Sunday 15th December - All 6 seen

The ponies were grazing on the western slope of Brock's Hill at 13:50 this afternoon. At first, they appeared slightly unsettled and on heightened alert. While I couldn’t pinpoint a specific cause, there were frequent neighs coming from the racecourse and barking dogs both inside and outside the site. However, the ponies soon calmed down and began to relax.

The ponies were all very friendly, approaching one by one to say hello and enjoy some strokes. The foal was his usual affectionate self, giving me cuddles and nuzzles while happily receiving his neck rub. Pandora and Tilly were also particularly friendly, both thoroughly enjoying long neck rubs.

The ponies didn't venture very far today, preferring to stay close to the track along the hillside. They alternated between grazing on heather and gorse and resting. They regularly came over to spend quiet time with me, relishing strokes and rubs. All were incredibly affectionate, offering head rubs, nuzzles, and licks. Poppy especially loved having the sides of her neck stroked, fully relaxing and even resting a hind leg. The foal rarely strayed from my side, taking breaks from his grazing for back rubs or extra-long neck rubs.

By 15:45, the ponies began to gather near ///dishes.vivid.zinc, just off the main track, where they settled down to rest. As dusk approached, I said my goodbyes and left them to relax.

The ponies were all good today.

Friday 13th December - All 6 seen

The ponies were grazing in the pasture near ///poem.judge.upwardly at 13:45 this afternoon. Most were happily munching on grass, while Tilly preferred the gorse bushes along the side of the main path. Despite being very wet, they were all incredibly friendly, eagerly coming over to greet me and enjoy some strokes. The foal was especially affectionate, offering lovely cuddles and nuzzles while relishing his usual neck rub. He really seemed to appreciate having his wet coat ruffled to help it dry. Tilly soon emerged from the gorse bushes to say hello, thoroughly enjoying having the sides of her neck stroked. She became very relaxed, bowing her head and resting a hind leg.

The ponies continued to graze happily as they moved westward, regularly coming back for more strokes and rubs. Around 14:30, they made their way along the path by the racecourse to the corner near ///dried.fairly.dwarf, where they began eating gorse. The foal preferred to spend more time with me, enjoying another long, relaxing neck rub. Gradually, the ponies moved up to the area near the track leading up Brock's Hill, where they began to rest. One by one, they came over for more attention, and it was pleasing to see they had dried off somewhat from earlier. Pandora was particularly affectionate after I removed the gorse tangled in her mane, rewarding me with gentle nuzzles as she enjoyed strokes to her neck.

At 15:30, I reluctantly said goodbye to the ponies. As I walked towards the exit, they followed me briefly before resuming their grazing, nibbling on gorse bushes along both sides of the path.

The ponies were all good today.

Friday 13th - tree update

 Myself and Tom went to check the tree that Sarah mentioned. It was leaning quite heavily on the fence, and as she said close to the road, so we removed it and retensioned the wire

Thanks for the heads up!

Thursday 12th December- all 6 seen

Wasn’t able to check yesterday but all 6 ok and grazing today. They were at the far corner by Velmead car park. I noticed a tree leaning on the barbed wire at //legroom.paddle.evenings. Looks like it’s probably been like it for a while but I wanted to flag as it’s so close to the road.

Weds 11 Dec, all 6 grazing quietly on the side of Brock Hill

All semeed well but just a quick pass today

All 6 seen today - all well

 Saw all 6 grazing on the Northern side of the hill.

One of the signs had been blown about, so re-tied it to the cattle grid.

Note Steve's comment re the broken bit of barbed - will put it on my list, although I can't visit now this week.

Tuesday 10th December - All 6 seen

Megan, her foal and the one-eyed roan were grazing beside the track between Brock's Hill and the racecourse at 1045 this morning.  The other three were close to the old kissing gate in the SW corner.  As I approached them, the second roan appeared to be repeatedly rearing up and bringing her front hooves down with a bump.  On closer inspection I could see that she was rising up on her hind legs to browse from the lower leaves of a tall holly tree, at one point standing almost vertically  Before I could get my gloves off to use my phone she gave up on holly and moved on to eating gorse - a photo that got away!

As I was leaving I noticed a broken strand of barbed wire (fortunately a second strand from the top) in the fence at Grid Ref SU 82651 52549 (///parsnip.zinc.heartburn), about 50m SW of the kissing gate.  It is the twisted end from a join to a braced pole and if I'd had some wire in my pocket I could have repaired it.