New Forest stallions form an integral part of the area’s long and rich history. They are released out onto the Forest – for a certain period determined by the Verderers each year – to breed with free-roaming mares and improve the quality of the foals produced. This year a total of 21 stallions were turned out over a six-week period across various locations in the Forest.
‘The turning out of the stallions is such an important event in the commoners’ calendar,’ said Tina Woodley, the Verderers of the New Forest Grazing Scheme administrator. ‘Stallions are crucial to maintain native bloodlines. The ponies are the architects of the New Forest and they have been here for hundreds of years. Without their input, it would look a very different place.
‘They are bred to be hardy and resilient to survive harsh winters, but also dry summers. ‘The time the stallions go out marks the [start of the] production of the following year’s foals, which is what all the registered New Forest mares are out for. ‘It is hoped they will produce foals that are saleable and of good pedigree and of good stance, and for replacement filly foals which every commoner would hope to get to increase their stock and keep bloodlines going.’
The stallions are held on a private holding for the rest of the year under the Verderers of the New Forest Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) scheme, which provides annual funding for their grazing. The scheme is a partnership between the Verderers of the New Forest, Forestry England and the New Forest National Park Authority, as well as support from Natural England and the New Forest Commoners’ Defence Association.
The funding encourages commoners – those who own and look after the livestock in the Forest – to own stallions and ensures they have land to graze on during the long period when they are not permitted to be on the Forest.
‘The HLS scheme is now in its 14th year to help keep the New Forest in good condition and improve areas that are diminishing,’ added Tina.
‘The stallion scheme feeds off other projects like the rare bloodlines scheme, where we try and increase the registered gene pool of New Forest ponies.
‘Then there is the futurity scheme, where potential stallions are earmarked and then they come forward as two year olds as potential stallions for the Verderers’ stallion scheme, which they can remain in until they are 18 years of age.’
Seeing the stallions turned out onto the Forest is always a proud moment for the commoning community.
There are around 5,000 ponies which roam the Forest and whose grazing habits help shape the landscape which thousands enjoy every day.
Agister Robert Maton added: ‘Our stallions are one of the most important things of our New Forest breed and keeping the bloodlines as diverse as we can is very important.
‘We did narrow the bloodlines back in 2002 and since then we have been trying to widen them as much as we can to make sure there is no inter breeding in our herd of New Forest ponies.
‘The ponies have been on the Forest for hundreds of years and they are the best and cheapest things you can have to keep the Forest down and as we like it.’
New Forest stallion Mallard's Wood Law and Order being released earlier this year
The New Forest Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) scheme is England’s largest environmental scheme and restores and enhances the internationally-important habitats of the New Forest.
The scheme has run since 2010 and its work has included:
Restoring miles of internationally-important habitats for wildlife
Supporting the historic practice of commoning, which maintains the rare New Forest landscape
Working to identify and protect historic sites across an area the size of 17,000 football pitches
Inspiring more than 18,000 children to cherish the area’s unique environment
The HLS scheme is a partnership between the Verderers of the New Forest, Forestry England and the New Forest National Park Authority, and supported by Natural England and the New Forest Commoners' Defence Association.
Supplied by the Clerk of the Verderers
Week commencing Monday 30th June 2025
30/06/2025 Bay Filly - Injured - WEARING REFLECTIVE COLLAR Hatchet Lane, Beaulieu - B3054 R Maton
Click Here to see how to report an accident, problems with New Forest stock or driving incident.
Supplied by the Clerk of the Verderers
Week commencing Monday 23rd June 2025
24/06/2025 Foal - Nothing Found Near Bramshaw Golf Course - B3078 M Maton25/06/2025 Bay Gelding - Injured & Destroyed - HIT & RUN Setley Pond - C10 (E) R Maton
Click Here to see how to report an accident, problems with New Forest stock or driving incident.
I am researching the distribution of keds across the UK to find out which species are where, and to look at their role in transmitting diseases. I need help from people who may be able to collect these flies.
There are probably two species present in and around the New Forest. The New Forest Fly (Forest Fly or Crab Fly) is usually found on horses and ponies but may be found on other species such as cattle and dogs. The Deer Ked is usually found on deer, but also on horses and cattle. A third species, the Sheep Ked (or Sheep tick) is probably extinct on the UK mainland.
If you are able to collect any of these flies, I can send you a collecting kit.
Please email: denise.wawman@biology.ox.ac.uk if you can help with this study.
Supplied by the Clerk of the Verderers
Week commencing Monday 16th June 2025
22/06/2025 Pony - Injured & Destroyed - HIT & RUN Latchmoor - B3055 (W) R Maton
Click Here to see how to report an accident, problems with New Forest stock or driving incident.
Supplied by the Clerk of the Verderers
Week commencing Monday 9th June 2025
10/06/2025 Bay colt foal - Injured & Destroyed Burley Road, Durhill P Rix10/06/2025 Bay yearling filly - Injured Near Minstead Car Park M Maton12/06/2025 Donkey foal - Nothing Found Beaulieu Heath - B3054 R Maton
Click Here to see how to report an accident, problems with New Forest stock or driving incident.
Supplied by the Clerk of the Verderers
Week commencing Monday 2nd June 2025
05/06/2025 Cow - Uninjured Pondhead - B3054 M Lovell
Click Here to see how to report an accident, problems with New Forest stock or driving incident.
Supplied by the Clerk of the Verderers
Week commencing Monday 19th May 2025
19/05/2025 Cow - Nothing Found Hatchet Pond - B3054 R Maton
Week commencing Monday 26th May 2025
We are very pleased to report that there were no RTA’s involving Commoners stock for the above week.
