Today, we gave all our Sandness mares their spa day.  Raw Deal (Delia) is very old and I think this will be her last summer with us.  No one is wanting to lose their winter coat yet so we just brushed whatever would come out and put coconut oil on any flakey/itchy bits.

Lyra, of course, insisted that Daisy and only Daisy would make her look beautiful.

And she made sure she went through our equipment to check we had brought everything.

Vitamin, Lyra’s mother, was transformed.

And we trimmed tails and ears, slathered coconut oil on flakey skin, manes and tails, brushing it through until they were all gleaming.

Then we moved to the field with Esja and Hetja.

Esja wanted to be an idiot.  Although she was easy to catch, she had obviously been told by someone (Anderwoo – fat Shetland pony who has been there, seen that) that brushes were the equipment of Satan.  It took a while to convince her that she had been lied to and once she decided to trust us, she was very easy to work with.  I even cut out the nasty tats in her lugs without any complaint or discussion. Esja relaxed and accepted our ministrations like a good girl and she was a pleasure to work with.  Trust is important to her.

Hetja, of course, behaved with the decorum of royalty.  She stood quietly while Daisy and I brushed and made her even more beautiful.

So we achieved and I think we bonded with the girls.  It is not easy with them being 4 miles away, but we have no choice and that is the way it has to be.

Winter coats are not going away so we are not forcing the issue.  In Shetland, there can always be bad weather around the corner.

A nice day, though!