Category Archives: Icelandic horses and Shetland Ponies

Asleep in the Grass

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I was in my shed this morning, when I looked outside only to find everyone happily resting.

The spot they had chosen utilised the shelter of the dry stone walls and the surrounding sheds.  There has been a coarse South East wind blowing all day.

It’s been enough wind to be annoying, if you have a beautiful mane like Haakon.

Anyway, Iacs was in charge of fending off the potential tigers (good luck with that).

And the others were flat out snoozing.

I wonder what Kolka was dreaming of.

This was the view from the upstairs bathroom window.  They all stayed there for quite a while, asleep out of the wind.

After lunch, when I went outside to go to my shed, I made a slight detour to see if Fivla and Vitamin had turned up and wanted to come out around the house too.  They hadn’t been around earlier.

They had come down and wanted out.

I opened the gate so they could come through and enjoy the lush green grass with the others.

Saturday afternoon is flute-duet- afternoon so Mandy and I played our flutes and quickly realised that our only audience was Vitamin who sensibly and understandably didn’t stay long.

Something Special Today

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I shouted and they all came over, like the elephants in the Jungle Book.  Haakon, Iacs, and then Kolka. Vitamin and Fivla were not going to be left behind and trotted through too.

Mr and Mrs – Kolka and Haakon.  They are a couple now.

Vitamin was very happy shovelling.

Monster was watching.

As was Fivla – at different times of the day, someone was always waiting for me.

I don’t worry about the parked cars/vans .  Everyone knows very well how to behave around them.  Living around the house is nothing new.

When I was in my shed, I opened a packet of shortbread (I know, no Tunnocks – I’d eaten them), and in an instant Iacs was there, whippet-like!  He has the hearing of a bat.

Pepper was very happy to have everyone around.  More folk to chat to during the day.

As was Monster – I actually laughed out loud when I saw this!

There was something very special about today.

The Green Green Grass of Home

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Little Fivla was unexpectedly standing by the gate this morning when I went back in to collect the buckets.

The others were hanging around too.

I just thought they were full and couldn’t be bothered to go and find anything more to eat.

After my breakfast, I came back to clean out their big water bucket and refill them only to find the lurkers still a-lurking.

So, being the nice kind person that I am, I opened the gate and told the old folk they could spend their day eating the green grass around the house.  We have a lot and needs eating down.  This is cheaper than mowing and less effort too.

No one needed asking twice.  Zoom through the gate, they went.

After cleaning and refilling all the water buckets in the fields, I found Fivla and thought I would give her a little brush.  That winter fur is just not coming out on its own.  In the end I brushed everyone and collected up the fur in a bag.

I ended up sitting on the bag full of fur to keep my bottom dry and Fivla and I had a lovely chat and brush.  Fivla was grooming me back and listening to the classical music (Purcell) that was also playing on my phone in my back pocket.  Such a peaceful time.

Pepper was jealous of Fivla’s attention, obviously.

Fivla is a very gentle soul.  We’ve known each other for 30 years and she is the perfect pony.

There has been much stuffing of faces with grass all day.

Everywhere I look, there is someone outside to look at.

Even when Pepper and I went to my shed…..

I only had to look outside my window and smile.

There were also the creepy neighbour moments too.  Always Bibble.

A Bit of Colour

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It was a wet foggy start to the day.

The kind of day where you need waterproofs but then you’re too hot because it’s also warm outside.  Basically dreich (such a good word – a classic Scots adjective used to describe weather that is dull, damp, bleak, and miserable.)

No one felt very inspired to do anything.

(I love how Monster has the bed and Pepper doesn’t and yes, she does mind hugely.)

And a photo of Ted, just in case you think he has been forgotten.

Anyway, after cooking all morning and making my usual hand-felted Shetland sheep this afternoon, I was in dire need of some fresh air – the weather had cleared at lunch time which made everything much brighter.  So I went outside with the dogs for a walk around the ungrazed fields to see if I could find any evidence of our summer flowers.

A happy sight – my first heath spotted orchid.

Some Spring Squill – this was my first sighting in the field.

The marsh marigolds now in full abundance – great swathes of deep yellow flowers everywhere.

The “mayflooer” or Cuckoo Flower or Lady’s Smock – I am ashamed to say I had to look up the name of this as I always forget but it is a favourite in its own quiet way.

So that was me today.  A nice peaceful Sunday.  All we need is the sun to shine and everything will be perfect.

 

Iacs Today

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The vets from south (Ardene House Vets) were in Shetland and Iacs was on their list.  He sees them annually for a check up after his operation a few years back for penile squamous cell carcinoma.

Iacs’ appointment wasn’t until the afternoon so OH and I got on with another looming chore. We finished sweeping out the sheep shed and left it to dry.

Afterwards, I took some painkillers and went outside to sit in the sunshine.

It was a beautiful day.

Later on I received a message saying that the vet was on her way to us so I went into the field and led Iacs out so he was close by when they turned up.  Haakon followed too.

(I have no idea why Haakon has to stand like a giraffe).

I was already feeling windy about Iacs having a general anaesthetic at his great age so I had a chat with Daisy (who is Iacs’ owner) to decide what was the best way forward.

The vet arrived and we discussed the pros and cons of sedation bearing in mind his age (31yo) and possible complications (colic).  Because Iacs’ last examination had been clear, the vet gave him a good clean/feel and said it all felt very normal and no obvious growths.  Ok, she couldn’t see because Iacs would need a general anaesthetic for that and, as there has been absolutely no signs or symptoms, we decided to leave it with the view that if I observed anything over the next year, then obviously we would do something if it was considered necessary.

Colic is an ever-present enemy at their advanced ages.

So that is what we decided.

(and the vet said she wouldn’t have known Iacs and Haakon were 31 and 32yo and they looked amazing – I breathed a huge sigh of relief).