18th February 2009

Today, Jo and I went to change Charlot's rug. It has been trashed a little by his friends and some fairly rough games. One cross-strap was swinging down so Jo marched up to him, bunged on his headcollar with rope and took off the old rug. This involved her moving her hands around his back legs and under his belly to unclip various straps. I stood in the sidelines with my camera ready to help if required but, no, Jo managed to take off the rug and put on a new(er) one with absolutely no problems at all. He took it all in his stride as if he had rugs changed every day. What a pro! This time last year, he was still in a field in France so he has come along way since then.

We looked at his weight and he has a lovely thick coat and he is spot on for this time of year. Not too fat (like some Shetlands and Icelandics we know), appears calm and settled. We chatted with everyone, spending lots of time just relaxing with them. It was a lovely afternoon, peaceful, therapeutic and with absolutely no hassle from any of the lads.

I was interested to know how old Charlot is. We think he may be younger than we thought. He still has his baby teeth and so maybe we were asking too much of him last year as he was only a green youngster. I think he will be a slow to mature but his nature is changing, and that was very obvious today. He seemed completely unphased by the general rug flapping, straps moving and Jo resting on him!

I remain hopeful about this lad and his outcome. It will obviously take time but he is mellowing every day but having said that, we didn't try to pick up his back legs! Too muddy, was our excuse!

17th February 2009

It has been quite a while for various reasons, the main one being my back operation and subsequently being confined to barracks.

Anyway, today we are heading towards my 6 week anniversary and so I decided to take the dogs for a walk down to Finnigert, where the horses are.

They have had a good winter, no one is thin and Charlot's rug is standing up well to the rigours of Shetland pony playing and general wear and tear. He managed to get stuck in one part of the field and ended up relying on a human being to sort out the problem, ie help him jump the burn. Winnie (Icelandic/Fjord mare) showed him, jumping to and fro endlessly in front of him but he could not get the plot at all. With the help of Jo, he managed this huge feat and had to have a good 30 minute rough game with Jackson afterwards, the Shetland, to make up for his "loneliness". Idiot! It was good though that he didn't panic and just waited for human help to arrive.

So, today, armed with my camcorder that can also take the world's worst photos too, I went and talked to my chaps. It was so good to see them and everyone looked well and pleased to see me too. They all came charging down for a good snog and general scratch. Charlot is definitely part of the gang, both Shetland and Icelandic which is nice to see. He let me kiss his nose and joined in like everyone else. He has lost his summer stand-offishness (is that a word?) and that can only be good.

He has the most amazing winter coat too - a regular fluff ball, like the Shetlands and has lost no weight this winter, despite some fairly hefty snow last week. No one has been short of rations, though, and the whole gang have been regularly moved about Finnigert into different long grassed fields all winter or had unlimited silage. Everyone was in a very good mood and appeared relaxed. I did not feel nervous or worried about my safety at all. Although, I am not very steady on my legs, there was always an Icelandic to hang onto if needs be.

It was so nice to get out and about. I have been stuck indoors for far too long.