The New Forest pony is one of the recognised mountain and moorland or
native pony breeds of the British Isles. Height varies from around
12 hands (48 inches, 122 cm) to 14.2 hands (58 inches, 147 cm).
The ponies are valued for hardiness, strength, and surefootedness. The
breed is indigenous to the New Forest in Hampshire in southern England,
where equines have lived since before the last Ice Age. The New Forest
pony can be ridden by children and adults, can be driven in harness, and
competes successfully against larger horses in horse show competition.
The population of ponies on the Forest has fluctuated in response to
varying demand for youngstock. Numbers fell to fewer than six hundred in
1945 but have since risen steadily, and thousands now run loose in semi-
feral conditions. The welfare of ponies grazing on the Forest is
monitored by five Agisters, employees of the Verderers of the New
Forest. The ponies are gathered annually in a series of drifts, to be
checked for health, wormed, and tail-marked; each pony's tail is trimmed
to the pattern of the Agister responsible for that pony. Many of the
foals bred on the Forest are sold through the Beaulieu Road pony sales,
which are held several times each year.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Forest_pony>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1815:
War of 1812: British troops captured Fort Peter in St. Marys,
Georgia, the only battle of the war to take place in the state.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Fort_Peter>
1898:
The Paris newspaper L'Aurore published "J'accuse...!", an open
letter by French writer Émile Zola to Félix Faure, the President of
the Republic, exposing the Dreyfus affair.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%27accuse>
1915:
About 30,000 people in Avezzano, Italy—96% of its
population—were killed when an earthquake struck the region.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1915_Avezzano_earthquake>
1953:
An article published in Pravda accused some of the most
prestigious physicians in the Soviet Union, mostly Jews, of taking part
in a vast plot to poison members of the top Soviet political and
military leadership.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctors%27_plot>
1986:
The month-long South Yemen Civil War began in Aden between
supporters of President Ali Nasir Muhammad and his predecessor Abdul
Fattah Ismail, resulting in thousands of casualties.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Yemen_Civil_War>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
gherao:
(India) A protest in which a group of people surrounds a politician,
building, etc. until demands are met.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/gherao>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
--G. I. Gurdjieff
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/G._I._Gurdjieff>