather at the time, so I began watching for our first hard freeze since several sources suggested waiting to pick rosehips until then.

I spotted this rosehip patch while riding on the Mickelson Trail through the Ranch as part of the Fell Pony Society 96 Mile Memorial Challenge.

In the meantime, while riding the Mickelson Trail with my friends Paula and Torrin, I saw a huge patch of rosehips. It happened to be on a section of the Trail that is on the ranch where I live, so I made note of the location to return to. Previously I’d assumed my rosehip picking was going to be in widely dispersed and lightly populated places. This patch, though, meant I could get everything I needed in one spot.

Rose on the MIckelson Trail in search of the Rosehip Patch.

One morning when weather was pleasant after a run of freezing weather, I decided it was time to go pick. Paula had wisely suggested it was an excuse to put a pony to work, so I hitched the horse trailer, loaded Rose, and we headed to the far end of the ranch to a trail head. It was the first time I had ever taken Rose to a trail head by herself and then ridden her, so I wasn’t sure how she was going to feel about it. As it turned out, she did fabulously.

I couldn’t remember how far it was to the rosehip patch from the trail head, so my dogs and Rose and I headed out. It ended up being a mile and a half to the patch. The weather was pleasant so it was another beautiful autumn ride. When we got to the patch, I looped Rose’s lead rope over a fence post so she could graze, and I set to work picking, moving Rose to another fence post occasionally for her to have fresh grazing.

Rose was contentedly engaged with grazing while I picked rosehips nearby. I moved her from fencepost to fencepost as she needed new forage.

After about a half hour, I heard a twanging sound and soon figured out it was the wire fence that Rose was tied to. She didn’t seem concerned that the wires were jiggling, but I was. It turned out that one of my dogs had found something of interest on the top wire of the fence and could only get to it by jumping and snapping at it. The twanging was essentially her plucking the fence like a guitar string! I smiled but also took it as a sign to finish up my picking chore and head back to the trail head. Rose put her foot to the Trail as capably as she had on the way in. We saw only cattle and a rabbit on our trip, just the sort of outing I enjoy, on beautiful country with just my pony and dogs for company.

The fruits of our labors: rosehips!

The Rosehip Ride was the day after I had completed the Fell Pony Society 96 Mile Queen Elizabeth II Memorial Challenge. I was once again thankful for the Challenge for getting Rose and me in riding condition. Our spontaneous trip to the rosehip patch wouldn’t have happened otherwise. Now it was time to make rosehip syrup!

© Jenifer Morrissey, 2023

Lettie Helps with the Challenge

With the cooler temperatures of fall, I began to ponder the Fell Pony Society 96 Mile Queen Elizabeth II Memorial Challenge that I signed up for in the spring. At the start of summer, I had only completed 13 miles, and then I took the hot days of summer off. The challenge has to be done by the end of October, so I know it will be a push to finish it.

Lettie up high on the hill, rudely interupted from grazing to have her picture taken!

Fortunately, the ponies that I signed up to assist me with the Challenge, including Willowtrail Lettie and Willowtrail Aimee, seemed, like me, more interested with the cooler weather. In all, I signed up three youngstock, including Lettie and Aimee, and one mature pony. Aimee and Lettie spend most nights out on the hill with two mares. They sometimes are up quite high, as shown in the picture here. My thinking regarding including the youngstock in the Challenge was that hand walking them often and in new environments is good experience for them and solidifies their leading skills. And walking with me is quite different than how they spend most of the hours of their days, so it’s good for them to live a domesticated life for a few hours!

One walk with Lettie contained many of the new experiences that I hope for on our outings. We walked along the ranch lane a half mile out and back, so a mile total. While walking, we met a pickup on the lane and then a tractor. We passed cows with calves in pastures along the lane and wild turkeys wandering around. Lettie was fine with all these features of our walk. So I was surprised what caused her to go on high alert.

Lettie suddenly on high alert on a walk for the Challenge.

We got almost to the end of our half mile outbound walk when she stopped and raised her head as high as it would go. I followed the direction of her gaze and smiled. She had spotted a mature bull in a pasture. The bull was moving in our direction, though nearly 100 yards away and over a fence. Then I watched Lettie shift her gaze slightly, and there was another bull also moving in our direction from similarly far away. I think the bulls were headed to a favorite midday resting place, so their movement had nothing to do with us. Nonetheless, these animals are impressively massive, and while Lettie sees cows and calves quite often, she hasn’t had the chance to see mature bulls very often, especially away from her herd and all together.

We’re having fun together working on the Challenge!

Eventually Lettie relaxed, and we completed our walk without incident. I was pleased that she didn’t get busy feet when she saw all these new sights. Much safer for any humans she is with. Aimee has been similar when we’ve been out and about, so we’ve had a lot of fun together all through September.

© Jenifer Morrissey, 2023

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

Under Heavy Skies

I went out later in the evening than I probably should have. I was assuming that the mares and foals had come into the barn on their own as they had been doing every night for awhile. I was especially hopeful they were in because the skies were very heavy: dark and full of moisture with thunder and lightning punctuating regularly.

When I stepped outside to go to the barn, though, I could see I was out of luck. On the other hand, at least I knew where one mare was. Her foal was silhouetted against the dark sky high on the hill. I cast an eye in the direction of the lightning and then towards the pony up high and decided we had a window of time to get up there and down safely. So we, my dogs and I, started climbing. We stayed under trees as much as we could, and I counted between every lightning flash and thunder boom to make sure those features weren’t coming our way.

When we got up to where I had seen the pony silhouetted against the sky, I found only one mare and foal instead of two pair. We were very exposed, so after walking a short distance to see if I could find the other pair, I decided we’d have to go down without them and hope they would join up with us eventually. Usually the two pair are together.

Just as we had when climbing up, we stayed under trees as best we could, and I took a round-about way to the barn that was less out in the open. The ponies didn’t seem nearly as bothered by the booms and flashes as I was (and my thunder-fearing dog). The other mare and foal never joined us, leaving me wondering what that meant for the remainder of the fading light I had available.

In the end, I was thankful for the other pony pair. They had made it to the barn on their own, showing good sense from my perspective. And I really can’t complain about the pair that made me climb because they were cooperative and calm coming down off the hill under those heavy skies. My ponies definitely provide me with plenty of adventure!

© Jenifer Morrissey, 2023

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

The Cactus Line

I’ve decided to nickname my bay line of Fell Ponies the Cactus Line.  Followers of my Facebook page will know that since moving to South Dakota, Willowtrail Mountain Honey has on more than one occasion had a cactus bud stuck to the end of her nose.  Then one day her mother Bowthorne Matty had a similar adornment.  I have never seen any of my black Fell Ponies similarly decorated.

