Animals as part of the landscape
Walk across an upland moor in Cornwall and you will often meet animals: ponies standing by a rock, cattle ambling along a track, sheep scattered over a slope. They are not wild in the strict sense. Almost all are owned by farmers or commoners who have the right to graze them there. But they are a long-established part of the scene, and they do real work in shaping what the moor looks like.
A long tradition of grazing
Grazing on high ground is very old. Open upland is poor land for crops, thin-soiled and exposed, but it supports grass and shrubs that animals can eat. For centuries, farmers have turned livestock out onto the moors in the warmer months while keeping the better fields below for hay and crops. This pattern is common across upland Britain. In Cornwall, the practice goes back well beyond written records, and some of the structures left on the moors, such as ancient enclosures, hint at earlier forms of stock keeping. Where those traces date to the Bronze Age or Iron Age, Iron Age hillforts and round houses offer a broader picture of how early communities used the hills, although the details are still studied.
Many upland areas have legal commons, where certain people hold rights to graze a set number of animals. These rights are complicated and vary by place, so this article keeps to the general idea: the moors are working land as well as scenery.
The ponies
Ponies on Bodmin Moor are often called moorland ponies, and they are among the most visible animals on the open ground. They are generally small, sturdy and shaggy, with thick coats and manes that help them cope with rain and wind. Several native pony breeds are associated with the south-west of England, and visitors may hear them mentioned by name, but the details of local types and their numbers are best checked with local sources rather than assumed.
Most moorland ponies are owned, even when they look free. They are rounded up at intervals for checks, sales or breeding decisions. Foals are usually born in spring and summer, and pony numbers have often been managed carefully because the ground can only support so many animals.
Cattle and sheep
Ponies share the moor with other grazers. Hardy cattle breeds can eat coarse vegetation that sheep leave alone, and sheep nibble more closely. Each kind of animal feeds in a different way:
- Sheep graze short and selectively, favoring fine grasses and young plants.
- Cattle pull and crop taller, rougher vegetation and trample down thick growth, creating gaps for small plants.
- Ponies eat tough grasses, rushes and even gorse tips, and they often graze in repeated patches.
A mix of animals tends to produce a more varied vegetation structure than a single kind alone, which is one reason land managers like to mix them.
How grazing shapes the habitat
If grazing stopped, a moor or heath would not stay open forever. Seedlings of gorse, willow, birch and other trees would move in, and the ground would gradually become scrub and then woodland. Grazing slows or prevents this by eating young growth. At the same time, grazing that is too heavy can strip the vegetation and expose soil, while grazing that is too light lets rank grasses and bracken take over. Most land managers aim for a balance, but there is no single correct answer, and the right level changes with weather, season and the site’s condition.
The effects show in small ways. Short turf supports different flowers than long grass. Bare patches provide warm places for insects and reptiles. Dung attracts beetles, which in turn feed birds and bats. Variety of height and cover helps ground-nesting birds such as skylarks. Grazing can also help keep open the heathland described in the article on coastal heathland.
Conservation grazing
In recent decades, grazing has been used deliberately as a conservation tool, sometimes called conservation grazing. Nature reserves and landowners may introduce a chosen number of animals at particular times of year, or fence off a section temporarily, to encourage certain plants and wildlife. Some people prefer this approach to mechanical cutting because animals can reach awkward ground. Opinions differ about the best methods and numbers, and farmers, ecologists and local residents sometimes disagree. It is useful for visitors to know that much of what they see is the result of active choices.
Meeting animals on a walk
Free-roaming animals are generally calm, but they are still large and unpredictable. Sensible habits include:
- Keep your distance and walk around groups rather than through them.
- Do not feed or touch ponies. Feeding them encourages them toward roads and parking areas, and it can make them pushy.
- Keep dogs on a leash near livestock, particularly cattle with calves, and let go if a cow charges, since a dog is often the trigger.
- Close gates behind you and leave them as you found them.
- Drive slowly on moorland roads, where animals may stand on or cross the carriageway without warning, and be especially careful in poor visibility. More advice on narrow lanes can be found elsewhere on the site.
- Do not approach foals. A mare may be protective.
A living landscape
The ponies and cattle of the moors are easy to photograph, but they are more than a pretty detail. They link the present moor to centuries of farming practice, and they help hold together the habitats that many plants, insects and birds depend on. Seeing them in that light makes a walk across the uplands more interesting and encourages respectful behavior on the way.