BIOSECURITY technology will ensure that the famous Chagford pony sale will go ahead, the Dartmoor Hill Pony Association has announced.

Despite an outbreak of strangles in ponies on a small area of Dartmoor over the summer, the traditional pony Drift Sale will go ahead on October 14 with ‘no increased risk to buyers’ of taking strangles back to their home yard.  

The Dartmoor Hill Pony Association, which runs the Drift Sale, has sought advice and guidance from epidemiologists and veterinary surgeon experts at Equine Infectious Disease Surveillance (EIDS), Redwings Horse Sanctuary and bio-tech company, InterVacc. 

Charlotte Faulkner, chair of the Dartmoor Hill Pony Association, said: ‘I am extremely grateful for the speedy and supportive input from the country’s most knowledgeable experts. Not only have they helped us decide how to safely select ponies to come to the Drift Sale, they have given us valuable advice on how to incorporate general best practices into proceedings on Sale day.

‘We will even be able to distribute the best advice to buyers on returning a newcomer to their yard, courtesy of Red Wings Horse Sanctuary.’

She continued: ‘Blood testing is undertaken at pony Drifts in autumn, when the pony herds are gathered in from the moor, this will help make an informed strategy to eliminate strangles from the limited areas where it is currently being experienced. 

‘This strategy may include the use of a strangles vaccine, which has been developed by Swedish company, Intervacc, and is awaiting final regulatory authorisation in the UK.’

Maire O’Brien, from EIDS, described the efforts by Charlotte and the Dartmoor Hill Pony Association as a ‘fantastic example’ of how proactive measures can be implemented to stop the spread of infectious diseases among animals.She explained: ‘Infectious disease outbreaks such as strangles can be hugely challenging to control and prevent, but Charlotte and her team have faced this challenge head on. 

‘The biosecurity measures being implemented to ensure the safe running of the Drift Sale are exemplary and set a fantastic example.

 She added: ‘The Dartmoor ponies are in very safe hands.’Pony-grazing is understood to help create wild-life rich habitats on the moor.Numbers are kept to an optimum level needed to benefit Dartmoor’s biodiversity.  

 Dartmoor’s pony Drift Sale is held at Chagford Market on Thursday, October 14, courtesy of Rendell’s auctioneers.  To receive a Drift Sale catalogue, you can call 01647 432277.