04-08-2025
Stolen New Forest ponies found 75 miles away in London
Two Shetland ponies, stolen from the New Forest, have been found in London – 75 miles away from their farm.
James Penny, a breeder of Shetland ponies, claimed that 'travellers' were behind the theft, and said the ponies had been 'shaved' in an attempt to remove his ownership brand.
The farmer had six of his ponies stolen last month, and recovered two of the animals after a nationwide social media search led to a tip-off that they were wandering near the M25, in Hillingdon, London.
A 14-year-old mare and her three-year-old filly were found almost 75 miles away from the farm in the north-west London borough.
Mr Penny said he witnessed travellers handling his Shetlands at his farm in the New Forest two weeks ago.
He said he spoke with them, and that 24 hours later, when rounding the ponies up, he realised six were missing.
Mr Penny said that the ponies were 'traumatised' when he was reunited with them, claiming that the thieves had ' not been very nice to them '.
Mr Penny said: 'The two were found on the roads, they weren't far from the M25, I dread to think what could have happened.'
He added that the ponies looked 'starved' and the thieves had shaved one of them, he alleges, to get rid of the 'brand' that marks the ponies as belonging to him.
Mr Penny's neighbours, Leesa Merritt and her daughter, Anna, led the search for the ponies through social media.
Speaking at the time of the rescue, Mr Penny said: 'One of them was in a stable by the time we got up there; people had caught her.
'But the other went running away, she went through a garden and into a maize field.
'There was half a dozen of us, and it took us two and a half hours or more.'
He said the two ponies are 'happy now' back at home, but that the rescue mission is not over, as there are still four ponies missing.
Mr Penny is a New Forest Commoner, which means he has certain legal rights to graze livestock on the ancient forest land.
Ponies, cattle and donkeys can be put to pasture under the rights, and pigs can be turned out to feed during the pannage season, which takes place in autumn.
Over the centuries, numerous acts of parliament have been passed, alongside royal statutes, to affirm the rights of the community to graze their livestock on the land.
Residents are now pushing for formal recognition as a cultural minority, with some lobbying the government for the legal status of national minority, which would grant them the same protections as the Welsh, Scottish, Northern Irish and Cornish.
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary have been contacted by the Telegraph.
