depasture

It is a well-grassed paddock, that is set apart for horses to depasture in.

The area was then used by the Europeans to depasture sheep from the Government Farm at Oxley.

The Conservators were empowered to regulate the rights exercised by registered commoners - e.g., to depasture horses, cattle and sheep, and to agist swine, and to exclude animals for which no common rights existed.

In the New Forest the most important is common of pasture, which enables about 350 commoners to depasture some 3,000 ponies, 2,000 cattle and a few sheep on about 4,500 acres of open forest throughout the year.

Other rights were held by the householders of the rest of Devon, who were classed as 'strangers' or 'foreigners'and were allowed to depasture beasts on the commons of Devon surrounding the forest, without payment, and on the forest only on payment of certain small fees.