Paladin's nose was pretty clear yesterday morning so we let him out. John needed to grease & oil change the van, so he would be outside to listen for any misbehaving. We also had the bb gun ready in case we needed to get his attention & couldn't get close to him. I know, that's probably not the best way to reprimand him, but he's young, strong, fast & has a lot of winter hair on his butt.......... We old, weak, slow & know that yelling from a distance doesn't get his attention, especially when he is focused.

He went out, ran across Buster & Lucy, which of course set Buster off as protector & he started attacking, which we let him do. Paladin decided there were more interesting places to go & headed for the rest of the gang. We watched them for awhile & he for the most part was behaving or at least pulling back when someone kicked at him.

We went about our business, & John said he saw dust flying a couple of times, but nothing that needed intervention.

So we decided to let him out overnight. When I went out this morning I asked John how everyone was doing. He said everyone was fine, except Paladin had bloody scratches on his nose, where he had been in the brush. Maybe running into that trim limb, reset his hormonal clock.........!!! (G)

PALADIN UPDATE

He's been in his pen since Sunday, recuperating from his tree limb encounter. His nose was still oozing blood up until this morning. But he is alert, eating, drinking & acting normal. I would imagine some of the membranes in his face were torn or crushed. Probably when he would snort or bray, (which he's been doing a lot of, to let us know we forgot to open the gate) they would open up again. This evening he seemed OK. We'll probably let him out tomorrow, if his nose stops oozing & it's up to him if he gets to stay out or not. If he starts acting rude, he'll go back in the pen, & we'll have to set up a schedule where he & the girls won't be out at the same time. Kathy at Longhopes Donkey Shelter agreed that it's probably hormonal & sometimes it takes months for them to settle down.

Found out today he likes celery. Celery is a good treat for those that are insulin resistant if they like it. He's actually the first one we've had that would eat it. I tried him on 3 or 4 pieces & he seemed to think it was good stuff. He also got brushed for the 1st time today. That went real good, he stood real still, until I tried to brush over his hip. I think I saw a rear foot kick up towards me at his shoulder. But it was so quick, I almost missed it. He got chastised & we went back to brushing. This time he behaved himself. Good thing, as quick as he kicked I know I couldn't move fast enough to get out of the way.

Tonight when I went over to feed the chickens for some reason Gus went with me. I kept telling him there wasn't anything over there for him. I fed the chickens, & headed back over the wash. I heard all this racket from the chicken area, looked back & Gus is trying to dismantle the chicken wire in the guinea pen. His pushing it in with his nose. I yelled at him, he turned his head towards me, turned back, put his nose on the wire & turned his body so he could see me. This time he wasn't pushing on it, I guess he was telling me he could if he wanted to. But he was choosing NOT to do so. Brat.............!!!!

THE ADVENTURE CONTINUES.........!!

Actually things have slowed down a little bit as far as Jenny & the boys are concerned. Everyone is busy feeding themselves on anything that looks edible. I would imagine this time of year their bodies tell them to store up whatever they can. Years ago someone was telling us we need to make sure we have no brush under the mesquites, because if there was a fire it could get out of control. Believe me, our ground is cleared of anything that they can eat. Fire danger is a real low priority around here.

John just came in & said Paladin had Frijolita down in the pens was on top of her & biting her neck. John had got him out of the pen, & closed Frijolita & Daisy in the pen. I went out & Frijolita was really scared & standing with one hind leg off the ground. She has stringhalt & seems to get lame easily even without being mauled by another donkey. Since it was in the pens I thought it might have started over leftover hay. But while we were in the pen, we heard commotion down below the house. He was running Tula, with Quilla, Jenny, & Chester trailing. Around & around they went with Chester occasionally getting close enough to Paladin to give him a quick bite. Tula kicked him in the chest 3 or 4 times hard enough to slow him up, but he came right back. Tula came around the big mesquite tree by the courtyard, she ducked, he didn't. It set him back on his haunches long enough for her to get away & he followed Jenny into a pen.

