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Public access to Newfoundland ponies is limited, and that needs to change, said Peter Halley, artistic director with the Spirit of Newfoundland theatre group and an enthusiastic pony owner.

вЂњIt means they have a future, a space to call their own.вЂќ Webber, who used to catch unpenned ponies as a child with a rope when they wandered into her family yard. вЂњBeing out here, it keeps them healthy,вЂќ said Ms.

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That independence, free from stables and man-made pens, is precisely what makes the breed so durable, she said. Newfoundland ponies are well-suited to spend six months or more of the year living outdoors in pastures such as this one on top of the hill in South River, where they have everything they need, said Ms. If you wanted to make a living off the sea, you needed one of them on land,вЂќ said Tammy Webber of Newfoundland Pony Pals, which offers pony rides to childrenвЂ™s groups to spread awareness of the breed. вЂњThese ponies were the engine of the day for our ancestors. Its genetic ancestors were the toughest of pony breeds brought over centuries ago by settlers from the British Isles, including Dartmoor, Exmoor, Connemara and Welsh Mountain varieties. With its muscular rump, rock-hard hooves, water-wicking tail and thick coat, the Newfoundland pony evolved to be perfectly adapted to the islandвЂ™s difficult weather conditions. Without that, theyвЂ™re worried the animals, protected under Newfoundland and LabradorвЂ™s Heritage Animals Act and listed as critically endangered by Rare Breeds Canada, a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving unique breeds of livestock, could continue to dwindle. Greg Locke/The Globe and MailДЄnd they want to share the story of the Newfoundland pony вЂ“ woven closely into their islandвЂ™s history yet so little-known вЂ“ hoping a new generation of owners can help expand the population. Today, itвЂ™s believed there may be a little over a hundred full-blood Newfoundland ponies left in the province. TheyвЂ™re lobbying the provincial government to open up desperately needed communal, public pasture lands where the ponies can graze and breed in the warmer months вЂ“ saving owners stabling costs and encouraging more people to own them. TheyвЂ™re building a heritage park near Hopeall, N.L., on eastern NewfoundlandвЂ™s Avalon Peninsula, where they hope the public can come to learn about the animals up close. CarewвЂ™s group has developed ambitious plans. We feel itвЂ™s time for us to help them survive.вЂќ вЂњThis animal has done so much for us, we could not have survived without them in the outports. вЂњThis is a living, breathing piece of our heritage,вЂќ Ms. Today, only a small handful of Newfoundland ponies are born annually, and in the community of pony lovers, itвЂ™s a cause for celebration. вЂњItвЂ™s just magical being here.вЂќД«y the 1970s, thousands of these animals were slaughtered for horse meat every year after machines replaced them and municipal bylaws ended their wide-roaming ways. вЂњIt takes me back to another time,вЂќ she said, watching 10 ponies frolic and graze in the pasture. To Libby Carew of the Newfoundland Pony Society, that scene on top of the hill isnвЂ™t just a pretty image вЂ“itвЂ™s a time machine to an earlier era in her provinceвЂ™s history. Which is why conservationists say public pastures such as these are so vital to the survival of the breed itself. On an island where the only fences used to be those protecting the vegetable gardens, generations of these animals wandered and bred until they created a bloodline as rugged and unique as the province itself вЂ“ the Newfoundland pony. They were an early source of hauling power in outport communities seldom connected by roads: dragging loads of fish from the shore, plowing fields, towing iron ore from underground mines and pulling sleighs in the winter. Scenes like this used to be common in Newfoundland, where thousands of ponies once roamed freely, serving as the islandвЂ™s original tractors and all-terrain vehicles. There are no predators here, and few distractions, except for the odd moose that occasionally comes crashing out of the woods and flattens the fence. JohnвЂ™s is about as close to heaven as you can get. If youвЂ™re a pony, this pasture an hourвЂ™s drive west from St. A place where you can find an endless buffet of sweet grasses, partridge berries, spruce tips and even chanterelle mushrooms, just by following your nose. Picture a meadow on top of a hill where the sea breeze blows in steadily from the bay and the flies are swept away before they can bite.

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