Brá is not looking her best.

While Hetja’s milk has dried up, Brá is still nursing her son, Dreki, who is doing very well on it.

Brá is an exceptional brood mare – she has given her all to her foal and it is now beginning to show so we have changed everyone’s regime.  For the past few days Brá has been getting extra hard feed, and we have opened up the rainy-day field (a small field I have beeng saving for a rainy day).

We are slightly suspicious that Brá may also be nursing Lilja too, though she is slightly thinner than her half-brother but even so, looking very good.  We also decided to give the foals a little Mare and Foal mix.  Today was the first time the foals have ever met a bucket and Dreki dived straight in while Lilja danced around her handbag for a while.  She quickly got the plot when her mother, Hetja, offered to show her how.

Sadly for Hetja, she is not allowed anything as she is doing very well.  In fact a bit too well.

But I let her lick out the bucket as a reward for being nice and letting me catch her knowing full well she won’t get anything.

We will leave them like this for the next week, ie daily feeding hard feed to the foals and Brá and then we will wean Dreki.  He will come over to Thordale to live with his half-brothers, Efstur and Hjalti in Clothie.

We think it would be best Dreki is not with Albie and Newt and the oldies as they are in no mood to be bounced on at the moment.

So that’s the plan.

Today, I could not find my horse.  Back story:  he was out because he needed a shoe having lost it in the endless mud.

Eventually, however, I did located the old so-and-so.

Haakon had taken up residence in the sheep shed or, as it is now known, Puzzah’s Gentleman’s Club.

And Haakon had found Puzzah’s secret stash of silage.

He also managed to poo in it (I consider this very bad form, Haakon).  So, to lure this greedy horse out, I gave him a carrot that happened to be about my person.

After that debacle (my day has been full of them), Flossie had a riding lesson from Bjørn on her horse, Klængur.

Klængur was the horse that I bought for myself a few years back when I visited Iceland.

But, when Flossie decided she wanted to learn to ride, I quickly realised Klængur liked her far more than he liked me.

And the rest, as they say, is history.

May I just add that I mostly bought Klængur because I assured he would never trot.

So that’s another horse I have given away!

Flossie and Klængur make a very good team.

Meanwhile, Madame Sulky gave it her best!

The weather is revving up for a gale so we have done all we can to keep Thordale from blowing away like Gale’s Farm in Kansas.

Everyone here has been fed (twice), rugged if required and moved to the sheltered lower park. Hatches are battened down, sheeple stocked up with silage, chickens shut in with food/water and we have candles and headtorches at the ready.

The two herds at Leradale have access to much more food and shelter so they are fine.  All checked and happy.

So, that’s me for the day and, based on the previous set of arty-farty photos I put up (yes, that is truly the folder’s name on my computer), I thought I would have a stab at arty-fartifying more recent pictures.

Here are a few results.  I hope you like them.

(I chose this because Kappi is, as ever, eating while Taktur chases, in the most beautiful trot, Haakon who is swishing his tail in rage.)

The three ginger ninjas!

Oh Tiddles!  How could you.  Poor Albie.

Storm, with Silver, Efstur and Waffle having an unusual pensive thought.

I am particulalry fond of this set of Daisy and Lilja in the days when she (Lilja, not Daisy) talked to folk.

Ha-bloody-ha – we can’t get near Lilja at the moment!  **** sigh **** I think she has turned feral!

Awww, Taktur and Efstur doing prancing!

Playing – Efstur and Hjalti chasing Newt and Albie. Don’t worry – Newt will have written their names down in his Book of Revenge – yes, he has one.

A peaceful scene – could’ve been taken last year or 200 years ago.  Icelandic horses have always been in Shetland.

So, there you go.  I rather like them.  They are just an experiment really.

While the boys were coming to the end of eating their silage, I went out this morning with my camera.

It was lovely to see mostly everyone sharing so nicely.

Big and little (or should that be little and big).

If Newt could get himself into the box, he probably would!

I did notice that Albie was not getting a look in.

I felt sorry for little Albie.  Sometimes he is not as pushy as the others and Kappi (the orange backside) is always very keen on his food so probably wouldn’t let him in anyway.

So I got Albie his own little pile of silage.

Haakon and Iacs always share – they are cousins and look very alike.

The only way to tell them apart is that Iacs has a silly-frilly and Haakon has better highlights.

So lots of happy munching was going on – it is a very comforting and peaceful sound.

I am also a little worried about Newt so have started feeding him extra hard feed.  Not a huge amount but enough to hopefully get a little more weight on him.

Being Newt, he didn’t say no and politely dived into his bucket.

Hjalti would give his right leg for his own individual bucket of food but that is not going to happen.  Everyone is different and everyone has different needs.  It is just up to me to try and work out each horse’s requirements for their optimum health and weight.

Another gale on the horizon.  Tomorrow this herd will all be fed twice to stoke up their own personal “central heating” systems.

Once Upon a Time…….

I was a photographer of Shetland ponies.

In my bunny-faced optimism, I decided I wanted to promote the breed.

To show Shetland Ponies in their original Shetland environment.

To capture their spirit and personality.

(I found these pictures when I was looking for something else in my archives and I thought I would share)

These days, things are different.

I don’t see the same things anymore in my Shetland ponies.

It is just not the same.

I have moved on.

Also some of my ideas were copied and I don’t want to jump on my own band wagon, if you understand what I mean.

So, here you are.

A pile of photos I took nearly ten years ago that I barely recognise anymore.

Most odd.

I don’t see myself in any of them at all.

(but I still see BeAnne!)

Life always moves on.

I was also told that “anyone can do this because everyone has a camera.”