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| Fey |
Its been an incredible last couple of weeks since I arrived in the Netherlands' the eastern border region (this border is shared with Germany). Yes, the Dutch might be harder to understand than in the western part of the country (because most of the people here speak Dutch and German fluently), but the landscape and the people are beautiful.
I'm extremely fortunate with who I'm staying with. The couple, Hans and Joyce, I'm staying with have allowed me to stay with them before the School of Intercessory Prayer SOIP starts. Whilst I've been here I've had the incredible opportunity to help Joyce with looking after their two highland ponies, Asha and Fey. The Highland pony originally comes from the Scottish Highlands and is one of the oldest breeds in Great Britain. They're a hardy breed because they've been forced to adapt to living in very tough terrain, with unpredictable weather, so because of this, they can be left out almost all year round without blankets.
Asha and Fey are two beautiful highland ponies who are extremely happy and friendly animals who find everything interesting. They love putting their noses into anything that could potentially be food, which is where this post gets its title from. Joyce and I have jokingly called the ponies "the lawnmowers" because they'll graze an area of long grass to the ground, almost. When we go to let them out, we're greeted with a lot of whinnying and excitement. They love eating. They can get quite impatient if they think we're not working fast enough to get a new section corded off for them to graze. Joyce usually makes them circle round so she can open the electric lines when they've got their backs turned because otherwise they might knock her over in their desperation to get to food. Its really funny to see.
Whilst I've been here, Joyce bought a buggy for Asha, the younger of the two highland ponies. We've been getting her used to pulling it, and having the harness on. She's been doing great despite being a bit headstrong. Yesterday, she pulled the buggy at a trot, which she hasn't wanted to do before, with the larger, heavier buggy. Joyce and I both agreed that she really enjoyed herself. Fey and I watched from the sidelines.
The times I've walked down to see the ponies, they've usually come over to say 'hi' when I've called them. They're ever hopeful that they'll get a tasty morsel (which is something that they don't usually get during the day, though Joyce and I use bread crumbs to bring them into the paddock so we can shut the electric wires* behind them). We don't want them eating all the time because then they could get sick. So we usually bring them into a grassless enclosure during the night.
Beyond helping out with the ponies, I've been going to different activities with Hans and Joyce. I've been going to their connect group once a week, the prayer meeting for the street and I also was able to share part of my testimony at Hans and Joyce's church this morning, before Hans' sermon.
*Joyce uses electric wires to keep the ponies from running wild. The electricity that runs through these wires aren't strong enough to hurt the ponies in any way, but enough to give them a little shock. This little shock is just strong enough to prevent them from pushing out of the grazing area that Joyce and I have set up. Every time Joyce and I go to see them, we have to make sure that the electricity is turned off (the ponies don't know this, they think there's electricity running through it all the time).
Asha and Fey are two beautiful highland ponies who are extremely happy and friendly animals who find everything interesting. They love putting their noses into anything that could potentially be food, which is where this post gets its title from. Joyce and I have jokingly called the ponies "the lawnmowers" because they'll graze an area of long grass to the ground, almost. When we go to let them out, we're greeted with a lot of whinnying and excitement. They love eating. They can get quite impatient if they think we're not working fast enough to get a new section corded off for them to graze. Joyce usually makes them circle round so she can open the electric lines when they've got their backs turned because otherwise they might knock her over in their desperation to get to food. Its really funny to see.
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| Asha |
The times I've walked down to see the ponies, they've usually come over to say 'hi' when I've called them. They're ever hopeful that they'll get a tasty morsel (which is something that they don't usually get during the day, though Joyce and I use bread crumbs to bring them into the paddock so we can shut the electric wires* behind them). We don't want them eating all the time because then they could get sick. So we usually bring them into a grassless enclosure during the night.
Beyond helping out with the ponies, I've been going to different activities with Hans and Joyce. I've been going to their connect group once a week, the prayer meeting for the street and I also was able to share part of my testimony at Hans and Joyce's church this morning, before Hans' sermon.
*Joyce uses electric wires to keep the ponies from running wild. The electricity that runs through these wires aren't strong enough to hurt the ponies in any way, but enough to give them a little shock. This little shock is just strong enough to prevent them from pushing out of the grazing area that Joyce and I have set up. Every time Joyce and I go to see them, we have to make sure that the electricity is turned off (the ponies don't know this, they think there's electricity running through it all the time).