Thursday 31st July All good

Both the cows & the ponies took pity on me today & made it really easy to find them.

The cows were at the gate by the small parking area in front the army gates at ///volcano.paddlers.connected. They were fine. Just hanging around & eventually lay down.

The pony's were really close to where they were yesterday, in the open area near the trough at ///whiplash.tenure.morphing. One of them again wearing a very fashionable hair piece. They were also fine. Funny how all 3 of them just turned & walked away at the same time. As if they heard something interesting. They were all good.

Wednesday 30th - afternoon

 Found 276 at ///blacked.pods.frame he was fine but very much into eating and completely ignored me.  The other 3 were about 100m away at ///shed.watchdogs.bleat.  Again food was all they were interested in.  They were all fine.

Trying to get back to the path I ended up in the usually flooded area.  I realised that although the surface looked ok to walk on it was very soft underneath.  Rather than turn back I kept going aiming for the other path, it appears my navigation went wrong and I ended up by the barbed wire fence just past the sailing club.  I did manage to negotiate the fence without damaging myself, or the fence.

Headed off to find the ponies, they were by the water trough.  As I approached all 3 came over to me for a bit of attention.

I noticed that as the older girl was eating there was an odd squeaking noise.  I checked it out and it appeared to be coming from her jaw.  The video hopefully lets you hear what I mean.  Turn the volume up.

Squeaky Noise

Monday 28th ponies inE9 11.11 and cows in E9 11.30

 All seen. Ponies in the trees. Lots of flies on them..they all said hello.

Cows in E9 initially scattered but then together. 282 and 276 said hello. They were busy stripping the trees of leaves.

The tracker seemed very delayed today but Ziggys nose worked well!

All looked fine

Sunday 27 July 25. (17.45 - 18.40) All Seven seen& all well. Ponies in F8 and Cattle in F4.

 I could see that the cattle were in F4, so, (thinking that was a fairly open area), I went to find the ponies first.  

I found the ponies in F8 after only about fifteen minutes of searching.  They were fairly spread out with about 40 yards between Poly and the other lighter-colored pony.   The darker pony was about seventy yards away from Polly.  They all appeared well, despite there being loads of flies about.  I stayed with the dark pony for about ten minutes, who appeared grateful that I was keeping the flies off her face as I stroked her neck and sides.  The other two were not interested in any attention, concentrating on grazing instead.

 

 The cattle were not as easy to find as I thought as the area of F4, where the tracker said, (3 of them) they were, was to the east of the pine trees, beside the track running south from the cattle grid.  The last time that I'd been in this area, ( a few month's back) I'd been near the cattle grid and has seen Gordon appproach from G5 further south.  Today, this area to the east of the pine trees is covered in bracken which is as much as 12 feet high.  

After a while I could tell where maybe one was from the movement of the top of the bracken in one large bracken bush..  So I waited, .  Eventually One came out and I was able to identidy him as J'Adore, (276).  Next Jet, (282) appeared, with his head covered in flies and then lastly Jura, (282) came out for me to identify.  He also has flies all over his face.  

There was still some movement in the same large clump of bracken from where the other three had appeared. So I went in slightly and by crouching down and moving the lower bracken was able to see, (Jeans, (283) head, which I took two poor photos of.  He was laying down  I was not able to get a clear view of him or his ear tags, but I could still see the other three at this time, so he was ID'd by elimination.

I believe that one of the trackers may not be working, as I never got a reading on more than three at any time.

Sun 27 July 25 (15 20) Only Saw the Three Ponies, in D5. They Were All Well

 I was out  in the afternoon, walking with my friend and his dog when we just came upon the three ponies in the trees about 150 yards NW of the ammo dump compound,  They were just beside the track that runs from the from the cattle grid to the northern edge of the compound..   

We did not see the cattle at all, but the tracker was saying that they were in/around K5.

Saturday 26th July - All 7 seen

At 12:40 this afternoon, the yearlings were happily grazing in the pasture near ///retract.clinic.frock, enjoying a mix of fresh grass and heather. All four came over to say hello and enjoy some strokes before a heavy shower arrived about ten minutes later. They quickly moved under the trees near the tarmac path for shelter, with most choosing to stand in the bracken, which helped keep the flies off their faces.

They remained incredibly friendly, taking turns to come over for more strokes and rubs. Yearlings 276 and 282 were particularly affectionate, enjoying long neck and back rubs and rewarding me with gentle head rubs and licks. All four were happy, relaxed, and looking really well. I said my goodbyes at 13:40, leaving them peacefully foraging beneath the trees.

At 13:45, the darker pony was grazing alone near ///snuggled.plot.alone, while the other two were in the gorse bushes to the southwest. She loved being made a fuss of, thoroughly enjoying a long neck and shoulder rub, and offering cuddles and gentle nuzzles in return. About ten minutes later, the other two emerged from the bushes and joined us. Polly came straight over to greet me with soft nickers, and after removing half a gorse bush from her head and mane, she enjoyed a long neck rub!

The ponies alternated between grazing and coming back for more strokes and rubs. The darker pony rarely left my side, clearly enjoying the fuss, while the other two happily shared the attention as well. With quite a few flies about, they gradually moved off to graze on the grass growing among the bracken as they slowly made their way toward the ammo compound. All three ponies were relaxed, content, and in excellent condition.

As I was leaving at 14:45, the cattle were making their way anti-clockwise around the ammo compound, pausing briefly for a few final strokes before heading off to the northeast to graze.

The cows and the ponies were all good today.