Day 19 -Tölting the afternoon away

Today I headed down to the barn around 8 am. I did some odds and ends cleaning and sweeping as nobody was lambing. We have 3 mothers with mastitis that need assistance feeding their lambs so on the hour I bottle fed everyone. Two mothers had produced singles the night before so I milked each of them and gave the milk to our smallest lamb to keep boosting her and helping her grow. One of her legs has begun to bow so we will be splinting her in the next day or so to help it settle and straighten.

Right around 11 a huge swarm of Icelandic school children filed into the barn and then dispersed into every corner. I was so impressed by their english and great questions about the umbilical chord and its importance. I did sneak away for a moment as the barn got quite loud. I was able to spend some time with my favorite ram lamb- the brother of the passed lamb who I worked on PT with. After spending so much time with his sister he got very used to me and was always excited to play with my fingers and get some scratches.  

Here is a picture of the old barn with some ewes and lambs who are headed out to pasture this afternoon. I absolutely love this barn it has so much character.

Shortly after the children headed home Snaedis informed me we were going riding and I should go to the house and get some food and head out. I was SO EXCITED! The three of us headed down the road( there really is only one road) and off to the right was a beautiful farm owned and operated by Snaedis friend Höski . Here he is on the left.    

We fitted our helmets and then they asked us who had the most riding experience, which was myself. I was given a feisty chestnut mare who I was told was a bit sassy.

Melissa and Grace were both given dark bay geldings. All were equally beautiful. After warming up in a small ring off we went. I used the camera in the ring to get my mare used to the sound of the click, she was wonderful about the whole thing and I was able to click away as we rode.

In America us horse people say " Hell hath no fury like a chestnut mare". This mare was no different. She chugged right along and was strong but sturdy. Right after this picture was taken we moved into our first controlled and evenly paced Tölt and it was amazing. A four beat gate, as fast as a canter, where the back does not move. It was truly amazing and my smile did not leave my face! Our horses were amazing and crossed deep( almost up to the chest on them) rivers, moved around rocks and were all around completely wonderful. My mare was sassy to say the least but once we figured each other out she snorted long and low and was happy to have a rider who new what they were doing. Below are some of the younger horses yet to be trained for riding.

The picture of the black and white pup  is a border collie. The tan pup is an Icelandic sheep dog. Nothing like looking into the eyes of a soulful pup and we gave out many pats and love to them.

After our ride we were lucky enough to hit the hot springs for the afternoon! We all fell asleep in the lay down hot tub and it was a much needed soak. Snaedis treated us to an amazing dinner and we drove home relaxed and deliciously full.

Below are some pictures I took on our ride home. 

A one lane bridge that scared me... 

A beautiful cairn on the top of a ridge

When we arrived home the fields were filled with the 150 ewes and their lambs who had been released into the fields that day as the weather was great! 

It was an amazing day. I am so grateful for the opportunities I have been given while I have been here.

I had night shift this evening, uneventful with lambing but still plenty of hungry babies to bottle feed around the clock and barn cleaning to be done.