Daughter and Mother sporting cactus buds on their noses.

Willowtrail Amber is Honey’s 2023 bay daughter.  I now realize she was showing me there’s something about this line and cactus.  When she was just two days old, she straddled a large cactus and peed on it.  I laughed heartily.

Make me laugh: Willowtrail Amber peeing on cactus at two days old!

But leave it to the matriarch to really take the cake for the Cactus Line.  At the end of August she met me at the barn as she always does, but I could see that she had an odd pattern of color on her body.  When I got closer, I discovered that she had apparently rolled on a cactus because she had ten large cactus buds on one side of her back and flank.  She didn’t seem particularly bothered by them.  I, in contrast, was cursing them for a week.  I made the mistake of using my hands in leather gloves to remove the buds from Matty.  In the process, some of the spines embedded themselves into my gloves without being obvious and it took several days to make my gloves comfortable to wear again.  I later received advice to use pliers, which was very wise advice indeed!  But at least Matty was freed of her spiny display for the Cactus Line!

Matriarch takes the cake for the cactus line!

© Jenifer Morrissey, 2023

My Challenge with The Challenge

I am pleased to have signed up for the Fell Pony Society’s mileage challenge again this year, formally called The Fell Pony Society Queen Elizabeth II Memorial Challenge.  The challenge is 96 miles by October 31 of this year, honoring the length of the late Her Majesty’s life.  I have included four ponies on my ‘team’ this year, three youngstock and a mare.  I anticipate that the vast majority of the mileage will be handwalking the youngstock.

My day started with me thinking that now that foaling season is past and I am recovering from my sleep-deprived state, that I can get back to working on (walking) the Challenge.  But as the morning unfolded, I found myself chuckling about my challenge with The Challenge.

the mare herd stood on a high plateau on the hill watching me feed and clean stalls and spread their hay, with no interest in joining me

It’s the time of year when I run two herds:  mares and foals are out on the hill during the day, and open mares and youngstock are out during the night.  In the evening, I fetch the mares and foals into the foaling sheds.  Sometimes that involves quite a walk, and other nights they put themselves in.  In the morning, sometimes the herd meets me at the barn, and sometimes it’s like it was this time:  they stood on a high plateau on the hill watching me feed and clean stalls and spread their hay, hoping they would come down on their own.  Nope.

Mares with a view!

I enjoyed the climb to bring them in, as pasqueflowers are still blooming, and I take great joy seeing their smiling faces on the hillside.  And of course the view of the ponies on the hill is always breathtaking.  But by the time I brought them in, any thought of walking optional miles was long gone!  I tallied probably a mile all told, but it won’t count, especially since half the mile was just me with no ponies as I was making my way to them.  Good exercise, though, even if it didn’t progress me towards the Challenge goal.  There’s plenty of days left to accumulate miles, so fingers crossed that my challenge with the Challenge will be surmountable!

Together, almost to the barn!

© Jenifer Morrissey, 2023

Obviously in the Wrong Place

The east wind was stiff, so I wasn’t terribly surprised that the ponies weren’t at the barn when I got there. The barnyard doesn’t provide good cover on mornings like that. And I wasn’t terribly surprised that they also weren’t out in the open. So when I went out in search of them, my direction was only a guess.

One blessing of my route, though, was that pasqueflowers were pushing their purple heads towards the sky wherever the hillsides were shaded by pine trees. Seeing them made it feel more like spring than the temperature or stunted green grass did. I also felt like they were greeting me with bountiful good wishes as I climbed. It was a rare treat!

I climbed up a ridge, thinking that the hiding place they usually use when there’s an east wind was where they would be. I could tell fairly quickly though that I was in the wrong place. There were no fresh hoofprints in front of me, and no fresh manure in the vicinity. I kept turning around in all directions to see how badly I had misjudged their location, but I couldn’t see them anywhere. Then finally a pony appeared from trees well west of me, and indeed I was in the completely wrong place.

There is a black speck between two distant pine branches. That’s one of the ponies that finally emerged from their hiding place! But of course the pasqueflowers blooming made up for any frustration I might have felt at having been in the completely wrong place!

I headed back down, occasionally looking up from the rocky trail to see another pony and then another emerge from the trees on the hillside ahead of me. The ponies then started running, with manes and tails streaming behind them, always a captivating sight. Then they all disappeared from view, and I made my way back to the barn. I was again not terribly surprised that they had arrived there well ahead of me. I wasn’t bothered, though, for my day had begun with so many visual treats, from pasqueflowers to running ponies, that I greeted the herd enthusiastically once we were all together. Such a blessing to share life with these ponies!

The herd beat me back to the barn, of course!

© Jenifer Morrissey, 2023

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

They Came When I Called

My Fell Ponies graze on a very large pasture with almost 400 feet of elevation change. I have been asked occasionally whether I can call my ponies to the barn so I don’t have to undertake the arduous task of walking out to bring them in. My answer to that question is that I don’t call them to the barn for a couple of reasons. First, they have shown that they willingly come to the barn to see me every morning, so I don’t really need to call them in. And second, if they don’t come to the barn, they usually have a good reason, and I’m curious to find out what it is, so the walk to find them is driven by curiosity. However, when the blizzard of the third and fourth of April 2023 hit, when my ponies weren’t at the barn when I arrived, I did attempt to call them in.

I had seen the ponies the night before, half way into the storm. Nearly a foot of wet heavy snow had fallen without wind so had evenly blanketed everything. When I bid the herd good night, I knew we were due for more snow and also that wind was forecast. The next morning it appeared we had about 20” of snow, but the wind had indeed blown, so drifts were up to three feet in places, and a few places had no snow at all. I was late getting to the barn because I was waiting for the ranch roads to be plowed. When I finally got to the barn, a few hours later than normal, I could see the ponies had been there earlier but weren’t there then. When I left Colorado, I gave away my snowshoes, which would have been the ideal tool for going out in search of the ponies. Since I no longer had them, I decided it was best to try to call the herd.

I filled a tub with hay and started spreading it around the paddocks at the barn, calling as I went. I looked out to the hill every few steps but I couldn’t see any ponies emerging from their usual haunts. I went to fill the tub with hay a second time, and as I returned to the paddocks, I saw the ponies coming in. It was quite a sight to see them streaming at speed over and through the deep snow, down into the ravine and then into the paddocks. The hock and knee action that I breed for were on display as the ponies negotiated the results of the blizzard. And now I could indeed say that my ponies came when I called. I was very thankful.

That night I returned to the barn just before dark. It had been an overcast and cold day, so the snow was as deep then as it had been in the morning. I spread hay as before, and I called the ponies. Once again, they came when I called. Often in the evening they don’t come to the barn; when they do I assume it’s because they feel the need for the additional sustenance of some hay. After this major storm, I was more than happy to provide it. And I admit to feeling relief that I could lay my eyes on all of them and be certain they were weathering the situation well. One lifetime with my ponies will definitely not be enough!

