Tag Archives: Icelandic horse

The Kolka Theory

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My friend, Monika from Sandness Equine Services, came up with this theory and I think this is very credible.

Basically, Kolka was calmly grazing at the far end of the field with the rest of the herd (Haakon, Iacs, Fivla and Vitamin).  It was nearly breakfast time and they all know to come home for their buckets and had started making their way.  All except for Kolka who looked up, saw everyone had vanished (to be out of eyesight does not take long as there is a small hill) and then panicked, jumping badly straight over the fence into the hill where she got caught up and into trouble.  Icelandic horses are not known for their show-jumping abilities.

Once released, Kolka recovered and she then cut her head slightly while living around the house.  There are old fencing wire rolls, etc lying around.  They went into a field.

The next panic was because Kolka was talking to Vitamin and Fivla over the fence at an early breakfast time when she looked up and noticed her beloved Haakon had vanished again.  He and Iacs were eating their breakfast around the corner.  This time she went into a blind panic not helped by remembering what had happened a few days’ earlier.

The terrible cut was probably from itching her head, which had been healing nicely but getting to that itchy stage, and she opened up the old wound making it much worse.

Monika and I discussed all this after she had given Kolka her second Jin Shin Jyutsu therapy session, which Kolka loves.

I can’t thank Monika enough for standing in the pouring rain working her healing “magic”.

BLOOD ALERT!

Look away now if you are squeamish because Kolka’s wound is not pretty but it is clean and dry and not bothering her one bit.  The vet and I are pleased with how the healing is progressing.

  

Shed Blocking

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Breakfast this morning involved all the big ones outside the wee shed…..

….. while Fivla and Vitamin had taken up residence so I put their buckets in with them and they shared their space nicely, like two best friends.

Collecting the empty buckets later, I could see no one intended to leave.  Fair enough, I thought. You’ve made your choices.

That was until Kolka barged in.  She wanted the salt-lick that hangs just beside the door frame.

And so Floss and I finished up the morning chores, put the sheep out and went inside to have our well-deserved breakfas.  Animals before people is the motto here.

We were on our way out to go to my Saturday morning volunteer job at Transition Turriefield, when I noticed Haakon and Iacs standing around by themselves looking unmotivated and directionless.

So their leader, Kolka, was still in the wee shed then.

And so were Fivla and Vitamin who were looking a bit unimpressed and blocked in.

I went into the shed and told Kolka to leave, there were two old men who needed her guidance and direction.

Kolka understood her mission and left.

She knew that if she didn’t then Haakon and Iacs would still be standing by the gate wondering what to do next for the rest of the day.  They really would.

Eventually Fivla and Vitamin left the wee shed too, now that their way wasn’t blocked.  So all good but honestly it is Kolka who is the boss here but sometimes she can’t decide who to boss first.

It’s My Birthday!

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As a child, I always thought “the Glorious Twelfth” was named solely in honour of me and my birthday. Apparently, I was wrong.

Also for today, I get a solar eclipse (it is currently cloudy so I’m not sure if we will see anything) plus the Perseid meteor shower – again, because it’s my birthday and no one else’s.  I would like the clouds to lift now, please.

An added extra this year is that Daisy has come home for a week.  She is here to help me so it is pure coincidence she arrived today (but a lovely coincidence).

Everyone was very pleased to see her, including me.

 

After Gussie had got over his stranger-danger feelings, he made best friends with Daisy.  In fact the sheep were all over Daisy.  She is now Queen of Sheep and I am their mere slave.  Lambie gave me a perfunctory birthday glance.  I was grateful.

OH is currently out of action for a few weeks and it means I won’t have to look after everyone by myself.

So happy birthday to me, and I shall eat more cake because it is allowed and I am a grown up, apparently.

Lost all my sheep

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It was a lovely morning for a dog-walk.  I was looking for the sheep, but came across Haakon instead.

We had a quick chat and I went on with the walk, thinking the sheep were probably at the far end of the field.

Beautiful flowers were everywhere – I am particularly fond of the forget-me-nots.

While I was walking up into the hill part of the field, I saw movement by my feet.

I think this is a Heath humble-bee (Bombus jonellus vogti) – please correct me if I am wrong.

She was very cute (apparently it is the females that collect the pollen, etc and do all the work – of course they do!)

(and she had lovely fat little buff-coloured knickers!)

She seemed very content buzzing around the self-heal plants.

And then onwards and upwards looking for my sheep.  I couldn’t see them anywhere.  I was worried they had all escaped as there is a very rickety gate at the end of the field.

But, having thoroughly searched the 30 acre field, scratched my head and wondered where they all were, I suddenly remembered I had put them in a different field. Duh!

So, after making my afternoon felted sheep, I went and found my sheep where I had originally put them.

‘Bert kindly plonked himself down behind me and I told him he was the most comfortable chair-back I knew.  He really was, nice and solid giving great support but then that’s ‘Bert all over.

I’m glad I found my sheep. I was beginning to worry before I eventually remembered!

 

Different Sheds

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I felt sorry for Fivla this morning.

After her breakfast, I found her queueing outside the closed door of the little shed, along with Vitamin and Kolka.  I opened it up so they could go in and Vitamin nipped in whippet-like, swiftly followed by Fivla.  Good, I thought, they are inside and can get some shelter from today’s windy/rainy day.

And then Kolka barged in, possibly uninvited, and there was pig-like squealing which I knew came from Fivla as she doesn’t do social pressure.

To give her her due, Fivla stayed inside for a little while but, when I came back with my phone to take photos, I found her back outside again looking very disgruntled.  She just hates crowds.

Buckets collected, washed and tidied, I put all the sheep out into their field.  They lasted a couple of hours, until they saw a cyclist coming down our track and all, to a sheep, ran to the gate in pure terror, asking to be let out so they could cower in their shed.  I have no idea who that poor cyclist was as I watched him turn around and leave.  He was obviously not here to see us.

After letting the sheep out of the field, I found Newt alone in his residence.

The other ponies were long gone down the track looking for non-existent grass to eat.

Newt said he wasn’t moving and no one could make him.

So I told him he couldn’t stay there all day, and it was clearing up nicely now.

(I may have not been telling the truth – it’s been a pig of a day).