Tag Archives: Shetland pony

Shed Blocking

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!

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.

Greasy Forelocks and Manes

When I was in the field this morning, I noticed that the old horses and ponies had greasy clumpy forelocks and thought to myself I must do something about this.  I’ll do it later – Mañana.

Later arrived and, after I had made my statutory hand-felted sheep, I was in desparate need for some fresh air so I went outside armed with my small bucket of grooming tools.  I knew I would probably be in for a long walk to find everyone but, as luck would have it, the horses and ponies had all come down to the paddock for water, or use of the little shed.

So I grabbed my chance.  Some took no time at all to brush out like ↓↓ Haakon ↓↓. I finished him in seconds.

Bibble (aka Iacs) needed a lot more attention.  His mane was forming clumps from old finer winter hair that had matted in and was turning into knots. I diligently brushed them all out and he was instantly transformed into a handsome beast.

Kolka was another who didn’t take long.

Mostly because she left and I hadn’t bothered to bring a headcollar so couldn’t catch her.

 

Still, I got them all done in that field.

Including Fivla and Vitamin who then took to their shed.  I might have a go at the other Shetland ponies.  They have the equine dentist (first check up ever) on Thursday so that might be a good time to do a spot of grooming as well.

Grubby Little Boys

Last year I took down part of the Shetland ponies’ track and put all the plastic fence posts into a big tonne bag in case I needed them again.  The bag was left securely tied to the fence post. Since then, every time I walked past the bag, I thought to myself that those fence posts would be better off in the shed.

It was a big task so I split it up into doable bite-size chunks and every day (if I remembered) I would go down the hill and take up a few fence posts to put in the shed until it was empty.  And then today, I went down with a knife and a pair of strong scissors to cut the tonne bag off the fence post, dragging it up the hill to put in the shed.

The ponies spent their morning staring at the vacated spot from the tonne bag.

They knew something was different but they couldn’t quite put their hoof on it…

So far, the track is working well.

Everyone is happy if revolting. Tiddles will not let me brush him so I that’s his choice.

The farrier is coming on Thursday so I might have another go then when Tiddles can’t argue.

Newt is sporting his sleek summer look.

And Albie is also revolting.

Silver is the perfect little white dream pony.

And Waffle optimistically followed me up and down the hill after my tonne bag.

In other news, Little Herself is back on form.

And note-to-self, I must remember to check my brakes!

Dull Start but Brightened

Some of us didn’t even want to get up this morning, let alone go outside…..

…. as it was a dull and rainy start. But I put on my wet-weather gear and went out with the breakfast buckets.

Afterwards I let the wet and soggy horses and ponies out of their field to eat the grass around the house. Bibble just followed me round looking hopeful.

I decided to make my statutory hand-felted sheep this morning and was met by Fivla who I could tell had designs on my little shed where I work.

She reckoned it was just the right size for a small Shetland pony trying to shelter from the rain (and I probably wouldn’t have minded if she had come in as she is very well-behaved and has been in the house before – tell no one!)

Bibble lurked by, of course.

Once finished making sheep, I returned to the house only to find that Monster might have moved downstairs but he certainly hadn’t woken up.

And, being Shetland, the weather changes very quickly and the afternoon turned much brighter. I drove to West Burrafirth with a friend and her dog (on lead) and we went for a walk.

The views were stupendous.  I hadn’t been here before.  Definitely somewhere to remember.

So that was my day, and how was yours?