This is a new one on me, usually the males aren't so aggressive with the jennies. Right now he is in the pens, with a bloody nose, bloody mouth & 2 banged up eyes. I'll have to ask around & see if anyone else has seen this problem. I still don't know if it was hormonal or aggression, he's been so mellow, I would tend to think it's hormonal, but why so aggressive? Certainly not much of a gentleman.

Boy I sure hope Paladin is shooting blanks. Our local hussy, Jenny has all the boys in a tizzy right now. Paladin & Quilla have been doing a lot of sparring & chasing each other, actually I think Paladin is doing all the chasing, but Quilla comes right back. Paladin seems to know what he's doing & is really good at it, so I hope we don't get a little surprise package in about a year.....!!! (G)

Last night when we were rounding up for feeding, Paladin followed Jenny down to her pen. Pepper was already there waiting to go into his pen. When he saw Jenny his old ears perked up, & he started wooing her, which she actually seemed to think was quite romantic. Unfortunately Paladin wasn't impressed at all. He started making jack sounds & was ready to squash Pepper like a bug. I picked up a stick & got Paladin out of the pen in a hurry. So until we got around to putting Pepper in his pen, he had Jenny's undivided attention, which he spent turning on the charm in his best Lounge Lizard routine. Nothing like an old fool I guess.

I guess John is going to have to start getting up & eating his breakfast in the dark. This morning when the light went on in the kitchen, Gus started braying & kept it up as he tried to figure out how to dismantle the courtyard gate. That poor gate has been mauled repeatedly over the years, & we know from past experience that Gus can pretty much destroy anything he wants to. I'm curious to see how John handles this little problem.

John left a packing blanket out by the garage & found it in 2 pieces this morning. Actually he found one piece & the other piece was being used as a tug of war toy by Pepsi & Justin. John threw one piece in their pen, but I'm betting they won't play with it now. They seem to play with things they know aren't theirs rather than the toys we provide...........!!!!

KING OF THE HILL

Paladin went out Sunday as planned & it really went well. He walked out, roamed around for quite awhile before he started running, bucking & acting silly. Once he found the other donkeys everyone had to check him out. He was very good, even let Pepper act stupid & not try to take his head off. Of course our big worry was when it was time for him to go back in the pen to be fed. John just got behind him & he headed in the right direction. It would have gone with a hitch except Buster was standing by the feed room & when Paladin came around the corner, Buster had to make ugly faces & lunge at him. Paladin was a good boy & didn't try to fight. As soon as we corralled Buster, Paladin went right in. He's been doing just fine on going in until this morning & even then it wasn't a running crisis. I think he was testing to see if we really meant that he absolutely had to go into the pen. A couple of wrong turns & he decided to go along with the process, thank goodness. So far his play buddy seems to be Justin. Since Justin is only about 34 inches tall he's at a disadvantage, but they seem to have worked out that little problem when they are running & play fighting.

John came in yesterday morning & said he was trying something to see if it would work. We had decided to put Frijolita in with Daisy & Quilla temporarily, so Gus could go into her pen to eat. But when Daisy saw Frijolita in HER pen, she wouldn't go in it. She's such a funny little thing, she & Frijolita run together most of the time. So Daisy headed down the pens & went in with Chester. So far it's working out just fine, they seem to get along better than she & Quilla did. And Frijolita doesn't care where she is at, as long as there's food there. So this might be a long term fix on who eats with who.

Yesterday we picked up Gus to bring him back to the sanctuary. When we first got there he put his head across Leo the horse's back & looked at me like he knew what was happening. They had become real good friends the people said too good in fact. Gus likes to chew on Leo's mane & tail & I guess Leo didn't care. His tail was a little short even if you were wanting to show off his butt. A lot of times if someone wants to make the butt look bigger they will cut the tail short. Maybe Gus thinks he's a barber, who knows.

He loaded pretty good, but by the time we got home the sweat was just pouring off him. The floor of the trailer looked like it had been flooded with a hose, poor old guy.
As soon as he was unloaded everyone came to see him. This is Quilla having his turn. This morning we let him out & he immediately started hanging with Rusty & Jack the mules just like when he was here before, with Max the horse missing though. Paladin for awhile this morning tried to hang out with him, but Gus basically ignored him. It's really funny that he seems to have no interest in donkeys at all. Hopefully a good home as a companion for another horse will show up. Although that mane & tail thing might make it a little difficult.

