Hey, Sarah and Tippy here:

Good news! My back is feeling much better (thanks to everyone who's been asking about it). Also thanks to Stella, Natalie and Linda who've been helping look after Tippy.

I still can't ride, carry water buckets or pick out hooves - but can just about manage to muck out okay. Although Madam Tippy seems to be doing her best to irriate it again. I was leading her out to her field the other day and she was the first out. Big mistake!

She decided she just could not cope being all alone and would simply die if another horse didn't appear soon, so started leaping around. Luckily I managed to get her in the field and shut the gate before she tried to leg it, although she did do a very high pitched neigh right next to my face. My ears are still ringing! Stella wasn't far behind with Gizmo, so Tippy needn't have panicked but managed to wind Gizmo up sooo much he spend the next 20mins charging round. Mares - who'd have them?

The first of the swallow eggs in the nests above Tippy's stable hatched this week. There are some very busy swallow parents around. Unfortunately the weather hasn't been great for feeding very young chicks (cold and wet) so I hope they are all okay. There seems to be plenty of cheeping going on though!