With Haakon and Iacs living around the house for the time being, we find we now have creepy neighbours who are always popping round for something.

Whenever you open the front door, there is almost always someone waiting/lurking.

But they are available for selfies.  That’s a plus.

We work around them (and we also clean up around them too).

But they are always here.  They never give in.  They know where we live!

Sometimes one, sometimes two.

(Phew, at last they went somewhere else.  This is the view while I sit at my desk).

Being creepy is not just the perogative of Haakon and Iacs.  Oh no, Monster is well up there too!

I think my animals may be creepy.  Just sayin’.

While I have been away doing stuff, Daisy and Hjalti have been busy with their training.  They work for a short time most days and Hjalti loves it.  He soaks it all in, happy and interested,  always first up volunteering to do something each day.

Daisy only moves onto the next step when she thinks everything is going smoothly.  Having worked for a year in Norway at an Icelandic horse farm training youngsters, she knows what she is doing.  Hjalti trusts her too. They have a good relationship.

(lots of flapping – look how concerned Hjalti isn’t!)

(Daddy’s Big-Boy Handsome Prince saddle)

Hjalti doesn’t panic.  If he can see what is going and understands vaguely why, then everything is fine.  He has a huge amount of calm curiousity.

A carroty reward, given often.

After I had watched all their hard work and training, Daisy dropped the bombshell that she thought Hjalti was ready for her to sit on.  I was not sure about this move, I will admit, but Daisy said it would be fine.

So she lay across him first.

From both sides and we took a few steps forward.  Hjalti was a rock.

So Daisy got her bucket, stood on it, swung her leg over his back and sat up.  Hjalti looked round, sniffed her toes and then I asked him to take a few steps forward.  He said fine and they went for a walk.

And then Daisy dismounted and gave Hjalti a carrot.

(I am so proud of my little homegrown boy.  I told his Mum and she’s proud too) ❤️

Well done Daisy too – ❤️ sniff ❤️ – she did brilliantly.

A definite milestone.

 

 

 

This past week Haakon has changed so I called the vet to come and check him over.

Symptoms:  He is lying down a lot, he won’t get up for silage (Daisy had to fetch him the other day), he looks tucked up, has stopped arguing and he is not himself.

Since yesterday, Haakon is living round the house with his bestie, Iacs, and the chickens.

So the vet arrived this morning.  She said Haakon presented with no clinical symptoms but appeared stiff on his hind legs after a flexion test.

She took blood and mentioned that he had “a beautiful jugular” as well as “excellent caecal flush in each of the four quadrants” (so proud, sniff).

She also mentioned that my horse was very well behaved which cheered me hugelys.Haakon failed his original buying vetting when he arrived in Shetland 22 years ago because he “couldn’t stay on four feet”.  A plus – he has improved! (more proud, sniff).

We talked for a while about possible diagnoses and treatment.  Bone spavin is very common in the Icelandic horse breed and that is what I am thinking it could be.  The farrier, when he took off Haakon’s shoes yesterday, also mentioned this possibility based on his gait when he walked out of the shed.

So Haakon has started twice daily oral analgesia.

Iacs had a smidgen of food and then had to be held back.

This afternoon, the sun was shining and everyone was lying down.

The blood results are back now – all normal, so the way forward is two weeks of painkillers,  regulated exercise (put shoes back on as he can’t manage without) and then discuss.  If Haakon is not responding to the regular analgesia then x-rays and maybe a referral to an equine specialist.

Basically, Haakon has to live forever.  He knows this because I have told him again and again.

Although we don’t have a diagnosis of spavin, it is a horrid possibility.  An x-ray may confirm this, though.

Whatever, the pain has to be under control and Haakon has to be happy and when he stops blagging for carrots, then I will know what to do.

Meanwhile, I am trying very hard not to over-think this.

The ladies are rather large now. They are blooming in their pregnancy.

Very settled but getting more enormous each day.

Meanwhile, Lilja is desperately wishing she could be a Minion again.

Fat pregnant ladies are absolutely no fun.

Even if one of them is your mother who you used to make such a fuss about leaving.

But Lilja has Flossie so she will have to do.

Of course Floss has all the time in the world for our beautiful Lilja.

And she probably has carrots.

That’s the essential part.

 

 

I haven’t seen the Minions for ages.  That doesn’t mean they haven’t been checked daily – just not by me.  So today I took my big camera to see the little sossages.

They were all on top form and very pleased to see me.  I liked to think they missed me – though, probably not as Floss was always there with her bag of carrots.

Storm, as always was first up.  He is a handsome chap (I write reaching for the thesaurus realising I have now got to come up with eight different descriptions that basically say the same thing!)

Tiddles was having his good forelock day.

Silver looked like he had swallowed-a-button!

Vitamin is under all that hair.  Really, she is.  Although she is starting to go grey around her face, she is still the boss.

Even Newt was being nice today.  Who is Muzzah’s handsome little woolly yak?!

And look how Albie has blossomed.  Into such a pretty lad.

Waffle chose to wear his food.  Perhaps it was camouflage.

And lastly, darling Fivla – the most gentle, kindest Grande Dame of them all.

After the “school photo”, we told the ponies to stop milling around and to get up the hill to look for better grazing.

There was bouncing.

Some hassling.

Endless sniggering.

Like little school boys, they can’t just do what they’re told sensibly.

Eventually they cantered off, annoying each other as they went.

And were last seen heading up the hill.

It is always good to see these little chaps. I had missed them.