Well that’s it.  Summer is officially over and it was a good one.

Daisy, my eldest daughter, is on the boat tonight south to start her last year at St Andrews University (St Snotters) studying Biology.  She has been a real help to me this holidays and we had great times racing our horses, just sitting for hours in the field with the herd and trying to outdo each other with filthy looks or Kath & Kim quotes.

Floss, the younger, left last week for Beijing where she is currently doing her “year abroad” from Oxford University studying Chinese.  Yes, you heard me right – Chinese.  She has been there a week already and the last message I received was “Sitting in a Chinese cafe.  I’ve found they have an affinity for playing hymns. Recognised at least three from school.” – and that made me laugh so I think everything is alright.

I do worry.

It was lovely having the girls home this summer.  We achieved great things like riding together (a first), hugging the Minions and being a complete family.  I think it is only me that can hear that clock ticking now.  They are adults and I have a limited time of them wanting to come home.

Still, I always have their sister and she is never going to leave me!

We went to see Brangelina today – aka my lovely Icelandic mare, Hetja frá Skeiðháholti and stallion, Taktur frá Velli II.  They have been living together since mid-July and are a very happy married couple.

Hetja has perfected her come-hither look…

…. and Taktur is still utterly drop-dead gorgeous.

(I think she has been keeping him up late!)

Daisy was saying her good-byes – Taktur is her black stallion and she hasn’t seen much of him this summer as he was on holiday.  We believe holidays mean a rest from everything and everyone, unless utterly necessary.

Hopefully Hetja is pregnant with her first foal.  Exciting times ahead.

She was in training with Jo and will go back to being ridden until she stops enjoying going out.  She has a tölt, once she gets going, that can only be described as ‘stonking’!  It is amazing.  Jo has done wonders with her.

Taktur looks fabulous now.  He has filled out and looks more grown-up.  Still the same brain and thoughts, just an incredible body!

I think he has missed his people and will be glad to come home to his friends.  I wonder what he will make of The Minions in his field now? I will trust him to be the perfect gentleman until proven otherwise.  If he is horrid, we will re-think the situation.

When we saw him today, he seemed just the same as ever.  He enjoyed his scratch from Daisy.

We are worried about Raw Deal.  She is an old lady now, who was, in her prime, a fantastic  looking Shetland pony.  She won the Royal Highland Show in 1996 – Overall Champion.  Her foals are divine but….. she is losing weight and her coat is dull.

So Jo and I drove up to see everyone in the hill field and to specially look at Raw Deal (or Delia, as we call her).

I took photos of the others while I was there.

This is Delia becoming increasingly greyer.  The photos don’t show that she is losing weight but she is thinner than the others.  We are beginning to suck our teeth.

We brought with us the bucket of teeth rasps and tongue wedge and have a special small sized Shetland pony tooth rasp for just this job.  Jo knows what she is doing – she receives continuous instruction and advice from our qualified equine dentist.

Obviously the girls wanted to help.

Wormer was given afterwards and we shall continue to monitor Delia.   If she looks like she is still losing weight, we will get her over to Jo’s where she can have hard feed during the autumn and see how she fairs then.  She is old and we won’t prolong her life for the sake of it.  Winter is hard here and we would hate her to suffer.

So, see what like in the next few weeks.  It is warm and there is a lot of grass in their hill field at the moment.  If she maintains her weight then fine.  If not, then we will get her home.

This is Daisy’s last week at home before she goes south again for her last year at St Snotters.

I think there are three little fur Minions who are going to miss her desperately.  I have been given my instructions to do extra hugging (always happy to oblige) during her absence.

This summer, I noticed that the one who came out of his shell most was Silver.  He is so tame now and adores Daisy.  Always first up for hugging and has forgotten about being silly.  I think this is all Daisy’s doing.  She has spent many hours with him and they are good friends.

Of course there is always BeAnne who Daisy described today as ” a Gremlin in her little rock lair”.  I am trying hard not to take offence on BeAnne’s behalf.

While Storm loves his canine gremlin more than anything, and searches her out, BeAnne is perhaps not so keen on this close relationship.

She gets quite narky with him when he wuffles her fur with his nose.  He doesn’t care at all and continues to annoy her and so BeAnne has given up exploding as she knows it does not any good – he doesn’t take no for an answer.

So that is us until Christmas.  All my fledgelings flown the nest.

It has been a very good summer for us all.

The girls are all back together in the hill now.  Mothers and daughters.

I love traipsing up there with my camera.  It is such a natural place, if you know what I mean.  This is where Shetland ponies should live and thrive very successfully.

They just seem to fit into this landscape perfectly.

The herd hierarchy is still very important.  The older ladies look after the teenagers and teach them their manners.  Vitamin has taken over since Velveretta’s tragic death.  She guards and watches over everyone making sure they are a credit to her and their mothers.  Any rudeness, and she would immediately go wading in to sort it out.  She is a tough old bird and law and order is kept with minimum discussion.  Everyone knows it is better not to argue their case with Vitamin.

(I am probably anthropomorphising hugely but that is how it seems to me)

Politics, socialising and conversation are continuous.  No one is not just standing there eating ignoring the each other.  You only have to watch their ears twitch to see that they know exactly what is going on around them.

Daisy is off south at the end of the week (all my birds flown south again) so it was nice for her to see Lyra again.

Everyone was very happy to talk – there is a person in there, honest.