Please keep everything crossed for a successful delivery and healthy foal in late June!

Yes, Hetja is pregnant – we had a blood test done and it has been officially confirmed.  I am trying very hard not to be over-excited as there is a long way between now and June.

Here is some technical bumf, most of which I will admit means very little to me as I nodded off when we did genetics in Biology at school.

But, from what I can see and workout, there is a 71% chance that the foal will be five-gaited (please please) and a 50% chance it will be chestnut, though Daisy is crossing everything for a bay.

I am thrilled as we were beginning to wonder whether Hetja was in foal or not. She is not showing any signs of being a different shape, although we kept telling ourselves it was early days.  However, she did get narky when Jo touched under her belly, when trying to have a look, which is not like her at all.  Hetja has perfect manners as befits the lady she is.

We also wondered because everyone hated each other when introduced last July and this is a first for both Taktur and Hetja.  So they evidently seem to have worked out which bit went where.

(OMG, remember that?  Summer – with grass, flowers, no mud – I feel faint).

Hetja will be a wonderful mother.

She is that instant maternal type and has been Esja’s surrogate mother since their arrival in Shetland.

A bebbie – I can’t wait.  What a gorgeous mix of Handsome Prince and Loving Gracious Lady.

I bought a huge neep (swede) for £2.49 in our local shop (henceforth known as The Neep).

My OH drilled a big hole from top to bottom and threaded a good piece of sash cord through it.

I hung it up in the middle of the shed.

Everyone had a go.  Some with more success than others.  It was very funny to watch.

There was no arguing and everyone shared or took it in turns.

Kappi, who is always obsessed with food, was hypnotised.

Iacs was obsessed.  A thing possessed.  The Neep taunted him.

Oh, how it taunted him.  He could not leave it alone and attacked it each time with new determination and strategy.

Memories of Sven, the reindeer, from Frozen!

Only one horse managed to get to eat The Neep and that was Klængur.

He struck a deal with Waffle who obligingly stood firm and let Klængur use his body to stop The Neep swinging.  It was interesting to watch their team work.  I am sure it was by accident rather than design.

Haakon decided he had given it his best and wasn’t going to try any longer.

Day 2 and The Neep is still going strong.  Iacs is still a thing possessed and Kappi is still hypnotised.  This must be the best toy ever!  I shall buy more!

Floss, my youngest, is back to university tomorrow so, as it was a lovely day, I asked her if she would like to go with me and Klængur for a plod on Iacs.

(I think Iacs heard, as he took the word “plod” very seriously.)

BeAnne came along too and I would love to say Floss and I had a good chat while we rode but there was rather a large gap between us all.  I had to resort to shouting if she was doing ok, and that was about it.  Anyway, I knew Iacs would look after her.  Klængur was in one of his fast busy moods.  The road was quiet and we all went along at our own different speeds hopefully enjoying our own company.

I shall miss Floss.  She will be back in June and that seems a long time away at the moment.  Even though she will be very far away (Beijing), I hope she will remember this one sunny day in our long Shetland winter when she went out for a rare ride.

You really couldn’t get two more opposite places.

This is when Iacs had one of his not-to-be-encouraged independent thoughts.  He thought I had got off Klængur to feed him unlimited chocolate biscuits.  I hadn’t – I wanted to take better photos of Floss riding.

Meanwhile, Haakon is feeling a bit better, although still poulticed.  His abscess has burst and smells of dead-dog but he is managed to run after me when I was taking food to the preggie ladies in Clothie!.

I love their faces – Dignity and Impudence?

We have some new lodgers at Clothie (my five acre field set across the hill from Thordale).  They are eight pregnant miniature Shetland mares, though some look more pregnant than others.

It is that time of year when everyone is in the same situation – knee deep in mud and struggling so, as my lot were not using this field (they have a hatred and just stand at the gate), I offered it to help out Bergli Stud.  We all help each other out where we can.

Anyway, I am not complaining.  These miniature mares are beautiful and I shall enjoy taking photos of them as they continue to blossom in pregnancy.

Obviously they will be carefully moved nearer their home when they are due to foal as I do not want the worry of foaling someone else’s mares.

In the meantime, I will visit them and feed them carrots and hard-feed if required.

It is always nice to have new faces around and they are really no trouble at all.

(and they have teddy-bear ears too!)

They are a bit wary of me at the moment as they don’t know me yet.

Storm thinks they are wonderful and spends much of day calling to them, while they studiously ignore him.  I think he is “going through a phase”!

The Minions have their own shed where they have lived with me all their lives.  They love their shed.  I am very aware that others covert it so I asked my OH to put up a bar that ensured that the little boys could get in (by ducking under) but bigger ones could not.

This system has been working well until today.

I went to put Tiddles’ rug back on as it was getting colder and came across this new “Minion”.

The wooden bar had been snapped.

I was not happy. not happy at all and, as I was changing everyone’s rugs, I made Taktur, for penance, hold the rugs to keep them off the floor.

Storm made his feelings known about the extra “Minion”.

Despite being asked endlessly by Kappi, he was absolutely determined not to let anyone else in.

Storm is very tenacious when he has to be.

He manned his post, having perhaps let the side down earlier, and was now living with the error of his ways.

And so they all stood together – packed like sardines in a can.  I felt sorry for Tiddles who had nodded off behind Taktur but no one was upset or distressed, so I left them to it.

Suffice it to say that OH is very surprised his barrier was broken (“that was quite a substantial bit of wood, too”) and I removed all the Big Boys later on so the Minions could have their shed back.

I did secretly smile at the way they all stood there!  One stallion, one colt and three geldings in a tiny space with no argument!