This little chap has just been born today and he is spending the first few hours of his life unravelling, stretching and finding his feet.  He belongs to my neighbour’s Shetland Stud – Bergli.

I popped by with some pathetic excuse so I could get to snog a foal!

And I found the very candidate – Little Miss Thickie or Bergli Vida Rose as she is officially known.  She was the one we taught how to suck from her mother a few day’s back.  As you you can see, she has very obviously got the plot as she is now covered with her mother’s milk.

Vida Rose is probably one of the tamest foals I have ever met.  I sat down, she stood in front of me and I spent not nearly long enough kissing her nosey and telling her how gorgeous she is.

Vida Rose doesn’t think the world is mean or horrid and she is desperate to talk to another foal, so we watched her try and make friends with the latest arrival, the colt foal.

She could see no reason why not.

This was until her mother marched in and told the colt’s mother just what she thought of them trying to lure her beloved daughter away.

She then gave her errant daughter “The Look” (the one we mothers know well) and marched off.  Poor little Vida.  I hope her mother lets her make friends with the others soon.

Spring is back. Yay.

We all spent a lovely day outside soaking up the sunshine.

Lambie is feeling much better and wants to be out and about if we are outside.  He is very energetic and runs as fast his little leggies will allow him, bleating “wait for me”.  I was feeding Taktur his daily food and thought I would let them meet each other.   Once Taktur had finished, he was intrigued by this little mite that had dropped down to sit by his front hooves.  He was very gentle in his introduction to Lambie.  What a dear boy.

Once I had put Taktur back in his field, I let The Minions out as I wanted to brush their manes and tails, pick out their feet and trim and tidy up their ears.   First they met Lambie and were very curious.  Everyone was strictly supervised and I kept my beady eye on them all, thinking only of Lambie’s safety.

When Waffle thought about seeing if Lambie would play with him, I scooped my precious bundle away and put him in the safety of the garden.  I popped back later to find a new boy band was being formed!

A busy day for all.

Awwwww!

It was a lovely morning, if windy, so I looked outside to see if the horses were around.

Yes, yes they were all outside but fast asleep having forgotten to leave an armed-guard against the potential tigers.

Feeling guilty, I took Haakon from the field and took him out for a ride.  I hate waking them up but the sun has been a rare commodity recently so I wanted to grab my moment.

We set off along the usual route.  I didn’t have to tell Haakon what to do – he knows his job.  So I plugged in my earbuds, put my hands in my pockets, sat back and enjoyed the view.

Poor boy, I may have been singing as we went along.  You know, that awful tuneless singing when you wear headphones and can’t hear yourself.

I was reminded of this clip…. and I got a funny look from a passing car driver!  But it was nice to get out and I feel refreshed, though poor Haakon probably feels deaf!

https://youtu.be/8VNoRECQJII

Afterwards, I took Lambie-borghini to the vet to be, cough, castrated.  Lambie was a huge hit with the staff on account of his cuteness overload.

He escaped the castration as there was nothing big enough to castrate.  This job will have to wait for another day.  Meanwhile he had another dose of antibiotics and painkillers to help his walking and Joint Ill.  Lambie weighed in at 1.6kg so he has gone up in weight. I can’t remember what he was before but he weighs more than before.

Lambie was very perky when he got home and took over the dog bed with a “dogged” determination.

Vote For Wu!

He promises not to look down on you too much.

He has a Moggifesto.  He believes in more food whenever he wants, especially lightly boiled white fish, open windows, turned up central heating and no Loki.

Especially No Loki, actually.

He would like to reiterate, No Loki.  Have you got that?

Meanwhile, Lambie’s physio is going badly.  It has just not been the weather to be outside.  I carried him under my coat this afternoon to see if we, ie the dogs and I, could get him going in the indoor school.

He looked very small all on his own.

But he did eventually get the gist. Ok, he is not gambolling yet but when the weather gets warmer, hopefully he will feel more inspired.

Questions I need the answer to:

Should he be trying to eat grass? Can I offer him grass I have picked from the garden?  What about water too?  I can’t leave him in the garden as it is too cold and windy at the moment.

Can I give him anything to get his joints a bit better?  He does look sore when he walks and this weather is not helping.  He hates being outside (I don’t blame him – I hate it too at the moment).

His bed was dripping in urine this morning.  Is this normal?  Do sheep sit in their own pee?  He also pees on the newspaper so I was surprised to find his bed drenched.

Any answers would be hugely appreciated.

We are all cold.  I don’t believe it is really Spring and there is a gale on its way to make everything worse.

Lambie-Borghini, who I think you will agree has grown, refuses to leave the warmth of the Rayburn, ever.  I don’t blame him.

Sometimes there is a bit of a queue for this amenity but everyone seems to share ok, if grudgingly.

I hate this weather – cold, damp, windy and sometimes raining.  It makes all my bones ache but I still have to look after my animals.

Taktur is fed daily his Muscular Handsome Prince food.  He needs to put on weight – muscle preferably.  He is not easy to keep weight on especially in this weather.  Hence the rug and I am not a rug person at all.

BeAnne’s lifelong ambition seems to be to turn herself into a muesli bar!

Once he had finished his grub, I returned Taktur to his waiting Fan Club.

Taktur instantly went in to try on their small shed.  He was happy to share it with his twin.  I think it is nearly impossible to tell them apart (from a distance).  Woah – look at that uncanny resemblance!

Little Storm loathes this weather.  He is always the last one to go outside and would hang around waiting to come in the house if he thought I would let him.

(sadly, OH says no, though I would in a shot).

So, I have spent the afternoon, having walked the dogs, staying mostly indoors taking photos of Lambie.  He is much cleaner now thanks to all your suggestions and he likes being brushed.

Lambie has the most beautiful long eyelashes.

And floofy wool – some of which is very curly-wurly (around his neck) and some is straight (body and head).

Should I comb his curls or leave them?