The New Forest doesn't put fences between its roads and its animals. Ponies, cattle, donkeys and — in autumn — pigs wander where they please, including across the middle of a 40 mph road. Drive the same route twice in one morning and you might see nothing at all, then come round a bend into a herd standing in both lanes. That unpredictability is part of what makes the Forest the Forest. It's also the reason a little local knowledge saves a lot of trouble.
None of these animals are strays. They belong to commoners who hold grazing rights, and their welfare is looked after by the Verderers and their agisters. They have every right to be on the road. You are the visitor.
Treat every one of them as unpredictable rather than as scenery. Flies bother them, foals distract them, and a vehicle that has passed the same spot safely a hundred times is still a hazard on the hundred-and-first.
Many roads across the open forest carry a 40 mph limit rather than the national speed limit, and the lanes running through it can be lower still. Whatever the sign says, that figure is a maximum for good conditions and a clear road. It is not a target.
The number that matters when animals are involved is much smaller. The Highway Code's guidance for passing horses — go slowly, no more than about 10 mph, and leave at least 2 metres of space — is a sensible benchmark for loose stock too. Where a pony is standing in the road, the correct speed is zero. Stop, wait, and let it decide.
Bear in mind that the open forest has no kerbs, no footways and very little in the way of straight sightlines. Add grazing animals, walkers, cyclists and damp leaves, and a bend that looks innocent at 40 mph can be thoroughly unfriendly at anything above walking pace.
Approach quietly and leave as much room as the road allows. Two metres or more is the aim; if the lane is too narrow for that, wait. The steps below work for ponies, cattle and donkeys alike.
Two things to avoid. Don't feed or stroke animals from the car: fed ponies learn to stand in the road waiting for food, which puts them and the next driver at risk, and it goes against the rules of the forest. And never drive between a mare and her foal, however much space appears to be there.
Foals are the big change. They're skittish, they don't read traffic, and a mare will move to protect one — sometimes into your lane. Warm weather brings another problem: flies. Ponies bunch together, shake their heads, stamp and turn suddenly, and they'll often stand on warm tarmac or in the shade at the edge of the road.
Pannage puts pigs on the forest, usually from late September into the run-up to winter. They're dark, low and fast, and piglets scatter. Falling leaves hide both them and the road markings, and the evenings draw in quickly, so dusk arrives during the school run.
Animals shelter on verges, in gateways and beside hedges, sometimes half on the carriageway. Wet leaves and mud make bends greasy, and ice lingers under the trees long after the open road has cleared.
The Forest is a working landscape, not a quiet back road. Walkers step out from between parked cars and behind gorse; children on bikes come round corners wide; organised club rides and walking events can put dozens of people on a single lane at once.
Horse riders deserve the same 2 metres and walking pace you'd give a pony loose on the verge — a ridden horse is doing well to hold its nerve with a car close behind it. On single-track lanes, use the passing places rather than squeezing past. And think before you park: half-on, half-off the verge blocks sightlines, damages the verge and is exactly where animals like to stand.
Stop. The Highway Code requires you to stop and report an accident involving horses, cattle, donkeys, sheep, pigs and dogs, and the same instinct should apply here. Report it to the police so the animal can be found and treated — a pony can walk away injured and be missed for hours. Don't try to move an injured animal yourself, and be careful getting out of the car near a frightened one.
If you come across someone else's incident, or an animal lying in the road, slow right down, put your hazards on to warn traffic behind if it's safe to do so, and alert the police or a local agister or keeper. Never drag a carcass off the road yourself.
Before every bend on an open forest road, ask yourself one question: if there were a pony just around this corner, would I be able to stop? If the honest answer is no, you're going too fast for the New Forest, whatever the sign says.
Slow early, leave space, keep the engine quiet and let the animals make the decisions. It costs you perhaps a minute on a journey across the forest, and it's the difference between a good drive and a very bad day.
Photo: Pezibear / Pixabay
