I went outside to see the “Vulture of Doom” lurking.

Fairly scary stuff, if you ask me.

He has one of those faces that means business.  There is not room for snookums and snogging.  No room at all.  Don’t even think it.  Please.

So, I went to see the lads.  They have a pile of new silage and are most happy.

 

Lovely sharing and no bouncy bottoms anywhere (couldn’t you just nibble those?)

In fact, a small pony got lost in a bucket….

…. but luckily reappeared again (phew!)

Wussums, ever following, decided to get to know the field.

Oh, golly, big mistake…

I am dreading this…

and I was right…. wallop!  One stallion down.  Next?

So then Indy wanted to meet Wussums (yup, he got the same treatment).

Anyone else in the queue?

Really, again?

Are you that stupid?

Maybe if I stare you out, you will go away.

Or show you my arse!

Nope? don’t believe me? wallop!

Next, Hammy.  Hello Hammy.

You’re thick and stupid too.  I put my ears back at you, having walloped you on the nosey!

Wussums 3 : Hammy, Indy, Taktur 0

Note-to-self – I must count the horses every day!

Flossie made the “Moist” cake – we told her it looked like a bewb and then sniggered like five year olds.

While very red inside, it was delicious.  So, whoever you are, thank you for the “Moist” cake.  Twas wonderful, if strange!

I think I can safely say the epidural caudal block did not work.  LIfe still comes with the same problems  and I have done my waiting of 10-14 days post jag.  Nothing has changed for the better and OH has put up more rails for me to hang onto when I walk so that indoors now resembles an old peoples home.  I am very depressed about the whole state of affairs.

I continue to struggle out everyday for a walk on the road.  It hurts but I do it because I was told it would help. I am very sceptical about this treatment but walk with gritted teeth so that no one can say “well, you were never mobile, so what did you expect?”.

Today, Daisy and Iacs came too, which was nice.

BeAnne got in a bit off a huff….

…when she discovered we were being followed.

It was a lovely day, so rather than hold up Daisy and Iacs, I let them vanish into the distance together.

We met them later on their return,

(that would be me and my followers).

A quick stop for a family photo of Madame Grumpy’s arse, Daisy riding the Silly Frilly plus some roadkill!

I love the way these two walk together.  Dog, what dog?

Cat?  I see no cat.

Anyway, when I asked Daisy if we looked like a normal family.  Her reply was “No, thank God!”

The kind folk at Transition Turriefield gave us a large bucket load of bolted winter vegetables for the horses.

So, instead of their usual silage, I thought I would give them a treat and distributed the shrubbery fairly amongst the feed boxes (old knackered but recycled fish boxes).

After a tentative approach, the horses and ponies soon realised that this was very good food.

I was always told that if you ate your greens, it would make you “Big and Strong”.  I passed on this information to those that needed to know.  I expect them to reach 17hh by tomorrow.

Anyway, I needed my horse to be “Big and Strong”, because I wanted to ride him.

Here is a lesson in riding an Icelandic horse….

To mount him, you stand your horse in a stream in the middle of the hill while everyone else waits for you to get on.

Then, having joined the others, you drop the reins while you put your gloves on.

Then you remember to take up the reins to re-establish control…..

…. whereupon you get bored of that, two seconds later, and drop them again so you can chat properly to your neighbour without all that actual hassle of riding properly.

So you take the lead of the ride because Haakon always has to be first and can walk faster than any other horse I know (ignore my feet – they do that despite my bestest efforts and I seem to be on a terrible wonk).

Next, you gallop up the hill wondering if anyone has any brakes, breathe a sigh of relief when you all meet up at the top and briefly admire the view.

Everyone then follows you back down the hill.

You drop the reins, chatting all the way home leaving the riding bit to the horses.  Mine seems to be more qualified than me.  I trust him. He knows his job.  He’s happy.

In the BHS book, it says something about walking home on a long rein and I do wish certain horses had read this book as Iacs came flying past us as he legged it with his rider (Daisy who gave noticeable encouragement, don’t think I didn’ t see) on the last stretch.

We had words.

(But it was bloody good fun)

 

Icelandic horses are meant to live in Shetland imho.  They love it.  Shetland is almost as good as  Iceland for any Icelandic horse.

We have no sweetitch or mud fever. The horses thrive in this environment and don’t care about the coarse Shetland weather either.  They all live off the same diet too.

Both the indigenous Shetland ponies and the Icelandic horses speak the same language.  It is always very interesting to watch them interact.  They enjoy each other’s company and get on well in a herd environment.

When we used them in the school together.  It worked fine.  The little legs do keep up.

More folk should have Icelandic horses in Shetland if you ask me.  They would smile more and worry, feed and rug their horses less.

The Icelandic breed does go way back in Shetland’s history from when the boats used to sail between Iceland, Faroe, Shetland and Scotland supplying the pit ponies and moving livestock about.  Many an old crofter will look at my Icelandics and says “we had one of those on the croft” and there are some Shetland ponies that look like cut-down Icelandic horses.

I have started a new Facebook Group – The Northern Isles Icelandic Horse Group.  This group is for “enthusiasts, riders, breeders and trainers of Icelandic horses. Predominantly for those in the Northern Isles of the United Kingdom, but anyone can join who shares the Icelandic Horse passion!”

Please feel free to drop by and join if you are interested.

We don’t want to be all alone in Shetland with our Icelandic horses.

We need to spread the word and get folk out there coming to try the unique Icelandic gaits, see just how comfortable tölt is and what fun you can have with an Icelandic horse.

I had a very stressful morning.  It was so bad, I ended up taking a migraine pill.  I can’t say more but I am very angry.

I do know, however, that I should not ride when I am feeling like this. It does neither Haakon nor me any good at all and we just end up in another fight totally of my making.  So I let Daisy ride him and she did so much better.

A small kiss on a little Shetland nosey made me feel slightly better but I took my anger into the hill for a walk to try and find some perspective on a situation I have no control over but has a very negative effect on me and my health.

I stomped off, with the dogs and the cat and turned round to wait for everyone to catch up.

BeAnne suddenly had a a great idea!  To chase the Wuss.

But Wuss had an even better idea – to chase BeAnne instead!

I laughed out loud and it was very funny to watch the tables being turned with no malice, just for a cat’s entertainment.

Stomping around the hill, now with a slight smile, I took a long look at the smaller picture ….

…

….and then the bigger picture.

Conclusion:

Some people are bastards, while some people are real gems (you know who you are).

I suppose Karma will even it all up in the end – I just need to find that balance and some perspective.