Category Archives: Icelandic horses and Shetland Ponies

Grot Day With Hope

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It remains horrible outside and I am beginning to feel sorry for the Shetland ponies.

Should I move them perhaps over to this field – 5 acres I was saving for the old horses and ponies.

Daisy arrives tomorrow to take over from Flossie and I will ask her then.  I could always give the Shetland ponies haynets hung on the gate.  That’s a possibility but it involves lugging.

Meanwhile, I remain pretty much bed-bound as I find sitting for long periods very difficult.  I try and do a different chore each morning just to see if I can, and mostly end up taking to my bed to lie flat because my back puts in it’s objections.  I feel sore all of the time and painkillers really are my last resort. I am trying to avoid them if I can.

I phoned the Pain Clinic to be told I might be seen in mid-March but was on the list if there was a cancellation.  I resigned myself to the long wait when the phone rang this afternoon, and I was told there have been a cancellation and I will now definitely be seen on the 16th February.  So that is excellent news.  I am hugely relieved and I know I said previously never again, but I’ve hopefully negotiated immense knock-out sedation this time so the procedure should be bearable.

But my worry now is the animals. There seems to be no let up in this weather for the time being.

On my inside, I threw some carrots at the Shetland ponies and told myself things could be a lot worse for them, and me.

Always Fair

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I left my pit to pop down to see how the little boys were fairing in this cold weather (wind chill today of at least -5℃).  It was the sort of freezing cold wind that makes your eyebrows hurt.

Anyway, everyone was surprisingly perky – I think it’s because they’re in their new-to-them field and they love it there.  They can also see the others too, which they like (not that the others care or want to be near them).

I had in my pocketses five Pasture Cookies, which I had brought thinking they could have one each as a very special treat.

I fed one to each of them and of course they loved them.

One for you, I said and a kiss on the nosey…

And you….. and you and kept going….

… until I reached Silver. I put my hand in my pocket expecting to find the last carefully counted out treat but nothing! I felt awful.  What to do?  I could leave Silver feeling a bit out of sorts with me and go back to the warmth of the house (my poor hurty eyebrows by now).  But no, I am not that person. Life should never be unfair and I would’ve laid awake all night knowing I had created an injustice. So of course I climbed back up the hill, telling myself all exercise is good exercise, found the errant Pasture Cookie and took it back to feed Silver.  Fairness for all!

Rugs and Moving Fields

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These days, it’s a toss-up as to what and how much I can do.

But, as ever with my back, every day is a new oneand the pain is never the same (when it stays the same, I begin to panic). When I wake up in the morning, I can usually gauge my potential achievement level. Last night, I had definitely overdone things but today my back had forgiven me.

This is the last day before the gale, rain and possible snow arrive so Floss and I changed the rugs to thick ones on the old horses and ponies. Then Floss went to work and I went off to throw celery stalks at the Shetland ponies. I could see their field was not looking its best anymore and they were all a bit depressed. I hate that for them.

So I made a decision. I put a nice rug on Tiddles (ok, he’s wet but I can’t dry him and it is better than nothing), and then led him through the inter-connecting gate to the last field the old horses/ponies had been living in. They all dutifully followed. In this field, there is more shelter as it is in a valley with lots of very high dry-stone walls. There is also a bit more grazing. Nothing special, but it will do. The ponies were thrilled and I was left feeling that I had made a good decision. They will be alright in the next gale and I don’t have to worry about anyone now.

Then I went inside to work on the Diaries and I had some help. The head torch is to help me see the teensy tiny writing of August 1947. The help was very licky. Yuk!

Rugs On Today

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I’ve not been very energetic today as I’m not feeling very well – back pain, sciatica, general malaise.

I had one thing planned – to put rugs on the older horses and ponies.  So Flossie and I managed to carry down five rugs to get on before the rain for the day set in.

I also cut tails a bit shorter as I know everyone hates treading on long tails.  I might’ve been a bit over-ambitious. I can never tell until the job is done.  Never mind. It will grow back.

I think everyone was quite pleased to have their rugs on as it started raining almost the minute we clipped the last one into place.

I tried to take a nice photo of all three Icelandic horses looking smart so Haakon and Iacs stuck out their tongues.  Honestly.

We can do better, I told them.  So they did.  Much better.  Thank you.

(is it me, or do they look like a now-photo of an 1980’s band?)

And then it started to rain, so Floss and I walked the perimeter of the field with the dogs, putting fence posts back that had fallen over in previous storms, and I went back to bed, where I’ve been tucked up with a hot water bottle all day.

A Glorious Day

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It has been one of those rare calm Shetland winter days.  Even the sun made an appearance and everyone just breathed out and relaxed.

I am trying to get out more now, doing little things, but definitely doing.

 

When my sciatica sneaks back in, I then rest up until it’s gone again.  I am learning my triggers and also realising I am going to have to avoid them for the time-being.

I am also trying to get my brain working again, so I brought one of my Great-Great Aunt Kate’s tiny weeny diaries (1947) up to work on.  As it is not easy to read and type while lying on my bed, I tried dictating the diary entries one day at a time.  It did not go to plan. Talk about random words! One month’s entries usually takes me just over an hour of fast typing.  I managed one week in one hour, left feeling pretty exasperated but it is something I want to keep doing.  I need a better microphone, I think. And the computer doesn’t understand the words “Full stop” or “Brackets”.  Humpf.

My afternoon walk was much longer today too and Pepper and I enjoyed the quiet calm scenery.

Listening to the Hobbits traipsing along helps too.  They’ve just been caught by the Barrow-Wights and are about to sing out for Tom Bombadil (who I find incredibly annoying).

So that’s my day.  Slowly getting there.