8 April 2008

The first of an expected four Konik foals has been born at Suffolk Wildlife Trust’s Redgrave and Lopham Fen nature reserve near Diss. The dun coloured mother and 3 week old filly are doing well as is 16yr old Nord, the resident father and stallion who after a somewhat confused and uncertain start soon warmed to his task.

SWT uses Konik ponies to graze wet fenland as they are manageable and efficient browsers and grazers. At home in the wettest of conditions, they can graze on permanently wet ground without suffering health problems. The Trust investigated the suitability of the UK’s native breeds of pony first but most are moorland breeds - Exmoor, Highland and Shetland - which are very hardy, but don’t cope well with prolonged very wet conditions or open water.

Koniks are tough animals used to wintering outdoors in their native Poland where temperatures regularly drop to below -14 C. Their husbandry requirements are minimal since they’re rarely ill and wounds heal quickly. They also have a higher fertility than domestic stock, with easy births.

The ponies are used by the Trust as part of the conservation management and restoration of the Fen which is the largest remaining river valley fen in England and the source of the River Waveney. As one of the most important wetlands in Europe, Redgrave and Lopham Fen now has international protection. The Konik ponies have successfully been munching their way through areas of the Fen since their introduction in 1995. Prior to this the Fen had been left unmanaged for years which had resulted in many of the typical fenland plants disappearing.  

The Trust’s restoration project has included the reinstatement of traditional management (grazing with the resilient konik herd, cattle and sheep), peat scraping to expose fresh wet peat and the re-siting of a public water abstraction borehole. This has resulted in rehydration of the fen and the gradual return of its wonderful wildlife. Already wetland species such as butterwort, marsh fragrant orchid and cross-leaved heath have made a comeback as have breeding snipe.

“Our sturdy herd of Koniks have certainly proved their worth and are helping us achieve the pioneering conservation vision for which they were acquired,” says Valley Fen Sites Manager, Andrew Excell.

“There are eleven adult horses at our Redgrave and Lopham site at the moment and five grazing at Market Weston Fen where they perform the same valuable task. They may move to Hopton Fen later on this year.”

For more information please contact SWT’s Andrew Excell on 01379 687618.  Two photographs to follow.

ENDS

Notes to editors

As well as open fen, the reserve includes a mixture of wet heathland, open water, scrub and woodland. The underlying acid and alkaline geology has resulted in characteristic wildlife including many species now rare in Britain.

Historically local people dug peat for fuel, harvested reed and sedge for thatching and grazed the drier margins with cattle. With the demise of these activities, together with post-war drainage and water abstraction, the fen began to dry out and degrade.

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.