Yesterday afternoon a huge afterbirth appeared, so that was a relief.  Brá mentally perked up after that had gone.

This morning we opened the gate to the adjoining stable and Brá immediately went through to be with Hetja and Lilja, leaving her dead foal behind.  Based on her decision alone, we quickly led everyone out of the stable and back to their field.  Hetja and Lilja were thrilled to be outside again (I am not sure they would’ve put up with a longer confinement), while Brá was torn between trying to return to her foal or go with her friends. Before I slipped her headcollar off, I fed her a carrot sprayed liberally with Rescue Remedy.

Meanwhile, Taktur was shouting and running up and down his fence two fields away offering “encouragement” and support, just perhaps not in the way anyone would want at this precise moment.  He has been at it all day (*** sigh ***).  Everyone is heartily bored of him.

However, Hetja is brilliant, she gently got behind Brá and moved her away from the noisy tit shouting at the fence and guided her back to eating with Lilja at the furthest end of the field.  At one stage Brá stood at the spot where it all happened but now she moves around the field alternately grazing and sleeping, occasionally looking up and if she sees me, she shouts.  We have given them all space and look at them regularly from a distance.

Seeing Brá stand by herself thinking breaks my heart.  She is getting her head around all this.

Life has to go on. We all seem very bleak and distant.  I have no interest in much but I went to check the Minions and give them a carrot.  I didn’t feel like chatting to anyone.

Edited:  I just went outside to see where they are and Hetja is grooming Brá.  I shall leave her with the expert.  She knows how best to help.  It made me cry.

There’s no good way of telling this.

Last night Brá gave birth to a stillborn bay colt foal.

It all started fine.  No stress, no worry, nothing out of the ordinary.  I was sitting in the van watching like a hawk from midnight onwards.

Luckily it was light enough so that I could view the horses with binoculars though I did go into the field …. with help.

At 02:00 Brá went into labour.  She was doing well, the foal was coming out the right way round.  All looked good although her contractions were not that strong.  She was getting up and lying down a lot.  Prevous foals have been born very quickly.

After a while Daisy arrived and we watched trying to decide what to do next.  We called Bjørn, our neighbour, trainer and friend and he raced over.  Brá rolled, had an enormous contraction and the foal came out.  He never took a breath.  It all took 30 minutes from start to finish.

We tried resuscitation but it was not to be.

So we trudged to bed with heavy hearts.  This morning, I went down to find Brá standing by her foal  but with her afterbirth still very retained.  She had not moved nor eaten.

She let me catch her (amazingly though I did get cross with Lilja who was in the way and not helping). Daisy and Flossie moved the foal up with her and we put them in the stable together.  The vet visited, lightly sedated and examined Brá thoroughly.  He gave her Oxytocin, antibiotics and steroid injections. 

We have to be very careful of toxic shock and to this end, Brá will stay in the stable with her foal.  She is eating, which is a good sign.  She won’t leave her foal so I have put her food where she will have to look away to eat it.

Hetja and Lilja are next door and not happy but we are due torrential rain for the next 12 hours and I don’t want Brá standing in a downpour with her foal.

So that’s where we are.  We feel gutted for poor Brá.  If I could change anything, I would.  Now to keep her alive is our next challenge.

A very sad day.  The what-if’s are huge.

The sheeple are struggling in this weather with their full fleeces on.

I feel very sorry for them and feed them their breakfast in the stable every morning so they will get used to going in there before they are sheared, which will hopefully be in the next few weeks.

However, they are wary of my sneaky ways and know what will happen.

Oh yes they do, don’t you ‘Ster.

‘Bert is sporting very fetching dreadlocks that curly deliciously at a jaunty angle across his brow.  He looks rather dashing.

Dear woolly Boyzenberries.

Gotta love them and feed them their ginger biccies!  Two each is the daily ration.

Meanwhile, Monster is very happy hunting and bringing presents home.

And BeAnne is her usual wonderful self.  She is wearing a gorgeous Liberty Print kerchief.  Pink is her colour.

And Foal Watch starts tonight.  Exciting times ahead.  I went to talk to Brá this afternoon and found she had colostrum dripping and down the inside of her legs.  She seems very calm and happy so watch this space.  Let the sleepless nights begin.  Foaling bucket at the ready and camera on charge.

We currently have some friends’ horses living at Leradale so I check on them daily.  It is nice to go back to Leradale in warmer months. I see the fields with new eyes.  Today I noticed two small birds shouting at me.  They alternatively pipped at each other in two slightly different tones very loudly.  Enough to get my attention.

I think, and I am happy to be corrected, that they were European Golden Plovers (Pluvialis apricaria) in their summer plumage.

Apparently they are widespread breeders in northern Europe, which constitutes >50% of its global breeding range, so that would be in Leradale then.

I am pretty sure they were Mr and Mrs as they did a lot of shouting ….

…. And running around!

They looked like government secretaries with important business to attend to.

I didn’t do too much investigating in case they had a nest somewhere.

But I was pleased to see the birds. We have fields of them in autumn but I have never got close enough before despite trying to creep up on them many times.

So today was my chance for a good look and listen.

Dear little birds but very shouty!

And so to town first thing this morning for a very important and essential routine appointment.  I would never miss one of these.

How is that for a view for the NHS wagon?  I bet they love coming here just to see the Clickimin Loch with the Clickimin Broch (an 8th century Pictish fort) in the distance.

We drove around Lerwick distributing Minion meet-and-greet leaflets and getting our messages,

A boat was in and the town for once was not deserted.

It makes such a difference to see folk about, peering through the windows, going into shops, taking an interest.  Lerwick is very pretty little town.

One of my main tasks was to fill up my field.  Since I started this venture of selling to the shops, I have sold 12 sheep since 7th May.  I am very chuffed.  Still only one puffin, though. Words fail on that score.

Never mind.  Shopping done and swifly back home – my favourite place.

I have just been to see Les Girls.

It can’t be too long for Brá now and, well, who knows what with Hetja. 

The spring Shetland flowers are beginning to take off.  Everywhere there is colour.

Madam followed me up the field to the gate, ever hopeful I will say “let’s go and do something”.  She would come into the house if she could.  One of those.

The rest of my diary for this week is beautifully empty so now I can spend some real time with my horses and ponies.