Sunday 31st March - All 8 seen

Happy Easter!

The ponies were all grazing in the area around ///twee.massive.reserves to the northeast of the main entrance at 10:45 this morning.  They were all happy and relaxed and looking well.  They all quickly came and said hello.  After a while, the ponies wandered into the gorse bushes on both sides of the track, where they continued to graze.

Three of the ponies started to relax at the side of the main path at around 11:25.  The others slowly crossed over into the southwest corner, where they continued to graze near the corral.  The ponies were all very friendly today, with several happy to stand and receive long ear rubs.  Tilly was super friendly and received a head and neck rub for a good fifteen minutes.  Every time I'd stop, she'd give me a gentle nuzzle to carry on.  At one point, she was standing, resting her eyes with her head on my shoulder 😄.

Most of the ponies that were grazing near the corral had started to rest by 11:55.  They were standing, resting a hind leg.  They were all looking very relaxed.  Ten minutes later, I went back to the path and the three ponies were lying down peacefully resting.  Florin was having a snooze.  I said goodbye to the ponies a short time later.

The ponies were all good today.

Saturday

 All found on the eastern flank of the hill at 9am. All looking fine. 

Friday 29th March - All 8 seen

The ponies were all found grazing in the sunshine at the east side of Brock's Hill at 13:00 this afternoon.  They were all looking very well and were surprisingly dry considering the earlier rain.  Tilly immediately came over to say hello and receive her ear rub.  I hadn't long finished, when she went for a roll around in the damp, sandy soil.  The others were all very friendly and came and said hello too.

Over the next hour, the ponies continued to graze, heading east into the pasture.  They were enjoying lots of gorse, heather, holly and long grass.  There are a few large pools of water in that area, and several of the ponies were eating the plants on the surface.  They also took the opportunity to drink some water from the pools.   The ponies were all happy and relaxed.  They had made it to the area around ///printer.promise.troll by 14:00.

The ponies were all good today.

Just fyi, I’m unavailable on Bank Holiday Monday to check in on the ponies.

Sorry … but should be able to take a walk that way on Wednesday..

Tues 26th Mar - staff check

All 8 ponies seen well 

Tuesday 26th March - All 8 seen

Spotted the ponies from the top of Brock's Hill at 1350 today emerging from the gorse (E5) and heading for the open area to the north.  They came out one by one to be counted and examined.  They all appeared well and sociable, stopping to say hello as the passed.

Tuesday 26th March

 Weather: Overcast with good visibility.

Had a wander around the site between 7.30 - 8.30am.

Plenty of fresh evidence around Brock Hill that the ponies had been through the hillside area but there was no sign of the ponies.

Thanks.

Ronnie

Mon 25 Mar, 4pm, all 8 ponies at the base of Brock Hill, eating gorse, looking good

Will add some photos when home later

Sunday 24th March - All 8 seen

The ponies were all happily grazing in the area around ///ready.test.yield at 10:00 this morning.   When the sun appeared from behind the clouds, they would stop and rest.  They all came over and said hello, which made checking them easy.   They were all looking really well.  After a while, seven ponies disappeared into the trees to the southwest, where they started to munch on gorse and holly.   Tilly stayed behind and received a long head rub.

By 10:35 the ponies had all re-emerged from the trees and were grazing in the area around ///munch.casual.stall.  They were all happy and relaxed.  The ponies slowly made their way southeast, getting to the gorse bushes just off the track twenty-five minutes later.  They all continued to graze, enjoying lots of gorse in the sunshine.

The ponies were all good today.

Saturday

 All found at 9.00 grazing quietly by the corral. All looked fine. 

Friday 22nd March - All 8 seen

The ponies were well spread out grazing in the swampy area around ///play.loyal.afraid at 13:30 this afternoon.  They were eating on both sides of the stream.  The ponies were all happy and relaxed.  They were enjoying lots of long grass, gorse, heather and holly.

Over the next hour and a half the ponies continued to graze, slowly making their way to the area around ///enjoyable.line.occur.  They would regularly take breaks and wander over and say hello.  Several were happy to stand and receive long head rubs.  It was lovely to spend some relaxing time with them this afternoon.

The ponies were all good today.

Thursday 21st March - All 8 seen

The ponies were all found in the area around ///drive.junction.clinic at 13:50 this afternoon.  They were enjoying lots of grass from both sides of the main path.  They were all their usual friendly selves and came and said hello.  Before too long, three ponies went into the large pool of water on the north side of the path, where two had large drinks of water before getting back to grazing.  Tilly was eating plants that were growing in the water, and was putting her nose fully into the water to find more.  She was soon joined by Florin, the darker of the ponies.

A short time later, I heard some splashing and returned to see them both pawing at the water, making waves.  Florin then lay down in the water before quickly getting up and wandering off.  Tilly then had a bath too, fully lying down in the water.  She soon got up and had a big shake before getting out and starting to graze.  A while later, they both had a roll around on the ground.

The ponies continued to graze in the warm sunshine while slowly heading northwest.  They were eating lots of gorse and long grass.  Tilly came and said hello again and wanted an ear rub, even though she was still very wet.  The ponies were all happy, relaxed and looking well.  They had made it to the area around ///knitted.hello.gobbles at 15:00 when I said cheerio to them.

The ponies were all good today.

Tuesday 19th March - All 8 seen (I think)

Eventually found them among the birches along the Gelvert Stream in E3 at about 1515 this afternoon.  I believe I saw all 8 but, as they were moving among the birches quicker than I could navigate the bog, tussocks and pools, it's possible I double counted.  They all appeared well and Tilly came to enquire how I was!  As I was leaving across the bog I put up a snipe from a pool behind a bush.

Tuesday 19th Update

 Weather: Overcast skies and light rain. Visibility good.

Located 7 ponies to the north of Brocks Hill grazing in D4 and E4. All looked to be in good health. Couldn't locate the 8th pony (Black ?). Most likely in the dense gorse hiding in plain sight. Continued looking around for another 10 minutes. Not seen.

Best,

Ronnie 

Mon 19 Mar, 3.30pm, no luck today, searched high and low but not found. Didn’t venture into the far, boggy area.

.

Sunday 17th March - All 8 seen

The ponies were all found grazing along the northern side of Brock's Hill at 13:00 this afternoon.  They were all happy and relaxed and looking really well.  They were enjoying lots of gorse, heather and long grass.  The ponies were all very friendly, and would take a break from grazing to wander over to say hello.  Several were happy to stand and receive head rubs.

The ponies slowly made their way southwest, making it to the path by the entrance at 13.45.  They continued to graze in that area for a while, mainly eating gorse.  A couple of the ponies wandered over to the side of the path up Brock's Hill where they enjoyed more gorse too.  Just before I left at 14:00, all eight crossed over the path and into the south-western corner, where they continued to graze.

The ponies were all good today.