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25.02.2015 14:38

Horsing around

Well, the predicted storm wasn't as bad as they said it would be, but bad enough. There has been a storm or stormy weather nearly every 3rd day since November. We are getting used to it and the horses like their extra days off, when it's too windy to go for a ride.
Today, they were just horsing around, having a good time.










22.02.2015 22:23

Preparing for the storm

Yesterdaymorning we went to fetch 4 horses in Ísólfsstaðir as the weatherforecast was rather bad, predicting quite some storm later that day and Sunday. 
And as you know, it's not wise to travel with a trailer in such weatherconditions. So we went to fetch Farsæll, Þokki, Ösp and Sæla. All of them were easy to catch, which was rather a surprise. We had expected some difficulties getting the 2 younger ones. Now they are in a field close to Saltvík with good shelter and a big roundbale of hay. 
In the afternoon we went for a few rides, always expecting the storm to come. It was rather cold, about -14°C. The horses got some extrahay and we had dinner at home. When we went feeding later the evening, there was still no storm, but the temperature had dropped to -16°C.  We grabbed the chance and checked for Northernlights, too. They were not strong, but visible. 
In the morning, there was still no storm, so we used the day to take care of the horses and take some pics. 
Maybe there will be a storm tomorrow, we are at least prepared!












14.02.2015 22:30

Youngsters

Hjördís accompanied us to check the horses today, but in fact, she was checked out very thouroughly.
Nice to see how well they get together!









12.02.2015 22:13

This and that

There's enough to do around the horses, training the ridinghorses, cleaning the stable, checking and feeding the outsidehorses and so on. The daily routine is sometimes broken by smaller and bigger unexpected things.
When feeding the horses we discovered, that Fönix had his hindlegs tied together with polywire. No idea how he managed to do that, but to make sure he won't hurt himself, we had to get and untangle him. He wasn't very keen on getting caught, so we had to fetch a halter and lead Vordís to the next stable, trying to let him follow. Amazing how fast he could run with his legs tied...When we finally got him away from the others (he's already so independent, just having a look at mum when he's thirsty) and out of the fence, he followed his mum as he was supposed to. No problem to get him into the stable and there into a box. Fönix is a fast learner and so it wasn't any trouble to cut him loose as he was standing rather still. It was easier to walk them back and when I took the halter of Vordís, they rushed to the others and their hay.
His big brother Sigtýr is good at getting in trouble, too. First he came inside with a nail stuck in his hoof and a few days later he had problems with a dislocation of his patella. Now he's on a bit of recovery program. 

07.02.2015 21:30

Coming home

We are keeping an eye on our horses at Ísólfsstaðir, taking care noone is getting too thin. Especially the younger horses can loose weight in a very short time, so it's better to be alert and ready to move them before they are getting too thin.
Today we took the sisters Embla and Þyrnirós back home. Embla going into further training, but Þyrnirós went to our meadow, meeting her mum and little brother.
Good to have them back home!










04.02.2015 20:37

Alltogether now!

Tonight members of the local ridingclub met at the riding hall and performed an early spring-clean. Some washed the walls with a hose and brooms, others raked the floor, collected bigger stones and leveled the sand. 
Afterwards we had a good chat, coffee and cookies. Is soooo little trouble to do stuff like that if people are just willing to sacrifice a bit of time!







31.01.2015 14:11

Snow buntings

are having a good time in our garden. 
Today we saw a big bunch of these pretty little birds looking for food close to our place, so we decided to buy birdseed, clear some pace and feed them.
Took them just a few minutes to find it and then there was a big bird party!



24.01.2015 18:29

Wintertime at Ísólfsstaðir

Some of our horses are still roaming the meadows at Ísólfsstaðir. They are having a good time there, enough to eat, good shelter and plenty of space. Joel, the farmer, counts them twice a day and keeps a close eye on them. We are really lucky to have the chance to offer our horses a winterpasture like this!






18.01.2015 18:23

Schifoan...

