Sunday 30th June - All 4 seen

The ponies were found on the north slope of Brock's Hill at 13:30 this afternoon.  Pandora and Blondie were both happily grazing.  The foal was nursing from his mum a little further up the hill.  As soon as he was done, he wandered down to say hello and gave me some lovely head rubs and nuzzles.  The girls all continued to eat while the little one received the first of many neck rubs.

The girls soon crossed over to the pasture on the other side of the track, where they continued to eat.  The foal stayed with me and enjoyed a long back and shoulder scratch.  The little one ran and caught up with the others when they were disappearing out of sight.  The ponies soon wandered into the woods and had a drink from the pool of water by the fire hydrant.  

The ponies started grazing in the long grass around ///votes.froze.envoy at 14:05.  They were happy, relaxed and looking well.  While the little one was nursing, Blondie was happy to receive a back rub while she grazed.  The foal soon came back over for some more attention.  Other than a couple of gentle tugs on the tongue of my boot, he was incredibly well-behaved.  He barely left my side today and was thoroughly enjoying lots of strokes and scratches.  Whenever I started to say cheerio to him, he would make sad eyes and give me more head rubs to convince me to stay.  It was lovely to spend some relaxing time with him.  I said goodbye to the ponies at 15:00.

The ponies were all good today.

Saturday

 All found at 8am grazing on the edge of the woods to the north of the hill. All looking fine. 

Friday 28th June - All 4 seen

The girls were happily grazing at the side of the pond at 16:30 this afternoon.  They were enjoying an assortment of grasses.  The foal was lying down, hidden by a bush.  He raised his head when he saw me and was happy to lie and be stroked for a good while.  When I wandered off to see Megan, he started to have a roll around. .  I soon returned and continued to stroke him when he rested his eyes.

The ponies continued to graze in the area around the pond.  The foal got up just before 17:00 and went and joined the girls.  He would regularly come back over for some more attention.  The little one was quite boisterous for a spell, with some biting, jumping and running around in circles around me.  He was also running over and biting the other ponies too, and ended up with his legs up on his mum's back.  He got a good telling off from me for the biting.  Thankfully, he calmed down and went back to giving lovely head rubs while being stroked.  The foal still has a number of bald patches and the hair on the left side of his face, under his eye, appears to be getting thinner. 

The ponies all continued to graze, slowly moving west.  Blondie stopped for a while and was happy to stand and receive an ear rub followed by a long back rub.  She was happy and very relaxed.  I finally said goodbye to the ponies at 18:00, with them having crossed over the stream into the neighbouring pasture.

The ponies were all good today.

Wednesday 26th June - All 4 seen

The ponies were all grazing at the side of the path just up from the gate into the Test Track section at 18:45 this evening. They were all happily eating in the warm sunshine. The foal came over straight away to say hello and gave me some lovely head rubs. He stayed with me for a good twenty minutes, receiving lots of head, neck and back rubs. Megan must have been teaching him how to roll around, as both their coats were full of dust. The ponies continued to eat in the cooling conditions. They followed the path, before going into the pasture around ///tram.confused.apply where they continued to graze. Soon after, Blondie enjoyed a long back rub while standing in the sun. The foal was never far away, and regularly came to check on me and receive further strokes. By 19:50, the ponies had made it to the area around ///propelled.airship.trailers at the side of the racecourse. After enjoying some more fresh grass, they crossed over the path and stood under the shade of the trees. They rested for about five minutes before heading further into the southwest corner, keeping under the shade of the trees. I said goodbye to them just after 20:00. The ponies were all good today.

Tuesday 25th June - Staff Check

As I was in the area doing other site checks, I called in to see how the ponies were getting on this afternoon. 

As Ronnie had stated this morning, there were no issues to report and everyone is looking happy and healthy. Foal is definitely a lot more inquisitive these days!

Tuesday 25thJune 7.15 - 8.00am

 Gorgeous start to the day. Plenty of walkers and dogs enjoying the warm morning. Great visibility.

Easily located the 4 ponies happily grazing near to the track to the west of Brocks Hill. The foal was lying down in the shade of his mum.

All looked well.

Many thanks.

Ronnie

Monday 24th June - All 4 seen

The ponies were happily grazing in the warm sunshine in the pasture to the side of the Test Track gate at 19:05 this evening. They were enjoying an assortment of grasses. There were a few flies around, but they weren't bothering the ponies too much. They were all happy and relaxed. The foal quickly came over to say hello. He was giving lovely cuddles and nuzzles as he was being stroked. He stayed with me and enjoyed long neck, shoulder and back rubs. The girls continued to graze in the pasture while the little one remained with me. Like yesterday, he was munching on grass and leaves as he was being stroked. After a good while, the girls all wandered out to the main path and started eating the grass on both sides. The foal went and joined them. When I went to check there was plenty of drinking water in the pond, he came chasing after me, wondering where I was going. The good news is that there is still ample water present in both the pond and nearby stream.

The ponies continued to enjoy lots of fresh grass by the side of the path. Just before I said my goodbyes at 20:30, they ventured off the path and began to graze in the area around ///vouch.hiked.shut. They were all happy and looking well.

The ponies were all good today.

4.30pm, Mon 24 Jun, none today

No sign of them today but I didn’t have a chance to search the hard to reach areas

Sunday 23rd June - All 4 seen

The ponies were all found relaxing in the trees near the far northeast corner of the site around ///assess.often.texts at 12:55 this afternoon.  As is becoming the norm, the foal came running over to say hello as soon as he saw me.  He enjoyed the first of many neck rubs.  The girls were all resting and were looking really well.

The little one wanted all the attention today, and for nearly thirty minutes he enjoyed repeated ear, neck, shoulder and back rubs.  He tried to lie down a couple of times, but the ground wasn't very comfortable.  He was very affectionate, giving lots of head rubs, licks and nuzzles.  There was an occasional little bite, but he soon stopped after being told off.  He has mastered picking leaves off their branches and was enjoying some snacks while being stroked.  He has also learned to rest a rear leg while relaxing.

When I went to spend some time with Blondie, who thoroughly enjoyed a relaxing back rub, the foal used a tree branch to have a shoulder rub.  It was no substitute for a human, though, and he soon came back over for more.  The girls came and said hello during my visit and all three were happy and relaxed.

At 14:00, the ponies wandered west through the trees and out into the thicket, where they started to graze.  The little one had some grass before rejoining me.  The ponies slowly started making their way south through the pasture.  However, there was some live music playing at the car show going on at the Tweseldown Racecourse, which the ponies didn't appear to like the sound of.  At 14:20, they turned around and walked back into the trees.  I guess they aren't big fans of reggae music 😊.  I said goodbye to them soon after.

The ponies were all good today.