Category Archives: Icelandic horses and Shetland Ponies

Shed Blocking

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Breakfast this morning involved all the big ones outside the wee shed…..

….. while Fivla and Vitamin had taken up residence so I put their buckets in with them and they shared their space nicely, like two best friends.

Collecting the empty buckets later, I could see no one intended to leave.  Fair enough, I thought. You’ve made your choices.

That was until Kolka barged in.  She wanted the salt-lick that hangs just beside the door frame.

And so Floss and I finished up the morning chores, put the sheep out and went inside to have our well-deserved breakfas.  Animals before people is the motto here.

We were on our way out to go to my Saturday morning volunteer job at Transition Turriefield, when I noticed Haakon and Iacs standing around by themselves looking unmotivated and directionless.

So their leader, Kolka, was still in the wee shed then.

And so were Fivla and Vitamin who were looking a bit unimpressed and blocked in.

I went into the shed and told Kolka to leave, there were two old men who needed her guidance and direction.

Kolka understood her mission and left.

She knew that if she didn’t then Haakon and Iacs would still be standing by the gate wondering what to do next for the rest of the day.  They really would.

Eventually Fivla and Vitamin left the wee shed too, now that their way wasn’t blocked.  So all good but honestly it is Kolka who is the boss here but sometimes she can’t decide who to boss first.

Summer Was Brief

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The rain clouds were coming in thick and fast this morning and by lunchtime it was pouring down.

Obviously there is the world’s smallest shed for everyone to pile into but of course this lot only live in there when the weather is lovely.  Haakon and Iacs rarely go in.  It is mostly the girls’ domain.  Today I found Fivla had ownership.  She strategically blocked the door while she ate her breakfast.

After making another white sheep – this year’s must-have-from-Lerwick apparently, I went out into the rain to feed ducks/hens and put out haynets.  I decided to split each haynet in half and hang out four in the container instead of the usual two in the hayboxes outsid)..

It is neither cold or windy, which is good.  The ponies will come and go and do what they want.  It’s not up to me to make their decisions.

I found the sheep all piled into the wee shed waiting to come home.  Apparently they melt in the rain, according to Lambie.  I was closing up when I turned around to find Dahlia with me pleading hunger.  I gave her a secret bowl of food because she asked so politely.

Lambie had already gone to bed.  Of course he had.

Some of the others joined him. So that’s us, listening to the rain outside and thinking summer was brief but nice.

An Indian Summer

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I’m running late today with writing the blog. Apologies, but I was talking to two friends overseas – (they know who they are but it’s my fault for not being more organised).

Anywho, today was another beautiful day and it was my turn to walk the dogs. I took them out and visited the old horses and ponies. We call days like these “an Indian Summer”.

Fivla didn’t want to talk to me mostly because I had told her to leave her wee shed and go out and enjoy the day.  She grudgingly left, probably muttering but she had been inside for a good 3 hours first.  You have to make the most of days like these now.

Vitamin was already out and about and enjoying the autumn sunshine.

She came up for a chat and I admired her always gorgeous “teddy-bear ears”.

There’s still lots of grass and everyone was making the most of it.

Vitamin is looking nice and round, storing fat ready for the winter onslaught.

I don’t want Fivla to get any fatter and I told her this which added to her grump.

This lot will probably stay in this big field for another month or so, and then the little Shetland ponies will go in for winter because it will already be nicely grazed down.

The old Icelandic horses were further along in the field.  Again, they are all looking good now.

And everyone’s winter coats are starting to come in too.

Not going to lie, I am dreading winter.

A Brief Nip to Town

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I made a brief nip into town (Lerwick) to pay a bill (hay), drop off more sheep, buy horse/chicken/sheep food and then round Tesco’s for some human food too.

It was a lovely day and there were no cruise ships in town, which meant the street was nice and quiet for a change.  It’s been pretty busy all summer.

I find it easier when things are calm but am well aware of the benefits of all the tourists arriving. As I walk past a visitor, I whisper “buy my sheep, buy my sheep”.  Sort of subliminal advertising.

I came home at lunchtime with a massive headache which arrived out of nowhere just as I was driving home.  I tried nuking it with cups of tea, a different brand of teacake that has jam in (not nearly as nice – cheap chocolate, meh!) but my headache hasn’t really gone away.  I may resort to painkillers next.

I made another sheep with the help of my snazzy new felting gun and then went and stuck out some haynets for the boys who had come up and were loitering about.  While I was working, Pepper promised me she would sit outside but she lied and put up another polecat.  I called her back praying to all the Gods that she hadn’t been sprayed again.  Luckily, for us all, she was remained fragrant.  Phew!

 

I think this photo should be captioned “The Three Not-Very-Wise Ponies!”

Still, it’s been a lovely sunny day and everyone else is happy while enjoying the beautiful weather.

Too Early

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I mis-read my appointment time for a routine check-up at the Doctor’s so I had 40 minutes to waste.  There was not enough time to go back home, and not enough time to go and do anything useful, so I found a well-situated garden bench in the grounds, just outside their poly-tunnel, saw a good friend, and we sat down for a chat.

The views were spectacular.  I honestly couldn’t have asked for anything better.

The last of the flowers were giving it their all.

We duly put the world to rights and caught up with news of our respective families.

Life was good sitting there.

I went home and made sheep after lunch. Later I went out with haynets for the ponies.

After my share of poo-picking, I went to talk to Lambie who I noticed this morning was sporting a greenish tinge to the wool on the top of his head.  The midges had been out in full force so he was probably rubbing on the lichen on the shed.

As I write this, the green (and the midges) have mostly gone now. Lambie is much happier too and life is even better when he’s smiling.