Osmington White Horse NOT at risk and does NOT need saving say Dorset Council
They've give an explanation as to why the famous hill chalk figure is not looking its best
We're being told the Osmington White Horse is not at risk and doesn't need "saving".
The reassurance comes from Dorset Council in response to concerns that the hill chalk carving of King George III riding his horse away from Weymouth is fading.
Dorset Council have taken to social media to set the record straight.
They say:
"The current state of the horse is a perennial issue which always rears its head this time of year when the ground is saturated, the chalk is dirty and light is poor. Adonis - all 85m of him - does appear to blend in with his surroundings and lose some shape and vibrancy but this is temporary."
The council have also offered an explanation as to why normal maintenance hasn't taken place, and that's due to the pandemic.
The council say:
"Most of our rangers were redeployed in 2020 and 2021, delivering medicines and food parcels to vulnerable residents during the pandemic. Unfortunately this coincided with the usual maintenance and spraying cycle at the Osmington Horse site.
"We recognise the importance of this much loved horse to local people and visitors, so we have an annual maintenance plan which follows the same pattern each year. This includes our countryside rangers redefining the edges of the feature with oak boards, around February time, then we clear bigger clumps of vegetation by hand. When the ground has warmed up around May (and when the wind is calm), we spray the horse with a herbicide. This process is repeated in August."
But the good news is we can soon look forward to seeing the Osmington White Horse again in all his glory. Dorset Council say:
"The work programme will resume this year, and we have some non-weather dependent maintenance planned in the coming weeks. Rest assured Adonis will be back to looking his best very soon."