Sunday...

Yesterday, had a shock phone call from my friend Karen's Dad telling me that Karen had, had a heart attack and had been rushed to St Thomas's Hospital and they had inserted three stents. I think I was in shock for the whole of yesterday. Karen is 6 days older then me & we have been mates for over 30 years. Just hoping that she makes a very speedy recovery.
Spent most of the morning putting up new fencing, the little paddock in the home field is now completed, we are going to use this to put the stallion in, for a good bang out before he goes in with the mares. Also completed the new rails down by the cottage garden at the bottom of the back field. Just a few more rails needed to be put up today by the barn, where we had all the ground dug out. Will try and get some pictures later, when it stops raining..
Then in the afternoon had a text from Rachel, asking if she could bring Scarlett over to see our new arrivals. Said yes of course. So over they came and Scarlett enjoyed giving the ponies a stroke. They certainly have their own personalities now..

Video Of Aphrodite..

Little Aphrodite is a week old today.. Can't believe the difference in her. She's getting on so well now. What a complete difference in 7 days. She's gone from not be able to feed and totally bandy, to a happy little soul who is enjoying life to the full.. She's chunky and is feeding really well now, her body has straightened out as well. She's certainly tugged at my heart strings..

Saturday..

Been putting up fencing rails today in the back field, looks so much better. Just got to get the barb wire off the old fencing, and that's another field finished. Also did the fencing rails in the bottom field, till the battery run out on the drill..
Went out to take some pictures and video of the foals late this afternoon, and found Pearl in the yard, looking over the new fence watching the foals. I have no idea how she had managed to get out of the paddock, think she may have jumped the wire. So got her on a head collar and put her back with the other girls. Looks like another job to do. Hopefully get the rest of the fencing done tomorrow.

Friday...

Rachel called in this morning for a coffee and I took her down to see the babies.. Think she was quite taken with little Apollo.. He's certainly a little cracker.
Mucked the ponies out after Rachel left, little Aphrodite is bouncing around now, she's getting better every day. Left the babies in today as the weather is awful, cold and raining.
Took these pictures while Tash & Brandon were here earlier in the week. Tash is in love with little Arcemedes..

Yesterday & Today...

We had visitors yesterday, first off was Jayne & her Mum, who called in to see the new arrivals. While she was here, Lil trod on my hand, which was my own fault, didn't move it quick enough. I'm sure the ring finger is broken, had to have my wedding ring cut off today... Then Tash & Brandon called in to see the babies, Brandon knew I was taking photo's so kept hiding his face, little monster.
Today Lois from the Seva Shetland Stud called to introduce herself and to tell me about the local group, and the group show, told her I was already a member. Thought it was really nice of her to call in, she invited me to go and see her ponies whenever I wanted. Don't think we will be doing the show though cause what with Harry breaking his collar bone and now me breaking my finger, it will be difficult..
Little Aphrodite is getting on really well, I've seen her poo and wee so I know something is going in to come out, shes still down at the front but hoping that it will right itself eventually. Its getting better every day. She still looks half asleep but maybe thats going to nature. Even so she is so cute you just want to squeeze her...

Hericus Apollo..

Not even 24 hours old and look at him move....

Hericus Apollo...

Video of our new baby Hericus Apollo taken this afternoon. If you look very closely at the black patch in the middle of his back, you can just make out a tiny circle of chestnut. Just waiting to see what he's true colour will be, lots of different colours in his coat. He has the longest white whiskers, looks like he has a goatee.

Ben With The Foals..

Some more pictures taken today. Ben is 6ft 3ins so that my give you some idea of how small Archie and Aphrodite are.. Having some trouble loading pictures tonight...

Hericus Aphrodite..

Also took this video of little Aphrodite this afternoon. She's really straightened up now and is walking much better. It was such a joy to see, we even got a little skip and jump from her as well. I'm over the moon thats she's finally behaving like a foal. Still keeping a regular check on her, don't want to get complacent.

