Commoning
Commoning: an ancient tradition
The New Forest has a proud history of commoning, where Commoners release animals onto the Open Forest. Grazing by Commoners’ animals still shapes and maintains the New Forest we all know and enjoy, making it accessible and very special. Although common rights were once widespread in Britain and Europe, they have been lost in many areas due to the enclosure of common land and the demise of former royal forests. The New Forest remains one of the few extensive lowland commons where rights are still widely practised and a strong commoning culture continues. This section tells the story of commoning, from the animals and rights to the Commoners themselves and their close-knit community.
Commoning and the Forest
Commoning makes a positive contribution to the remarkable biodiversity of the New Forest. The free-roaming animals have an ever-changing pattern of grazing which could not be replicated by a single herd.
Commoning and You
The New Forest National Park is undeniably a beautiful place and is enjoyed by millions of people each year.
But what many people may not know is that the closely-cropped lawns, expansive heathland and rare wildlife and plant life are shaped by Commoners’ animals.
Without free-roaming animals, the Forest would cease to be the unique place that is so special to many people. Commoners turn out animals onto the Open Forest to follow in their ancestors’ footsteps and to benefit the New Forest, so when you visit please do your bit to help them by:
- Driving carefully and looking out for animals on the road
- Not feeding or petting animals
- Taking your litter home with you
- Steering clear of drifts and other ‘working Forest’ activities.
Show you care
Commoning is essential to the health and diversity of the New Forest. The grazing animals physically shape the lawns and heathland of the Forest into the National Park’s famous landscape. The ancient tradition of commoning is at the heart of the working Forest’s close-knit communities.
If you live, work or visit the New Forest you can show you care about commoning by:
- Please don’t feed or pet the animals; there is plenty of natural food and it’s best that they don’t come to rely on people’s attention. They may look friendly but they can bite and kick, especially mares with foals. You can also be fined or taken to court for feeding and touching the ponies and donkeys.
- The ponies and other animals have no road sense and frequently stand or walk on the unfenced roads, so give them a wide berth and be especially careful when driving at night.
- Your food and litter could harm the ponies and donkeys. Please take your litter home if bins are full.
- Steering clear of drifts, where animals are rounded up for checks.
- Keep dogs under control and do not let them agitate commoners’ animals
- Display an ‘I go slow for ponies’ sticker in your vehicle, available from our offices at Lymington Town Hall.
- Sign up to the New Forest Drive Safe scheme for businesses who want their staff to be more aware of the animals when driving.
Community and heritage
The New Forest commoning community is a diverse and broad community of people who come from all walks of life.
At its heart are a number of large families which have been commoning in the New Forest for generations.
Commoning is communal and Commoners often work together. Haymaking often calls for the troops to be gathered and the annual pony drifts simply wouldn’t work if Commoners didn’t work together.
Whilst out checking their own animals Commoners will always cast an eye over every animal they pass, ensuring each is fit and well.
Beaulieu Road Sales Yard
Beaulieu Road Sales Yard is the main outlet for Commoners to sell their New Forest ponies and the sales are major events in the commoning year.
Auctions are held up to six times per year and are significant events within the New Forest. Sales days have been based at Beaulieu Road for the past 60 years and since 2002, have been organised and administered by the New Forest Livestock Society.
The sales have a vital role to play in sustaining the commoning tradition and provide an ideal opportunity for commoners, associated traders and Forest organisations to meet up, as well as for the wider public to experience first-hand the working culture of the commoning community.
The sales yard has undergone extensive changes in recent years. In 2011 funding was secured to install long awaited mains water and electricity, a toilet block and a lorry and trailer wash down area at the sales yard. A new roof was also installed with funding from Europe and a range of Forest organisations.
Rights of Common
Common rights are attached to properties in and around the New Forest rather than to any individual. Someone who makes use of the common rights attached to their property is known as a practising Commoner.
Pasture
The right to graze livestock, including ponies, cattle and donkeys and also some sheep (under a separate common right).
Pannage or mast
The right to turn out pigs during the ‘pannage’ season in the autumn to feed. The pigs provide a useful service by eating acorns that are poisonous to ponies and cattle.
Estovers or fuelwood
The right to cut wood for fuel. To protect the Ancient and Ornamental woodland, commoners who exercise this right are now provided with firewood from timber plantations by Forestry England.
Two rights are no longer exercised:
Turbary
The right to cut turf for fuel.
Marl
The right to dig clay to spread on and improve fields.
The commoning year
The commoning year is unique to each family and every commoner operates in a slightly different way. This is what creates the mosaic of grazing patterns which contributes to the unique biodiversity of the New Forest. This calendar gives you an overview of the year in the commoning community.
January
- Marking fees due for each animal a commoner turns out onto the Forest
- Cattle tagged and tails cut by Agister
- TB testing of cattle
- Many cattle herds come in to the smallholding daily for supplementary feed.
February
- Controlled burning of heathland resumes dependent on weather
- Heather baling
- Judging of Forest Fed competition
March
- Burning finishes at the end of this month
April
- Stallions are inspected
- Foals born
- Commoners begin making silage on their back up grazing land
May
- Annual tour to assess welfare of livestock
- Beaulieu Road pony sale
- Foals born
June
- Ponies begin to go to shade for hot part of the day to avoid flies
- Ponies and cattle grazing the lawns and wet areas
July
- Hay making continues
- Ragwort is pulled to prevent ponies eating it
- New Forest Show
August
- Drifts begin to round up ponies
- Beaulieu Road pony sale
- Branding of foals to remain on the Forest
- Tail marking all ponies caught on the drift and recorded in the Agister’s diary
- New Forest Pony Breeding and Cattle Society Annual Breed Show
- Straw cart begins
September
- Beaulieu Road pony sale
- Fern cutting and baling
- Wood cart begins for winter store
- Pannage season begins – pigs marked, rung, turned out and paid for
- Some cattle brought in to back up grazing to avoid acorns
- Hedge cutting on back up grazing land
October
- Drifts continue
- Checking stock
- Ponies eating ash leaves in the woodlands
- Stallions to winter grazing on Forest estates
- Repair of fencing in preparation for winter
- Beaulieu Road pony sale
- Fern cutting and baling
- Many Commoners get cattle in because of the risk of acorn poisoning
November
- Checking stock
- Winter welfare tour
- Drifts continue
- Fitness training for the Point to Point race
- Beaulieu Road pony sale
December
- Beaulieu Road pony sale
- Holly cutting
- Boxing Day Point-to-Point
- Ponies browsing holly and gorse (fuzzing)
- Commoners supplementing the feed of stock where necessary on back up land with hay and silage made in the summer
- Some cattle in daily for supplementary feed
- Pannage season usually ends this month.
Who does what?
Knowing who is responsible for what in the commoning community can be confusing. So here is a quick overview of the main organisations with links to commoning in the New Forest:
Verderers of the New Forest. The Verderers’ Court dates back to medieval times, and was re-established by the 1877 New Forest Act. The court consists of 10 Verderers, five of whom are elected Commoners, and regulate commoning in the New Forest.
Commoners Defence Association. The CDA was formed in 1909, to give Commoners a voice, and to better ensure the survival of the practice of commoning and everything that depends upon it.
New Forest Livestock Society. The society was formed in 2002 and is run by Commoners who organise and manage the pony sales at Beaulieu Road.
New Forest Pony Breeding and Cattle Society is a charity and registered company administering and promoting registered New Forest ponies both in the UK and around the world.
New Forest Land Advice Service. Supports Commoners with land management advice and assistance when applying for grants and subsidies.
