❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤

Question:

Can you have too many Shetland pony foals?

Answer:

Nope

❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤

❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤

Question:

Aren’t they gorgeous?

Answer:

Yup

❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤

❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤

Question:

Should you have more than one Shetland pony?

Answer:

Yup

❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤

❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤

Question:

What do you do if one comes up to you?

Answer:

Melt.

❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤

❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤

Question:

Do Shetland ponies like nose-kisseys?

Answer:

Yup

❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤

❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤

Question:

How many Shetland ponies should you have

Answer:

All of them!

❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤

I had the most perfect afternoon today – sitting on a nice bottom-shaped rock, with a bottle of pre-mixed gin and tonic, in the Shetland sun, watching my new foal.

It was heaven.

Efstur was bouncing and running round his mother. He is learning in what order his long, long legs go in.  There are many orders – some work better than others.

Brá is a wonderful mother.  She looks on, runs after her little boy and is teaching him his manners.  She is very tolerant and caring at the same time.

Occasionally Efstur stops to take a breather or have a little nap, and Brá stands patiently beside him ready to deter tigers.

But best of all, Brá is letting us get to know him.  Efstur is learning about people.  If his mother says it is ok (and she comes up and has a sniff first), then he follows happily to do the same, as well as having a bit of a rub, nose kissey (yes, I teach them early) and a chat.

So, after all the worry, that was my afternoon – relaxing with my latest “best boy”.

The rain has stopped and the sun is shining.  All is right with the world.

I brought mother, son and Hetja into the shed last night.   They were cold.  It had been raining for 24 hours.  I put Hetja in her own section so she could not interfere with Brá and Efstur’s new relationship.

And now on Facebook, the debate is about the colour of Efstur’s legs.

ie, will they turn chestnut, like most of his body or does he have four white socks?

I think (and his trainer-to-be, Bjørn,) think they will not and Efstur will have white socks to match his four white hooves.

We may be wrong – but have you seen a full chestnut Icelandic horse with white hooves?  I haven’t.

Efstur is wonderful.  I sat on the ground and his mother, Brá, sniffed my hand and then, and then………. Efstur sniffed my hand.

I am truly blessed.

Twice he talked to me.

And he has a brown and white tail twirled like a candy cane.  What more could I want?

I am so in love – you just have no idea.

I am also catching up on my sleep too.

Welcome to the world ….

Efstur from Thordale
Chestnut colt foal with a star and four white socks (maybe, not sure now)
Born: 03:43 21.05.2016

It was an easy birth.  We (Brá, Hetja, Wussums, BeAnne and I) had been awake, watching and waiting all night.  In the evening, I had brought the girls up, but it was very obvious as the night went on that Brá was unsettled and wanted to be out in the big field.  I was reluctant to do this as I would not be able to see anything.

When it grew just light enough for me to be able to see them in the field from the van, I opened the gate and they immediately went as far away as they could!

I was doing well until I had a sudden dip at 03:00 and desperately wanted to sleep.  So I set my alarm for 20 minute intervals and put my head down next to BeAnne’s snoring self.  Wu sat on the dashboard.  Suddenly BeAnne lifted her head and so I woke up and looked out to see Brá rolling on the opposite side of the hill with that tell-tale white balloon coming out of her bottom.

I grabbed my camera and rushed out, with everyone, and I mean everyone, following me – that would be 6 sheep, BeAnne and Wussums.

When we reached Brá, her foal was emerging, no bag on the face so we all stood back and waited.

Ten minutes later, while Brá and foal were resting, the sheep came up to investigate this new arrival and Bra was fine with it.  Most odd but lovely, none the less.  I had decided by then that this was a filly foal.

Having watched the meet n’greet, I went back to the van to get my phone.  Bjorn wanted to know the minute the hooves were on the ground.  He came over immediately and confirmed that Brá had given birth to a colt.

Somehow I missed filming the stage when Brá’s colt stood up.  It was a long wobbly process and I managed to press the wrong button on the camera.

Having checked that everyone was fine, I finally went to bed elated that nature had taken care of everything sp efficiently and well.  There was no need for any intervention at all.  The best kind of foaling.

A few hours later…….

I think I am in love – it’s those ears.

I didn’t sleep very well last night but up and at ’em at 03:00 just in case.

To start with I couldn’t find Brá and had a mild panic attack.  Hetja was standing outside by herself.

A brown horse in a dark stable can become invisible, when you’re nervous!

Anyway, Brá was located and Hetja and I breathed a collective sigh of relief.

After a few hours of standing up, lying down and eating in the stable, the girls decided they wanted to go outside for some grass.

They chose our back garden – it used to be tne pride and joy of my OH – his very productive vegetable garden – but one year, nothing came up and so, totally despondent, he let it grow over. Anywho, it makes a useful paddock as there is a pony sized shed in there too.  This was Lambie’s Hermitage – his winter palace, if you will.

There is a non-working electric mesh fence that Hetja quickly sussed out.  It is true, the grass on the other side is definitely greener.

Out of boredom and better light, I took to taking photos (and a film) of the cockeral.

And Her Maj who, as always, was in attendance, but with her home comforts.

And still nothing.

Lambie and ‘Ster were, as ever, around.

Even my animals do nose kisseys!

And so we wait.

Brá is waxed up, soft bottom muscles, tail held at an angle befitting an Arab stallion at times and she stands with her back legs apart at all times.  She is often kicking her belly, swishing her tail and rolling.  For crying out loud, it is now nearly 18:00!  Why isn’t the foal just slithering out on its own?  Short of putting up signs saying “head towards the light”, I can’t think what else to do.

We’re having curry for supper!  Maybe that will help.