THE days of picking up a pony for the price of a pint at the New Forest sales are officially over.

Under new rules, buyers will have to pay at least enough for a decent pub lunch for two to secure a foal.

A minimum ten guinea bid - £10.50 - is to be introduced at the Beaulieu Road Sales.

The reserve price has been agreed by the New Forest Pony Breeding and Cattle Society, supported by the Commoners' Defence Association.

Gill Lowth, NFPBC chairman, said it was "ridiculous" to allow young colts and fillies to be sold for just a couple of pounds.

"The dealers have had their own way for far too long. They won't like the reserve and we will have to be prepared to take some foals home and to hold our nerve," she said.

NFPBC secretary Dionis Macnair said she had evidence of dealers buying ponies cheaply at Beaulieu Road and selling them on for up to £50 or £60.

"This is the sort of thing we are trying to guard against.

"Ring levies have increased and the auctioneer's fee and transport costs have to be deducted from any money breeders make from a sale," she said.

The economics of introducing a £10 reserve for foals - when it costs £20 alone for a permit to keep a mare on the Forest - has been questioned by some NFPBC members.

Verderer and lifelong Boldre commoner Tony Gerrelli has warned that economics will dictate the future of commoning.

"The sums just don't add up. How long can commoners carry on making so little money on their animals It has become a very expensive hobby and many of the younger generation are giving up."

But Mrs Lowth said there would always be a market for good quality New Forest foals.

"Members should take a long hard look at their ponies and cull any substandard mares. We don't want rubbish on the Forest!" said Mrs Lowth.

But she stressed that if the new minimum bid led to unsold ponies being stressed by repeat journeys to the sales, it would be lifted.

"We don't want to see foals suffering," she said.

The first Beaulieu Road Sale of the year - for adult ponies only - will take place on Thursday, April 27.

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