Conservation grazing with ponies has become a very popular way to manage rough, unimproved, wild areas of land. Ponies do a very good job as conservation grazers, because they eat the plant species that conservationists consider to be invasive, and also allow the rare plants, such as orchids, to flourish.

Choosing a suitable site for ponies to conservation graze would be:
- Rough pastureland without any “improved grassland” and with a rich mixture of wild rough grasses and “weeds”, and of a large enough area to support a certain number of ponies over the course of the year.
- Fenced, or with thick hedges, or suitable natural boundaries. Open cliff tops are not suitable sites for ponies to graze.
- Free from any sort of contamination and any large areas of poisonous plants (fern tends to be ok, but yew, for example, is not acceptable).
- Supplied with a reliable, clean, natural water source. If not, you will need to provide water.
- Containing areas of natural shelter (hedges/woodland/natural features in the landscape).
- Provide a variety of terrain, so that if there are very wet, boggy areas, there are plenty of dry sites available for the ponies to use. If there are areas where the ponies are at risk of getting stuck, then these areas should be fenced off.
- Containing a safe area (with facilities available) for the ponies to be gathered to when they are rounded up. A permanent set up is possible but you could choose to use a mobile unit. Whichever option you choose, this should be designed with the safety of the ponies and handlers in mind.

Choosing the right ponies for conservation grazing
Not all horses and ponies are suitable for conservation grazing. Native, hardy breeds are ideal but when choosing them, you will need to choose ponies who are in good health and are not susceptible to skin condition, allergies, colic, hoof problems (such as deformities in growth) or other health problems. You should not turn out older animals who need careful care, management and rugging.

If you have confident youngsters that you would like to put out grazing, you will need to choose a site where there are no public footpaths crossing the site. Otherwise, you may well get complaints from walkers that ponies have been trying to mug them for their lunches!

Care and management of conservation ponies
Ponies who are conservation grazing will still need to be checked every day, even if it is from a distance. You will need to make sure that they are in good health, that none of the ponies are missing, or have become stuck somewhere, and that they have adequate food and water supplies. In the depths of winter when there is snow, you may need to supplement them with hay. There should be at least 2 ponies in a group, but conservation grazing does give ponies the ability to live out in a more natural type of environment, in a herd, and as wild ponies.

The ponies should be rounded up every 6 months to have a proper “MOT” – so they are checked over for their general health, have their feet trimmed and wormed if necessary. Remember that if there is an emergency at any time, you may need to round the ponies up in order to help the animal in need. You will be asking a vet to come and treat your animals, and it is your duty of care to ensure that both the animal and the vet will be in safe conditions for this to happen. This is why it is essential that the pony is handleable, both for the welfare of your pony, and your vet. You should have provision to use stabling facilities (even if this means travelling a pony off-site) in case a pony will require treatment. In which case, you will need access to a trailer or lorry.

Handling conservation ponies for best results
Conservation grazing ponies should be at least “wild but handleable” in their training. This means that all ponies should be headcollarable, leadable, cope with being touched all over, and easily have their feet trimmed – all without forced restraint. Although this may sound impossible, people4ponies specialises in this training and you can see the results they achieve in their Youtube film http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xugwKGiMk94. The ponies are wild but can cope with human interaction, when done in the correct way.