Quantock Hills Blog
N”ice” job!
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Posted by Andy Harris on 12 January 2010
There are times in this job when you are really grateful for the experiences you are given and when the ground is blanketed in snow, the skies are blue and the views are stunning it is definitely one of them.
Having been on patrol over the Christmas and New Year period I must be honest and say that I was actually looking forward to catching up with office work and getting on with some of the forward planning for spring and summer work. But, when on Tuesday the snow began to fall and the forecast was for more, I knew my plans were going to have to change.
A regular responsibility of the Rangers and a Volunteer is to visit the twelve Exmoor Ponies on Cothelstone Hill to ensure they are fit and well. These ponies help conserve the open hilltop of Cothelstone Hill by grazing the rough grassland and, when conditions become harsher, tackling vegetation like gorse, bramble and scrub.
The ponies are extremely hardy and have evolved to live in cold conditions with their hairy coats insulating them extremely well against the wind and snow often resulting in them becoming encrusted in a layer of ice. Indeed, they seem to revel in this harsh weather. However, when conditions are this cold, we do have to break the ice on the trough and give them some hay, more as a treat than a necessity. The best way to get to them is using the ATV but as the air conditioning is a bit full on it does take a while to thaw out afterwards!
Well, there’s more snow forecast later this week so I guess the office work may have to wait a little longer!
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