Sunday 7th July - Pony Update - now 6 ponies plus one foal on site

Nicky visited the site around 16:15 this afternoon and picked up the gorgeous Palomino pony, Blondie.  She is due to go back out on the New Forest this evening.  She will be greatly missed, and was a pleasure to spend time with over the last couple of months.

Nicky also brought four additional ponies to join the group.  Three are returnees to Long Valley, plus one newbie.  As such, there are now six ponies plus the foal on site.

The weather during the first part of my visit was nothing compared to the second part, with us getting sunshine, heavy rain, wind, thunder and hail in a short period of time.  The ponies had just got off the trailer, and were just finding their feet, when they got absolutely soaked, sending them all off running.

The four new arrivals were found grazing in the pasture by the Test Track gate at 17:15.  They were all relaxed and looking well.  They were all very friendly and came over to say hello.  It was great to see the girls again and meet the newbie.

The other two ponies and the foal were back grazing on the east side of Brock's Hill at 17:35.  The girls were on heightened alert.  After a short while, all three went on a clockwise loop of the hill, grazing as they went.  They got back to where they started at 18:00.  I said my goodbyes soon after.  The little one was absolutely fine, but wasn't getting too far from his mum.

Pandora seemed most unsettled by the changes today, and was frequently neighing and trotting off to check her surroundings.  She will settle, but we should keep an eye on her over the next few days.  Hopefully, the ponies will come together quickly and bond.

Sunday 7th July - All 4 seen

The ponies were all found grazing on the east slope of Brock's Hill at 14:00 this afternoon.  They were all rather wet following an extended period of heavy rain, but quickly dried out in the sunshine.  The foal came bounding down the hill to say hello and receive the first of many neck rubs.  He gave me lots of head rubs and nuzzles.  The girls all came over to say hello too and were very friendly.  Blondie enjoyed a long back rub, which helped her dry off.  The little one wasn't particularly happy with the amount of time I was spending with her, so decided to run in circles at full speed around me while doing little hops, skips and jumps 🤣.  He soon calmed down and came back for some more attention.

For the next hour or so, the ponies continued to graze on Brock's Hill, enjoying plenty of grass.  The foal alternated between grazing and receiving lots of neck, head and back rubs.  During one particularly heavy shower, they all headed down to the large bushes at the foot of the hill, where they took shelter.  After the rain stopped, the ponies started to graze the pasture to the east.  They enjoyed lots of long grasses and leaves from the various bushes.  The ponies slowly made their way through the pasture, getting to the area around ///shaped.hikes.outsize shortly after 16:00.  They would alternate between eating and getting stroked.  They were all happy, relaxed and looking really well.

It was lovely to spend some relaxing time with them today, even though the weather was very unpredictable.

The ponies were all good today.

Saturday

 No sign of them today at 10am. 

Friday 5th July - All 4 seen

The ponies were all happily grazing in the pasture around ///fiery.sprouting.thorax at 15:45 this afternoon.  The foal was eating grass on top of a small mound, but came over and met me as I was approaching.  He was very friendly and was happy to receive his initial neck rub.  He was a little wet from the many showers we had this afternoon.  After about fifteen minutes, he ran after his mum, who had jumped over the stream into the neighbouring pasture.  Blondie soon came over to say hello and was delighted to receive an ear rub followed by a back rub.  She was happy, relaxed and looking really well.  After some time, we joined the other ponies, who were all grazing around the pond.

The girls continued to graze, moving slowly east towards the Test Track gate.  They were enjoying lots of long grass, despite the frequent rain showers.  The little one stayed with me and was munching on grass while being stroked.  After a while, he went to nurse from his mum.  Soon after, Megan and Pandora both came over to say hello and were both looking really well.  By 16:35, the ponies had turned around and were grazing back near the pond.  Blondie was getting another back rub when the other three ponies got spooked and ran away at full speed.  They jumped the stream and disappeared into the bracken, heading in the direction of the trees near the racecourse fence line.  Blondie paused for a moment before deciding to go after them.  I've absolutely no idea what scared them.

Before I left, I wanted to make sure the ponies were okay, and I caught up with them around ///waxes.finer.qualified at 16:55.  They were all absolutely fine.  Pandora and Blondie were both grazing.  Megan and her foal were resting behind some large bushes.  The foal came over to say hello again and gave me some lovey head rubs while being stroked.  Not long after, the rain really started to come down.  The foal went back to Megan and initially tried to shelter at her side.  He soon gave up and lay down behind her instead.  The other two girls continued to eat in the thicket.  I said my goodbyes shortly after 17:30.

The ponies were all good today.

Thursday 4th July - All 4 seen - rusty metal fence post removed from site

After a long search, Blondie and Pandora were found relaxing in the shade around ///string.skim.decking at 14:25 this afternoon.  Blondie immediately came over to say hello.  As I arrived, I had seen Megan and the foal grazing to the northwest, near the trees.  I was just giving Blondie a relaxing back rub when I heard the thunder of hooves and saw the little one running at full speed towards me.  He stopped and came over to say hello and enjoyed the first of many neck rubs.  Poor Blondie went back to grazing.

The little one wanted to be the centre of attention and received many head, neck and back rubs.  He was very friendly and was giving me lots of cuddles.  At 14:45, I waded through the swampy ground to the area around ///pigs.relief.nags to check on Megan, and he followed.  Megan was happy and relaxed and enjoying lots of long grass.  She headed into a really swampy area where she continued to eat.  She also took the opportunity to have a drink.  The foal alternated between eating and being stroked, but he wisely chose to avoid the swampy area his mum was in.

The girls continued to graze before slowly coming together around ///adapt.lorry.cringes at 15:30.  The little one enjoyed lots of strokes today and rarely left my side.  On the whole, he was pretty well-behaved, with the tongues of my boots getting a good chew at one point.  I said goodbye to the ponies shortly after that.

When I arrived in the area today, I had noticed a sharp, rusty metal fence post embedded in the ground.  I went back and retrieved it and removed it from the site.  Photo below.

The pond still has plenty of drinking water available in it, and there is still water by the fire hydrant where the ponies were drinking on Sunday.  There was also water where Megan was grazing today.  The Gelvert stream also has some water in it up to the area around ///airless.traps.flush, although it's not flowing.  From there, it's dry as far north as I could follow it.

The ponies were all good today.

Tuesday 2nd July - All 4 seen

They made it easy this morning by crossing the track in front of the cattle grid just as I arrived at the gate at 1030.  The palomino first followed by the foal and mum and then Pandora, like a beauty parade.  A startled dog walker leaving by the gate let go of his cavapoo, it just didn't know what to make of their appearance. They all appeared well as I followed to examine them.  The foal quickly made a nuisance of himself by coming over to chew my shoelaces and give me a shove - clearly I wasn't delivering the same attention he gets from you Gordon!

4pm, Mon 1 July, all 4 on the path today

All looking well.  The foal nursed for a little while then they all grazed on the grass.  They seemed curious to see me but didn’t approach.