Click Here to see how to report an accident, problems with New Forest stock or driving incident.
It appears that Vodafone has mistakenly applied an age restriction to NFED and other sites, categorising them as containing adult content. I have already contacted Vodafone and hope to resolve this issue promptly.
If you're experiencing difficulties accessing NFED, you can add it to your list of safe sites or access it via WiFi. While disabling the age restriction will allow the site to load normally, this option is not recommended for users under 18, as it may expose them to genuine adult content.
NFED does not contain adult content. We strive to maintain a safe environment for users of all ages and fully support the work of the Child Exploitation & Online Protection Centre (CEOP). Additionally, we adhere to the Good Practice Guidance for the Moderation of Interactive Services for Children.
Any updates will be posted below..
X Message Thread:
Saturday 31st May "I've been running a website since 1999 http://nfed.co.uk but have noticed it is blocked by Vodafone due to adult content? It is a local equestrian website, no adult content & many junior users, but the only way they can see it is by turning off the adult filter. How do I get this issue resolved? The site is safe for all ages & fully endorses the work of the Child Exploitation & Online Protection Centre http://ceop.gov.uk. We abide to the Good Practice Guidance for the Moderation of Interactive Services for Children, I don't want to suggest turning of safety filters."
Hello there, thanks for reaching out to us. We understand that you're looking to re-classify your website as it is being blocked. We can certainly help you with. May I know how would you like the website to be re-classified as?
Hi. It is an equestrian information resource for all ages. Contains classified advertising, local events & business advertising. So however that fits in with your categories. Thank you.
Thank you. Can you help me with the screenshot of the page where it says site is blocked, so that I can share this with our team.
I've turn off the adult content filter on both mine & wife's phone so can no longer see this! The url is http://nfed.co.uk as far as I know this is a recent issue?
If this is really needed, please get back to & I'll turn the filter back on. Steve
To save time I've turned it off again :-)
Can you please try to access the URL: http://nfed.co.uk and let me know if it is working or not?
I will have to turn the age restriction back on again, it is working with it off.
No, it is only working with age restriction disabled.
I understand that you want Vodafone to make it accessible to all website users without any age restrictions. Is that correct?
Yes please
Monday 2nd June
Hi, just wondered if you have any updates on this issue?
Tuesday 3rd June
Ongoing Issue with Adult Content Filter Blocking Website Access Hi, I was hoping this issue would have been resolved by now, but I’m still unable to log into my own website using a mobile device unless the adult content filter is turned off. As I’ve previously mentioned, my website contains no adult content, and I cannot expect younger users to disable the filter just to access it, as this would expose them to risks on other sites. This restriction is impacting my customer base and needs to be addressed. If you’re unable to assist, could you please advise on the steps I should take to resolve this issue?
Thursday 5th June
As no response received from Vodafone through X. Complaint submitted to Vodafone.
Friday 6th June
Call received from Vodafone following up on the complaint. No immediate resolution, but the issue is being looked into.
Monday 9th June
Second Call received from Vodafone. Still no immediate resolution, but the issue is being looked into.
Saturday 14th June
Third Call received from Vodafone. Still no resolution.
Wednesday 18th June
Final call received from Vodafone, (see below). It's good to know that the NFED has not been blocked & speaking to friends they seem to be getting the issue intermittently with many other sites. It seems that if the connection fails, it first gives the security warning, followed by the adult content alert.
Our IT department have completed the internal testing on the website www.nfed.co.uk and can confirm we don't believe this is a Vodafone error or restriction preventing customers from accessing your site. We can confirm we've conducted testing with and without an age restriction content bar and both can access www.nfed.co.uk.Moving on, should you have any further issues we'd advise you to contact your website provider or conduct further independent IT testing as we don't believe this is a Vodafone error.
Supplied by the Clerk of the Verderers
Week commencing Monday 12th May 2025
14/05/2025 Chestnut Filly - Injured & Destroyed Hilltop to Ipers Bridge M Lovell14/05/2025 2 Sheep – 1 Injured, 1 Injured & Destroyed Bramshaw - B3079 M Maton
Click Here to see how to report an accident, problems with New Forest stock or driving incident.
We weren't aware, but the card payments were disabled on the 13th May which removed the card option from the shopping cart. PayPal & Bank Transfers were unaffected.
They have now been switched back on & working normally.
The payment option buttons have been updated, so have a different look but work the same.
Apologies to anyone that had problems trying to submit an advert payment.
Supplied by the Clerk of the Verderers
Week commencing Monday 14th April 2025
We are very pleased to report that there were no RTA’s involving Commoners stock for the above week.
Week commencing Monday 21st April 2025
21/04/2025 Calf - Injured Vereley - C10 (W) P Rix
Week commencing Monday 28th April 2025
We are very pleased to report that there were no RTA’s involving Commoners stock for the above week.
Click Here to see how to report an accident, problems with New Forest stock or driving incident.
Supplied by the Clerk of the Verderers
Week commencing Monday 7th April 2025
We are very pleased to report that there were no RTA’s involving Commoners stock for the above week.
Click Here to see how to report an accident, problems with New Forest stock or driving incident.
Week commencing Monday 31st March 2025
We are very pleased to report that there were no RTA’s involving Commoners stock for the above week.
Click Here to see how to report an accident, problems with New Forest stock or driving incident.
Week commencing Monday 24th March 2025
We are very pleased to report that there were no RTA’s involving Commoners stock for the above week.
Click Here to see how to report an accident, problems with New Forest stock or driving incident.