John's latest skunk this morning was NOT happy to go for a ride in the Bronco. The cage was covered by the blanket, so he didn't do a complete spray, but it was enough that you could tell who John had been hanging out with. (G) It probably wouldn't have been so bad, but when John carried the cage covered with the blanket I think it was up against his leg.............soooo..........I've been washing this afternoon. There sure are a lot of skunks this year, one of our neighbor's a mile or so away is having trouble with ringtail cats. I would imagine territorial wise those 2 species don't cross paths if they can help it. If the ringtails don't kill chickens I'd rather have them, but I bet they would if given the chance.

Well today we're going to let Paladin out for the first time. It's gotten chilly enough we haven't been putting fly masks on, but for this "adventure" we'll keep everyone on just the 10 acres for the day. I don't anticipate any problems, but he is young & strong, & most of the others are "mature" & not so strong........!!!! Hopefully he won't remember old buzzard bait Pepper, challenging thru the corral panels. I'm sure Pepper doesn't remember it, sometimes he can't remember why the gate is open................!!!! (G)

I noticed last night that Daisy had a scruffed up knee. Where she lived before the ground was nice & soft. I think when she lays down the rocks & gravel are roughing up her knees. Pepper had that problem for awhile, & a friend made him some knee socks. So I doctored her knee & put the knee socks on both of her knees. She is such a funny little thing, anytime you do something with her, you can immmediately tell if she's never done it before. First she took a very cautious step. Then she raised up her leg & turned her head sideways, I assuming to look at what the heck that was on her knee. By this morning it was no big deal. I'll keep putting them on for awhile even if the sores heal, so she can lay down comfortably.

John was commenting this morning on how good she & Quilla are looking. Granted by any standards they are both still overweight. They don't look so much like overstuffed pillows, but they still have a long way to go. The pergolide has really made a difference with Daisy, she's much more alert & even though it getting into winter & everyone is putting on their winter coats, her hair is no where near as long & overgrown as it was last spring. Quilla does not have Cushings & I don't think he is Insulin Resistant. His weight is coming off like you would expect if he was taking in less calories, which I'm sure he is. Everyone gets rationed around here, especially the ones that really need it.

Gus will be coming back tomorrow afternoon. All the pens are full, so we will try to feed him with Lucy & Buster outside the pens. As I recall he eats fast, so this might not work, we'll just have to see.

We're suppose to be getting ready for the Open House, December 5 & 6th but I'm afraid we're going to run out of time before we run out of things to do. Oh! well the people come to see the donkeys, hopefully not to see spit & polish.

John is still hauling skunks, I think the count is up to 8 or 9, although he thinks one of them has been caught 3 times. It's the mismarked one. The last time he took it farther away by a couple of miles, & so far he hasn't hauled one that looks like it, so hopefully it went somewhere else. He thought he saw some dig marks inside the chicken house, which is what he's trying to keep from happening. Once they get inside the house, they'll go after the chickens.

Yesterday we had to go to Tucson for the day. In the winter it's difficult for us to get home in time to feed before dark. Although we were only a little late time wise it was getting dark. The gang KNOW they are suppose to be fed before dark. So when we drove in there were 19 judgemental animals standing there looking at us like we aren't smart enough to know it's past feeding time. The only reason there weren't 20 is Paladin is still in his pen. Under those circumstances they were anxious to get in their pens, which meant round up was real easy.

Buster usually doesn't have much to do with the other geldings, he hangs out with his Lucy girl. But the other night he & Buddy were wrestling for quite awhile. At first I thought they were fighting, with donkey play sometimes it's hard to tell. Buddy loves to play, but I've never seen Buster play very much. They were running & rearing & biting & running some more. I finally decided to go out & break it up, as Buster seemed to be the aggressor..........not that Buddy can't take care of himself as he has shown many times in the past. But just as I started out to be head jenny, Buddy got behind Buster & started chasing him, so I guess he wasn't trying to get away too much. By feeding time they had gone off their separate ways, & Buster was back to hanging out with Lucy.

