Not just horses...

This morning I decided to have a little explore after dropping Alex in Huntingdon, and took a detour to Monk's Wood National Nature Reserve on the way home. This is one of the largest ancient woodlands in the county but I hardly ever visit it. Today I wanted to check whether it was dog friendly.

I only had a short walk, as I'd left the dogs at home, but while I was out I came across this small herd of horses, grazing a species-rich damp meadow enclosed by the woodland. There were only a few remaining flowers , but it had clearly been deep purple with devil's-bit scabious only a few weeks ago.

Being surrounded by woodland, scrub and tree seedlings are a constant threat to the grassland, and these horses are doing a great job of getting it under control, so that the rarer plants can survive. And they're so very much more efficient and attractive than a mower!