Like me, BeAnne has been off riding.  I think she has missed it hugely.  It was her one sport that she really excelled at and enjoyed.

I have pleaded with Janette to ride Iacs regularly now.  We need to reduce his immense girth, and BeAnne offered her help as well, as purely ballast and passenger status.  A bit like using additional weights at the gym.

I hoisted BeAnne on and she started off wobbly with “sea-legs”….

But soon she found her seat.

And together they all ambled around the school.  A very happy little team.

Janette, ever the conscientious rider, took great pains to keep Her Maj aboard. There were regular stops and checks.  BeAnne favours a horse’s winter coat as there is more grip and she tends to stay on better without sliding off.

They all happily relaxed into it and BeAnne’s natural ability returned.

In my opinion, she rides better than some.

Next it was Jo’s turn on Hetja, minus the terrier attachment.  I don’t think Hetja would’ve been too amused by having BeAnne’s bum onboard.  There are some things you don’t try and that is one of them. We are trying to get Hetja relaxed and she does not trust us yet to pull that stunt on her.

Bjørn trained Taktur as well which was incredible to watch.  Remember, Taktur is only 4 years old.  I need to pinch myself.

Meanwhile, BeAnne went into a bit of a depression.  Although she can manage a very credible sitting trot, which is more than most, she still is not ever going to be as good as them.  I can relate to this but at least she had a ride.

I have had to promise my ankle surgeon not to get on a horse until next year at the earliest.  So now I am jealous of my dog!

I dedicate this blog to Daisy, my eldest daughter, who is stuck at St Andrews without Iacs, aka Meester Bimble.

This afternoon, left to my own devices, as OH was in Lerwick working, I decided to take the dogs for a very slow potter in the hill.  I looked at every step I took and was very careful before anyone wades in with “please walk on flat ground, etc” and I didn’t go far either.  As my reward, as I find walking hard and painful, I took my camera and concentrated on trying to do justice to the amazing colours of the autumn flora and fauna around me.

On my travels, who should I happen upon?  A blimp?

A clue – he has a lovely tache!

It was the Grand Master of Cupboard Love.

He practiced his charms on me as I had some carrots in my pockets, so I gladly dished them out.  In return, Iacs did his Idiot-Face.  A little known fact – Iacs actually stands for I Am Completely Stupid.  It suits him.  If there is one thing Iacs is not known for, it is his immense brain power.  There is even a small piece of land in the field named after him – Iacs Island where he got stuck when it rained.  Not the brightest star in our firmament.

So, there you are Daisy.  In answer to our Facebook conversation later this afternoon …..

(and please don’t say the word Fat – Daisy doesn’t like it)

Though I am struggling to think of another word, to be perfectly honest.  He has big bones.  Yes, that would be it.  Very big bones.

Look, look, Daisy, he is moving.

Feel the burn, Iacs

(and no, that is not the stream that runs along the bottom of the field)

I am trying to regain my life and my independence again now I can walk. Each day, I set myself the task to clean one room as standards have somewhat slipped recently.  I will admit that I am a control freak and like things just so.  Yesterday was the kitchen’s turn and I am particularly proud of the fridge, which I mucked out.

(I am also particularly pathetic that I have taken a photo of it to share with you – we had our veg box delivery today which is why we look incredibly worthy and good!)

Tomorrow I shall negotiate terms with the freezer and see what we actually have, what needs eating and what we need to get in case we are snowed in.  I have a feeling we have a plethora of fish.  We always plan ahead this time of year.  The motto is one and a spare for when the snow comes.

The best bit about taking my life back is having Wuss back in it too.  I have missed his “little ways” and I am very keen for him to be part of our family again.  Since Loki’s arrival and then my subsequent disablement, Wuss just spent his day upstairs asleep isolating himself from everyone.  I can now go upstairs and bring him back down to join us.  He will see he is not going to be chased (we all pounce on Loki if he looks at him) and is beginning to relax again.

The power struggle between Wuss and BeAnne remains.  They actually quite like each other but one-upmanship is the best game of all.

Poor BeAnne – I had to rescue her in the end, before she starved to death.

Here are some Shetland ponies.  Just in case you are having withdrawal symptoms and were not impressed with the cleanliness of my fridge!

Taktur and Kappi have instantly made friends and are very happy together.  I am lucky they settled down quickly.  So that is Taktur’s winter companion sorted.  I refuse to keep horses on their own if I can possibly help it.  Taktur hates it and becomes hysterical at the thought.

Today, Jo arrived with a saddle we wanted to try and I called Taktur into the school.  He duly obliged, which was lucky as neither Jo or I had our wellies on or wanted to get him (mud).

Leaving Kappi for a five minutes….

….we put on the new-to-us saddle on Taktur.

He insisted on standing like a small boy trying on school uniform or a giraffe.  On a plus side, Taktur does have a muzzle made of deep-pile very expensive velvet that is very wuffley.

❧❦❀❉⚛☺❡❤✾♞☁☂✪✧☃❣❣☃✧✪☂☁♘✾❤❡☺⚛❉❀❦❧

Update on me – I have ditched the moonboot and crutches completely now.  They hurt my back and make me walk lopsided because the moonboot has a higher platform than any shoes I possess. I was getting wonky.

So, new idea.  The Dog Walk is back.  I take the aged Jack on his slow little trundle up to the road and back – about 1/2 a mile apparently according to Jo who measured it on Google Earth with her fingers  (very technical).

Yes, Jack does this thing with poles whenever he can.  Drives me nuts!  He has to go out on a lead because he forgets and goes home.

I see this potter as my physio and I walk slowly trying to do it properly (heel, toe, roll forwards) using a walking stick for stabilisation.  It is a very long way up that road when you haven’t walked for 7 weeks and my legs are different sizes.

But the view at the end is remarkable and always well worth it.

And then we walk very slowly back home.  Even Jack walks faster than me and he is the slowest dog in the world these days.

Getting there, but very slowly. x

Apologies for the lack of blog while I was away having my plastercast removed.  I am now home, plaster-free and walking about tentatively in a moonboot/crutches or trainers/walking stick combination depending on my level of bravery and analgesia.

Jo came round this morning with Hetja to continue her training in the indoor school.  She is concentrating on asking Hetja to step through with her back legs and therefore stretch that muscle too.  They are gentle suppling and balancing exercises that will help all her gaits.  As Hetja has not been ridden for a while, she needs gentle work in walk just to get all her bits and bobs supple before we ask her for anything more.

I had forgotten but we had a planned powercut going on all day so the lighting in the shed was rubbish, therefore the photos are even more rubbish.  I did my best and it was foggy outside too so not much natural light about.

The Support Team was particularly helpful too.

Long and low is the way forward.  Stretching is good for Hetja.

Hetja did very well and worked hard, trying her best without getting tense.

When she had finished, Jo led Hetja back to her trailer and Taktur ran up and down the fence trying to catch her attention.

He wanted to tell her just how gorgeous he was.

And then they left so Taktur had to go back to his new-best-friend, Kappi.

They make a lovely couple.

It is good to be home. So good and wonderful to be without my plastercast.  I had a bath last night, wrote the alphabet with my feet (physio) and it was heaven.  All heaven.

And, yes, I missed my little support team too.