DARTMOOR is in danger of losing some of its longest established breeders and the better quality pony bloodlines and foundation stock, the Dartmoor Pony Heritage Trust this week claimed.

Clare Stanton from the trust said pony keepers had already disposed of many mares and foals this year.

Clare said: 'We must all act together to ensure that the Dartmoor pony, which is already on the Native Breeds at Risk register, is not further decimated. The trust is now urging people to buy or foster a pony.

Clare, from Chagford, said the Dartmoor Pony Heritage Trust remains committed to working with pony keepers on Dartmoor, to preserve the Dartmoor pony on the moor.

However she added: 'This is not an easy task for anyone involved.

'The combination of extreme economic conditions, an excess of foals being bred for a depressed market, and the impact of legislation such as transport laws, passporting and microchipping, have combined to create a time when the chances for the youngest animals to find homes off the moor, are slim.

'The fact remains that there will be foals coming off Dartmoor this October, for which there will be no home.

'The urgent priority is for the authorities such as the Commoners Council, along with the pony keepers themselves, to commit to controlling breeding on Dartmoor.

Clare said allowing foals to arrive year after year only perpetuated a problem.

She said the short term fix was to reduce the number of foals, but the long term goal must be to improve quality and allow ponies to grow on and mature, then be handled and have true added value for the potential buyer.

'The DPHT firmly believes that control of the breeding mares, through removal of stallions, stallion vasectomies and mare contraception, is the key.

'We do not want fewer ponies on the moor, in fact we want more, but the best conservation grazers and the animals most likely to find homes, are the older animals, two years plus, which have had a chance to grow on.'

The DPHT has been asked, by pony keepers, to consider setting up a Code of Conduct that will allow breeders to be recognised and promoted as meeting a certain standard, so giving a form of accreditation for potential buyers to refer to.

For more details about the DPHT and/or to buy or foster a Dartmoor pony go to http://www.dpht.co.uk">www.dpht.co.uk or call Dru Butterfield on 01626 355314.