We seem to have a strange little triangle developing. I've been watching them for a few days to see what's going on. Usually we have a girl herd, consisting of Tula as ring leader, Jenny, Daisy & Frijolita. Since Quilla came a few months ago, he has hung out on the fringe of the girls. He doesn't seem to care much for any of the other geldings. And of course you know the saga of Daisy & Quilla & their squabbles, if you follow the blog. Recently the herd has consisted of Daisy, Frijolita & Quilla, no Tula. I'm surprised that Quilla & Daisy are actually hanging out together, I guess Frijolita is the buffer. Although the other donkeys all see Tula as their leader, I'm not sure she always enjoys her status. Many times it it's time to go into her pen & they are trying to follow her, she will peal off at the gate, because she doesn't want them in her pen. Who knows maybe Daisy & Quilla will become an item..................!!!!!

Yesterday morning when everyone came in for breakfast, Chester came in 3 legged lame on his bad leg. He wasn't just lame, he was carrying that leg, without it touching the ground, which is really scary. It was also having spasms, which happens with a break sometimes. There was no swelling or heat anywhere which is good. He got a shot of banamine & stayed in the pen all day & night. This morning he was walking as well as he ever does, with a slight hitch. I have no idea what happened, but he seems to be doing just fine today. These animals would turn my hair gray if it wasn't already........!!!! (G)

This afternoon a truck drove in the driveway & it was Gus' family. Gus went to his new home early this year to be a companion for a horse. Gus is the only donkey we've ever had that preferred horses over donkeys. The man is having very serious health problems & is having to give up both Gus & the horse. New owners sign a contract to return the donkey to the sanctuary if they can no longer take care of it. So Gus will be coming back early next week. I hope we can find him another good home with a horse. He liked hanging out with Max the horse, & of course Max is no longer here. I don't remember him being very impressed with either of the mules, so he may not be too thrilled to be coming back.

Paladin is going thru a "I don't have to" stage I guess. I think I might have been confusing him with trying to do clicker training. Even though that was the only time he got treats if someone was in his pen, I think he is looking for treats, if we come close to him. So no more clicker training until he's tamer. He was just getting the hang of it too.

I'm still having problems with my computer, so if I'm gone for awhile, don't be surprised.

Cisco my little immune system problem has done real good this summer. He usually starts in the spring with developing sores on his sheath & on his face if the flies get on his eyes before we put his fly mask on. It seems to only take one warm afternoon, to start the process of intense itching & him scratching until he's bloody.

For the first time this summer we managed to outwit the flies with fly masks & thunja zinc oxide on his sheath every day. Recently, we had a cold snap & then it got up in the 90's again. There are more flies now than we've seen all summer. I was a little slow in gearing up with covering his sheath & it only took one day for him to get it raw & bloody............. Sigh! It's much easier to keep ahead of it, than it is to get it healed.

I found out more than I wanted to know about gelding & the way it use to be, when the people with the "scary" little boy came out to visit. The man was raised with working teams of horses & mules, they bred, raised, & trained them. I always thought gelding was barbaric, & have heard of cowboys, roping, hog tying them, getting out the old pocketknife, & going to work without any drugs. This man said they made a tool out of 2 long pieced of metal hinged on one end. Once they got the victim tied & exposed the testicle, they used this "clamp" to "tie" off the cord. He said they then smashed the cord to destroy it before they cut it. All without anesthetic.......!!!! It's still a barbaric operation, but at least now most of them are done under anesthetic. I'm sure on a lot of ranches they are still done the old way though. You'd think men would be more sympathetic wouldn't you.....??? (G)

SPOOKY PALADIN.........!!

Finally found something to spook the boy. A couple came out this afternoon to visit with the donkeys & brought their 5 year old grandson. Judging from Paladin's reaction, he's never seen a child before. He took one look, spun around & headed the other direction. Wasn't the least bit interested in seeing that little person.

He now stands still for us to touch him on both sides. In fact after we touch & scratch for a little while, & back off he walks towards us wanting more, which is a good sign. Yesterday I started with clicker training. So far, he isn't the fastest learner I've ever had, but at least he doesn't run from the clicker, which I've had them do. It's hard to train them when they don't wait around for their treat. I've only worked with him for about 10 minutes total, & he's pointing his nose at the target, but hasn't touched it yet.

