Category Archives: Icelandic horses and Shetland Ponies

Winter Storm Coming

6 Replies

I think this will be us for the foreseeable future.  There is a heavy snow/storm arriving tomorrow which I am dreading.

I woke up at 4am this morning and started worrying so the minute it was getting light, I rallied the troops to bring the old horses and ponies home.

(‘scuse the bad photography – it was barely light)

Once home, we fitted each old horse and pony with a medium-fill rug, gave them their breakfast and sent them on their way into their storm field.

Also, after much deliberation and discussion, Daisy and I decided to rug up Tiddles as he is the only one with a smattering of ribs amongst the Shetland boys.  The others are fat.

I don’t want Tiddles losing anymore weight – he is just right as he is.  Tiddles is perfect.

I told him this and I also told everyone else that a) they were not point and laugh at him for wearing his very handsome blazer, and b) they were absolutely not to rip it either.  Tiddles does look very smart.

Anyway, we have the big shed all ready and tomorrow afternoon before it gets dark, I will call everyone home and put them inside for that night and possibly the next day.  It truly is going to be vile and I want to know they are all safe and indoors.  This morning I went to town and bought fibre/food for horses and ponies who can’t eat hay (no teeth).

So, hopefully  we are prepared for this onslaught.  I am also praying the electric stays on.

Winter Brushing

1 Reply

We have a northerly storm on its way, along with the possibility of snow. It will probably arrive Wednesday and rev up for Thursday, dying out by Friday and then snowing from henceforth.

So, as I have help at the moment, Flossie and I went out armed with a bucket of brushes and we gave the horses and ponies a quick once over, concentrating mostly on the fur on their backs, which needed a good brush and floof up.

While Floss worked hard, I picked out feet.

Everyone behaved beautifully – they just stood there, no headcollars or anything and we brushed and picked while being investigated (read frisked) as we went.

 

Then it was the Shetland ponies’ turn in the other field.  They were very helpful though I did have to put a headcollar on Tiddles (which he immediately took off his nose) as he is not keen on being brushed and kept moving off.  I talked to the front end while Floss did the brushing.

 

The ponies were mostly very fluffy and needed little done, except of course for Tiddles whose coat needed a thorough brush.  He turned into a fluff ball afterwards.  So another job done.

Lots of Help

3 Replies

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

1 Reply

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

5 Replies

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