The foal was born the day the herd moved on to Hambrook Marshes

The foal, born on 10 March, is the first of four expected in the herd of 13 Konik horses on the banks of the River Stour in Canterbury.

The horses have been introduced to 300 acres of grazing marsh five minutes from the city's shopping centre.

The aim is to restore the area to a wetland nature reserve.

Drier conditions

The male foal was born on the day the horses moved on to a new section of land.

"It is wonderful news," said John Bland, chief executive of Canterbury and District Enterprise Trust, which is helping to develop the reserve.

"We think mum was waiting until she moved to the drier conditions of Hambrook Marshes before she wanted to give birth."

The Konik horses are the closest living relatives of the extinct Tarpan, the wild forest horse which roamed Britain in Neolithic times.

Their grazing of marshy areas helps to create ideal living conditions for birds such as geese, spoonbills, bitterns and corncrakes.

A competition is being held to name the foal by the Wildwood Trust, one of the partners in the Canterbury Wild Horse Conservation Project.