Ponies’ bodies left on roadside as warning to drivers
The owner of two Dartmoor ponies who were killed in road collisions left their bodies by the road as a warning to drivers.
Verity Nicholls breeds Dartmoors for conservation grazing and has a herd of around 50.
On Friday 10 February at 8.20pm a mare and gelding belonging to Verity were hit by a car and killed.
The ponies were struck on the B3212 between Yelverton and Princetown.
“Eight ponies have been killed already this year alone,” she told H&H.
“One gelding and one mare got killed earlier this month — this is a fairly regular occurrence.
“Although the B3212 has a 40mph speed limit, it is a fairly straight road and motorists speed and don’t look out for ponies crossing or stood on the road.”
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Verity, who also trains point-to-pointers, left the ponies’ bodies by the side of the road for three days after the collision as a warning to drivers to take care.
She said she wanted to make drivers “moor aware”.
“Tonight I witnessed something I have never seem before,” she wrote on Facebook on the evening of the accident.
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“Two of our ponies were killed 37 metres apart by the same car.
“These ponies will be picked up on Monday.
“I’m sorry for the distressing scene but leaving them there will hopefully make more drivers ‘moor aware’.
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Rachael joined Horse & Hound in 2014, initially as a digital sub editor then became part of the news team as a writer in 2015. The philosophy graduate studied journalism at the Press Association before working as a local reporter at the Brentwood Gazette. Rachael is now a mum of two and still loves all things equestrian, including hacking, dressage and jumping with her cob Bert. Rachael left the H&H staff to go freelance in June 2019, but still contributes to our magazine and website, as well as our sister magazine Country Life, among others.