On the 8th November 1995, five Polish ponies arrived at Redgrave and Lopham Fen National Nature Reserve. They were the start of a pioneering conservation project aimed at restoring this internationally important wetland site. The ponies are the result of a selective breeding programme in Poland which is attempting to recreate the primitive Tarpan horse, now extinct, from which these 'modern Tarpan' horses, or Konik ponies are direct descendants.  In Poland, the modern Tarpans are called konik polski which means small horse in Polish.

Native breeds of pony were looked at first. None are truly wetland animals. Most are moorland breeds - Exmoor, Highland and Shetland ponies, for instance. They are very hardy, but they do not cope well with prolonged very wet conditions or open water.

The New Forest Pony, which has evolved in the valley bogs, grasslands, heaths and woodlands which make up its natural habitat, will occasionally venture into the soggy mires of the Forest. It was thought that, of all the native breeds, they would be the most appropriate, and a small herd was brought up to the fen. However, there have been problems managing these ponies, as they tend to be nervous and shy and prone to biting and kicking. With time, these problems could be ironed out, but of more concern was their ability to graze in the very wet conditions of the fen in the future. It is in the wettest areas that the most important restoration work will take place, and it is vital to have a stock type that would not be shy of water. It was therefore decided to look further afield for a more suitable animal.

The Trust already knew about the existence of Konik ponies in Poland from the friendship of the then Director of Suffolk Wildlife Trust , Derek Moore and Marek Borkowski. Information was also received of koniks being used to graze the massive Oostvaardersplassen Reserve on South Flevoland in the Netherlands.

Koniks were chosen...

Koniks are very manageable and very efficient browsers and grazers. They are at home in the wettest of condition and can graze in permanently wet conditions without health problems. They are very hardy and are used to wintering out of doors in their native Poland where temperatures regularly drop to below -14 C. Their husbandry requirements are minimal, since they are rarely ill and wounds heal quickly, although they occasionally require worming, hoofcare and some preventative medicine such as immunisation against tetanus. They have a higher fertility than domestic stock, with easy births.

The ponies have successfully eaten their way through areas of the fen which had been left unmanaged for years. They have proved their worth and are achieving the pioneering conservation worth for which they were acquired.

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