Saturday 30th May - All 8 seen

At 14:10 this afternoon, the ponies were resting under the shade of the trees in the woodland north of the ammo compound, with the foal curled up comfortably at her mum's feet, near ///coffee.beanbag.grub. I was greeted with a sweet chorus of soft nickers as the girls took turns wandering over to say hello and enjoy some strokes. The foal was quickly up on her feet and trotted over to greet me, giving me a gentle nudge to remind me she deserved plenty of fuss too. After our initial hellos, the ponies were perfectly happy to share the attention, taking turns to come back for longer neck and back scratches, fully relaxing — lowering their heads, resting a hind leg, and closing their eyes.

The little one was full of fun today — following me around, leaning into her neck scratches, and offering sweet, playful nibbles in return. Whenever I spent some time with the other ponies, she would wander over and give me a gentle bump to remind me she needed more neck and back scratches. Even when her mum wandered off to graze, she stayed with me, clearly loving being the centre of attention. I did notice a couple of minor grazes — a small graze at the top of her left leg where it looks like she’s caught herself on a branch; the hair is missing, and the skin underneath is slightly pink, but there's no sign of an open wound. She also has a little bald patch at the bottom of the hock on her rear left leg, again with no underlying injury. The injury that Howard spotted on Wednesday on her rear left leg also appears to be healing nicely.

By 15:20 the ponies had moved north to graze along the path by the paddock, before moving into the paddock itself. There they alternated between grazing and returning for more strokes, happily relaxing in the sunshine. They eventually climbed over the bank to graze in the pasture to the north. Davinia seemed perfectly happy for me to continue my babysitting duties, and the foal kept playing with me while her mum enjoyed some peaceful grazing time. She was having so much fun — racing around in circles, darting close to me before changing direction at the last second, and kicking up clouds of dust as she whizzed across the bank.  I tried to leave several times, only for her to chase after me each time. While she was nursing from her mum at 16:30, I slipped away to find the cattle.

At 16:35, the boys were just emerging from the woodland onto the path west of the paddock, having spent the afternoon resting under the trees and bushes along the western perimeter fence, northwest of the second set of tank pits. They were all very friendly, taking turns to come over to say hello and enjoy plenty of strokes and rubs. Afterwards, they gathered around me to rest and chew their cud, occasionally stepping forward for more neck scratches, which helped keep the many flies at bay. The boys were all happy, relaxed, and looking well. By 16:50 they had also climbed the bank and started to graze near the ponies, who had moved further south since I’d last seen them.

After spending a little more time with the boys, I wandered back towards the ponies and was greeted by the sweetest little neigh from the foal. She was lying down, taking a well‑deserved rest. However, after only a few minutes, she was back on her feet, eager for lots more strokes and rubs. I said my goodbyes to the boys and the girls at 17:20, leaving them all peacefully grazing, with the foal happily nibbling and exploring her surroundings.

The cows and the ponies were all good today.