Byhurst Farm Stud

27/10/2023

Merlin woke up with a Halo this morning, he is such a saint. 😇

17/02/2023

17/02/2023

This little filly was a pleasant surprise this morning, as she was due next week.
Mum is Thistledown Go for Gold and Stallion is Kaydrith Silver Sprite.
Any name suggestions are welcome and if you can guess the correct colour???

24/01/2023

One of our Welsh Section A Stallions, Kaydrith Silver Sprite warming up in -4 freezing fog, at Merrist Wood Indoor Carriage Driving 22Jan23

14/01/2023

One of our Lovely Welsh Section A stallions, 5yo Thistledown Blue Diamond, planning his next mischievous escapade.

13/12/2021

This is so true

THE FRONTAL LOBE OF THE HORSE’S BRAIN IS NEARLY NON-EXISTENT.

How does this apply to schooling/training? Frontal lobes are involved in higher mental functions such as reasoning. This means that horses cannot reason or plan to be naughty. They cannot be blamed for bad behavior or poor performance. They cannot recognize future consequences. Horses simply react to the situation. They learn through conditioning and memory.

I see and hear so many riders anthropomorphize their horses instead of finding better training tools. Phrases such as, ‘he just likes to be difficult’ or ‘this pony is so naughty’ or ‘he understands or knows what I want, but won’t do it’, or ‘he moves his hindquarters at every halt just to irritate me’. Horses do not know what we want unless we explain it in a manner that they can understand immediately.

A few months ago a rider told me how her horse ‘just does not want to co-operate’. It started with overt flight behavior and then became a subtle ‘snatchy’ movement of the nose. I asked her whether it could be due to discomfort. She answered, ‘no, she is just naughty’. It turned out that the horse was suffering from laminitis and was in severe discomfort! It made me want to cry.

At the moment I am training a young horse from scratch. I also used phrases such as, ‘she has a short fuse’ and ‘she challenges me every step of the way’. Then I realized that everything I was doing on this horse was completely new to her. I realized how frightening that must be for an animal with no reasoning ability. She was actually trying hard to understand me, but when new instructions were a tad confusing, she showed me in no uncertain terms that she did not understand it. The horse’s reactions to learning new skills all depends on personality. This particular horse is extremely sensitive and an introvert. Utopia, my older horse, is less sensitive and a complete extrovert. She can deal with much more pressure than the youngster. The message for me is that I must train each horse with the kind of pressure which they can deal with. Each horse has a different tolerance for pressure. Us riders have to be adaptable to each horse’s ability to deal with pressure. Personally I find that most behavioral problems stem from confusion, discomfort and too much pressure. Photo is the equine brain in front of the human brain.

Thanks to Karin Blignault for the info!!

08/12/2021

Another fabulous day for our young c**t foal, Magic's Spirit, at the Gwynedd Welsh Pony and Cob Show last Sunday, 5th December.
Son of our Foundation Stallion Thistledown Sheer Magic, Magic Junior(MJ) showed himself so well thanks to Colin Tibbey, that he won the C**t foal Class, standing above a c**t foal that has been winning all over.
MJ then went on to be Reserve Champion, narrowly beaten by a lovely filley foal

20/11/2021

Our little Welsh Section B superstar, Byhurst Magic’s Spirit (MJ)
has just
Won his class,
gone Section B Foal Champion
and Reserve Supreme Foal Champion
at
The Ynys Mon Foal & Youngstock Show (Anglesea)

Born & Bred at Byhurst Native Pony Stud, Chessington
Fed on Balanced Horse Feeds
Shown By Colin Tibbey, Lacy Stud
and Winning in Wales