To see a video of my ponies coming in when I called, click here.

© Jenifer Morrissey, 2023

Introducing Globetrotter Moth, Fell Pony Stud Colt

Eight months after first meeting on a fell in Cumbria, I am pleased to welcome Globetrotter Moth to Willowtrail Farm.  This Fell Pony colt’s import journey only had a minor bump, though for me any bump in that journey is a major event!  I’m told he’s a seasoned traveler now, but I think he’ll be happy to stay put for awhile!

It occurred to both Moth’s breeder and me that Moth embodies so much Fell Pony history, for me personally and for the breed.  Moth’s breeder is Libby Robinson.  In the 1990s, Libby exported my very first Fell Pony, Sleddale Rose Beauty.  A lot of water has run under the proverbial bridges of Libby’s and my Fell Pony lives since then.  We have been in touch for more than twenty years because of our connection through Beauty (I bought Beauty from the person who imported her).  A circle of sorts will be completed when I breed Moth to Beauty’s daughter and granddaughter after he becomes a licensed stallion. 

Fell of course is the local word for hill in Cumbria, and the Fell Pony takes its name from those hills that have influenced its characteristics over centuries.  The first fell that I walked on, thanks to Bert Morland of the Lunesdale stud, was Roundthwaite Common.  It was also there that I met Moth last summer at his mother’s side.  I saw dozens of handsome Fell Pony colts on my visit to the breed’s homeland in 2022, and it was Moth that most caught my attention.

On my first trip to Cumbria, I made a point to visit both fell-running and non-fell-running herds to understand the breed’s origins both on and off their namesake hills.  One of the fell-running herds I visited was the Greenholme stud, and I’ve been the fortunate recipient of Potter family hospitality on every trip I’ve made to Cumbria since then.  I’m pleased to finally have some Greenholme blood in my herd; Moth’s father is Greenholme Jasper.  Also on that first trip, I met the multi-supreme champion stallion Murthwaite Look-at-Me who is found in Moth’s pedigree.  Sadly I never managed to cross paths with Tom Capstick of the Murthwaite stud.  I am pleased to now though have some Murthwaite blood in my herd through Moth’s dam, Murthwaite Happy Feet.

Libby’s prefix, Globetrotter, reflects her personal journey with Fell Ponies.  Long before she began to breed, she was using Fell Ponies in her work at a living history museum, in a carriage business, and in competitive and recreational riding and driving.  To have a herd of her own, though, she found land more affordable in France, so she emigrated there in the late 1990s.  After nearly twenty years there, she called me to share an idea she was mulling about helping the Fell Pony breed.  She wanted to bring together the ponies’ long history both of working with farmers and packmen and women and also running semi-wild on the fells.  I admired her idea but I felt she really needed to be in Cumbria to accomplish her vision.  She must have felt similarly; I have admired her courage since she gave up all she had established in France to return to Cumbria to start the Fell Pony Heritage Trust.

I didn’t know until last year that one of Libby’s lifelong ambitions has been to raise Fell Ponies on the fells of Cumbria.  After her return from France, she found a way to fulfill that dream by homing her herd on Roundthwaite Common and bringing forth multiple crops of foals.  I was taken not only with Moth but his 2022 half-sister Globetrotter Molly whom Libby has retained.

In addition to Moth being a traditional Fell by being born on a Cumbrian fell, his pedigree reflects current and historic happenings in the Fell Pony breed.  A current factor is dispersal sales of fell-running herds as breeders age and the logistics of keeping Fells on the fells become increasingly challenging.  Both of Moth’s parents went through dispersal sales.  Greenholme Jasper went through the Greenholme dispersal in 2021, and Murthwaite Happy Feet went through the Murthwaite dispersal in 2015.  Happy Feet went to France to join the Globetrotter herd and returned to a fell in Cumbria a few years later.

One historic happening that is reflected in Moth’s pedigree comes through his mother’s line.  The Inspection Scheme and Grading Up were used in the breed’s past to bring true-to-type but unregistered ponies into the stud book.  Moth goes back to the inspected mare Foggy Gill Judy.  Judy is represented in 5-10% of modern day Fell Ponies.

Another historic part of the Fell Pony breed’s past is traveling stallions.  Stallions would be walked or ridden or driven through parts of Cumbria each season to breed mares at farms where no stallions were otherwise available.  Last summer I met or saw pictures of several sons of Greenholme Jasper at different farms, reflecting that the Greenholme stud had allowed him to be ‘traveled’ for a few years before selling him at the dispersal.  A Jasper daughter is also being imported to the US.

Moth has arrived with his winter coat intact.  Like Cumbria, cold weather has lingered here too, so he will be glad to have it and then lose it as our weather warms.  I am very much looking forward to getting to know Moth and watching him grow into his role as my new stallion. 

A community has certainly made Moth’s presence here possible.  Thank you Libby for allowing Moth to come to the United States.  Thank you Paula and Gwen for enabling my trip to Cumbria last year, for I vowed I wouldn’t import a pony I hadn’t first met.  Thank you Tina, Tracy, and Jackie for looking at pictures and videos of Moth and bolstering my hopes for this young pony.  And of course thank you Bruce for traveling to Cumbria with me, helping me evaluate Moth there, enabling my Fell Ponies to live on a fell-like hill in the Black Hills of South Dakota, and so much more!

© Jenifer Morrissey, 2023

Strange Karma

For more than a year I spoke with a breeder about a young Fell Pony colt they’d bred.  The colt impressed them with its quality, and they were looking forward to finding a way for him to contribute to the breed as a stallion.  Then one day I got the devastating news that the colt had died.  He had been stalled in a barn, just as many of his herd mates had been for many years.  He’d had a halter on while stalled, just as his many herd mates had had for many years.  But he had hung himself during the night from his halter on some protrusion in his stable.  He was dead when his breeder found him at morning check.

The other morning I was doing chores at the barn, and this story came to my mind for some reason.  I had finished preparing vitamin buckets for the herd and had haltered each pony and tied them to the fences, just as I’ve done hundreds if not thousands of times.  I went back to pick up the first set of buckets to distribute, and when I turned around, I saw a pony struggling.  I dropped the buckets and immediately went to my pony to discern how to help.

The pony had caught their rope halter on a protrusion on the fence.  They had pulled the halter so tight that I knew immediately I wouldn’t be able to untie it, so I pulled out my pocket knife and in three quick moves had the halter cut off and the pony freed.  The pony stepped back and shook its head several times and then a few minutes later the pony let me put a new halter on and tie them to the fence in a place where I couldn’t see any protrusions.  Of course I thought the same about the previous tying location; the protrusion on the fence was just a quarter of an inch but had obviously been enough.

