The horses move fields all year round.  We have 50 acres split into 3 smaller paddocks and 2 large ones.  There is other land 4 miles away but this is where I live.

Clothie is a separate croft of 5 acres across the hill from Thordale.  Ever since I had the ditches dug a few years back, there has a bad ragwort problem.  We have been weeding and spraying it for many years.   The digging disturbed the dormant seeds and up they sprout like demented triffids.

Every year, we take bin bags and go round and round the field trying to get rid of the bastard stuff.

Both Daisy and Flossie are brilliant at helping me as it kills my back.  We then take it all back to Thordale and burn our weeding efforts.

Hateful stuff.

Sometimes we spray but chemicals are expensive, you have to leave the field empty while it works.  The spray can be random too, often hitting other beautiful flowers which saddens me.  I always feel very blessed to have so many lovely orchids and to spray them by mistake is just plain wrong.

Sitting in this field, surrounded by such natural beauty always takes my breath away.

The field is thick with these pretty flowers.

But the ragwort is a constant summer battle which returns every year.  The dogs (and even cat sometimes) come with us and enjoy pottering about looking for pesky wabbits.  

Everyone loves Clothie.  Someimes the workers are found skiving off.

But it is heaven lying in the flowers looking up at the blue sky.

The Minions are very well, very happy and very enthusiastic about everything and everyone.

But……. they need to be castrated for a number of reasons:-

1.  Their growth has been stunted and they are of no use for breeding.

2.  I would hate them to fall into the wrong hands and someone to think they were small and therefore perfect to use as stallions in the miniature Shetland pony market.  Both Waffle and Silver are standard Shetland ponies.

3.  There are far too many Shetland pony stallions, licensed, vetted or registered out there who should or should not be used for breeding.

4.  They will have a much easier life as geldings and can be incorporated into any herd we want.

5.  I could do with a peaceful life.

So I have  arranged for them all to be castrated on 18th June at Sandness, where there are stables and a small paddock they can go into afterwards.   The Minions will be moved over the night before and Daisy and I will scrub out the stable with Fam 30 (Multi-Purpose Iodophor Disinfectant).  They will remain in Sandness for a few days to recover and then return to Thordale.

For those that have asked about their heights (they are all one year old btw):-

Silver – is 31.5″ tall

Waffle is 32″.

And Storm is 29″. (I’ve owned bigger dogs).

While The Minions are being castrated, we will take some scissors/clippers to them and get the rest of the tats off.  They will get a good going over ready for summer so they don’t think that all we do is pull fur off them.  I can see them beginning to resent us for doing this.

So that is what I intend, as a responsible owner of 3 rescued but under-developed/stunted little boys.  They can live their lives out having fun without any hormones getting in their way.

I hope that all makes sense. I want to be a responsible parent.

BeAnne is obsessed.

She loves her bally-ball no matter what.  It goes everywhere with her at the moment.

We don’t dare take it away from her.  No one would dare.

Meanwhile, Taktur is still in love.  However, it is not reciprocated.

Klaengur is beginning to get a bit pissed off by his friend’s behaviour so he decided to tell him.

Despite the obsession and the infatuation, Daisy and I had some time today riding or working with the horses.

I am starting Klanegur again as he has had so much time off work.  It has not done him any harm, apart from his waistline, and hopefully we can retune his brain into thinking more relaxed thoughts.

It was lovely spending “quality time” (yuck to that phrase) with the boys in the summer sunshine.  A perfect Sunday in my eyes.

I honestly do not miss shops, a social life or material things as long as I have my horses nearby to talk to.

Oh yes, and Bjørn rode Taktur and he was very happy with him.   Not bad for a 5 year old stallion.

I love Shetland summers.  So much gets done without the interference of bad weather.  It was a long winter.

Today was a very important day…the day to return Klaengur to Thordale, so he could start his exercise again (seems like a foreign concept to him right now) and lose some weight.

Our first stop was Jo’s to drop off Fakur and collect Klaengur.

We unloaded him from the trailer and (re)introductions were made.

Taktur didn’t seem to remember his travel buddy from Iceland. Instead Klaengur was exotic and exciting and smelled like girls. Taktur was smitten (if not a bit confused).

There was much squealing. Anyone would think they sounded like a bunch of girls at a Justin Bieber concert. Uncanny.

Meanwhile, Hakon and Iacs remained apart from all the drama, preferring to watch from a distance. A very wise choice. One has to watch out for those bloody kids nowadays.

The love story continued between Taktur and Klaengur.

I think Taktur will eventually work out that Klaengur is not the woman for him.

But a girl can dream…

Next, the minions decided to make themselves known with much giggling and running up and down the fences.

And love continued to blossom in the face of adversity.

And the bottom…

Klaengur will just have to get used to this unwanted attention and of course the adoration of his new fans.

Welcome home, Klaengur! The summer is only just beginning and it should be a good one.