Thursday 18th June - Pony Update - no ponies on site

At 18:50 this evening, the ponies were grazing on the grass growing around the bracken in the pasture northeast of the paddock. They spotted me approaching and wandered over to meet me near ///panicking.stay.upward, greeting me with soft nickers as they came closer. The girls were especially affectionate, happily leaning in for long neck rubs and offering gentle nuzzles and a few licks in return. The foal soon became impatient waiting for her turn and wandered over, nudging me softly to make sure I knew she was ready for some attention. She thoroughly enjoyed her neck and back scratches, melting into them and responding with the sweetest cuddles in return.

The older ponies continued to graze, but would regularly wander over to spend some time with me, enjoying relaxing back rubs as they rested. The little one, though, never stayed away for long and kept circling back for more fuss. It was lovely to spend a bit of extra time with them this evening.

At around 19:40, Nicky arrived to take the girls back to the New Forest for their holidays. I walked them over to the corral and after saying some goodbyes, we loaded the ponies onto the trailer. Despite this being the little one’s first road trip, she went up the ramp without too many issues, keen to stay close to her mum. Sadly, this means there are currently no ponies on the Hawley Lakes reserve. They will certainly be missed, but hopefully, we will have ponies back again in the next few weeks.

After Nicky left, I went to spend some time with the cattle at 20:40. They were grazing in the thicket just to the east of the tarmac road near ///golden.trains.wing. The boys took turns coming over to say hello, enjoying plenty of neck and back scratches. They soon gathered around me, relaxing and chewing their cud, while regularly leaning in for a few extra strokes and rubs. All four were happy, relaxed, and looking well. I said my goodbyes at 21:15, leaving them peacefully grazing.

The cows were all good today.