It was so strange to remember that just an hour before I had been thinking about the colt that had died.  Ever since hearing that story I’ve been very careful to not leave a halter on a pony when they are turned out in case they should get into trouble and I wouldn’t be there to help them.  The strangeness continued, though, as I reflected on the fact that I’ve now cut two halters off the same pony.  This was the second time this pony had caught their halter on the fence and been unable to dislodge it.  I’ve never cut a halter off any other pony in my herd in more than twenty years of managing them the same way.  And then I realized that the colt that my breeder friend lost is related to the one that I’ve cut two halters off of.  There must be some strange karma in that line of ponies. 

Sometimes things happen that we think we should have prevented.  But often, I think, things happen for a multitude of reasons, most of which we have no control over at all.  We can only do the best we can in each situation and then be humble about our role in the outcome and forgiving of ourselves, too.  Sometimes strange karma may be at work.

© Jenifer Morrissey, 2023

Missing in the Cold

When I arrived at the barn, the ponies were not there. I have learned, because they have shown me, that when the weather is coming from a certain direction, the barn doesn’t have any good cover, so the ponies will await my appearance from afar, where they can see me arrive but from a more sheltered place. It makes me wonder if the weather directions are different than when the barn was built in the 1940s.

That morning, it was below zero Fahrenheit, and with the wind blowing it was pretty bitter, so I put out hay and took shelter for a few minutes in the shed area of the barn. My ponies had indeed seen my activity and came at a trot through the falling snow to tuck into the hay before it was covered with white. I smiled in appreciation, watching them from the barn, and then I paused. I counted and then counted again. There was a pony missing, and then I realized it was one of the pregnant mares. I immediately became concerned.

I stepped back out into the weather and began calling for her. I looked in the direction from which the herd had come, and I didn’t see her. I called again, probably with a little more urgency in my voice. She still wasn’t anywhere to be seen. I called again, louder, and then I saw her. She had emerged from one of the foaling sheds to let me know where she was. I yelled my thanks and went to prepare vitamin buckets for the herd, thinking she would come in when she heard what I was doing.

I finished the bucket preparations, and she still hadn’t arrived. This raised my concern again, so I distributed the buckets to the rest of the herd, picked up her bucket in one hand and put a wad of hay under my other arm and began the trudge through the snow, down into the ravine and back up toward the foaling sheds. I could barely see her; she was back in the shed where it was most protected. She didn’t emerge as I approached, so my concern stayed high. But when she saw I had her bucket in my hand, she stepped out of the depths of the shed and eagerly stuck her head in it. Relief flooded through me. And when she finished the bucket, she started on the hay. I could see she was shivering lightly, but I knew the hay would help.

On my trudge back to the barn, I realized that as low pony in the herd, the others had taken all the prime real estate in the sheds, leaving her on the margins. When they all left for the barn, she finally had the shed to herself, and she wasn’t about to emerge from it! Later in the day she appeared at the barn with the rest of the herd, so the last of my concerns were put to rest.

© Jenifer Morrissey, 2023

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

Lettie and Her Grandfather

One of the things that surprises me with my ponies, though it probably shouldn’t since I’ve been doing this long enough, is that I’m seeing traits of grandparents in grandchildren. On a beautiful February day, it was long-yearling Willowtrail Lettie reminding her of her grandfather Guards Apollo.

I woke up as the sun hit the house feeling the spring that is coming. Such a nice day had dawned that I was inspired to dig out my blue tarp and take it to the barn. The inspiration was to do something I’ve never done before: introduce the tarp to a herd rather than a single pony. When I stopped at the barn between sunrise and breakfast, I put some orange cones in the paddock. Eventually they would hold the corners of the tarp down, but they ended up being entertainment on their own. As the picture of Lettie shows, she immediately began pawing one and sniffing it and moving it around.

Willotrail Lettie showing tremendous curiosity in a cone.

When I returned to the barn later, I carried the blue tarp into the paddock. I was met at the gate by curious ponies wondering what I was carrying. Some recognized it, and some expressed concern for the crinkly noise it made. I unfolded it in the company of five ponies, being cautious in case one might spook. That didn’t happen, and I tucked each corner under a cone to secure it in the slight breeze. Nice idea, but almost immediately Lettie and her older sister Aimee were pawing at it. I stood back and watched.

I had thought I might halter a pony and lead them across the tarp, but what happened next was too entertaining to interrupt. Lettie and Aimee continued to paw and sniff, and they attracted some of the rest of the herd as an audience. I was able to coax the lead mare to put one foot on the tarp as it was being moved about by the youngsters’ activities. Then my most seasoned mare took my invitation and walked across it at liberty. The two others who were watching were a little worried, so I just let the entertainment continue.

After a few more minutes, I took the tarp corners out from under the cones so that the tarp was free. What happened next had me laughing heartily. Lettie pawed and pawed at the tarp, eventually making it into a ball under her. I laughed because I had seen her grandfather do the exact same thing thirteen years before, as shown in the picture of Apollo and the blue tarp that illustrates at least one of my book chapters.

Guards Apollo playing with a blue tarp in 2010

But then Lettie outdid her grandfather. She grabbed a corner of the tarp in her teeth and raised her head. Normally that startles a pony because the tarp billows and makes noise so they let go. She did pause, but then she stood there chewing on the tarp corner with the tarp swaying gently in the breeze as she surveyed the hill with alert attention. I thought it was hilarious because she was so comfortable with the whole picture. Of course, it was a morning when I’d left my camera at home, so I could only stand and chuckle. My apparent enjoyment attracted the mature ponies to my side, thinking perhaps they could out-entertain Lettie, but not a chance! I just enjoyed the granddaughter and the memories of her grandfather that she brought to mind. What a blessing life with ponies is!

© Jenifer Morrissey, 2023

The photo of Apollo and the blue tarp also appears in my book What An Honor, available internationally by clicking here or on the book cover. The cover of the book features Lettie’s grandmother!

At Dusk on the Hill

It was just after sunset and snowing. I had just gotten back from running an errand in town. I thought there was enough light to go out and see the ponies on the hill, but when I came in on the lane, I didn’t see them anywhere. Nonetheless, I took off with my dog Ace in the failing light to a place I couldn’t see from the lane, but they weren’t there. I climbed up onto a small ridge to look down in a gully to see if they were there because I also couldn’t see that from the lane, but they weren’t there either. So I called out a good night, wishing them well and saying I would see them in the morning. As I turned to head home, I saw something that made me look back. There, halfway up the hill was a pony that had lifted its head to acknowledge my greeting. When she saw me look at her, she went back to grazing.

