Wild Ponies of New Bolton

The summer issue of The Hunt magazine features the herd of wild ponies in residence at New Bolton Center on its cover. The feral herd, about 70 in all, roam 40 acres on the New Bolton campus and are the living laboratory of Dr. Sue McDonnell.

Dr. McDonnell has studied many aspects of the feral life and for the most part rarely interferes with the herd. The astounding fact is that they very rarely need intervention for medical situations. In fact, they are "portraits of health." "We've had none of the diseases that are so common among domestically managed horses," notes McDonnell. "The lack of respiratory disease is likely because the animals are always out in the fresh air rather than in dusty barns, arenas and trailers. It is also a closed herd, meaning no new animals to introduce disease."

The only training is with positive reinforcement-based human animal interaction and revolves around minimal procedures like drawing blood or counting noses. When you drive out in the field to visit with the ponies they come over to the cart because of their natural curiosity. They are rarely hand fed treats.

And here's the most astounding fact of all. "They get no foot care, yet have none of the nagging foot problems of domestically managed horses," says McDonnell. She attributes this to many factors including the ponies' near continuous ingestion of forage as well as their near continuous motion. "Besides fitness, it's important to their digestive system," says McDonnell. "Horses are grazing animals so they should be moving all the time." In addition, the movement helps build and reinforce the skeletal structures of growing foals.

It seems that even the racing industry is paying attention to McDonnell's findings. "Two or three years ago, it was all about protecting the very young racehorses," notes McDonnell. "Today, breeders are paying attention and trying to return to as much pasture exercise as possible."