Tuesday 28th November - 5 seen

The ponies were close to the entrance cattle grid (A6) at ~1400 today, browsing amongst the gorse or tearing up roots in the clear areas.  We only managed to count five of them (several times) though never seeing more than three at any one time as they were in amongst the bushes.  The one we didn't see was the one with the collar despite casting around and looking further afield.  The contractors said she had been with the others earlier so I guess she was tucked up in the gorse somewhere having a quiet browse.  Those we saw seemed well.

Chestnut pony now sound

 Nicky, the grazier, checked the chestnut pony and reports that she is now sound and walking normally. Great news.

Thanks everyone.

Monday 27th

All 6 ponies found together near the woods in  D3/D4 (///science.washroom.usages).

All 6 looked fine, and were walking normally.

Sean

Sunday 26th November - All 6 seen

All six ponies were busy grazing in the area around ///duke.twirls.shook on the north-east side of the site at 10:00 this morning. They were all happy and relaxed. They were enjoying lots of heather and gorse. Some of the puddles in that area were frozen, so I broke the ice before a couple of ponies came over and took a drink.

The chestnut pony was walking really well today. She was climbing ridges, wandering through and jumping over puddles and standing firmly on some very uneven ground trying to get the crunchiest gorse. She's had quite the recovery in the last week.

When I left them at 11:00, they were all still happily eating and heading north towards the trees.

The ponies were all good today.

6 from a far

 Spotted them all from a far.  Didn't get close enough to obeserve due to the wet ground.

Friday 24th November - All 6 seen

All six ponies were in the area near the path up to Brock's Hill at 14:30 this afternoon.  Three were munching on gorse in the bushes, with the newer of the two collared ponies preferring to graze on some grass.  The other two ponies were standing, relaxing, part way up the hill.  The tan pony was her usual friendly self and was happy to stand and receive an ear rub.

The chestnut pony was initially in the gorse bushes, off to the side of the main path.  While I was standing with the tan pony, she walked past and was showing definite signs of improvement in her walking.  She wandered down to the foot of the hill, where she started to eat some grass.  As she was walking around, she was being less cautious than she had been in recent days.  She is still not right, but hopefully well on the road to recovery.

The ponies all wandered off just before 15:00 and followed the path along the northern side of Brock's Hill to the area around ///crowds.greed.wink where they started to graze on heather and long grass in the sunshine.  They all stopped and took a big drink from two pools of water before going into that area.  Even though it was a lovely afternoon, it was a bit chilly, so I left them to it soon after.

The ponies were all good this afternoon.

Thursday 23rd November - All 6 seen

A single pony was found in the area around ///poets.deal.lobbed at 15.10.  She appeared to be trying to find the others.  Soon after, the tan pony appeared in the distance from the trees around ///light.shut.vowed.   She neighed, and the pony I was with neighed back.   The tan pony started wandering over, stopping off to say hello when she got to me.  The other four ponies emerged from the same trees.  Three ponies quickly wandered over and joined the other two, where they started grazing in the heather and long grass in the sunshine.

The chestnut pony was the last to emerge from the trees.  She started to munch on some gorse and heather.  After a bit, she started to wander over to the other five and was walking better through the muddy, waterlogged pasture.  She still wasn't right, but was showing signs of improvement.  

All six ponies then went on to eat gorse from the bushes along the path at the east side of Brock's Hill.  They certainly seemed to be enjoying it.  The chestnut pony also appeared to be walking better on the path when she reached there.

The ponies were all good today.

Wednesday 22nd November - All 6 seen

The ponies were all in the area around ///crumb.memo.tribes at 15:30 this afternoon.  Five ponies were busy eating gorse, with a couple buried deep in the gorse bushes.  They were all happy and looking well.

The chestnut pony was initially standing and relaxing.  She had taken the weight off her rear left foot.  She was happy for me to wander over and say hello.  After a short while, she walked off and started to eat some gorse and heather.  As expected, she was still walking gingerly, but she did seem a bit better than on Sunday.  Will definitely continue to keep a careful eye on her.

The ponies had begun to graze in the area around ///viewer.coffee.nooks which involved them traversing a small ridge to access the area.  The collared pony, who had been deep in the gorse bushes, came out and joined the other four shortly after 16:00.  I was delighted to see that the chestnut pony had climbed the ridge and was eating some gorse before she descended the other side to join the other ponies.  Unfortunately, the light was fading really quickly and I had to leave them.

It was impressive to see how much scrub the contractors had cleared in the area where the ponies were grazing today and in the area down near the gates into the test track section.

The ponies were all okay today.

Tuesday 21st November - None seen

An hour and a half spent walking around the site, including visiting all four corners and the top of Brock's Hill failed to reveal any ponies.  I spoke with the contractors but they had not seen them today either.  As I left the site I couldn't help but feel they were probably now in the place I first looked! 

