Saturday 5th April - All 12 seen

The ponies were happily grazing near ///briefing.blog.wove at 14:05 this afternoon. Most were nestled among the gorse bushes, but soon came out to greet me, eager for strokes and rubs. They were all very friendly, offering gentle head rubs and nuzzles. A pleasant breeze helped keep most of the flies at bay.

Davinia was especially affectionate, enjoying a long, relaxing neck rub in the sunshine. I noticed she now has a crack in her front left hoof, though it wasn't affecting her movement. The chestnut mare also had a graze on her right rear hip—no sign of discomfort, but worth keeping an eye on.

The ponies gradually moved to the western set of tank pits, stopping for a refreshing drink, then continued grazing northeast. By 15:10, seven had settled in the shade near ///face.snowy.annoys, happily accepting more strokes and rubs. Polly especially enjoyed having the sides of her neck stroked, relaxing fully and nearly dozing off.

Curious about the dark pony with the white rear sock, I found her grazing among the gorse bushes near ///ranches.envoy.duke at 15:45. She soon came over for strokes before returning to her grazing, in no rush to rejoin the others. I said goodbye around twenty minutes later.

At 16:20, the cattle were resting in the bushes near ///pint.airbase.shock. Yearling 276 got up straight away to to greet me, soaking up endless strokes and rubs. The others said hello when they got up to stretch, enjoying strokes before settling back in the shade to chew their cud. Yearling 276 came over again and thoroughly enjoyed a long back and shoulder rub. When I paused, he gently nudged me to continue 😊. I was pleased to see the dried blood on his front left hoof was gone. I said my goodbyes at 17:15, and he lay down as I walked away. The boys were happy, relaxed, and looking well.

I did a final check on the ponies at 17:30, and all eight were happily grazing in the sunshine near ///polka.boss.tenders.

The cows and the ponies were all good today.