This morning Tula was outside his pen acting like a hussy. I might need to ask someone just how long he should be kept away from the jennies. Thirty days might not be long enough.

I should have had the camera handy this morning. We had 2 women come out to visit with the donkeys. Yesterday they had been peeling apples to dehydrate & brought the peelings & cores for the donkeys. Of course everyone was thrilled except for BlackJack & Lucy, who both treat apples like a horrible acid we are trying to ram down their throat. BlackJack was raised with a little boy, & much prefers junk food, french fries are a particular favorite. He's not really into healthy snacking. Lucy just gives you a sad look if you try to feed her apple.

When we got to Tula I told them that she doesn't like people & wouldn't take anything from them. Not only did she take an apple core she came back & took another one. That is the 3rd time in about 6 years she has taken treats from someone other than us. It's always been a woman, although I think she really prefers John over me. Maybe we should use apples with her. She really seemed to enjoy them.

We got in about 2am from the races last night & it was 31 degrees, so I went out to put Sha'ba & Pepper's blankets on them. Although it wasn't real cold, they both stood very still for me to put the blanket on, so I am sure they appreciate the blankets. Pepper is even resigned to staying the pens at night, & doesn't try to crash the gate to get out.

When Courtney was here last time she left a soaking boot for me to use on Jenny & Quilla. Mine is a huge thing, takes about 1/2 a gallon of liquid to cover Jenny's foot. This one is smaller & made of very "firm" material. I tried to put it on Jenny this morning, & for once in her life she was actually cooperative. BUT, Courtney is going to have to show me hands on how to get it on her foot, I didn't even come close. I think I can wrap her foot in a disposable diaper & it will soak up water, so I won't have to pour so much into my boot.

Tomorrow is suppose to be worming day. I never definitely plan anything around here, because if I do something else comes up. I'm looking for a microscope, so in the future I can do fecal samples & maybe not have to worm as much. Worm immunity to wormers is becoming a big problem, & in the southwest we usually don't have as much problems with worms as other parts of the country, that have pasture. So if I can test & not have to worm as much, that would be a good thing.

I tried to talk Paladin into letting me put his fly mask on this morning, without having to use the chute. He actually was interested, smelled the mask, let me get right up to putting it over his ears, & decided he didn't want to participate. That's OK, he did take apple from the women, so he's doing OK.

IDENTIFICATION OF A FEMALE EQUESTRIAN

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• EASY TO LOCATE. She's either off on the horse or out in the barn.
• UPHOLDS THE DOUBLE STANDARD. Smooches with the most bewhiskered beast, but recoils when you need a shave.
• OWNS ONE VACUUM CLEANER and operates it exclusively in the barn.
• A SOCIAL BUTTERFLY, providing the party is given by another horsey wife. Falls asleep in her soup at all other functions.
• ECONOMY MINDED. Won't waste your money on permanents, facials, or manicures.
• A CULINARY PERFECTIONIST. Checks every section of hay for mold but doesn't blink when she petrifies your dinner in the microwave.
• OCCASIONALLY AMOROUS, but never leaves lipstick on your collar, at worst, slight trace of chapstick.
• EASY TO OUTFIT. No need for embarrassing visits to uncomfortable little boutiques. You can find all she wears at your local tackstore.
• FEATURES A SELECTIVE SENSE OF SMELL. Bitterly complains about your sticky-sweet cigar smoke while remaining totally oblivious to the almost visible aroma of her barn boots drying next to the heater.
• UNMISTAKABLE IN A BATHING SUIT. She's the one whose tan starts at the nose, ends at the neck, and picks up again at the wrists
• A DEDICATED CLUB WOMAN, as long as the words "horse" or "riding" appear in its name.
• HAS YOUR LEISURE AT HEART. Eliminates grass cutting by turning every square inch of lawn into pasture which, in turn, converts itself into mud.
• A MASTER AT MULTIPLICATION. She starts with one horse, adds a companion, and if it's a mare, she breeds it.
• KEEPS AN EAGLE EYE ON THE BUDGET. Easily justifies spending six hundred dollars, but croaks when you blow ten on a tie.
• AN ENGAGING CONVERSATIONALIST. Can rattle on endlessly about training.
• SOCIALLY AWARE. Knows that formal occasions call for clean boots.
• A MOVING FORCE IN THE FAMILY. House by house, she'll get you to move closer to horse country (and farther away from your job.)
• EASY TO PLEASE. A new wheelbarrow, custom boots, or even a folding hoof pick will win her heart forever.
• SENTIMENTAL FOOL. Displays a minimum of six 8x10 color photos of the horse in the house and carries a crumpled snapshot of you (taken before you were married) somewhere in the bottom of her purse.
• SHOWS HER AFFECTION IN UNUSUAL WAYS. If she pats you on the neck and says "you're a good boy," believe it or not, she loves you!

