Seal on beach

Photo is of the stranded seal pup from last week, shown with Barry and a few passers by looking on.Barry has followed up his progress and it appears he is doing well.It has taken sometime to upload a photo as the ones Barry took were wonderful, well at least they were wonderful of the blue tarpaulin they used to carry him in!! He sent me several different views of the tarpaulin with no sign of the seal.
This one was taken by Barbara our new volunteer and there is not a tarpaulin in sight.A much better photo I think you will agree.
I spoke to Merlins last owner today, seems our new colt is a gypsy cob and will make around 13 hands.I was surprised to hear his mother and father were that size, I was sure he would grow into a bigger pony.He is so much bigger than Celt and Shamrock the welsh pony colts. He certainly looks like a typical Gypsy animal, lots of feathering round his legs and a sturdy body with small ears, a very different shape to the others. I know very little about the breeding of horses and ponies, my only interest is their welfare but I have to admit to a sneaking admiration of this type of pony.I love the appearance of them, they remind me of an old horse I remember from my childhood. An old grey shire cross called Terence used to pull the rag and bone mans cart and my mother used to always rush out to the gate and as he passed by would give him a treat, an apple or a carrot.My mother was always quite scared of horses although she loved all animals and she made the mistake of curling her fingers round the apple instead of holding it flat on her palm.Needless to say the horse munched down and almost crushed my mums fingers.After that she made me give Terence his weekly treat. Mum and i felt so sorry for this old horse plodding miserably round the busy streets of Liverpool, blinkered and weary in all sorts of weather. When he died we were quite glad not to see him anymore but then another took his place and once again our hearts went out to him, this time a small bay pony was used. As he grew older I begged the owner to let me retire him but he would not hear of it and I often wonder what became of him, he always looked so dispirited, no green fields for him to enjoy, just days of pulling a heavy cart.
Im so glad I didnt live in the days where working horses were a daily sight, I heard enough sad tales from my mother and grandmother.
On a lighter note I have found a home for the 4 rabbits, a collie waiting to come in and several kittens. A friend from the midlands has found homes for all of these and is collecting them Sunday.
I have been asked to take 2 pygmy goats and am trying to work out a safe area for them, goats need a very secure paddock and I am not a fan of tethering.I will try advertising them locally, there are so many people with land round here, maybe someone is out there just waiting for a pair of goats called Ding and Dong!
The weather is so cold and wet, its hard to believe we have so many cats, theres not a one in view anywhere, they are all keeping warm and dry in their respective houses.
The forecast is bad for this weekend so there is little hope of a nice dry day at the moment. The horses are all ready and waiting to come in by 4pm.