Sunday 22nd March - Pony Update - now 2 ponies on site

At 12:45, the ponies were browsing gorse deep among the bushes to the north of Brock’s Hill, near ///took.yell.acrobatic. They were all very friendly, stepping out into the open to greet me and enjoy plenty of strokes and rubs. All were happy, relaxed, and looking well in the sunshine. After our initial greetings, the girls alternated between grazing and returning one by one for more attention, thoroughly enjoying long neck and back scratches. Over time, they drifted gradually towards the eastern side of the hill, continuing to graze on grass and gorse. Shortly after 14:00, Nicky arrived to check on the ponies and to take four back to the New Forest, as they are due to foal in the coming weeks. After Nicky left at around 15:25, the ponies remained calm, grazing near the corral, although they occasionally called out for the others. After about twenty minutes, however, they suddenly set off at full speed down the path towards the racecourse, before returning a few minutes later along the track to the north of Brock’s Hill. All four came straight over to see me, and I immediately noticed that the bay youngster had a deep cut on the left side of her face. She was happy for me to inspect and clean it thoroughly, although it was bleeding quite heavily. I was able to reduce the bleeding, and after informing Nicky, I stayed with her in the pasture to the southeast of Brock’s Hill, where the ponies had settled to graze. It appeared she may have collided with a branch or something similar while running.

Before Nicky returned, the ponies went for a walk about, briefly visiting the trees in the far southwest corner before gradually making their way over to the swampy northeast pastures. Thankfully, I caught up with them, and they followed me back to the test track gate just as Nicky arrived at 18:35. We then loaded both the bay and the dun youngsters onto the trailer so they could return home together. Afterwards, I remained with the two remaining ponies until 19:30 to ensure they were fully settled, leaving them grazing peacefully in the dark in the pasture near the test track gate.