I did a quick calculation as to whether I had enough light left to get safely up there and back down again before dark. As I started climbing, the ponies went out of sight as I dropped down into a small ravine, then climbed up over a small hill, and then went down into another ravine again. Finally I started the bigger climb to where I had seen them. When I finally got high enough, I saw one pony standing on a prominence, watching my approach. I had only seen two ponies from below, so when I got to her, I wasn’t surprised when I saw the second pony, but then I was curious where the rest were. As I went to greet the second pony, I saw a third, and then a fourth came up out of a ravine. When I walked to the edge, there were the other three. I greeted six, but the Sentinel was up too high, and I couldn’t take the time to climb to her.

As I picked my way back down the hill, I was glad I had made the climb. As usual, I enjoyed seeing my ponies enjoying the hill. And it’s always touching when my ponies greet me upon my arrival. This time I was also touched by the fact that they let me know where they were and encouraged me to come see them. One lifetime is definitely not going to be enough to share with them.

© Jenifer Morrissey, 2023

The Sentinel's Strange Behavior

The Sentinel: Bowthorne Matty

The morning light showed a single pony on the hill pasture. That’s odd, I thought. Normally the herd is all together. As I got closer, my suspicion about which pony was standing alone was confirmed. I call Bowthorne Matty, my senior mare, the Sentinel. She is often found standing off from the herd with a distant look in her eyes. This time was strange, though, because normally the rest of the herd is only a few dozen yards away. But they were nowhere to be seen.

When I got to the barn, I found the other members of the herd there. Matty, though, showed no inclination to join us. What could be keeping her out there? Normally she’s at the gate in the morning to greet me. Is she hurt? Sick? Worried about something?

Notice the small circle on the tip of her nose: a cactus bud.

I shut the rest of the herd into the barn paddock and headed out with a halter and lead rope to where Matty was standing. Even when she saw me approaching, she didn’t move in my direction, also very unusual. All the same questions kept circling through my mind. She didn’t appear out of the ordinary, other than by her behavior. Finally, when I got about thirty yards away, she started toward me. That relieved one worry: her movement was completely normal. And she seemed to be acting normally. Still, though, why was she staying out here all alone?

It was only when she got about ten feet away that a possible explanation revealed itself. On the end of her nose above her lips was a cactus bud. I had only ever seen one pony before be adorned in this way. Matty’s daughter Willowtrail Mountain Honey has presented herself numerous times with a nose ornament like this. I removed it as quickly as I could then haltered Matty, and she willingly headed with me toward the barn. When we got to the ravine, she indicated that she’d prefer to run in, so I unclipped the lead rope. I met her at the barn a few minutes later and let her in the gate to rejoin the herd.

I still can’t quite accept that the cactus bud was the reason for Matty’s solitary behavior, though it could have been. I think it equally possible that some tree work being done under the power lines a quarter mile to the east also had her concerned. The tree work is done, so I will see tomorrow what the Sentinel’s behavior is in the morning sun. I am hopeful for normalcy.

© Jenifer Morrissey, 2023

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

Integrating My New Gelding 2

The first phase of integrating my new gelding Asi into the herd was introducing him to three mares in his paddock (to read that story, click here). The next phase was to put him out on the hill with them. The hill pasture is three-quarters of a mile on one side and runs up to a ridge. Walking to see the ponies there is always good exercise, so putting Asi out there would give me answers to several important questions about herd management. Would he stay with the girls? Would he wander to the extent of the pasture without them? Would he come to me to be haltered when I appeared? So when I let Asi loose that first time, I did so knowing that the range of things I might be required to do before the short days of winter brought darkness early was vast!

Rose between Asi and the young girls

As it turned out, Asi didn’t venture more than a few hundred yards from the barn that first afternoon and he willingly came to me to be haltered and put back in his paddock for the night. The next day when I repeated the experiment, he did follow the mares, and they ventured a little farther, but when Asi got too close, one of the mares chased him back toward the barn. Again, he willingly came to me to be haltered and put away for the night. He left me reassured that he would stay with the herd and be haltered when asked.

Phase three of introducing Asi to the herd began several days later. This phase involved putting him out with the entire herd, adding a mare and his two daughters, aged one and two years old. More questions were in my mind with this phase. Asi hadn’t shown any sign of stallion behavior toward any of the mares. Nonetheless, I stayed aware that younger playful females might stir whatever hormones might remain active, so I planned the introduction to be when I could watch for an hour in case I needed to intervene. I also knew that changing the herd population could change the dynamics, so additionally I cleared my schedule at the end of that day to bring Asi back into his paddock so everyone could relax.

Rose keeping Asi away from the rest of the herd

I widely spread hay outside the barn paddocks and put all the females out first. When I brought Asi to the gate, the mare that had most bonded with him, Rose, approached. I waved her away to give me space to let Asi go, then I was absolutely fascinated to watch what unfolded next. Instead of returning to buddying up to Asi, Rose ignored the hay and assigned herself the role of protector of the young girls. Aimee and Lettie were very curious about the new pony, but Rose inserted herself between them and Asi whenever they tried to approach him. Asi was interested in hay, but the girls were not, so Rose was on constant vigilance, running, spinning, kicking, snaking her neck and using all her persuasive techniques to keep Asi and the little girls apart. The photograph shows Asi in the background eating hay, with Rose between him and the young girls. Over the next several days, this pattern of behavior continued no matter where the herd was: in the paddocks, on the hill, or on the flat. Rose definitely got her exercise! And then the dynamics evolved in unexpected ways. More next time!

© Jenifer Morrissey, 2023

Integrating My New Gelding into the Herd

Fascinated as I am with herd dynamics, I knew I would want to watch when I put my new Fell Pony gelding in with my herd of mares. My new gelding is known to them already because he is my former stallion Kinniside Asi. I castrated him because he wasn’t happy in his life as a stallion; he’s a completely different and happier pony now. I have heard people complain that castrated stallions are not good companions for mares in their new life as a gelding, so I wanted to see if Asi would be that type or different.

Kinniside Asi, my new gelding, looking at the camera, and three mares learning to get along at feeding time.

Because Asi is heavier built than my mares, I knew I had to use great care when putting him with them, especially since he knew them previously as mating objects not companions. While I considered integrating the mares with him one at a time, I decided on a different strategy. I put three mature mares who are tightly bonded to each other with him all together for part of a day to see what would happen. It ended up being a better strategy than I had imagined!

I was taught early in my pony life that it is always best to introduce new herd mates over food, and it is an approach that I have always found useful. Accordingly, I began the experiment when the ponies were all eager for hay. I tied Asi to the fence in his large paddock and spread hay there. I then brought the three mares into the paddock, tying each of them to the fence until we were all present. Then I untied the mares in reverse dominance order (I don’t want a dominant mare pushing around a lesser one while it’s tied up). Finally, I untied Asi. As expected, they all went to eating.