...is des leiwandste! 
And if you didn't understand what I meant, just have a look at this video and listen to the song by Austrian artist Wolfgang Ambros.
Skiing is great and a perfect thing to do on a beautiful winterday. We went to Akureyri and enjoyed the wonderful but cold weather.
Hjördís accompanied us and tried her new equipement for the first time. Despite the fact it was Sundayafternoon and the lifts free of charge for kids, there were just a few skiiers and we never had to wait long to get onto the chairlift. Hjördís wasn't keen on trying, but after the first two trips she was confident with it and even enjoyed it a bit.
Think we have to do this soon again!

 





10.01.2015 12:28

More "victims"

As I said before, we'd take inside a few more horses and so we did.
The sibblings Katla and Magnús came inside on Sunday and today we went to fetch two horses for our friend Maggi. 
We used the opportunity to move the horses at Ísólfsstaðir to a new field. But first we had to put up a light fence so they wouldn't wander around the whole farm and go over snowfilled ditches. Ingólfur and Maggi had already prepared the fencesticks in autumn, but unfortunately the snow came from a different direction this year and most of the sticks disappeared under the snow. So we had to put down new ones. It was rather cold, but sunny and it wasn't too difficult putting new sticks down. When everything was finished, Fribbi, who has his horses there too, checked the fence to the next farm and Ingólfur and Maggi went to get the horses in the other field. The herd followed them and the loose horses definitely had fun running wild on a big meadow. But in the end everybody was where he was supposed to be: 10 horses in their new field and 2 horses in the trailer on their way to Saltvík.
The horses had a good run at the new place and explored it in no time!





03.01.2015 12:53

Northernlights

Well, not today! 
There should be according to the forecast a crazy lightshow in the sky, but the fullmoon is far too bright to see any Northernlights. So I just took some moonpics.








02.01.2015 12:15

Taken!

That's probably what the horses thought when we started fetching them together, bringing some inside for training and moving others to a different herd.

First we took Aldís and Gjöf inside as they will start their training again, then we went to Haga to fetch Sigtýr and his three mares there. The fences have partly disappeared under snow so it's not longer safe to have them there. We definitely don't want any of our horses running on the road and maybe cause an accident.
Sigtýr was brought to the stable, but List, Ögn and Þrá went to the field with Vordís, Prímus, Fönix and Fjördís. In fact, List wouldn't need to go to hayfeeding at all, but it's difficult keeping her alone on diet, isn't it.
Well, the mares didn't get a warm welcome, on the contrary Prímus was afraid to loose his rank in the herd and behaved quite stupid. Think List told him in a few kicks what she thought about that. At least there's enough space and food so they can avoid each other if necessary.

The program for those 3 inside for the next days is: getting a haircut, being shoed and starting a light training program. We'll soon take a few more horses inside as Ingólfur needs to have something to do, too.

31.12.2014 11:29

Happy New Year

and may this year be a good one for everybody! 

I'm back home after a Christmastrip to Austria, where I spent time with my family and visited friends and relatives. It was quite a difficult trip to Austria, the weather not being at it's best here in Iceland, me delaying my flights again and again, my luggage not arriving at the same time and then taking a few days to get it. But I had a wonderful time, saw my niece and nephew a lot, met my gran and the rest of the family. The trip back home was no problem at all ;) 

We'll spend our day with the family and have a nice birthdayparty for Ingólfur's dad. There'll be a lot to eat and lots of things to talk about! 

Travel safe over to the New Year and hope to see all of you healthy again in 2015!


14.12.2014 09:07

The annual Christmasbath

of the Icelandic Yulelads took place yesterday. This year, they even managed to drag Stúfur with them, which didn't work the last years. He always hid when he heard about their plans taking a bath. In fact, there was another lad not going for a bath - Pottaskefill. These two managed to escape and found perfect excuses to not touch the water. They talked about rolling in snow or sand or using dry shampoo. Instead of joining in the bathing fun, they made fun of their brothers and even threw snowballs or icicles at them and people around. Such mischievous guys! But fun to watch and chat with them!



Ketkrókur explaining, why he's so tall and Stúfur so small.
It's all about the number of teeth...



Stúfur hiding from his brothers



Pottaskefill and Stúfur planning some mischief



And here we go...



See, it was him!



Say "Cheese"



Better scrub these dirty toes...







09.12.2014 20:38

And even more...

Northernlights! And again rather early, around 18.30. To loose no time, I just went up to the lighthouse and started photographing there. It was amazing to watch all these colours and the ghostly movements of the lights.





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