Harry & Arcemedes

Took this video this afternoon of Harry & Arcemedes , getting to know each other. Archie is already such a funny little character. Considering he's only 5 days old today, he's certainly got bags of confidence and energy....

Foals In The Field...

Put all the Foals and their Mum's out in the little paddock today. Little Aphrodite has certainly perked up and is moving much better today and seems to be feeding well on her own. She seems to be finally waking up to her surroundings. Just hoping she improves every day. The colt foal that was born last night has now been named, we are going to call him Apollo or Polo for short, as the markings on his back reminded us of a Polo mint.
I've taken loads of video and pictures today, will try and get some more on here later this evening. How cute are these babies?...

Another New Arrival..

Just had a beautiful colt foal from Chrizzy, she's only ever thrown chestnut before and what has she given us a coloured not sure if its bark bay and white or black and white yet as it is still wet. Baby born at approx 6pm. Mum and Son doing well.. Some other good news little Aprohrodite latched on, on her own tonight! Yippee, we are getting there..

One Small Step...

Put Evie and Aphrodite out in the little paddock today, with Arcemedes and Lil. Little one seems to be walking a lot better today, but still having trouble latching on to the teat. She has managed to do it a couple of times today on her own, its slow going but hopefully we are getting there.
Karen rang me this morning to see how she was and so did Bev. Bev advised me to get a bottle of Minadex Tonic, you give it to children during and after illness, it contains vitamins and also boosts energy levels and makes you hungry. Gave the foal 2.5ml via syringe this afternoon. I'll try anything to get this baby right. Its so frustrating as we know she is perfectly healthy, just the tongue problem. Did the night shift again last night, checking that she is feed...

Pictures..

Hericus Aphrodite This Afternoon..

This video was also taken of Aphrodite this afternoon, as you can see, she's still a little wobbley on her back legs. Considering yesterday she was completely bandy, front & back and wouldn't have been able to stop a pig in a passage, they've straightened up alot.

This morning we got Evie and Aphrodite out of the barn. We walked Evie up the yard where she started calling to the foal. Aphrodite soon got the message and made her way up to her mum. She's really trying to get herself together, but seems totally exhausted, as if shes in a trance. The swelling has gone down a bit on her tongue, but not completely. This afternoon after a long discussion with my cousins Mick & Bev, we took Arcemedes and Lil down into the little paddock and then took Evie & Aphrodite down as well. We were hoping that when she saw Archie she'd get some idea about what she should be doing. Evie is certainly very protective of her, as Archie came to investigate, she chased him off. She's trying so hard to feed, but is totally missing the teat nearly every time. Its so frustrating, cause she knows what to do, but just can't latch on without assistance. She did manage to get on once on her own and I can tell you I nearly cried. But that was only because Evie was standing on a slope and the teat was at the correct height, and she didn't have to bend to get at it. Her legs seem to be straightening up as well, not quite got there yet, but improving. She did manage to follow Evie around and hopefully its done her the world of good. Archie thoroughly enjoyed himself, I think he thought he was a champion race horse, charging round the bonfire pile for all he was worth. There all back in the barn's now as we are due heavy rain tonight. If the rain holds off tomorrow, we will try it all over again. Hopefully she may be a bit perkier tomorrow. Looks like another long night again....

Hericus Aphrodite

After an exhausting day and night the little filly foal looks a bit stronger. She is still having some trouble latching on to the teat without assistance. The swelling on her tongue looks like its gone down a bit. She seems much stronger in herself. The Vet said I had made an excellent job of the umbilical cord, so that was a weight of my mind, and I'll know what to do , should it every happen again. Checking on her & Mum every hour and if the foal is awake, helping her feed. We are still not out of the woods yet, so keep your fingers crossed for her. She is perfect in every other way, but just this tongue causing the problems, and where she was overdue is a sleepy foal. Today we are going to try and get Mum & baby out in the yard and walk them both a bit, to wake this foal up. The boys have decided to call her Aphrodite.
Little Arcemedes is thriving, doing all the things a foal should be doing, looks like a lamb jumping about. We sectioned of the barn yesterday and brought Chrizzy in, shes completely fascinated by Archie and has been spending most of her day, leaning over watching him. She is enormous and bagging up nicely, may have another baby by the end of the week, lets hope this birth goes OK.

