Sunday 31st cows in H3 at 11 .45 and ponies in C5 12.20

 We ended up in the area and found the cows disappearing into the dense area. 278 and 283 both said hello.

Ponies calmly standing under the trees. The old girl had a stroke. They all looked fine

Sun 31 Aug 25. Circa 07.30 - 08.00. All 12 Seen. All OK

 Cattle in H5.  Ponies in G5.  All well.   Polly & older pony up for a bit of attention with Jura and J'Adore the same.  The others were more interested in the lush morning grass.

I'll write full report & add photos tonight, if back in time.  If not it'll be early tomorrow morning.

Saturday 30th August - All 12 seen

At 14:40 this afternoon, the yearlings were resting in the woodland near ///dumps.torso.visual. I could see them from a distance, and they looked comfortable, so I decided to let them rest and planned to return later to spend time with them.

At 14:55, I found the ponies resting among the trees near ///bleat.sprains.trek, close to the northwest perimeter fence. Shortly after I arrived, a series of heavy showers passed through, so it was nice to take shelter with them. The ponies were very friendly, each coming over in turn for strokes and rubs. They all looked happy, relaxed, and in good condition.

After our greetings, they spread out under the trees and continued to rest. I spent time with each of them, giving long grooming sessions that they clearly enjoyed. Most rested a hind leg, lowered their heads, and even closed their eyes as they fully relaxed. They responded with cuddles, nuzzles, and plenty of licks.

At 16:05, the group set off toward the ammo compound, stopping to drink from puddles along the way, before settling in the pasture near ///lonely.duty.freezers to graze. They weren’t at all bothered by the constant drizzle, happily enjoying the long grass, heather, and leafy bushes.. I said my goodbyes at 16:40, leaving them grazing peacefully.

By 16:50, I found the yearlings grazing near ///factually.ample.coffee. They were all friendly, pausing their grazing to come over to say hello before getting back to eating, undeterred by the rain. Yearling 283 enjoyed a long back scratch while grazing before disappearing into the thicket for shelter. Yearling 276 was his usual affectionate self, leaning in for plenty of strokes and offering lovely head rubs in return. Yearling 282 wanted nothing more than to stand and be fussed over, loving having the sides of his neck stroked before enjoying the longest back rub. I left them all grazing contentedly at 17:30.

The cows and the ponies were good today.

Friday 29th August - All 12 seen

At 17:25 this afternoon, the ponies were grazing together in the pasture near ///jaunts.ratty.blotchy, just off the main path up from the entrance by the car park. They were very friendly, coming over one by one to say hello and enjoy plenty of strokes and rubs. Unlike me, the girls were completely unfazed by the frequent rumbles of thunder that began shortly after I arrived!

By 18:05, they had moved southeast towards the entrance, crossing the path into the pasture near ///waged.noun.join. There they quickly spread out, enjoying the long grass, heather, and leaves from the trees. Every so often they wandered back to spend time with me, happy to brushed as they grazed. In the distance to the northwest, I could see the yearlings grazing in the same pasture, slowly making their way down towards the ponies.

At 18:25, the ponies had moved back through the gorse bushes to graze beside the main path. Several came over again for strokes and rubs before I said my goodbyes to go and spend time with the boys. The ponies were calm, content, and looking well—much more settled this evening, with only the occasional squeal when they got too close to one another.

By 18:45, the yearlings had reached ///sprayer.cycle.caked and were still grazing. They were very friendly, coming over to greet me and enjoy some strokes. Yearling 282 thoroughly enjoyed a long neck and chin rub, rewarding me with the sweetest cuddles. Yearling 276 was also very affectionate, rarely leaving my side and loving long neck and back rubs. All four looked happy, relaxed, and in good condition.

Shortly before I left at 19:20, the ponies returned through the gorse bushes to graze again. After wandering over briefly to greet me, they carried on westward, leaving the boys to graze peacefully.

The cows and ponies were all good today.

Friday 29 Aug 25 (12.00 - 13.25) All Well. 8 x Ponies in G5/H5, later F6 and Later Still E9. 4 x Cattle in E5.

 Thought I read the blog this morning or yesterday evening, but obviously not, as at 12.17 in G5/H5 eight ponies appeared.  😕.  They were spread out over about 150 yards.  While I was at one end, there was a "minor skirmish", (to quote Gordon) at the other end between two of them with a bit of neighing and jumping about.  It was over in 30 seconds.   I took a few photos of each pony to assist with my future identification.  If we could have the names too please, that'll help my aging brain. 

At 12.33 in F6, when I was looking for the cattle, sans GPS, as I couldn't get it to open on the phone, Polly led all the ponies past me in line astern.  They were on a SW heading.

At 13.10, while still cattle hunting, I came upon the ponies again in E9.  The elder dark pony was in the shade of the pine trees and happy to have her neck scratched and nose rubbed for fly alieviation.   Polly saw me and came into the trees with two others, but was not too bothered for any attention.

At 13.18, I found the four guys under some pine trees right next to the NW corner of the ammo dump compound.  They were right next to the bund that surrounds the western side of the compound.  I had probably rode within a few feet of them earlier.

They were contentedly chewing the cud, with J'Adore & Jura each getting a long head scratch.  Jet & Jeans unusually were also up for this.   Jet was so relaxed, he closed his eye for about a minute.

All the stock appeared well today