25/01/2021

Well said WPCS

An open letter to the Producers of BBC's Winter Watch

Dear Producers of Winter Watch
I write this letter in response to your recent broadcast where you misled the viewing public with your rash statements regarding the alleged hardiness of the Konik ponies in comparison to indigenous native breeds. Your item thereby undermined and ignored the virtues and inherent suitability of the British Native breeds and in particular the Welsh Mountain Pony to the trials, demands and needs of the RSPB’s projects.
Your presenters inaccurate, conformational comments extolling the virtues and characteristics of the Konik ponies in comparison to other Native breeds referred to small ears, broad chests, and fluffy ears – all of which are not unique to this breed.
As a Public service broadcaster, the BBC has undermined its Reithian principles by failing to educate and inform correctly.
This is a poorly researched item; skimming the topic and of detriment and dis-service to the other native breeds of the UK.
I would like to draw the Production team and The RSPB’s attention to the following indigenous breed.
Welsh Mountain Section A Ponies
The Welsh Pony and Cob Society, and Hill Improvement Societies represent ponies that potentially provide a highly unique genetic resource. These include hardy adaptations to specific environmental features which domestic horses or imported ponies may not express.
Centuries of harsh conditions have ensured the sound constitution of the Welsh mountain ponies. The importance of retaining these genetic lines is imperative to the breed. Proven conservation grazers, they are vital to the landscape of upland Wales and other nutrient poor lowland areas including designated conservation areas. This native breed is also vital for our culture and historical heritage.
Small (under 12 hands) hardy and lightweight, Welsh Mountain (Section A) ponies are thrifty feeders that can thrive on poor quality forage; they eat coarser grasses rather than flowering plants and rarely eat heather, which is a priority habitat in both upland and lowland Wales. Their grazing habits can encourage rare flower species by opening up overgrown areas.
Ponies brought from improved grazing may take time to adjust to the inferior diet of conservation sites, unlike hill bred ponies. It follows that they will require more supervision than their upland cousins at least in the early stages. It is a hardy and adaptable breed, which can thrive in the harshest conditions. Mares may lose condition in late pregnancy. Supplementary feed is only recommended in extreme winter conditions. Registered Welsh ponies will normally adapt to seasonal grazing. Their thicker winter coat allows them to withstand exposure to the harsh weather conditions, and their behavioural patterns will predict storms and blizzards a day before and find suitable shelter. Ponies bred on their domain adapt easily to conditions; marsh bred ponies being a classic example of this, where from birth they learn to live with tidal conditions and develop a tolerance to the higher salt content of the plants. Owing to their surefootedness and intelligence they will safely explore dangerous conditions such as bogs and steep rocky terrain.
Welsh Mountain ponies are effective good grazing tools that can assist in the control of bracken, gorse and scrub, preventing areas becoming choked by these plants.
They graze young growth of purple moor grass, which is nutritious but low in minerals. Ponies need access to areas of clean water.
On extensive sites they will choose grazing areas according to the season. Where grazing is extensive, they will ignore rare plants.
They prefer young rush but will eat mature rush when sward is cov-ered by snow. When browsing – they will take some willow or gorse to vary the diet. Willow provides quinine.
On wetlands their relatively light weight is an advantage on wet and boggy sites.

Semi-Feral Welsh Mountain ponies are rarely handled but are suitable for public access sites, provided there is sufficient scope for them to move away from people and dogs.
The Public perception of the Welsh Mountain pony is of a graceful and beautiful breed. Visitors from across the world view and photo-graph the ponies in their natural environment.

As Chair of the WPCS Council and Secretary for the Hill Pony Im-provement Societies in Wales, I fail to see that the BBC and the RSPB have undertaken proper research on the conservation values of the UK’s Native equine breeds. I have set-out some research that I have been involved in with leading ecologists. So, I strongly believe that the Welsh Mountain ponies carry all, if not more suitable characteristics than the Konik ponies.

I am extremely disappointed with the BBC’s statements and the RSPB for using non-UK native ponies and would request a redressing of the misleading item to feature the Native breeds of the UK and in particular the Welsh Mountain pony.

I await your response.

Colin Thomas
Chair of Council the Welsh Pony and Cob Society.

Photograph by kind permission of Buddug Harries on the Preseli Hills taken on Sunday 24th of January 2021