So, now it is Vitamin (or Minnie’s) turn. Splendid Wells breedlines combined with a very generous and kind personality.

She is the lovely mother of our stud Stallion, Millhouse Independant

(or IndyPingPong to his fan club).

Vitamin has had rather a tough time these past few years.  When we first met her, we recognised her as being Indy’s mum.  She then sadly lost her foal though we were never sure of the circumstances. (She is heavily pregnant in this photo.)

Thinking the death of her foal was just “one of those things”, we ran her with Zain of Berry and she had another foal.  Dead again and Vitamin died a little bit inside too.  It was truly awful and we found no reason for the 2nd death.

The next year she didn’t take and last year, she was in foal again (by Zain).  We watched her 24/7 for a whole month.  I did the night duty and Jo did the days.  There was no way she was going to have a foal without us and we would do everything in our power to keep it alive.  Folk kept saying “Oh, she will have it when your backs are turned” but we never did and her beautiful Lyra was born alive.

Vitamin spent last summer with her own little girl bebbie to love.  Her whole life changed and she was happy and alive again.Lyra is, of course, utterly delicious, funny and a huge character.

Obviously, we adore her and she adores Daisy, my eldest daughter.So that is Vitamin.  We won’t be running her with a stallion again.  She has her Lyra (now weaned but still loved) and that is all she wants.

Although, not a worker, she has been lightly backed.

She and Fivla are the best of friends (Fivla was in her field while she was recovering from the death of her foal) and given her lovely personality, she seemed the obvious choice for the photoshoot.   She never put a hoof wrong and had exemplary manners, just following Fivvie around.

So why did we choose Fivla for the photoshoot, I hear you ask?  Well, mainly because she is such a dear sweet lovely little pony.

I bought Fivla from her breeder (Irene Rutherford of Finnister Stud) back in 1996.  I swapped her for a complete nightmare of a pony I had stupidly purchased at the sales.  Irene said she would do a swap and give me in return “this lovely super-tame filly foal”.  She was about 6 months old and completely black bar one white eyelash.

She has exemplary parentage with Chatsworth, Mousa and Berry breedlines – all highly prized.

Fivla lived with my other ponies as a family pet.  She has always been quiet, easy to work and live with.  Never a nasty word. My daughters have ridden her and we trained her to harness when the girls had grown out of her – in about ten minutes (seriously).  Fivla has always been 100% reliable.

Over the years, we have used her for any pony-related necessity, including carrying hay up with a traditional Shetland klibber (available from Thordale – shameless plug) to the fields for other ponies, ….

taming down recently purchased wild nervous ponies and

trying our antique basket saddle.

She has even brought wild ponies down from the open hill that needed urgent treatment by request of the SSPCA, our RSPCA.  Basically, if there is a crisis, get Fivla because she will always help.

Fivla has had two foals – Thordale Noggin the Nog

(or Snoggin as he is known)

and Thordale Olympus (Lumpy to his friends)

Both have been enchanting and Snoggin is driven too (so proud, sniff).  Fivvie loved her bebbies. She always brought them up beautifully and was a good mother.

So that is why we chose Fivla for the job.  We know her very well and we know she would never mind wearing her cardie because she the right Shetland pony for the job.

(Tomorrow I will tell you all about Vitamin)

Ok, these are the last of my photos.  I finally sat down last night and went through them all.

Day 1, ie the Saturday, this was our first photoshoot and we took the photographer, Rob McDougall, to Sandness beach.  The afternoon winter light was superb and the sea looked like mercury.

We found out what worked and what didn’t and quickly discovered our models’ motivation – a bucket of conditioning nuts that I am feeding to my Icelandic stallion.  They are nice and rattly as well as being invisible on the ground.  Fivla and Vitamin could not eat them fast enough.

 

There was also the bag-on-a-stick (an old tried and tested method) which we rustled and waved about when we wanted the girls to raise their heads and look interested.  Other methods used were yelling, whistling and playing mobile phone tunes.

Day 2, Sunday, we were up early and off to Lunga Water, just outside Sandness. The light was perfect.  Shetland at its very best.

To say it was freezing seems an understatement. We perfected our skills such as dressing and undressing Fivla and Vitamin.  All those buttons underneath their bellies and freezing cold fingers was not a good combination.

After Lunga Water, we drove about a bit trying to find good locations.  The mode of communication was if anyone saw a potential place, to flash their lights at the car in front to signal it to stop.  Mobile phones are sporadic with their signals up here.  An old boat was mentioned but it was quickly rejected.

So we drove up to The Black Ward (top of a hill with the old water works) and Rob decided he liked the view over Stennestwatt and beyond.

Lunch, defrosting and boats were mentioned again so back to Sandness and down to Bousta, which is a charming horse-shoe shaped inlet with views over Ronas Hill, the other side of the sea.  By this stage we had it all down to a fine art.  We knew what to do and when.  Each person had a specific role and we were an efficient team.  Surprisingly, for us, there was no shouting, no panic and we all got on very well, having a laugh as we went.

The light was now fading and Rob was hoping for a spectacular sunset so we headed down to Dale Beach.  This lovely quiet spot has Foula in the background.  Magical.  No sunset but there were some good photos taken.

With that, we packed up and went home, exhausted but happy with the knowledge of a job well done!

And I promise never to talk about this again.  Tomorrow it will be back to the usual Shetland pony and/or Icelandic horsery stuff interrupted by an occasional whinge!

I like to think my photos were not too bad either.

Well today has been “interesting” in the extreme.  It appears we are now viral.  Get us!

The Brain Farts, as Jo calls them, are out in force and we have been accused of promoting over-breeding, photoshopping (I mean I am good in as much as I can erase a Twix wrapper from a photo of Scalloway Castle, but I am not THAT good!), leaving the jerseys on all the time for the ponies to wear, over-heating the ponies (they were not standing in that freezing weather!), etc.

I have also been asked a few times for the name of the person who made the jerseys so they can order some for their equines.  Now this is not a good idea.  Originally, when the idea was first mooted to us, Jo and I looked around our myriad of Shetland ponies to find the right pony for the job. Whiffy Chicken of Lerve (aka Fivla) and her friend Minnie (Vitamin) were our only choice.  They are kind, gentle and very very quiet.

The rest would not have been quite so accommodating about having folk under their bellies doing buttons up.  Heads would’ve been kicked in and we never thought to attempt it.  I have put up some photos of Robert, Daisy and Jo putting the jerseys on the ponies.  DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS AT HOME!

I know, I know the feet are extra cute but that is the way it is.  Enough with the brain fartery.

Pictures and video of the whole process!  Yup, now you know what we did this weekend.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2266196/How-turn-pony-jumper–combine…

http://imgur.com/a/tNNaT

http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/features/onesie-wearing-shetland-ponies-bac…

http://entertainment.ie/wtf/Shetland-Ponies-in-Jumpers/161050.htm

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/01/22/shetland-ponies-cardigans-funny-pi…

Ok, it is everywhere and this is our fifteen minutes of fame.  I am dead proud of everyone involved – Jo, me, Robert (Jo’s son), Daisy (my daughter), Richard (he made our lunch), Rob (photographer) and Robin (sent from Visit Scotland) and even BeAnne who got in the way!

We’ve done very well and if it spreads the word that Shetland ponies are out there, loud and proud, then all to the good!

Shetland ponies often have bad press but Whiffy and Vitamin were awesome models who behaved every minute without having any opinion (they are now known as Kate and Naomi)!