Best Foot Forward

Well if Big T thinks shes been good I think I have as well! Brian came and gave me a manicure as well and this time I had all four feet done - so my feet are looking gorgeous too! I did have a minor wobble, but I soon got over it and Thelma came and talked to me over the stable wall and told me to just be calm as it really wasn't as bad as all that - and, much as I hate to admit it, she was right (its not very often I say that!). I also thought I ought to behave properly as The Vickster was there this time and I really didn't want to show myself up! I agree with Thelma too that its a nice feeling having neat and tidy feet and despite the weather (rain, rain, rain) I'm really feeling quite perky in a nice way - I've been very, very good walking in and out, depite a few murmurings from the goose and having to walk right past one of the older horses who is grazing the walk through to our field at the moment. Now the first day she was there I wasn't too happy as she's very big and a little intimidating but I'm used to her now and know there's nothing to be scared of! Am I growing up??
I think so!

Love LouLou

Foot Perfect

Well I think I've had rather a good week - being good I mean. Its been quite quiet with our one visitor being the farrier on Friday. Now I think that I was perfect, and I think The Gaffer and The Mrs agreed. I stood there munching my hay being as good as gold while Brian did my feet and, I must say, I felt much better afterwards as they are all beautifully shapely again. I overheard Brian saying how much I'd grown and how well I behaved so I KNOW I've had a good week. The same day it was sooooo wet that we stayed in all day which actually was quite nice. Now having been brought up in Ireland I'm used to rain but this was something else - it poured and poured all day and when we went out to the field on Saturday it really was rather muddy at the gate. Still after a day in its always good to get out and stretch our legs a bit.

Love Thelma

Snow Long

Well finally the snow has gone, although there is rather a suspicious pile of it left on the walk out to our paddock. Its right on' goose corner' and if we didn't know better we'd think it was there for the goose to hide behind - but we do know better!

Having grown our coats like mad to keep warm while it was ooooh soooooo cold we're now boiling, which makes us particularly itchy! It makes us rather keen to roll, and the other day as we were being led in Louise decided to have a roll while on the lead rein - quite remarkable - don't know who was more suprised Louise or The Mrs who was leading her. We never had weather problems like these in Ireland - it just rained there - all the time.


We've both got these new headcollars to wear, mainly for Louise, who loves to toss her head and prance about. They're called 'Be Nice' headcollars and The Gaffer is delighted with them, although they do stop us pulling and generally messing about. They come off when we're turned out in our field, so thats OK. The silly mademoiselle, who does like to wave her front legs about when she's eating, got her foot caught in the hay net the other day. The Gaffer was lightening quick to react although LouLou hadn't even noticed. It was potentially quite dangerous but she did look funny on three legs.

Otherwise quite a quiet week but I expect the builders and bricklayers will be back this coming week, working on the barn so there might be some excitement there.

Till next week - Thelma and Louise

Froid and Frost

C'est tres froid, but what a great week its been - I just LOVE the snow - its just such fun to play in. The first day we went out it was like powder, and as you can see I had such fun rolling around in it and running all over the place. Big T was rather superior about the whole thing and, as usual, just put her head down to eat - although we had to work hard at that, scraping away at the snow so we could get to the grass underneath. The last couple of days when, I have to say, it has been seriously cold The Gaffer has put out some hay for us in the field which has been nice.

It was quite funny the first day it froze really hard. The Gaffer walked all the way across the field to our trough to break the ice - I don't think he knew I was watching - and went to pick up the stone that he usually uses to break the ice and, as he went to lift it, he couldn't move it - it was hilarious - it had stuck to the ground it was so icy! I watched as he kicked it and heaved away before finally getting it free and then the ice was so thick that he couldn't break it anyway!!! Today has been a bit warmer and some of the snow has gone from the field - a bit of a shame. Perhaps it will snow again??????????? Love Lou-Lou

Bolt from the Blue

Well, what a week its been where we are - snow, snow and more snow - I've never seen anything like it - we never had this sort of thing in Ireland. We woke one morning and when I looked out of the stable it was white everywhere, and I have to say despite my nice thick coat rather cold! The first day it was snowing so hard and the paths weren't clear, so we had to stay in our boxes which was a bit dull as I'm with Louise all the time and a girl does sometimes run out of things to chat about.

However, we've managed to get out everyday since then and while its been cold its been good to get out in the fresh air. I rather took it all in my stride, whereas Louise, as you can see in the photo, was all over the place, galloping around and playing in the snow - she's a bit flighty really - no sense of dignity! On Friday I must admit I did have a bit of a bolt - we were walking through the alleyway between the barns where the tractors are kept, and I now realise with hindsight that someone had had one of the tractors on - there was this awful smell like burning and it frightened me and I took off. Now The Gaffer was leading me in and, although it was all snowy underfoot, he clung on for dear life and stopped me as I started to go up the ramp towards the stables - I have to say that I had no idea he could move that quickly or was that strong - I was rather suprised to see him still there when I stopped! He wasn't too impressed and gave me a telling off - actually looking back on it now it was a bit silly of me really - I must try and do better. Til next week and hoping for better weather! Love Thelma

Older but not Wiser

Happy new year to everyone - we thought that this week we would share our message as we start 2010 as yearlings. These birthdays are funny things - we thought that we would feel a bit more grown up when we woke up on New Year's Day, but in fact we both felt exactly the same as we did the day before - we checked with each other, but no difference!

Its been a quiet old time at the stables - everyone has been away and it has been very cold as well - we've been glad to come in every evening to be tucked up with lots of hay and out of the frost. It might all look very pretty, but it makes the ground very hard to walk on and a bit uncomfortable where it was all chewed up and muddy from the rain. Its also a bit harder to find decent grass during the day - we have to have a good look around to find bits where the sun has warmed the ground and the frost has melted off - Louise is very good at this, but I get a bit more impatient or maybe its that I'm just not so fussy (some might even say greedy - but I think I just have a healthy appetite).

The sheep and the Alpaca have moved back into the field next to us - the first day they were back Louise in particular wasn't so keen to walk past the Alpaca, but actually we were soon back in the routine of having neighbours and in fact Louise and the Alpaca spend a lot of time looking at each other over the fence (look at the photo and see what I mean!) - personally I think they have a bit of a thing going on!

A thing going on - really - Thelma may think shes older and wiser but really she can be a bit silly sometimes and gets the jitters far more easily than I do - so it will be interesting to see what 2010 brings - we've had a bit of a chat about this and we think that it could be quite an exciting year for us and one that will bring lots of changes - by the end of it we will certainly be older and who knows maybe even a little wiser.

Until next week - Thelma and Louise