Sunday 23rd February - All 7 seen

The ponies were gathered near ///origins.tastings.track, east of Brock's Hill, at 13:00 this afternoon. Most were happily grazing, enjoying plenty of gorse and heather, while a few braved the gusty wind to stand and rest. They were all very friendly, coming over one by one to greet me and enjoy some strokes and rubs. I received a warm welcome, with the girls happily standing close to soak up the attention. Tilly was especially affectionate, greeting me with soft nickers before settling in for a long ear rub and rewarding me with nuzzles.

After our initial greetings, the ponies returned to grazing but stayed nearby, eager to return for more neck and back rubs. Megan had been munching on gorse, but was happy to have the larger pieces untangled from her mane. Pandora simply enjoyed standing close and receiving endless strokes. She was an absolute joy to spend time with this afternoon.

Unfortunately, the new bay pony had developed a bald patch on her head just above her right eye. I took some close-up photos and shared them with the owner so she could decide on a treatment plan. Otherwise, she seemed fine, choosing to shelter from the wind and rest before joining the others to graze in the heather.

I spent much of the later part of my visit with Tilly, who was incredibly friendly and wanted nothing more than to stand and have both sides of her neck stroked and scratched. She absolutely loved it, shifting back and forth to make sure I didn’t miss a spot. In return, she gave me the sweetest cuddles and gentle nuzzles, even resting her head on my shoulder and fully relaxing. Each time I thought we were done and started to walk away, she followed me, making it very clear she wanted more!

As the rain showers became more frequent, I spent a little more time with each of the other ponies. Just before 15:00, a particularly heavy shower rolled in, and I decided to call it a day, saying my goodbyes before heading off.

The ponies were all good today.