Visit From The Vet..

Was getting rather worried about the new foal, its still having a problem getting the milk from Mum by itself. I rang the vet and she came over to check the foal out. She checked the foal over and said that it was a solid little one with loads of bone, chest is clear, no temperature. I did point out that the foal's tongue looked swollen on one side. We have come to the conclusion that the foal bit its tongue as it was being born. The vet gave her a steroid injection to help with the swelling, apparently it also makes them hungry. The vet also removed the cartilage from the foals feet, it was like rubber, again this sometimes happens with an overdue foal, the vet had never seen them so thick. Its going to be a very long night, as we are having to latch the foal onto the teat while it drinks as its still very sleepy. The vet said there is absolutely nothing wrong with the foal, only its tongue. Hoping the steroids work and it will be able by tomorrow to suck on its own..

Another New Arrival....

This morning we had a lovely surprise to find we had a very new born Filly foal from Evie, she looks like a teddy bear. However, the umbilical cord had not separated from the placenta and the foal was dragging it round behind her. I immediately rung the vet for some advice, they told me what to do over the phone. I had to get some string and tie it very tightly around the cord, cut it off with a very sharp pair of scissors and then spray it with antiseptic. The foal seemed completely worn out and didn't seem to be sucking at the teat properly. So I milked some colostrum from the mare and gave it to the foal by syringe. After a little rest she seemed to perk up and now seems to be sucking herself, although we will be keeping a close eye on her today, and if necessary I will milk the mare again to get the goodness into the foal. She has passed her first poo, so just hoping that she continues to perk up. We are keeping our fingers crossed.. Thank you Bev, for all the info over the phone and Thank you Di for coming down to help, I really appreciate the assistance.

More Video Of The Happy Event...

More video of Archie being born last night. Gave the foal a good rub down with a towel, just to help Mum out, a bit as it was quite cold and I was worried about him getting a chill.

Hericus Arcemedes.....

Some pictures taken last night as Archie was being born.. Isn't he a cutie...

Video Clip

I've got loads more video to upload, can you tell how excited I am, just want to share it all....And there's loads of it....

More Video Of Archie ....

Sorry that these clips are short and sweet, but can only upload so much at a time....

More Video..

Another Bit of Video....

Our New Arrival.......

Well we finally have our first foal a handsome Skewbald Colt. He arrived at 18.35pm this evening and we have called him Hericus Arcemedes, Archie for short. It was the most amazing experience, I actually helped remove the bag from his face, he was literally born within 5 minutes. We all witnessed the birth, which was great for the boys to see. Managed to get loads of pictures and videoed the birth, which I'll upload this evening.. Having trouble at the moment blogger is not allowing me to upload pictures.. Have managed to get a bit of video on here, if you don't like blood and gore then don't look....

Still Awaiting Our New Arrivals..

Still no movement with the ponies. Been putting them out in the little paddock for the last couple of days, while the weather has been nice. Then back in the barn of an evening. Just hoping that they don't have them tomorrow morning, as I have got to take Harry back to the hospital in the morning, to the fracture clinic after breaking his collar bone today at school. Will update when I have some more news...

Still No Movement...

After another restless night, still no babies. Been down early this morning to muck out and they both seem very subdued, wanted there morning dose of cuddles though.. Was going to let them out for a couple of hours today, but we've been having the typical April showers, with hale stones throw in for good measure. So decided that they were better off staying in, all nice and snug in the barn.

No News..