It didn’t take long, though, before curiosity overtook hunger pangs, and the dynamics that followed were as fascinating as I anticipated. The best part was they were also full of surprises. I was pleased that Asi was respectful. I was also pleased that the mares worked together to put him in his place as I had hoped. I was surprised, though, which mare was the most effective in moving Asi around: the youngest and smallest who was also well-pregnant. It was truly impressive to watch her pin her ears, walk with authority in his direction with her neck outstretched and have him back up as fast as he was able. I had watched my first Fell Pony mare, Sleddale Rose Beauty, do similar things around stallions, and I had used her capabilities to my advantage whenever I had a new young stallion that needed putting in his place. I smiled and said to myself, “I’ve found my new Beauty!”

Another mare’s strategy was not as authoritative and seemed less effective to me. She would touch noses with him then turn around and kick out at him, usually missing. I’ve learned over the years that they know when they will miss and they know when they will make contact and they choose accordingly. I didn’t feel Asi took this sort of encounter nearly as seriously as the other where he was backing up in complete deference to the mare. Instead he was just keeping out of range.

I had to cut that first introduction of gelding and mares short after forty-five minutes. A biting fly had come out that makes some of my mares lose their minds, so I returned them to their own paddock where they could find peace and refuge. After frost, though, I repeated the integration several more times for several hours at a time until it was clear that that herd of four had reached a peaceful state. One mare chose to hang with the stallion, and the other two mares hung together. At feeding time Asi was low pony in the herd. Time for the next step: putting them together on the hill!

© Jenifer Morrissey, 2022

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

Polo and Fells and Fall River County

My Fell Ponies here are grazing on native buffalo grass which creates a durable turf that was important to early polo enthusiasts in our county.

The Fell Pony Society is celebrating its centenary in 2022. I have always been intrigued by the roots of the Society being in polo ponies. For instance, on the ‘About’ page of the Fell Pony Society website, it says, “Pony breeders had begun to record pedigrees in the second half of the 19th century, and the first Fell ponies were registered in the Polo and Riding Pony Stud Book in 1898.” (1) Closer to home for me, in 2022, I learned that the county where I live had a polo pony breeding farm at one time almost 100 years ago and there’s a connection to that effort on the ranch where my Fell Ponies and I now live.

This polo pony participated in the 1909 match which put the US on the international polo map when the team beat the UK for the Westchester/International Cup. From the 1925 edition of Types & Market Classes of Livestock.

The Polo Pony Stud Book was founded in England in 1893. Its aim was to support the breeding of ponies for the playing of polo and be a place for the registration of native pony stock, including the Fell. Native ponies were of interest to the Polo Pony Stud Book because of their hardiness and because individuals typically possessed “a clean-cut head, small ears, bright full eye, and well-curved nostril...” (2) You can see pictures of three prize-winning Fell Pony mares from the Polo Pony Stud Book era of Fell history on the Fell Pony Museum website (click here).

Polo horses and riders on the 7-11 Ranch 9 miles NE of Hot Springs, South Dakota. Courtesy Pioneer Museum, Hot Springs, SD

It was in 1925 that prominent businessman F.O. Butler announced he was bringing polo to his adopted home of Fall River County and Hot Springs, South Dakota. He had purchased the 7-11 Ranch north of town and was dedicating the ranch to polo pony breeding. He had previously established a polo club in Illinois where his permanent residence was. His family became interested in polo after 1909 when the US beat the British team to win the coveted International/Westchester Cup. The first known game of polo in Fall River County occurred in 1925 and was referred to as ‘hockey on hoof’ in the newspaper!

Polo being played on the 7-11 Ranch. Courtesy Pioneer Museum, Hot Springs, SD

In his book about F.O. Butler called Paper Mountain, author Robert Karolevitz writes, “South Dakota was, as one sportswriter put it, an ideal place for polo. There was plenty of flat ground not too valuable for other uses. The prairie turf was buffalo-tough and required little maintenance. What’s more: most people knew one end of a horse from the other.” (3)

Butler brought in breeding stock from Wyoming, Montana, California, New Mexico, Mexico, and Cuba. By 1928, there were 94 mares and three stallions at the 7-11. When F.O.’s son said he wanted hardiness and coolheadedness in his polo ponies, F.O. replied, “All right. The colts will get hardiness feeding over the hills and wearing their feet tough on the sand rock. That way they will develop bone and muscle as all of the western ponies have. The coolheadedness we will get by selecting our brood stock.” (4) In those words, there are certainly echoes of how Fell Pony characteristics develop.

Karolevitz also wrote, “[Butler] brought in a ten-ton roller to smooth out the new polo field at the ranch in time for the Hot Springs team to ride circles around the Fourth Cavalry foursome from Fort Meade, 13 to 2. [Butler’s wife] Fannie served tea after the game, a social touch not particularly commonplace in cowboy country.” (5)

In 1916, a park on College Hill in Hot Springs had a half-mile horse race track and by the next year the park had grandstands, bleachers, stables, and a full-time grounds keeper for numerous types of community events. F.O. Butler bought the park in the late 1920s or early 1930s and later donated to the town of Hot Springs. The park carries his name today. (6)

Butler Park in Hot Springs, SD now supports modern sports, but at one time there were stables where the library is in the background.

Depression and drought in the early 1930s ended Fall River County’s enthusiasm for polo, but the 7-11 continued to provide ponies to other parts of the country until a turning point of ranch operations in 1937. Polo was still being played in the Black Hills of South Dakota as recently as 2015. (7)

John, Olaf and Alvin Aaberg were three of the earliest Hot Springs polo enthusiasts. John became manager of the 7-11 Ranch after Butler purchased it and went on trips to buy breeding stock with Butler. These Aaberg men were great-great-uncles to several residents of the ranch where I live today. Occasionally the Aaberg descendants here give assistance to my Fell Pony herd.

Polo mallets, helmet and balls from the era of polo in Fall River County, South Dakota. Items in the collections of the Pioneer Museum, Hot Springs, South Dakota

Fell Ponies are descended at least in part from the extinct Galloway Pony. The Galloway also contributed to the Thoroughbred. The Fell Pony Museum website says, “Although the ancestors of our modern Fell ponies did include Galloways, the well-bred racing "Galloways" were derived from the native "Scotch" pony by several generations of maternal descent; making our Fells distant cousins-many-times-removed of today's racing Thoroughbreds.” (8) So perhaps today’s Fell Ponies living in Fall River County can trace very, very distantly in two different ways to an ancestor of the polo ponies that once were also born and raised here, either through the Galloway or through the Poly Pony Stud Book. It’s fun to ponder!

