Sing to the Tune of Summer Holiday
(the Cliff Richard version, please)

Taktur’s going on his summer holiday
no more working for a month or three
Fun and laughter on his summer holiday,
no more worries for him and me,
for a month or three

He’s going where the sun shines brightly
He’s going where the grass is green
we’ve all seen it in my photos
now let’s see if we mean…..

Taktur has his summer holiday
doin’ things he always wanted to
So he’s going on his summer holiday,
to make his dreams come true

not animal glue
not animal glue!

(lyrics slightly changed by me!)

Yes, the my Icelandic stallion has earned his summer holiday.  He has worked hard for his trainer, Bjørn Roar Larsen, since December and now he can show a half decent slow tölt, he can have a rest.

Daisy had the last ride/lesson on Taktur to give Bjørn the opportunity to watch his gaits, movement and conformation.

When they had finished, he was allowed to walk around and stretch.

They make a lovely couple.

While Daisy groomed him, ready for his conformation photo..

….. Anna had a lesson from Bjørn on Haakon.  She has ridden my horse a few times but this was her first time without stirrups.

She did very well and Haakon did the best tölt I have seen for a long time.  I hope we have converted her!

Next, time for Taktur´s conformation photo.  I am not sure which one I like best but I am impressed and very happy with his development.

Shoes off for the summer.

So that’s it for the Taktur now.  He gets the summer off to eat, grow stronger and have fun with his friends.  A huge thank you to Bjørn for his commitment to training my stallion.  Without him, none of this would’ve been possible.  They make a good team.

Hello, Anna and Daisy here, giving Frances a well earned break.

Today we decided to do the foal rounds again to check on the two little ones to see how they were getting along.  Dingo, aka Lucky Charm, is still being heavily guarded by Nanook.

Zoot was more than happy to come up and socialise. 

Next stop, to see Indy and some of his ladies.  He enjoys being on the school route as he gets many hugs and sweeties. Yes, he does look like a bit of a weirdo sometimes, not that you’d believe it from Frances’ photos.  This was the best one we had of him…

Anna had to have a photo with the celebrity.  He was more than happy to oblige and accepted the carrot currency.

The final stop was to see the fillies and mares where we were swarmed.

Lyra and Carina were very happy to see people.  It seems like Bozz-Bozz and Arcturus get all the fun.  The next step is to get rid of all the foal fur.

Overall, we would say that it was a very good day.

Update: Frances’s ankle is not broken, just sprained. Not fun.  Send happy thoughts!

Frances here, I may live the day with enough chocolate!  Good bloggers here.

Today you won’t get your usual Frances Fix, we’re afraid to say that you are stuck with Anna and Daisy.

It was decided that Zoot should not grow up alone.  Playing is extremely important in a foal’s development as any worn out Mother will tell you.  Melinda is an expert having raised both Cookie Monster and Bozz-Bozz.  So, it was off to Lauraine’s stud, Hestigarth, to pick up a mare and foal friend and to admire her lovely dogs, Jack and Pip (aka Naomi to BeAnne!)

The mare is Finnister Nanook with her first filly foal, Arg Lucky Charm from the Arg Stud. Though, to team with our theme of names, we have honorarily christened her “Dingo”.  For those of you that don’t understand this, watch Monty Python and The Holy Grail.

The loading was successful and the drive was fairly smooth.  When they were led into the field, Whiffy was extremely excited to see a fellow Finnister as we were taking majestic photographs, sadly not up to Frances’s high standards.

After lots of galloping around, they finally settled down.

Zoot was very surprised to see another little person!

Will you be my friend?

Will you be my friend?

No?!

Some people don’t take rejection so well…

Forbidden friendship is due to strict mothers….we’ll see how long that lasts.

Unfortunately, Frances took a tumble on some uneven ground and has a sprained ankle. Please send all healing vibes.

Get well soon with the help of a terrier or two.

The Good New First…..

Little Miss has a name.  It has been decided.  She is Thordale Zoot.  The girls decided this.

Zoot is a determined little person too (Anna took these photos as I was busy ranting to Jo indoors).

Today, Anna introduced Zoot to Daisy.  Obviously Zoot knew Anna already so they had the first chat.

And then she found a new victim, sorry friend, in Daisy and it was Lyra all over again.

“Please can she lives in my bedroom?”
NO!

So that was the good part of the day.  Foal snogging on a perfect Shetland spring day and the grass is even beginning to think about growing.

And then there is the Bad News….

Jack is not well.  I have been sucking my teeth all weekend and Bank Holiday (I HATE BANK HOLIDAYS).  He is not right, nothing I can put my finger on but, well, you know.  Yesterday, he did the unthinkable – he did not want his supper.  If you knew Jack, you would know he would have to be dead not to eat his supper.  Food plays a very important roll in his little life.

Jack is of unknown age, parentage or anything.  He came to us in 2007 aged between 9 onwards as a mature gentleman looking for a fire to lie in front of and a place to rest his weary head – that is the actual advert.  I found him on DogPages (****WARNING WARNING, NEVER LOOK AT DOGPAGES ****) which is a wonderful website where you can have your heart wrung and end up giving a home to unwanted dogs.

His name was Walter – this is the very advert photo.

He arrived in Shetland, effing and blinding with a terrible case of Tourettes.  We soon smartened him up, showed him the error of his wandering ways and he enjoyed our lifestyle but mostly I think being one of the family.  He had been found wandering the streets of Hereford before being rescued.

So, today, with weary and an already rather broken heart, my OH and I went to the vet with Jack.  They took bloods after much effing from both vet and Jack and also an x-ray.

The conclusion was an enlarged heart with excessive fluid as well as on the lungs too.  The bloods showed he had a high white cell count but upon examination, there was no temperature.  While we waited, OH took him for little walks to calm and cool him down.  He was getting rather distressed (as was I).

I gave up taking a few drops of Rescue Remedy to calm myself and ended up having a big swig before we went in to hear the results.

So off we go again, down the route of palliative care for another much-love member of our family.

Tis pants sometimes.

Taktur, my 4 year old Icelandic stallion, is going very well. He is about to have all his shoes taken off and have the next four months out in the field with no work.  One more lesson on Wednesday and that is it for him.

He deserves it.  He is an incredible stallion.

Daisy came home yesterday too.  Taktur was meant to start his holiday today but Bjørn, his trainer, wanted Daisy to have a shot on him first and said she can have another go on Wednesday.  She is very happy as she hasn’t ridden Taktur for ages.

He was a dreamboat for her.  An absolute star.

So, then we stood Taktur up for his conformation shots.

and the camera panned over to where Haakon was standing with BeAnne.  Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear.  I give up.

Daisy then rode Klængur while Anna rode Haakon. Bjørn gave them both an excellent lesson.  Anna was getting used to Haakon (her second ride on him) and trying to find his elusive and rather flat tölt.   She did very well and I think they liked each other, which is always a start.

Yay!

Daisy has probably ridden Klængur only a few times too. This was her first lesson on him with Bjørn teaching.  It all seemed to go very well and everyone had a big cheesey grin by the end of the afternoon.

BeAnne watched and learned carefully.  Her turn next!