An invitation to help shape the future for semi-feral ponies from Claire Gordon, Chief Field Officer, World Horse Welfare
Over the last two years, I have been asked to help round up and rehome more than 500 unowned or abandoned equines grazing on common land across Wales. As Chief Field Officer for World Horse Welfare, the UK’s largest equine rescue and rehoming charity, where we rehabilitate and rehome around 300 vulnerable horses and ponies each year, I knew we were facing a problem beyond the scope of the equine charity sector. They are usually far more than just simply “unwanted ponies”. They are a visible sign of a UK-wide welfare challenge — how we protect semi-feral equines, common land and the relationship between the two.
Since joining the charity in 2010, I’ve had the privilege of visiting many of our semi feral native pony herds, in some of the most beautiful parts of our country. Along the way, I’ve learnt about the challenges involved in maintaining healthy equine populations on common land from the people who farm and live there.
In 2016, I supported a large multi-agency operation on Bodmin Moor to gather unowned equines whose welfare had become compromised. World Horse Welfare, alongside several other major equine charities, took in many of those ponies. It was a steep learning curve for everyone involved and helped shape how we now respond to these situations — always with the ponies’ long-term welfare at the heart of our decisions.
When resources are plentiful, semi-feral ponies can thrive in such areas. They enjoy in abundance what is now recognised as the fundamental needs for all horses, the “three Fs” - Friends, Forage and Freedom. They can express natural behaviours and have choice in how they spend their time. Yet when unchecked breeding continues for a few years and essential resources become increasingly limited, welfare standards quickly decline and intervention becomes necessary.
“When pony numbers exceed what the land can sustain, welfare is the first thing to be compromised”
That complexity becomes even greater when the ponies are unhandled, semi-feral and of unknown or disputed ownership. These are not animals that can simply be loaded, examined, passported, treated and rehomed in the way many people might imagine. Gathering them can be stressful and logistically difficult.
Equine rescue centres across the UK already operate close to capacity, prioritising spaces for neglected and abused animals. Filling those spaces with large numbers of feral ponies is not a sustainable long-term solution. That led me to ask a difficult question: what is the answer?
The more I learnt, the more I realised how complex these issues are. Every action has consequences. How do we responsibly manage breeding while protecting the quality and future of these ponies? And what unintended consequences can arise when we interfere with a way of life that has existed for generations?
What became clear to me is that the people with the greatest insight are usually those who have managed these ponies — through not just their lifetimes but often through generations of their families. I recognised the uniqueness of every common area but also that there were areas of overlap in some of the challenges faced.
This led to the idea of hosting what we are a calling our inaugural Equine Common Ground Conference, hoping it will provide an opportunity to exchange knowledge, experience and ideas by hearing presentations from stakeholders representing Gelligaer and Merthyr Commons, Dartmoor, Exmoor, Bodmin Moor and the New Forest. Exploring the challenges they face, their successes and the threats to their future — with plenty of time for discussion and shared learning.
The conference is being held on the 25th June 2026 at our Glenda Spooner Farm, near Yeovil in Somerset.
If this sounds like something you would be keen to attend and contribute to the discussions, we would welcome you to register your interest with us by emailing info@worldhorsewelfare.org
Claire Gordon, Chief Field Officer, World Horse Welfare