Toay the vet came to castrate Albie and Newt.  We had a very long to-do list for her.

First up was to microchip this year’s Icelandic horse foals.  We caught them an hour before and put them in the stable.  Then came the rugger scrum to get headcollars on.  Neither foal has ever worn one, let alone seen one.

But we managed.  It seemed a pity to waste a vet visit without trying.

So Morag, the vet, with the help of Simone, who was tremendous, microchipped and obtained DNA samples from both foals.

Lilja was hysterical with all this.

Dreki adopted a more pragmatic approach.

Both foals needed to have papers completed by the vet for their Icelandic Horse Society passport.

After that, the mares and foals were put back into their feld and next up was Albie.

He was given his pre-med.

And then was successfully castrated.  I was put to use by counting elephants (seconds) for the bloodless castrators – one full minute per snip.

Everything went very smoothly for Albie and, as I write, he is now up and happily living in a small paddock with Newt and Tiddles.

Meanwhile Newt, who was up next for castration, had a reprieve.  “One Nut Newt” is his new nomenclature and we have to wait and see if the other one arrives.

So Tiddles made his life a burden to him!

While the vet was in situ, she also removed a papilloma from Albie’s muzzle, checked Fivla was not too fat or had Cushings (she has a bit more weight still to lose) and also called BeAnne a Border Terrier (oh, the shame).

So, all in all, a busy day.

(Lambie says he may live the day and thanks you for all your messages of sympathy and concern.)