PEOPLE are being urged to stay away from pony round-ups in the New Forest after complaints they had become a spectator sport which was endangering participants.

The annual "drifts" as the round-ups are called, take place from mid-August to early November and give the commoners, who own the ponies, the chance to check the health of their animals, brand and tail-mark them and remove foals from their mothers.

With the owners and Agisters on horseback, they are a spectacular part of New Forest life, as shown in Sally Fear's glossy coffee table book New Forest Drift.

But the spectacle has become so popular now the Verderers have removed the drifts list from their website in a bid to limit the number of people who go and watch.

Loggers-on will now find the website says the number of spectators is causing disruption and interfering with the management of the drifts.

"If the number of spectators continues to increase, the drifts may well be in jeopardy.

"The official pony drifts are an essential part of the management of the semi-feral herd and their loss would seriously compromise the health and welfare on the ponies on the forest."

At Wednesday'sVerderers' Court, Official Verderer Oliver Crosthwaite Eyre said spectator numbers had reached "unmanageable proportions".

"Spectators simply get in the way, and already there have been incidences of those riding on the drifts narrowly avoiding serious accidents because their ponies have been spooked at high speed by the onlookers.

"On other occasions ponies which have involved a lot of hard work to gather have simply got away.

"Drifts take many hours of hard work and many miles at a fast pace to set up and complete, and it can all be ruined if spectators are in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Drift dates had previously been published so people would know to avoid a particular area, he said.

"So our message this morning is, unless you are formally assisting the Agisters as a participant in a drift, please stay away."