Thursday 10th April - Pony Update - now 5 ponies on site

The ponies were grazing in the pasture west of Brock's Hill, near the main entrance, at 10:00 this morning. They were very friendly, coming over one by one to say hello and enjoy plenty of strokes and rubs. Tilly was especially affectionate, greeting me with soft nickers, before settling in for a long, relaxing neck rub and rewarding me with gorgeous nuzzles. All the ponies were happy, relaxed, and looking well.

At around 10:45, Nicky arrived to take Philippa and Tilly back to the farm. That leaves five ponies on Long Valley now. I’ll certainly miss them, especially the gorgeous Tilly, whose cuddles and nuzzles have become such a cherished part of my visits.

The remaining ponies were fine and settled quickly after Nicky left.  They began grazing along the path by the racecourse, then moved to the pasture southeast of Brock's Hill, enjoying the sunshine. They frequently came over for more strokes and rubs. Pandora thoroughly enjoyed a long neck rub, fully relaxing and even resting her head on my shoulder.

I said my goodbyes around 12:15, and as I walked back past where I’d first seen them, the girls followed me. When I reached the cattle grid, a few began neighing repeatedly, so I stayed a while longer to make sure they were settled. We ended up in the shade under the trees in the southwest corner, where they began to rest, clearly preferring the cooler conditions. After one last round of strokes, I said farewell just before 13:00, leaving them all peacefully relaxing.

The ponies were all good today.