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
_______________________________ 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
_____________________________ 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
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
--G. I. Gurdjieff https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/G._I._Gurdjieff
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