Much-loved herd of Konik ponies leaves Milton Keynes for welfare reasons

The much-loved Konik ponies have had to quit their nature reserve home in MK due to frequent flooding.

The ponies have been moved by The Parks Trust to Norfolk, where they will be permanently looked after by the Norfolk Wildlife Trust.

For the past seven years they have lived at the Floodplain Forest Nature Reserve at Old Wolverton, where they were a favourite attraction for visitors.

But the reserve is now subject to frequent flooding and the ponies were having to be moved to higher ground more frequently and for for longer periods each year.

"This is not ideal for them and can lead to health issues,” said a spokesperson for The Parks Trust.

The trust blames the recurrent flooding on “excessive and quick water run-off rates from the built environment.” Climate change factors have also impacted water levels, vegetation growth rates and the habitat found at the site, say their experts.

The spokesperson said: “We would like to advise that due to environmental changes, we have made the decision to rehome the Konik Ponies from Floodplain Forest Nature Reserve in the interests of their welfare.

"We have looked for a new, more suitable home and are very pleased that Norfolk Wildlife Trust have offered to rehome them. They will add them to their existing herd, where they will help to carry out conservation grazing within their reserves.

"We know that many visitors are fond of the ponies, and we would like to offer reassurance that we have put their best interests first in making this important decision and we are confident they will be in the best of hands with our friends in Norfolk.”

The Konik ponies have done a valuable job over the years they have lived at Floodplain Forest Nature Reserve. They have grazed the vegetation to help keep it as a mixed habitat, replicating how wild animals, including red deer and aurochs (an ancient type of wild cattle) would have grazed the The Parks Trust from The National Trust in 2017.

As a breed, they have a very calm and placid temperament and are not easily frightened.

The policy was not to handle them too often as the Trust wanted them to remain as wild as possible but they were subject to daily visual inspections and looked at more closely once a week.

However the ponies soon became savvy to visitors and would greet them with interest.

Konik ponies are ideal grazers in wetland sites as they are very hardy and show a number of adaptations to wet sites, such as self-trimming hooves.

They are the perfect breed to encourage biodiversity as they closely crop some areas of grassland leaving other areas of long vegetation untouched.

Members of the public are sad to see the ponies go from Old Wolverton. One visitor wrote on social media: “ So sorry to hear this as I love seeing them ,but I’m glad that the ponies are so well cared for.”

A spokesperson for the Norfolk Wildlife Trust said: “We're so pleased to welcome them to Norfolk.”