Category Archives: Icelandic horses and Shetland Ponies

Lots of Help

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I gave Floss my phone this morning to take photos for me in my usual routine.

So, I rustled up the troops and, clutching my bowl of sheep food, we all walked around to their shed for breakfast.

The sheep are all used to this routine and so know to follow me and my bowl of food.

I thought this routine was pretty fool proof except for one fool ….. Lambie, of course.

He decided that “Things Were Different” so he had to be different too and refused to go inside the shed like he always has done all his life.

Luckily the others wanted their food in their usual bowls.

Dahlia also slipped out because she got pushed off her bowl so I fed those two out of the shed, shutting everyone else in.  We will stick to my routine, even when we don’t. It’s the law.

Meanwhile, Daisy had an easy job and fed the Shetland ponies. She took this gorgeous photo.

Next, it was time for the old horses and ponies – we each grabbed a bucket of food and off we went across the hill.  It is so nice having all this help.

We were finished in half the time and then it was our time for breakfast.

Veg Peelings for Ponies

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I realise I didn’t feature Ted in the Christmas photos yesterday so here he is today, just after his rather soggy-doggy walk.

Ted’s eyes are always grot because he has KCS ( Keratoconjunctivitis Sicca) or dry eye, which has plagued him for most of his life.  We put in regular eye drops to help and luckily he is very good about this.

(and the divine Miss Pepperpot. Just because).

Anywho, today has not been great, weather-wise. Dreich.  We all felt it in our bones.  I spent my morning trying to make space in the fridge by cooking soup (curried root veg, thank you for asking). I ended up with a good pile of edible veg peelings in a dish for later – that perfectly good piece of parsnip (top right corner) was found in a dogbed and even I declared it inedible by hoomans!  I have a standard, low I admit, but one none the less.

While I was going over to my shed, I noticed that the Shetland ponies were all down by the house, so I scrambled over the garden fence clutching the dish, and threw the veg overboard.

I might’ve been a bit of a bad shot as Waffle was wearing some of it.  He will wonder why he is so popular for a while, I think.

Everyone was very grateful for the peelings.

I was going to give them the pumpkin rinds but the last time I fed them, Storm came down with colic the next day so these days I am a bit wary.

I left them all picking through the grass looking for nice bits of vegetable to eat.

And then I went into my shed to make that sheep. Probably the last of the year.

My Creepy Neighbour

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This was the view that greeted me when I opened the back door while I was cooking in the kitchen (making eternal soup).  I was being watched by Iacs.

I had no idea what he wanted!

The others were all away eating but not Iacs. He was standing there just watching.

“I’m watching you, Wazowski. Always watching. Always”

So I went outside in my slippers (so not exactly prepared for traipsing through our wet muddy garden) clasping two carrots that I happened to bring with me.

Just in case, because you never know (believe me, I knew).

And I was lucky because, only out of politeness and because he was “brung up proper”, Iacs ate them for me.  Phew!

I had a quick look around to see where everyone else was and whether they would come a-begging carrots, but they hadn’t noticed so that was a relief.

Iacs had scoffed the lot by now and it would mean more traipsing back and forth to the house to get everyone’s fair share.  I didn’t want to do that as it was beginning to feel a bit soggy under foot in my slippers

I am Weak

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Today has not been nice, weather-wise.  A lot of wind with some vicious sporadic rain showers.

Even Lambie turned around and asked to come back inside appalled at the thought of being outside all day in, horror of horrors, a field!

I think Lambie secretly wanted to be in the house where he sometimes remembers he once lived and belonged until he ate computer cables and was evicted by OH.

Today, I mostly stayed indoors wrapping presents trying to vaguely ready for Christmas.

Anyway, while it was swiftly getting dark, I was getting everyone to bed (ducks/hens/sheep) and I met five pathetic Shetland ponies sheltering behind a small wall in their huge field saying they had nothing. So, having said I wasn’t opening the wee shed, I opened the wee shed and led Tiddles in so he knew it was there, and the others could watch or follow him inside.

I think I have just started “Shed Wars”.  In fact I know I have.  *** sigh *** Let the games begin (and the mucking out)!

A Small Reward

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Last night the weather was horrendous.  Utterly horrid. All I could do was think about my poor animals outside but they are tough, fat and I was not going out there again.  Pepper and I got very wet just putting the ducks to bed and getting the sheep home.

So this morning, feeling slightly guilty about my heartlessness last night, I gave out breakfast and added a small surprise treat for the little ones…..

…. who are not very clever and could not work out how to reach their bowls.

I said things like “just go around to the wide open gate and walk through!”  Apparently this is not something they could work out or do.

So I went over to the open gate that they’ve gone through hundreds of times and showed them their route.

Duh!

And then they saw their bowls and I stopped feeling guilty.

I like to think that each pony got their surprise carrot and enjoyed it.