Well it made it to 20 degrees last night.........!!! Everyone was up around the hay barn when John went out this morning. You can tell the warmest places on the property, by watching the donkeys. Had to break ice on the water buckets. I keep thinking about one of those underground waterers, that is suppose to not freeze. I don't know if the donkeys would use it or not, but I always worry in the winter about them drinking enough.

BRRRR.............!!!!!!

Suppose to be as low as 24 degrees tonight. John put the heater in the feed room for the dogs & brought in some firewood for us. We probably won't need it tonight, but if it's cold & dreary tomorrow our passive solar house will start cooling off pretty quick.

Sha'ba & Pepper have their blankies & leg wraps on. Sha'ba chased me into his pen when I was carrying in his blanket. I don't know if he was in a hurry to get it on or what.

John hauled off another skunk this morning, so that's 2 & counting. He didn't set the trap tonight, we have to go to Tucson in the morning & he won't have time to chauffeur one off to a new area.

THE SKUNKS ARE BACK........!!!

I guess they are looking for a place to winter. a few nights ago I noticed we had 2 long haired "cats" on the back porch eating dry cat food. One of them chased the other one away. I started to open the door & noticed the one left was rather oddly shaped for a cat, but had the right body shape for a SKUNK......!!! It also had no color on it's body at all, no spots & no stripes, solid black. The tail has stripes on the underneath part, the part that stands up in the air to arm the BIG GUNS.....!!!! John checked & there is no solid black skunks, they all have some white on their bodies. So it must be a mutation of some kind.

We figured since there was one out here, there might be some over in the chicken pen. John set a trap last night & sure enough, caught a little spotted skunk. Hauled him to a new place, I guess John felt bad about dumping 17 or 18 in the same place earlier in the summer. So for the foreseeable future he will be setting the trap in the chicken pen every night. We don't care if they are in the back yard, although Hobo the outdoor cat, probably isn't thrilled. But they seem to have some sort of agreement, the skunk comes in & eats what it wants, & then John puts out more feed for Hobo.

Paladin is really doing good. I noticed last night at feeding time that the halter was rubbing on his cheeks, so we needed to get it off. Although he is bombproof, he's still not into that touchy feely thing. We decided to try one of the corral panel squeezes. We've used it on Tula many times, & he is certainly not as squirrley as she is. So John dragged a corral panel into his pen, & started setting it up. Paladin just stood there & watched the process. When John got it hooked up & opened it up, Paladin went in like that was what he was suppose to do. Which leads me to believe he has been in a chute or something like that. He was a little scared once John closed it up, but certainly not panicked. I started rubbing his neck, which he allowed, but wasn't thrilled about. Then I started trying to get the halter unlatched. I'm not a fan of nylon halters & this one certainly didn't change my mind. I had to work & work to get it loose, & he really stood like a little soldier. Finally got it off & put some thunja zinc oxide on the sores, poor little guy. Destiny showed up to help feed & got to pet him before we let him out of the squeeze. When we opened it, he walked out, like it was no big deal. But as of this morning he's still not touchy feely......!!! (G) His surgery area is still swollen, but it doesn't seem to be bothering him, & it's getting cold enough in the next few days, that any flies that are trying to hang on, should freeze out. The high tomorrow in Tucson is only suppose to be 57 degrees...............brrrr! Tonight is suppose to be in the low 30's in Tucson & we're usually cooler, so I will put Pepper & Sha'ba's blankies on them. John said Sha'ba was all hunched up this morning like he was cold. The only problem is Pepper has to stay in the pens if he has his blanket on, which to him is absolutely horrible. He thinks of himself as a free spirit.

