We had a great day with our guests from Action for Children.
We had a nature walk around the track, searching for footprints, to see what animals we could identify.
It started off a little bit like "We're going on a bear hunt"......we crossed the field, swished through the grass, squelched through the mud, jumped in the puddles and enjoyed the big, wide open space. We found crow prints, dog prints, mole hills and of course, lots of horse shoe prints! Wellies were essential. We listened to the sounds around us and heard birds, dogs and horses.
We met with Mabel and Matilda, our Shetland ponies, spent some time grooming them and choosing our own spirit animal. We looked at the totem pole at the yurt, and coloured in some of our own drawings of animals and totem poles. Then in the barn, we chose a slate and designed our patterns on them. They were all individual and looked fantastic, a really rich mixture of colours and patterns. Nice work from everyone. We went to the yurt and chalked on the path some of our own ideas.
The afternoon went quickly, and soon it was time to give Mabel and Matilda a few carrots as a 'thank you'. Everyone said goodbye to them and to the therapy herd of our 'big' ponies. The sun was still shining and we were all muddy, happy, full of fresh air and tired. Sign of a good day.
We meet each month with Action for Children for the Pony Experience and always have a great time.