I am indebted to Dawn Johnson at the Pioneer Museum in Hot Springs for locating and showing me the Museum’s polo-related collections and describing her family’s connection to polo history in Fall River County. And I am once again indebted to Sue Millard, curator of the Fell Pony Museum website, for the treasure trove she has collected there. Finally, I am grateful to my friend Tracy Plessinger for pointing out the connection between the beautiful 7-11 Ranch and polo ponies.

1. http://www.fellponysociety.org.uk/about_breed.htm

2. https://www.fellponymuseum.org.uk/fells/19clate/fpsoc.htm

3. Karolevitz, Robert F. Paper Mountain: The Story of Frank Osgood Butler. Brookings, SD: South Dakota State University Foundation Press, 1980, p. 46.

4. Karolevitz, p. 47.

5. Karolevitz, p. 48.

6. https://frcheraldstar.com/news/1897-naming-writes-hot-springs-butler-park-named-for-chicago-born-businessman

7. https://newtonforkranchblog.wordpress.com/, 10/13/15

8. https://www.fellponymuseum.org.uk/fells/17_18C/galloways2.htm

© Jenifer Morrissey, 2022

Grazing Animals - Including Ponies - Doing Good

As you are likely aware, there is a debate raging about whether we humans should all be vegetarians, with the related opinion that livestock raised for meat should be removed from landscapes.  Like anything in life that’s important, it’s a complex topic.  Grazing animals such as cattle, sheep and goats can do damage to landscapes, a truth that fuels the pro-vegetarian/anti-livestock camp.  However, it is also the case that grazing animals can benefit landscapes when their grazing is managed with that goal in mind.  In a large swath of North America, grazing animals were an important part of healthy ecosystems prior to the arrival of Europeans to the continent, and around the world there are increasing numbers of farmers and ranchers who are successfully using livestock to improve landscapes and soil health.  In England, Fell Ponies are being used for this sort of beneficial grazing in their home region (click here to for more information).

In a recent paper in the journal animals, famed professor and livestock handling expert Temple Grandin laid out the current research that supports the title “Grazing Cattle, Sheep, and Goats Are Important Parts of a Sustainable Agricultural Future.” She concludes the article with “Well-managed grazing systems can be truly sustainable and improve soil health, help sequester carbon, and maintain plant biodiversity.  The grazing animals are part of the cycle of life and the natural grass ecosystem.  They are a natural part of the land.”  (1)  I have an ongoing assignment for Rural Heritage magazine to write articles on this and similar topics.

Usually, the discussions about the benefits of managed grazing involve the species that Grandin includes in her paper:  cattle, sheep, and goats.  A new book crossed my desk, however, that gives equine owners guidance on how to feed their animals with the same goals in mind:  improving landscapes and soil health.  Called Species-rich Grassland:  The Secret Key to Equine Health, the book is written by a German scientist who lays out in both an informative and entertaining way the science of managing forage and choosing forage products for the benefit of equines and their landscapes.  The book was published in 2019 and translated from German in 2021.  The author is a PhD ecophysiologist specializing in equine pastures, and she has copiously referenced current and historical research from around the world in this volume. 

Things that we regularly take for granted when we have equines are called into question in the book.  For instance, Vanselow considers mowing hay to be ecologically damaging in most cases because it reduces species diversity, both in forage plants and in the numerous other animal species that call pastures home.  Any hay meadow that has to be resown every few years also should be cause for reconsideration.  Fortunately, numerous case studies are given to show how to manage grassland more holistically, opening the reader’s mind to how our own landscape or the landscape from which we purchase forage products can be managed better for the health of our equines and other community members.

The book is available from the publishers of Rural Heritage magazine.  I highly recommend it for its thought-provoking and inspiring content.

1. Grandin, Temple.  “Grazing Cattle, Sheep and Goats are Important Parts of a Sustainable Agricultural Future, animals, 2002.12.2092, https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12162092, 8/16/22.

© Jenifer Morrissey, 2022

Pack Saddles and Fell Ponies

Turkey Trot Sand Lily prepared for packing equipment in canvas panniers into a logging job in a roadless area. Note that the rear girth on this saddle is farther back than would be comfortable on a male pony.

I received a question about pack saddles for Fell Ponies. And then I received another one. And then I received some fascinating information about pack saddles used during the packhorse era in Cumbria when ancestors of our Fell Ponies were an important part of transport and commerce. So I thought I had better collect the information that I have on packsaddles and Fells into one place.

Historic pack saddle at Eskdale Mill in Boot, Cumbria. It appears that the saddle and padding are integrated in this saddle. Photo courtesy Kate Hughes.

While the questions I received were about pack saddles, I consider here the topic a bit more broadly. Besides the saddle proper, there is a pad and usually some sort of container (often called panniers) which is attached to the saddle to enable loads to be carried. Sometimes there aren’t three distinct pieces to a pack outfit. For instance, the historic packhorse saddle at Eskdale Mill in Boot, Cumbria appears to have the saddle and padding combined together. And I have strapped loads directly to the saddles, as is often done with the famous Decker pack saddles, specially designed to be stronger for awkward loads.

A pack pannier system designed to be placed over a western saddle. Top: before a trash pickup project. Bottom: Before an overnight work pack trip. Photos courtesy Dawn Munro and Paula Guenther

A friend introduced me to yet another variation. She found panniers designed to fit over a riding saddle (do an internet search for Trail Max Saddle Panniers to see where to purchase them; at this writing, Amazon carries them.) Here’s what she shared after taking an overnight trip that went well: “Sometimes people face a barrier to packing with their equine because they think they need a formal pack outfit, but there are other options. The Trail Max Panniers are heavy duty and have straps in the right places. I used them with the vintage endurance trail saddle that is my normal and best fitting saddle. You can get plastic cargo boxes that fit the bags, but we did pretty well balancing the load without boxes. The only disadvantage to the design is that it is difficult to tighten the saddle’s girth with the bags full, so after the first quarter mile we needed a two-person lift-and-tighten maneuver. There is a big O ring that the rear flank cinch goes through and one at the center that can go to center D ring or pommel on saddle, whichever works better. I did remove the stirrups, fenders and leathers for a more streamlined profile. You wouldn’t have to, necessarily, and toward the end of hike out, I was pretty tempted to climb up and ride with legs cocked forward!”

When I responded to my first inquirer about pack saddles for Fells, I began at the beginning, meaning comfort of the pony. If a pony’s packsaddle is fit properly, the pony will work more willingly and safely than if the pony is asked to work with ill-fitting tack. Fitting pack saddles is similar to fitting riding saddles in that the length of the bars and ‘sit’ of the bars contributes to the comfort of the pony. For that reason, it’s important that you figure out a way to try out the packsaddle before buying, for instance by finding a local provider of packsaddles. (For an extensive article on saddle fit and Fell Ponies, click here.)

