www.nfed.co.uk

Hi

I am going to look at what appears to be a very nice forester next week and have just spent the evening excitedly trying to find out more about the pony, its breeding and lineage. It took me ages, but eventually I realised that the stud name was spelled incorrectly, and that the pony's mother's name was also incorrectly spelt (same stud name). So I re-googled the pony's name (with the correct spelling) only to find out that the pony I was going to look at had apparently been hit and sadly killed by a car several years ago as a yearling. Oddly enough, the pony I am going to look at is the same colour as this deceased pony?

Alarm bells are ringing, I checked the newspaper articles about the pony which was destroyed and there is even an interview with the owner of the pony.

Is there anyone out there who has ever come across this? Could the stud name be given to another pony?! I do not want to name the pony as I the seller appears genuine, but I am also worried they have bought the pony in good faith not realising that the pony may not be what (?who!) they think.

Am in a quandary, is there any way the breeder could have got the wrong pony when it was injured? Am thinking of contacting them but just wondered whether anyone on here has any ideas! Will the passport give me any info - would the owner have a NF pony registration certificate if she is genuine?

Many thanks in advance for any help!

Emma

Occasionally names are reused, but not often, except it's not uncommon to register the same name with II afterwards e.g. picking a well known name at random: Moorcorner Minstrel and Moorcorner Minstrel II

Is it the same age? I would check with the NF breed society- it has been known for ponies to be given false passports from a dead pony

I would try contacting the breeder and explain or contact the breed society. Either should be able to help you.

Sometimes two stud names can be very similar but with different spellings - Dorridge and Doorage springs to mind. It would be easy to get the two confused. So the pony you are going to see and the pony that was killed may have similar but different prefixes.

Hi and happy new year to you all!

Many thanks for all your answers to my question. I am going to look at the pony tomorrow, and I think if she is what I am looking for, then I will check out her breeding more carefully. The current owner has told me that she is registered - so I think I need to see her documents/passport, I think the current owner may not have any reason to suspect there was any question of her identify and I am sure she bought the pony in good faith. My fault for wanting to see if I could see what the pony had done by searching for her online! Damn the internet!

The pony that was killed on the road in the forest was a four year old and was killed by a hit and run driver in 2007. This pony I am interested in is nine, so there is the possibility that she may have been given the identity of the deceased pony. Alternately, I also wonder whether maybe the breeder got the pony mixed up and just gave the wrong name to the press when interviewed, I guess one four year old roan looks very much like another? For me, this would be the most obvious and hopefully the most reasonable explanation... Would a NF always be branded if it was registered? I think I know the stud brandmark. For me - the important thing is that she is not stolen and has been given a false identity.

Anyway, thanks again - should the pony be suitable, I think I need to try to really find out who she is!!

Emma

Hi, hopefully you had a really good viewing of the pony. I think it is unlikely that a commoner would misidentify their own pony even though it is depastured. Ponies on the Forest are quite distincitive in carriage and look - they also have habitual areas they live in known as 'haunts'. Commoners have to be able to identify their own mares - which are branded if they run on the Forest - but that is not the whole answer. They pride themselves on this ability, as do the Agisters who look after the depastured stock. If they couldn't do this it would be impossible to keep the breed lines identified, and ownership would always be an issue - which it isn't for the semi-ferals. Ownership issues mostly crop up once an animal is off the Forest. The breed society controls the stud book very strictly and I think it is quite likely that you may be looking at similar prefixes e.g Obermoor and Oberwater. Second names can be very common - Romany is very popular, as are plant names. The only legitimate passport for a fully registered Forester is with the breed society. This should be a dark green cover with their ensignia in gold on the front. Anything else is either a forgery or will prevent you showing as a full bred anyway. Please do check with them, they are very approachable and well aware of these kind of issues. They are the only people who can really give you accurate information. good luck

Hi

Thanks for your reply. I did get a good look at the pony but unfortunately, though a lovely pony - she was a bit small for me As for her pedigree, I guess I will never know! I am sure she was genuine - never looked at the passport in the end as I decided she was not the pony for me and didn't want to waste the owners time!

The search continues!

Thanks for all your replies and advice.