This photo was taken at the end of day two of our pony handling course with Vanessa Bee. The three foals were previously completely unhandled, and Ziggy (the stallion) had been handled but was very nervous. 
A lot has happened during the past six weeks:
Chris and I celebrated our twentieth wedding anniversary with a party in Lynton Town Hall. We thoroughly enjoyed the evening, and hope everyone else did too. George made a speech and proposed a toast (left) and Chris and I made silly faces whenever we saw a camera (right)
I went to a commercial fiction writing and self-editing workshop run by Cornerstones, which was excellent. If anyone is interested, their website is www.cornerstones.co.uk
George and Sarah came home for half term, with empty tummies and full bin liners of washing. The house is now empty again, and so is the fridge. The washing machine has a headache.
We had our pony branding, and all five foals passed their inspection. The two colts (Cracker and Mungo) have gone to Ann Crowe in Derbyshire. I have kept the three fillies, which are called Fanta, Bucks Fizz and Sunny Delight (because their dad was called Orange Juice).
A week ago, Vanessa Bee came to the farm for two days to teach Chris and me how to handle unhandled ponies. It was an incredibly interesting, and exhausting, two days. We learnt a huge amount, and so did the ponies. Here is a photo of Vanessa showing us how to teach a pony (in this case Bucks Fizz) to tie up without pulling back.
All the ponies are different characters. Fanta is small and very quick. Her first instinct when frightened is to run away, and she finds it very difficult to keep her feet still. Fizz is a fighter. If she feels threatened, she'll defend herself with teeth and hooves. Both these ponies are still very nervous, but with calm handling they're improving daily.
Sunny is very different. Her first reaction when scared is to "plant" her feet and refuse to move. In general, she is much more calm and friendly, and lives up to her name of Sunny Delight. Here she is:
Vanessa has suggested running horse and pony handling courses from West Ilkerton next autumn. If you would be interested in this, do get in touch with us www.westilkerton.co.uk or Vanessa Bee www.positivehorsemanship.co.uk
This is the time of year for livestock sales. Today (6th November) Chris took thirty lambs to Blackmoor Gate market. He took these photos:
