Dartmoor ponies helping to restore landscape at National Trust estate

Five Dartmoor ponies have arrived at a National Trust estate where they will help restore the landscape by grazing on thistles and other vigorous plants.

The conservation charity hopes that the three mares and two geldings will help create the right conditions for wildflowers and grasses to thrive beneath scattered trees at the Wimpole Estate in Cambridgeshire.

Workers have planted thousands of trees across areas of former non-productive arable land to re-establish traditional parkland habitats over the last five years.

The ponies will graze across four interlinked fields of newly created wood pasture.

Dave Hassall, farm and countryside manager at Wimpole Estate, said: “The Dartmoors are here as part of our conservation grazing programme.

“They’re hardy, gentle grazers, ideal for this kind of habitat work.

“We’ve already seen how their grazing helps reduce weeds and encourages a richer mix of grasses and wildflowers.

“Within minutes of arriving, one of them was happily munching on a thistle, which is exactly what we were hoping for!”

The National Trust said Dartmoor ponies, a native rare breed, are well suited to the demands of conservation grazing.

Cattle can damage young tree guards, and sheep tend to graze too selectively, but ponies can help maintain a balanced vegetation structure.

Once their work has prepared the ground and they have moved on to another part of the estate, they will be followed by grazing cattle, which will continue to support wildlife while also contributing to food production.