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.

(Please forgive the beyond-crappy photography)

I managed to get up the very steep stairs to our bedroom to find my hospital stuff.  Not an easy task as they are the original croft-house stairs, 45˚ at least.  But I shuffled up on my bottom to be met by Wussums looking on very disapprovingly.  This is his bedroom now.

Rather than give me a nice welcome, he jumped straight out of the window into the rain.  Pfft.

So I hauled my sorry arse back to “my” room and started setting things out to pack.

I am going down to Glasgow tomorrow to The Golden Jubilee Hospital, which still sounds like a Chinese takeaway to me.  I have an orthopaedic out-patients appointment at 09.10 on Monday morning.

I can’t remember what they are planning to do next.  Hopefully they will remove this damn cast (that’s the polite version) and either put a partial-weight bearing cast on or nothing.  Who knows.  I have my swimming costume in case they are taking it off completely.

So my bag is packed and it has the statutory gaffer-tape too, like all things in our house.  I am surprised that no one has suggested gaffer-tape for my leg!

A small little person has gone into a depression already.  She will now be “odd” until I return on Tuesday.

I am allowed to take a helper with me so I had to seriously think about who to take …..

Wouldn’t that be brilliant?  Can you imagine their eyes when I go into hospital with Zoot pulling my wheelchair for me.

Actually I would use Fivla because she is used to my ridiculous ideas and I trust her 100% not to do anything nasty (or smelly).

Right, now how to get Fivla on the airplane – any ideas?

PITA – Acronym for Pain In The Ass, a major annoyance!

Jo went to fetch one of the girls (we needed some photos) and everyone volunteered to help, especially Madame Zoot, Melinda’s daughter.  The minute she saw Jo in “her” field, she came cantering over because everyone knows you can’t do anything without Zoot.

You can’t tell Zoot “no, thank you. Go away”. None of those words are in her vocabulary and why should they be?  It means nothing to her.  She knows everyone thinks she is wonderful.

Zoot’s purpose on this planet, like her brothers Cookie and Bozz-Bozz, is to help, or get in the way, as much as possible.  She has this down as a well practiced fine art.

In fact, now I think about it, this theory may be the whole herd’s ethos.  FFS, how can anyone get anything done?  They would not go away and let us get on with the photography.

So there I was, on one foot, propped up by the passenger door of the car, with the world’s heaviest camera, while Jo was being followed by her little furry disciple.  It was all hopeless.

I loved it when Zoot got the giggles and a little happy buck!

So, Jo lightly backed Zoot and scratched her belly, which she loved and made her elephant nosey face.

Zoot is very snoggable and very similar to her brother, Bozz-Bozz, in character.  She is definitely a people-person as his little-himself, who is being a delight in the Channel Islands.

Once a vaguely good photo was achieved, we had to go and I felt awful about leaving Zoot behind.  Surely there is room in my bedroom?  Daisy wouldn’t  mind. Look at the little face on that – deliciousness called Zoot (though, after today, she probably thinks her name is Go Away!)

We have two more Icelandic horses here at Thordale Stud.  The first is Cristal (?sp) a chestnut gelding, who is in training with Bjørn for a few months in Shetland.

We put him in with Iacs and Klængur in the Fat-Fighters-Field as he can be confrontational so perhaps not good with Taktur.

Now Taktur is back in training, he needs calories so he and Kappi, Bjørn’s Icelandic horse, have gone into a separate very grassy field to keep them happy.

Taktur immediately liked Kappi so all is good there.

I could hear gelding bellowing that is typical, I think, to Icelandics when they first meet.  Cristal was shouting hello at Iacs and then that was it.  All talk and no trousers.   Nothing more.  They appear to be friends.

This morning, I looked out on my travels on my scooter to see everyone was very settled.

So that was good and we will keep them like this for a while.  Haakon will be coming home soon too and will probably go into the Fat-Fighters-Field as he was rather rotund when I last saw him. I hope he gets on with Cristal.  They will sort it out between themselves.  They usually do unless it gets nasty and then we wade in.

This is the set-up.

I like having new horses here.  New subjects to photograph.  Kappi came over for a quick chat while Taktur got on with the job in question, eating as much grass as possible.

For the Shetland pony enthusiasts amongst you, I saw some in the distance who were lovely, if along way away.  They live next door but next door in Shetland means about 1/4 mile as the crow flies (yes, it is a very good lens and yes, I did have to balance it on my scooter handlebars to keep it steady).

Jo brought Hetja (Hetja frá Skeiðháholti, an 11yo mare) over to work in the school.  She is already trained but needs to be brought back into work again.

First Bjørn rode Hetja to see what makes her tick.

A quick conversation about saddles, gaits, etc and it was Jo’s turn.

She had a lesson from Bjørn and they were given exercises to practice over the week.

Hetja is a very honest mare.  She wants to do right and would give her all to her rider if she trusts them.  I adore her.  Such a lovely lady.

And then we brought in Taktur, our stallion and her husband-to-be and Hetja’s eyes lit up…

and Taktur lit up too!  He thought she was ♫ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ♫ luffley ♫ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ♫

So Hetja watched Taktur in the school.

Taktur kept an eye out on Hetja but never said anything.  Just watched from a distance.

Bjørn decided to take Taktur outside for his ride and Hetja watched from her trailer.

I asked Jo to film Bjørn and Taktur and she went up to the top of the track for me.

Although I was on my little scooter, it was easier for Jo to take the films.

Taktur came back having worked hard.  He still remembered Hetja was in the trailer.

He did a bit more in the school, looking fabulous.

He had his dinner with his usual chicken guests but he kept wandering off to gaze adoringly at Hetja.

We tried putting him the field with his food but he was too distracted.

He was showing off.

Phwoar! – it is very easy to forget that he is only 4 years old!

Then Jo drove his sweetheart away.

Taktur was very disappointed.

He went looking for her.

And then came to stand by me.  I told him she would return probably next week.

I think he is in love! ❤