Sir Thomas Dyke Acland , Re: Exmoor ponies: In 1767, the lease of Exmoor which was held by two Earls of Orford was passed to Sir Thomas Dyke Acland I, who was the first in his family to hold the Wardenship. The records show that by 1777, there were 329 "old colts" and 93 foals belonging to the Warden, and since the Aclands also held the office of Forester, they were the only ones allowed to run stallions on the Forest. It is an interesting idea that it is just as possible that the Exmoor as a race might have survived even if other stallions had access to the mares. When given a choice the Exmoor mares are radically prejudiced, preferring to mix with their own kind than other horses and ponies. By an act of parliament in 1814-15, the Crown divided the land of Exmoor for raising trees. Then Sir Thomas Acland III was no longer the Warden and he was given some 3000+ acres of land near his estate of Holnicote.
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