Chestnut pony update/ Total of 6 NF ponies now

Nicky checked the pony this morning and she is confident that the problem is a foot abscess. This may be caused by walking on the hard ground of the track. She tells me that there isn't any particular treatment that she or a vet could give and that the fluid should naturally disperse. She moved the pony onto some of the softer, wet ground and there she moved fine, with no issues. 

She advises us to keep an eye on her and she is happy to come up again if needed. It's reassuring that it's nothing serious and hopefully should clear up.

Also Nicky has removed some of the ponies to Hawley, now we have MoD consent to graze with ponies there too (which is great news!!) So there's now a total of 6 NF ponies on LV and we have 4 ponies on Hawley.

Thanks very much indeed.

Nil

 Nil spotted possibly due Contractors onsite

Re chestnut pony

Thanks for the info re the chestnut pony. The grazier, Nicky, had seen the problem from the blogs and will come up to site this morning. In fact she should be there shortly. She will have a look and go from there but if necessary remove if required.

Many thanks as always for your help them, it's much appreciated.

All 9 spotted and update of pony moving gingerly

 Spotted all 9 grazing the main path between Brocks and gate.  8 appeared well.  Update on pony identified on Saturday: movement of pony worse than yesterday, pony more verbal and lifting rear right (if viewed from behind and left if viewed front on), no apparent cuts or lacerations seen, pony seen grazing and drinking, coat and condition of pony appeared in good condition. 

Sunday 19th November - All 9 seen - one pony walking very gingerly on her rear legs

All nine ponies were busy grazing in the gorse bushes at the south-west corner of the site at 10.45 this morning.  Eight ponies were deep among the bushes together, with the chestnut pony preferring to eat from the gorse bushes nearest the main path.  They were all happily munching away.

The ponies slowly made their way down to the area around ///grudge.series.tinny at 12:10 where they started to relax.  One pony lay down in some leaves by the side of the path and rested her eyes.  The two collared ponies continued to graze in the gorse bushes behind where the other ponies were standing.  While relaxing, several ponies came over and said hello.

After a while, the chestnut pony very gingerly made her way down to the others.  She was preferring to walk on the grass at the edge of the path rather than on the path itself.  She appeared to have an issue with her rear legs, but there were no visual signs of an injury.  It looked like she was walking more cautiously on her rear left leg, but when she came to rest with the other ponies, she took the weight off her rear right leg.  She didn't appear to be in any distress, had been eating without any issues, and was keeping up with the other ponies.  Suggest someone from the Grazing Team needs to visit her tomorrow to check she is okay.

The other eight ponies were all good today.

8

 Spotted 8 grazing round Brocks.  I'm not too sure why, but this pony's gait didnt seem quite right.  Seemed quite lethargic as well.

Friday 17th November - All 9 seen

The ponies were well spread out, but they were all grazing in the area around ///wealth.talkers.drive at 14:20 this afternoon.  There was a lot of gorse being eaten today, which they seemed to be enjoying.  Three ponies ended up deep in the gorse bushes alongside the path to the east side of Brock's Hill, but they soon came out to say hello.  All nine were happy and relaxed, and they were all looking well.  

When I left them an hour later, the ponies had all gone back to grazing.

The ponies were all good today.

3

 3 spotted grazing at the bottom of Brocks Hill.  The 3 appeared well.

Tuesday 14th November - Only 3 seen

We found three ponies in the NW corner of the site at 1445 today.  It was a very boggy trek to get to them and when the pale pony set off east I tried to follow, expecting her to be heading towards the others, but it eventually became so boggy that I could hardly move without losing my wellies and she disappeared.  We didn't find the others.  The three we saw appeared OK.

Mon 13th Nov - staff check

All 9 ponies seen well in the open heath 

Sunday 12th November - All 9 seen

Seven ponies were found in the area around ///smaller.critic.lawns at 12.20.  One was lying down at the side of the main path, with another four standing relaxing fairly close by.  The other two were happily grazing a bit further to the east.  The ponies were all super friendly today, with several walking over to say hello and get a head rub.  After a while, another pony lay down right in front of me to rest.

The final two ponies were munching on grass in the area around ///shots.unusable.bills at 12:50.  They were both happy and relaxed.  They had been eating leaves from the trees by the racecourse fence line earlier.

As I was about to leave, all nine ponies followed me to the side of the Tweseldown racecourse around ///grudge.series.tinny.  Most started to graze in the gorse bushes, but three ponies saw it as an opportunity to get another ear rub.  Of course, I was happy to oblige and ended up staying with them for another half hour.

The ponies were all good today.