Often Fells have short backs so they require shorter bars than horses do. When I picked out packsaddles for a job for our logging and construction business several years ago, I considered both horse and burro sizes to fit the various ponies I was using on that job. I have even used a llama pack saddle on a pony, though it’s a compromise because llamas have a heavy fleece coat that allows for straighter saddle bars so extra padding is needed to fit the saddle to an equine.

Gravel being unloaded from apple-picking bags used as panniers on a packsaddle. Restar Lucky Joe is the Fell Pony.

The packsaddles I purchased for that professional job came with saddle pads. They were larger and thicker than pads for riding saddles to ensure that the back of the pony is sufficiently protected from the bars of the saddle as well as the load. Once you have the saddle and pad figured out, then you may add panniers of some sort. I have simple canvas bag-type panniers as well as apple picking bags for a gravel hauling job I did once (click here to read more). I also have nylon-lined open-top bags that I have packed greens for holiday wreaths in.

Linnel Doublet, known as Rusty, wearing an early 1900s English pack saddle while on a walk on an historic packhorse track in the Lake District.

Hynholme Amber wearing a replica of a vintage English packsaddle in the Lake District.

In 2015 my late husband and I took two Fell Ponies on a walk over Burnmoor in the Lake District on an historic packhorse track. Christine Robinson of the Kerbeck stud provided the ponies and pack saddles, to which we strapped our lunches in burlap bags. The ponies were Hynholme Amber (the black in the photos) and Linnel Doublet, known as Rusty (the bay in the photos). The two saddles were differently constructed. Christine recalls, “The saddle Rusty had on was purchased at a Vintage Traction Engine Show in Dorset. I haven't seen one like it before or after. It is actually with a friend of mine near Bristol, so I can't check exactly, but I remember it was stamped as being made in London in the early 1900s; sorry I can't remember the maker or exact date. I suspect it was Military. It also had stirrup bars on, so could be ridden on, but I'm not sure I'd fancy that! The saddle on Amber was made by my husband and was a copy of one belonging to a Heavy Horse Centre/museum. Although we use it as it is, it would originally have had pads and girth straps similar to the other one.”

Knowing my interest in packhorse history, Helen Caldwell of the Cumbria Industrial History Society sent me an excerpt from a book that is fascinating to ponder. It describes touring an historic hall in the Lake District and says in part, “Returning downstairs to the passage between the old portion and the kitchen, Mrs. Nelson, the occupier’s wife, told me that this part and the kitchen were at one time a shed. Pointing to several small remains of pulleys fastened to the beams, she said that over them ran ropes to lift the loads from the pack-horses. In the kitchen I found a pulley complete, and from this it is possible to visualize the scene in the old days. A long string of heavily-laden ponies would draw up toward evening in the yard and would then be led under this shed or porch in batches, there being arrangements to deal with about half a dozen at a time. Then, with an arrangement of ropes and hooks, the loads tied on the saddles could quickly be lifted off before the ponies were stabled for the night. The process would be reversed the next morning and considerable time would thus be saved, the unpacking and repacking of the merchandise being avoided.” (1)

It is possible that ‘to lift the loads from the pack-horses’ means to lift the entire saddle with panniers or other containers still attached. When you look at the packsaddle that Rusty wore on our trip over Burnmoor, it’s easy to imagine that that sort of packsaddle would be easy to lift by a pulley system as described. Alternatively, it’s possible that just the panniers were lifted and the saddles were removed in a separate step in the evening process. When lifting loaded panniers onto a packsaddle, it is always advisable - for the comfort of the pony and the security of the saddle - to attach both panniers at the same time to the saddle so that the saddle doesn’t try to spin from being weighted only on one side. The pulley system described here would be a tremendous help, with one person potentially being able to lift both panniers alone. Regarding ‘the unpacking and repacking of the merchandise being avoided,’ I feel this statement stems from a lack of understanding of packing. I have never unpacked the contents of the panniers at the end of the day. The whole point of having panniers or similar containers is to enable them to be removed still loaded and then be reattached in their loaded state to the saddle the next day. The pulley system described here instead provides advantages already discussed above: either enabling the entire saddle-and-panniers combination to be removed at once or the panniers to be removed by a single person.

Mowcop Black Bess putting a klibber to use for Eddie McDonough. Courtesy Eddie McDonough

Fell Ponies of course are not the only mountain and moorland pony breed that have a heritage of packing. For instance, Shetland Ponies were used extensively to carry peat on the isles of their home terrain. The packsaddles used there were called klibbers and were of very economical construction. Fell Pony enthusiast Eddie McDonough has constructed a klibber for his mare Mowcop Black Bess and has shared his design; click here for more information.

If you have read this far, you have likely concluded that there have been and continue to be a variety of pack outfits that can be used on Fells. The choice is up to the human involved in the packing project! If you are aware of other historic saddles or modern experiences packing with ponies, I would love to hear about them!

I am grateful to my ponies and to Christine Robinson, Eddie McDonough, Helen Caldwell, and my late husband for opportunities to advance my education regarding packing with ponies.

1. Palmer, J.H. Historic Farmhouses In and Around Westmorland. Kendal: Westmorland Gazette, Ltd. 1946, p. 90.

Integrating the Herds

For a variety of reasons, I had been running my Fell Pony mares in two herds: three mares with foals at foot in one and two mares and three fillies in the other.  After three of those ponies left for their new home, it was time to integrate the remaining ponies in a single herd.   

I did it at the end of the day when the open mares and fillies were hungry, thinking that they would head off to graze and the other mares with foals would be elsewhere.  But when I got to the barn, the mares and foals arrived there too, so it was fascinating to see what happened next. 

I opened the gate to the pasture from the corral so that the four mares and fillies could come out.  Before they did, though, the two mares and foals started to go in.  The oldest colt, Robert, did go in with his mother and Robert proceeded to try and interact with the mares, but the other mare, Matty, took one look at the situation and headed right back out to pasture with her son Rory following close behind.  She wanted no part of the interactions that were about to unfold. Meanwhile Honey defended Robert when one mare ran at him before Robert figured out that he needed to be a little bit respectful.  At that point, everybody followed Matty and Rory out to pasture.

I checked on the ponies ninety minutes later, and they were all together in a nook of the pasture.  Well, mostly together.  Matty still had Rory off to one side, but the rest were grazing together, with Robert still expressing interest in the females and they wanting him to back off.  I know the dynamics will continue to evolve as the two herds become fully integrated into one, and I look forward to watching!

© Jenifer Morrissey, 2022