Well still no babies.. Both Mares are really bagged up, so it could be anytime now.. Did the nightly ritual again last night, every hour on the hour, feeling pretty tired I can tell you. I was wrapped up warm every time I went out, but it was freezing. The only benefit going out late is that it is totally dark, and because the sky is clear, you can see hundreds & hundreds of stars. No light pollution here. Just a shame its not a bit warmer..
Its a beautiful day out there at the moment, just a slight chill, although according to the weather, we are due some rain over the next few days.. Still at least I know the girls are nice and snug in the barn.
If anyone is interested in Shetland Ponies, especially the mini variety, please visit the Fairytail Stud site, there is a link in my side bar. Selwyn has set up a foaling blog and hopefully will be posting some pictures and video of foals being born on there.. Just go to the news button on their site and click on foaling news 2008, this gives you a link to the blog...

Long Nights..

Really thought Evie was going to Foal last night, but it didn't happen. Think we are just playing the waiting game now, their definitely keeping us guessing. Spoke to my friend Diane yesterday and she's had her first foal, a filly, who she's named April.. She'd been doing the nightly ritual and had last checked the mare at 2.30am, when she went out at again at 5am the foal was peeking out of the gate on the foaling box.. Really hope we catch our mares giving birth this time missed Athena being born by about half an hour.. Keeping our eyes peeled now, constantly checking for any movement.. Bet they will come when we least expect them.. Will update later if there's any news..

What A Difference A Day Makes...

The snow has all gone, thank goodness.. Its still pretty chilly outside, but dry. Digger arrived this morning and the muck heap is being moved as I write this, its rotted down in to a rich dark compost, which I will use on the garden eventually.
Evie & Lil are snug as bugs in the barn, thought Lil had started today, she was laying down, but as I got closer realised she was sound asleep. While I was mucking out Evie, kept nuzzling up to me, so once I'd mucked out spent about half an hour, giving her & Lil a good rub and stroke..

Pearly Girl & Collytown Sabre..

Christine from the Lotuspoint Stud emailed me yesterday with a picture of Collytown Sabre who is Pearly Girl's Sire, what a handsome lad he is and a picture of Pearl as a foal... Thought I'd share them on my blog.. Thank you Chris if your reading this I really appreciate the pictures.. Chris is also trying to sort out a picture of Pearls Dam for me...

Snow...

How pleased am I that I got the two most heavily pregnant mares in the barn last night.. Knew by the weather report that we were due snow.. Got woken at 5am this morning with hail stones banging on the windows.. Its now snowing thick and fast here, just took some pictures from the veranda..

Very Busy Here...

Today, we've cleaned out the barn, which was a mammoth job. Then Mark one of our local farmers arrived with the bales of straw that I'd ordered.. Spent about an hour covering the barn floor with approx a foot of straw.. Want to get the pregnant mares in there tonight. I can't believe that we are due snow tomorrow. We also harrowed the top field and the two paddocks in the home field. Hopefully next week when the digger arrives we can move and turn the muck heap and use the digger to knock all the new fence posts in, that are all standing like soldiers at the moment. We also want to use the digger in our back field to pull out a load of brambles & gorse which is threatening to take over. But need to dig the trench along the side of the kitchen first..
Bush Baby aka Bebe, seems to have settled down well and is running quite happily with all the others. I'm sure Tiger Lily knew it was her Mum, you should have heard all the squealing when they saw each other...
I've added a couple of pictures of Pearl (Lotuspoint Pearly Girl), she's really come on in the few weeks that we've had her and is such a sweet natured pony, shes got the sweetest little face with huge dark eyes, thinking about showing her this year.

Little Barrels

Took these pictures this afternoon.. As you can see they look fit to burst...
Not the most flattering pictures of Evie & Lil's backsides but just wanted you to see how big they are....Bit concerned about the weather forecast for this Sunday and we are due snow. Keep your fingers crossed that it doesn't.....