A few photos from my phone today….

Edna was having her second breakfast with “help” from Pepper.  Edna always has another breakfast as she has never forgotten that, when she was thin, two breakfasts were a good amount.  She will not give this routine up….. not ever. She also only has one tooth so I like to give her extra privately.

Neither seem to mind each other, which is good.  Pepper is such a parasite!

She snuffled around the feed shed and then discovered the mixing spoon.  Happy days.

Indoors there is also a competition.  Ted was trying to be first. I was trying to take nice photo of Monster to send to OH who is outwith Shetland working south.  He misses his boy.

Pepper tried a different approach.

Ted kept on smiling (*note-to-self, I must clean his whiskers – hello, revolting).

Working the room!

How could anyone resist?

Pepper sitting on my knee dishing out filthy looks.

But today Ted wins.

And this was the photo I sent to OH.

We got up an hour early to get our chores done as soon as we could.  Then we went to catch Fivla and Vitamin to take them over to the stable to eat their breakfast.

They had to walk past Taktur who managed to look particularly dishy.  Fivla politely wuffled at him in appreciation. ❤️

While Vitamin just wasn’t really into eating, Fivla was.

So we put Fivla in a separate stable (as she was beginning to pick of Vitamin) and gave Vitamin anything she wanted.  She liked the idea of beet nuts (soaked). We left them to it and grabbed a quick breakfast ourselves.

Then, driving very carefully, we went to the vet surgery.

We let the ladies out early as there was a nice patch of grass. I wanted to see if Vitamin could manage any.

Again, she liked the idea but didn’t eat. I told myself she was probably full from the sugar beet.

And so the dentist did her best.  Cars and lorries drove past. Vitamin and Fivla coped admirably.  Not a flicker.

After some initial dental work, our vet ended up giving Vitamin light sedation as it was painful for her – she is strong for an old lady!

A tooth fell out while being rasped and the vet said there was a sharp one digging into the gum above.

Afterwards, we waited for 30 minutes and Vitamin had a IV painkiller injection and IM antibiotics.  We were sent home with more too.

While we waited, Floss posted carrots into Fivla who waited for her friend very patiently (probably worried she would be next) and then we went to the shop to buy our supper leaving Vitamin to recover in the horsevan.

When we considered it safe to travel, we drove very slowly home.

Everything crossed for Vitamin please. She is eating now even less and I tell myself that no one eats after a painful trip to the vet/dentist.  Tomorrow is another day.

It’s been vicious all day – a constant gale. Floss and I felt battered and sand blasted while we dished out food, haynets, carted water, etc.

I took the girls a mid-morning snack of a grassibix to see if they wanted to have a casual munch.  As you can see from their noses, that lick bucket has also had heavy use.

You can’t see Vitamin’s nose as well, but she is all sugary and crunchy too!

It was no weather to walk dogs in.  We had had enough of being blown sideways so Floss and I entertained Ted and Pepper in the shed by throwing tennis balls for them.

As they are rubbish retrievers, the pair of them, we decided to see if Pepper loved “the Evil Pole” which was previously beloved of BeAnne. She had spent many hours running after it.  We found this out when the trotting pole was dragged along to be placed back on the wall and BeAnne chased it all the way.

So what you do is hold the pole at one end with the other on the ground while spinning round and round.  Pepper thought this was the Best Game Ever.

Ted feigned some interest too.

But really it was Pepper who ran in large circles trying to kill it.  We found this was the best way to tire out a small unexhaustable terrier.

Some more ball throwing for Ted who ran and ran straight past, but enthusiastically.

So that was the dogs walked!

And then back to the endless rounds of feeding.

Just after this photo, I found Monster licking Pepper’s head clean.  I shouldn’t have to see that!

Firstly an update on Vitamin. She is eating enthusiastically a new green sludge (grassibix) as well as soaked sugar beet.  They get this twice a day in huge quantities.  Floss and I are lugging buckets to their field and the old ladies trot after us. They also have very brown muzzles too from the lick bucket which is going down fast!

As it is blowing a gale (gusting Force 10) all today and tomorrow, I have postponed the vet visit as I didn’t consider it safe to drive the girls or to try and have teeth rasped standing in a lay-by on the road. We will go on Thursday morning first thing, when there is a lull.

Meanwhile, the Minions are lost. They miss their old ladies hugely.  They don’t know what to do with themselves.

They all followed me down to their new opened-up paddock that I had been saving but refused to eat there following me back to the gate again.

The water buckets were dry, so Floss had filled them both up and the ponies were evidently  thirsty.

So I immediately felt very guilty.

If the ladies had been there, they would’ve taken everyone to the loch, that has lovely fresh water.  It is  not rocket science. They know their field very well.

We have obviously taken away the brains of the herd.

So we returned this afternoon with more water just in case the buckets had been drunk dry. They hadn’t but it was good to know there is more if they want it.

I took the horsevan to Leradale to give it a run and to see if we needed it for Vitamin and Fivla.  I have been sucking my teeth about Vitamin for a few days.

After Vitamin’s half-arsed attempt at her bucket, I made the decision to bring her home, with Fivla for company.

When we arrived home, we put them in the stable and I tried Vitamin out on “green sludge” (fibre block by any other name).

She quite liked it and even ate some mouthfuls.

After making sure the ladies had everything they could both possibly need, I drove to Lerwick to get more hay and visited the feed merchant to get a lick bucket and some sugar beet.  Then home not even stopping for chips!

It became very clear very quickly that both ponies did not want to be kept inside so we walked them slowly over to Clothie.

Ok, there is no grass but we can keep a better eye on them and feed little and often if we can find whatever it is Vitamin wants to or can eat.  She liked the lick bucket. Sugar, sugar, sugar.  I don’t care.

Delivered today were many blocks of grassibix – dried grass with linseed.  She liked that and I have put one onto soak to see if it is easier for her in that form.

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Tomorrow afternoon (in a howling gale) we are driving the ladies to our vet so that Vitamin can have her teeth rasped.  I think she has some sharp bits and it hurts her to eat.

I hope we can help her. I don’t want this to be the end.