This lot are doing well.

They are exploring more, now we’ve moved their bowls further into their field, and hanging around the fence less.  The Old Ladies occasionally shout for them but they are learning friends doesn’t necessarily mean food.  Food can be found if you go look for it.

The Longest Forelock Award goes to Waffle.

Albie was not in the running.

When it stops raining (so that would be possibly next week or June/July/August), I may have a go at brushing them.

May, as in I am hopeful that the Gods will provide and do the job for me first!

I know, I know, I am a lazy Shetland pony owner.

However, I promise to brush Newt as he is always prone to a claggy armpit problem.  Never fun for either of us.

So this lot do their own thing, find their own food and, with all my determination, laminitis will not rear its ugly head again.  I am doing my absolute best.

And so one 40 acre field of bugger-all=-nothing.  Enjoy chaps.

Tiddles took to eating his actual bowl.

As well as the contents therein – minerals and vitamins, nothing else.  Sorry.

And meanwhile the girls have the lovely grass.

First thing this morning, I was mugged for the buckets I was carrying.

And I thought to myself that it was only Haakon and Iacs who could eat side-by-side without playing “musical buckets”, arguing or minding about the other one.  This is something the Minions are incapable of.

But Haakon and Iacs are not that kind of horse.

They have always been the best of friends – even immediately recognised each other when they met again after Iacs joined our herd a couple of years on from when I bought Haakon.

These two are cousins and Haakon is the oldest, which means he is of course entitled to dribble his food onto Iacs’ mane.  Their mothers were sisters.

They both came up for air eventually.  You can tell they are cousins.  You really can.

And yesterday Daisy spent her morning grooming them all.

They all look so much better – gorgeous and less floofy.

Kolka loved it too. Daisy said she followed her round getting in the queue waiting for her turn to be brushed.

Not looking bad, I think, either.

Note-to-self, I must do the Minions next.

Daisy’s last day and she joined us on our regular cat/dog walk.

Look at him go!

We don’t actually go very far because everyone just wants to mooch around playing in the stream….

…. or finding an island to make their own.

And then we laughed and laughed when we noticed Monster was in hunting-mode.  He obviously thought ‘Bert was smaller than he actually is and could be possible quarry.

But as ‘Bert wandered along, totally oblivious to his potential fate, …..

…. Monster realised he had made an embarrassing mistake and we promised never to mention it again.

I set off to look for Ted’s coat (he had previously lost it on another walk).

One yellow coat amongst yellow flowers in the field – I had no chance.  When I returned coatless, I found these three together.  Not something I expected.

Funny lot.

(I love Monster’s expression!)

I crossed the burn and left them to their whatever-that-was.

I have to say that I am more than slightly obssessed about all of my animals now.

My worry levels are through the roof and all I can ask myself is “what did I do wrong? What happened?”  I think they are all dead when they lie down. Obviously they aren’t but even so.

Why did this happen?  I have no answers and there was no post-mortem.  Just “One of Those Things” is what I am told.

The horses are pragmatic.  They said their goodbyes at the time, they watched what happened, walked away and never looked back or struggled with the end.  As it should be.

They have got their heads around things. I haven’t.

Eurovision was a good diverting entertainment and I made The Cake (raspberry version).

It was a fun evening for Daisy and me.  OH has nothing to do with it.  Raspberry gin shots every time anyone lay down to sing on the floor, and a shot for the word “super” during the scoring.

And I have been keeping myself busy, so I don’t think, going through stuff to sell for the huge vet and digger bill.  It is time for a good clear out, anyway.

The Minions are not happy but they are just going to have to get on with it. I have to be strong.

They have 40 acres of nothing and my aim is weight loss and no laminitis, not now, not ever again.

Last winter was hell for us all.

A few days’ back, Daisy and I moved their buckets across the wee burn (stream) so that the ponies would stop hanging around the fence and go off exploring to find food.

Today’s food had a new supplement, specifically and expensively to get them through the bad potential laminitis periods (spring and autumn).  So of course they hated it and walked away, looking in all their buckets for something better.

Tomorrow I will make their food similar to what they are used to and slowly change it with the new supplement.

Meanwhile, the old ladies live in the adjacent field.

The one with all the green grass and they are very happy, possibly gloating about their new found calories.