Konik Foal - I like you too
At Wicken Fen there are Konik ponies living in natural groups with minimal human input. They originate from Poland, bred from the now extinct wild European horses known as Tarpan. The majority of foals born at Wicken Fen survive and thrive but watching this little fellow fight for life in his first two hours puts “survival of the fittest” into context. Most births are straightforward but living wild any complication can be fatal. Occasionally foals fail to feed, are rejected by the mare or killed/driven off by the herd. Attempts to hand rear such survivors have been disappointing leading to the possibility the herd knows best. In this case a rogue stallion on the fringe of the herd saw an opportunity to mate with the mare. In the violent exchange of hooves which followed the foal was accidentally kicked by the rogue stallion. A sickening thud and the foal lay seemingly lifeless but after several minutes nudging and licking by the mare it struggled to its feet and started to look for milk. The National Trust were quickly on the scene. The policy is to monitor and intervene only as a very last resort. They were fairly sure that with the herds support this tough little fellow will survive.
Konik Foal - I like you too
At Wicken Fen there are Konik ponies living in natural groups with minimal human input. They originate from Poland, bred from the now extinct wild European horses known as Tarpan. The majority of foals born at Wicken Fen survive and thrive but watching this little fellow fight for life in his first two hours puts “survival of the fittest” into context. Most births are straightforward but living wild any complication can be fatal. Occasionally foals fail to feed, are rejected by the mare or killed/driven off by the herd. Attempts to hand rear such survivors have been disappointing leading to the possibility the herd knows best. In this case a rogue stallion on the fringe of the herd saw an opportunity to mate with the mare. In the violent exchange of hooves which followed the foal was accidentally kicked by the rogue stallion. A sickening thud and the foal lay seemingly lifeless but after several minutes nudging and licking by the mare it struggled to its feet and started to look for milk. The National Trust were quickly on the scene. The policy is to monitor and intervene only as a very last resort. They were fairly sure that with the herds support this tough little fellow will survive.