Verderers of the New Forest : Equus Education

Whilst reading an advanced copy of Forest Rescue by Mica Ford, I came across the word Verderer. It turns out that Verderers of the New Forest are a legal body of people that was set up by Parliament. This was done under the New Forest Act, back in 1877. It is the role of Verderers to regulate the ‘exercise of common rights’ in the Forest. This includes grazing ponies. More widely, they are responsible for development control and conservation of the Forest.

Verderers of the New Forest

There are ten Verderers who make up the court. Half of these are chosen by Commoners and the other five are appointed. This occurs through:

the Department for Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs
the Forestry Commission
the National Park Authority
and Natural England

There is an official Verderer who is chairman of the Court. This person is appointed by the Queen. Incredible! I had no idea that such a setup existed and love how it relates to the use of horses as well as to help preserve a natural area.

Further to the work of the Verderers, there are Agisters who are responsible for supervising the stock that graze on the Forest. This includes ponies, donkeys, pigs, sheep and also cattle. What a role! Apparently there is a Countryside Stewardship Scheme that helps to financially support this initiative. After all, it is recognised that:

“The stock make a vital contribution to the Forest’s ecology and landscape.”

“Agisters monitor the condition of stock in the Forest. The Verderers, in conjunction with various welfare organisations, set a condition standard below which the condition of an animal must not fall. The Agisters may remove such animals from the Open Forest and the owners must take steps to improve the animal’s condition.”

Also added to this awesome initiative, is the HLS scheme. HLS provides free educational visits for children 7 through to 16 years of age. Since 2010, over 15,000 children have been able to visit the Open Forest and learn how to care for it thanks to HLS funding of these visits. Awesome!

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