Saturday, 13 August 2011

Why Do I Get The Feeling That I'm Being Followed?

The ponies were not in their usual place today. After over an hour of searching I was about to give up until I saw a Taff's grey coat in the distance.
Most of the ponies didn't approach and as the heather was very dense I decided to stick to the path where Fflach and Taff were grazing nearby.
Taff
 Taff is usually the one to approach but today he was set on grazing and only acknowledged my presence with a quick glance before he went back to feeding.
Fflach's behaviour on the other hand was very surprising; usually she is one of the more timid ponies but today she not only approached me but also sniffed at my jacket as if taking in a scent. I was pretty wary of her as she had placed herself between me and a tree and so I backed off slightly just in case she decided to swing around and lash out with her hooves; all she did was follow. She followed me 200yards up the path and only stopped when Taff called her back. It probably looked pretty comical as when I would stop to turn around she would also stop; then as I turned my back to walk on I would hear hoof beats behind me.
I don't know why she followed; either they've seen me enough to know I'm not a threat or they're getting more habituated to people in general. I don't give them food and I stay within a reasonable distance so I can check their health, it is up to them if they approach me; but I've never been followed before!

Fflach

Fflach being my shadow!
 The other ponies decided to keep their distance and I could not get a good view with the camera so decided to abandon the idea of taking anymore shots and moved on to try and find the more elusive Col and Jack...unfortunately I failed.
Here are some other interesting things I found while searching:




The butterflies at Bickerton seem to be slowly disappearing as they are becoming much harder to find; a sign that summer is slowly coming to an end.
Gatekeeper


Bessie having fun looking like a demented hound!

In September the site is hoping to house 5 new ponies with a following 7 in November; I would since have left for Cumbria but I'm hoping to catch up now and again. I'll have to brush up on the new ponies ID; it'll be a challenge, but all good things are!

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