Here at Thordale, some days are weirder than others.

Daisy called me over to say we were now the official Shetland branch of KFC!  Here in Shetland, we don’t have any of the fast food chain franchises.  It is wonderful.

A Chicken-on-the-bone bucket!

Or, in our world, Elvis nesting on baler twine and straw.

(I dread to think what the “sides” are or the special recipe is – don’t go there. Just don’t.)

Officially odd.

Next up, I made the executive decision to move the pregnant ladies.

They need more grass and Clothie (the croft where they are) needs a break because, once they have foaled, the girls will come into their foal-heat within 20 days of foaling.

Our predominant wind is a south-westerly (through the front door!) so foal-heat girl smell will be blown straight to the boys’ field where three colts and one stallion live.  Perhaps not the best idea.

While the girls are pregnant, they are not giving off any come-hither hormones so it makes sense to keep them in this new field letting Clothie have a break and grow some more.  Clothie lies northerly of where the boys are.

Ok, in my head this all makes sense and I could draw you a map.  Once we took them over, they galloped and bucked happily around the field (noooooo, don’t do that, just walk).

This afternoon, however, one stallion managed to find an open gate (fer crying out loud – and all my fault) and stood by their fence shouting.  The ladies ignored him and Daisy caught him easily and led him away. The gate is now shut properly.

The two fatty ladies are very upset. In their minds, they are the much needed midwives.

Daisy brought Klængur into the indoor school to train.  He nodded off while she tacked up!  Bless him – I loved the bottom lip of snooziness.

And that’s how we roll in this Shire!

It is very cold.  Bl***y freezing but the Shetland Spring flowers are finally trying to come out now.

Walls of wild yellow primroses (Primula vulgaris) are lining the banks of my burn.  They are called “Mayflooers” in Shetland dialect.

If it were a bit warmer, I would go and sit down there, keeping Lambie and friends company while they grazed.  Too ruddy cold for me.

I love the primroses but they are very difficult to photograph.  They don’t show up well.

The “blugga” or marsh marigolds (Caltha palustris) are now also putting in an appearance.  These look like overgrown Walt-Disneyesque buttercups but like damp boggy fertilised ground and are a pain as once they take hold, they spread and spread.

In the hill, there are common dog violets (Viola riviniana) who were flourishing, though they are not ejoying the sudden harsh cold wind.

I have had an industrious morning gardening.  Me?  Gardening!  (I am not a gardener at all but this year I have sudden desire to grow some vegetables).

So, OH lugged two empty aluminium feed troughs, filled them with the contents of the muckheap.  I topped them off with compost and sowed peas, rocket, lettuce (I think, I have forgotten now!) and then watched pesky birds feast on my efforts.  So I have added my anti-bird protection and ordered some net tunnels off Amazon!

Daisy and I also tidied up Lambie’s best bedroom so that , once Precious and her mother leave, we can shut the gate and let the patch grow better without random poo and twigs.

The Icelandic ladies are on bewb-watch – nope, not due yet, I think.

And the Shetland ladies have joined Fat Fighters!

Daisy and Kappi fra Frøberg are working very hard in preparation for the Icelandic Horse Society of Great Britain British Championships and Summer Festival that takes place on 23-25 June in England.  This will be our big trip south and I am making lists and plans worthy of Hannibal crossing the Alps.

I enjoy watching them work together.

Kappi and Daisy are both putting in a great deal of training.  Most days they are doing something – either training outside, training on our oval track, free lungeing or lessons indoors.

Daisy has at least two – three lessons a week from Bjørn Roar Larsen, our local Level 3 FEIF trainer and riding instructor (International Federation of Icelandic Horse Associations, representing Icelandic Horse associations in 21 countries).

We couldn’t do this without him and his extensive knowledge.

And Kappi, who we love.  Kappi is a wonderful horse.  He tries so hard for Daisy and his reward is the promise of a Krispy Kreme donut after the British Championships.

Some may think that Kappi lives for food.

They would be right.  His stomach has a clock in it.  He actually knows when it is 17:00 on the dot!

Taktur is working hard too.

He is not currently training for any specific event but still works hard for both Bjørn and Daisy.  I am not riding him now.

Anywho, that is where we are at.  Riding every minute somewhere!  I usually accompany Daisy when she is training outdoors on Haakon or Klængur.

Krispy Kreme donuts – hmmmmm ( we can’t get them here in Shetland).  I think they are an incentive for all of us, actually.

I helped my neighbour, trainer and friend, Bjørn from Bergli Stud, put one of his stallions out with their mares.

Today, it was Wulfert v.d. Groote Woerd’s turn.  Wulfert is Waffle’s sire.  You can see the obvious family resemblance – they are both black!

Wulfert was put out with three black standard mares, who all behaved beautifully. We found this out when we found we had run out of headcollars and ropes!  Thank the Gods for well-trained and handled Shetland ponies.  They walked into the field on chin hairs.

We were on the island of Burra – one of the Scalloway Islands (according to Wikipedia).

A beautiful part of Shetland.

Next up, we took Wulfert’s winter field-mates, Merkisayre Tactic and Alex v.d. Voshoek to a new field where they could play together.

Alex is a beautiful mushroom miniature dude with amazing hair.

I have a very soft spot for Alex. He makes me smile.

Tactic is an amazing mover – jaw-droppingly wow (my photos don’t show his incredible trot).

So, the stallions were dropped off, and then home to the first of the 2017 foals at Bergli Stud.

Mum is beautiful.

And her baby (a colt) is divine – *** swoon ***.

I love this time of year.  Little bebbies everywhere.

It had to be done.  They could stay there no longer.

So we brought Fivla and Vitamin home to go on their summer diet.

Daisy spent yesterday afternoon constructing a good electric fence across part of the scattald (open hill).

There is a triangle of land that lies between my neighbour’s field and Clothie (where the pregnant ladies now live).

Water runs through it too, which is useful.

Before we fenced this field off, I asked permission from my neighbour, his tenant, the crofter who has sheep on the hill and the Grazings Clerk to make this make-shift paddock, explaining why (dangerously fat pony and her friend) and I have their permission to do this. It is not a permanent fixture.

The girls will stay here for the summer.

The photos somehow make the fenced-off hill look better pasture than it actually is.  This is rough grazing with low calories and roughage.

Needs must.

The ones I feel sorry for most are Hetja and Brá.  Their faces fell when they saw the “baby bores” arrive.  Fivla and Vitamin had spent the winter in the next door field telling them endless stories of their pregnancies.   You know the type.  We’ve all met them!

The ladies didn’t even go over to say hello.