Sad and proud

I have both sad news, and I'm feeling pretty proud of myself today. Firstly, my dear cousin's sweet pony Winnie had to be put down after a terrible bout of colic, which is like a terrible tummy ache, with nasty causes. She was only five years old. Colic can be extremely dangerous, and unfortunately Winnie was so seriously ill that she required surgery. Once inside, it became clear that there was no saving her. I am so, so sorry because she was a very special friend, and I know that she had so much potential. So I am sending lots of love to Ems, who is, no doubt, extremely sad and probably super angry at the unfairness of the whole situation. Unfortunately, in most cases colic just happens, and there's no way of preventing it.

I am also feeling proud today, thanks to Viv, Frank and Zanny. I have been planning a ride at Viv's for a wee while, and when I got there today, in perfect weather, Viv asked me if I wanted to ride the "big block." Now I must admit, my rides out and about have been very few and far between, and none inspired confidence. I had two scary incidents with Grey Sam in which he spooked like a mad thing, and scared me half to death. And then I had the fall on another ride out. But Zanny is a sweet girl, and Viv would never take me out if she didn't think I could handle it. I was pretty nervous for the first part of the ride, just getting used to Zanny's enthusiastic pace. She is a very forward lady for her age. Frank was a gentleman, strolling along, but Zanny was stepping out, her ears pricked with pleasure. We were a fine team. She is a really comfortable ride, and didn't start her head flicking habit until we were about halfway around, which was helpful. "Big block" is a bit of an understatement. Viv said we went about 16kms. We even went past the crazy chicken lady's house. She is allegedly a witch, and dresses and acts like one. She has junk, old trailers, chicken pens and loose chickens all along both sides of the road outside of her house, and behind the hedge are dogs with rattling chains. Zanny looked around, with her one good eye, and didn't bat an eyelid at the chickens in the bushes and grass verge. What a good lady! She'd never been past before, so it was very impressive. We even had several trots along the long grass verges. I was exceptionally pleased with myself for settling into the ride and really enjoying myself. So that is why I'm proud today.

Johnny hasn't been well, but seems to be coming right. His tummy is a bit rebellious at the moment. It was odd to both have dinner on Thursday night and for me to go to bed with no ill effects, and for John to be horribly sick for ages. Poor sweetheart. No one likes a tummy bug!

I'm planning a home day tomorrow. I hope to get into my work room for a tidy up and some sewing. We'll see. The garden always needs work, plus I've got the usual chores, like washing, to attend to. I'll see about some photos for tomorrow. And Viv was plotting future rides for us, now I'm getting to know Zanny, so I might try to take some photos from up on board next time. I think she was pleased with how I handled her. Zanny made me laugh when we got back to the yard because Viv stopped to talk to someone down the drive, and Zanny and I kept walking. She headed around into the yard and stopped dead, as if to say "get off now please." I had to ask her to be a little patient because my ankles needed a few rotations to get feeling back into them before I dropped to the ground. The sweet lady didn't even mind the extraordinarily decrepit manner in which I dragged my leg over her rump as I got off. Big kisses for Zanny!