From StudentWiki
Jimmy Speed, Professor of Anatomy at the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, Edinburgh, donated his group of Exmoor ponies to the vet students of the University. Since then the ponies have been used for trekking over the Pentland Hills during the Winter and over the Ochill Hills during the Summer. Weekend Day Treks are available in the Pentlands from September to June. In the summer at Glendevon it is possible to stay for a weekend or a week at the Youth Hostel and trek every day. We are TRSS approved. Our herd is currently thirteen ponies, all Exmoors ranging from 5yrs to 20yrs. Anyone can come trekking and we cater for all levels of riding ability. However due to the size of the ponies (approx 11hh to 13hh) we cannot allow anybody over 12 stone to ride and we also insist that any children 8 to 12yrs old are accompanied by an adult.
For the more experieced person who wants to be more involved with the ponies there is the Trek Leader's course which is a year long course that runs on a Wednesday afternoon for students of the University of Edinburgh.
The course includes all the necessary areas involved in preparing you to lead safe and enjoyable treks. However, it is a necessity that everyone who enrols has some previous experience with horses, is confident in walk, trot and canter and weighs less than 12 stone (80kg).
You will learn about Exmoor ponies as a breed and all aspects caring for them including foot care, tack fitting and cleaning, vaccination and worming.
The course costs only £100 (cheques made payable to EUEPTS) for the year and this includes Wednesday afternoons (including transport costs), membership (including invites to our social events/trips, newsletters, and a vote at committee meetings and the AGM), human and pony first aid courses and FREE weekend trekking. New trek leaders are encouraged to trek at the weekend as much as possible in order to get to know the character of each individual pony in the herd and the basic trek routine.
Once qualified, trek leaders are required to take out a minimum of 2 treks per semester and in the summer spend 2 weeks at Glendevon where the section provides trekking for the public.
The Edinburgh University Exmoor Pony Trekking Section is unique and requires the input of dedicated students to care for our herd of distinctive, irreplaceable ponies in a friendly, fun, non-competitive environment.
If you are interested in becoming a trek leader please download and complete the Trek Leaders Course Form and return it to our contact address. Although the course runs across the academic year it is possible for people to join at a later stage so please do email us if you are interested.
For more information check out or website [1] or send us an email at exmoorponytrekking@hotmail.com
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