PALADIN BEFORE WE GOT HIM IN THE TRAILER
Thanks Sandra for the picture

He seems to be doing just fine. He has some swelling, not bad it doesn't seem to bother him. very much. This morning our resident "hussy" Jenny was trying to entice him thru the corral panels. He seemed to think it would be a good idea, & we had a hard time getting her to leave the area & go in her pen to eat. Jenny always welcomes the new boys, & they usually think she's pretty cute. Quilla was very smitten when he came, & even now he is usually with the girls more than the other geldings. He seems to like all the girls, well except for Daisy, they still don't like each other, although their tolerance level has improved.

We've been letting him into the other pens, to give him a chance to move around & get use to the place. Rusty & BlackJack really get upset about him being able to go into Jack's pen. His pen is usually prime real estate, for cleaning up hay. They both know it & they guard the gates to make sure they are in first, when Jack goes out. I thought BlackJack was going to tear the gate off the hinges, when he figured out he wasn't getting in.

Courtney sent me some information today on different types of slow feeders. This is a great way to feed equine that have a problem with weight, or might be insulin resistant. Equines aren't meant to eat 2 or 3 times a day, they are grazers or browsers & should eat constantly, but tiny amounts. Except for my 3 oldest guys, this should work. They say even "piggies" can be fed this way, because they lose the "mealtime" crazies.

PALADIN THIS MORNING

Family Portrait, Paladin, Lupe & their baby
Thanks Sandra for the picture

This morning he took treats from John's hand.................as long as John was outside the pen. That's OK, I am really pleased with how well he's taking all this life style change. The donkeys surrounded his pen this morning, gawking at the new kid on the block. He seemed to think that was OK too. I haven't seen him panic yet. Even when we drive the golf cart & hay trailer thru the middle of his pen. He just goes over in a far corner, stands & watches what's going on.

He's eating & drinking this morning too, so hopefully the worst is over. I can't help but think having two large cuts on a rather tender part of your body, plus all the pulling, tugging & everything else that goes on with a gelding, doesn't feel very good.

He's been trying to reach some of the mesquite trees outside his pen. I would imagine a large part of his diet has been mesquite, & he's probably missing what he's use to.

I'm back to doctoring Quilla & Jenny again. I used the honey to get his legs & her spot under control, & am now using thunja zinc oxide on him & Equ-aide on her. Now that's it's cooling off I hope his legs will get better. His owner said his legs always cleared up in winter.

Everyone else seem to be doing good right now, even old buzzard bait, Pepper is walking around pretty good for him. He was trying to romance Jenny the mammoth the other day. I have to give the old boy credit, he still has a strong interest in life. He's always ready to go out of his pen, & has a routine of places to go & things to do, that keeps his day busy. I hope he has a good winter.

HE HAS A NAME

We went down to Dos Cabezas, Tuesday to pick up the jack. We tried to think of everything, ropes halters, corral panels, & of course treats. Our 4 wranglers showed up on time & off we went. The closer we got the worse the weather got. Windy, cold & even trying to rain a little bit. I called Mae to give her time to get him in the pen. When we got there, he was still out running around, & by now it is actually raining. We sat in the vans till it stopped, & even though it was still cool the wind died down. We could tell right off that he didn't see the pen as a safe area. We also could tell that he knew the acreage much better than we did. Six people spread out over acres & acres wasn't doing much. He finally went up in a corner, where there was lots of poo, which meant he saw that as a safe area. He let me get within about 50 feet of him & wasn't particularly upset with me there.

Joe got the idea that we could bring up the corral panels & slowly make a pen around him. The donkey stood there & watched all of these people build a pen around him. I was amazed. Once we got the pen built, John got the van & stock trailer, & backed it up to an opening in the pen we built. We started making the pen smaller & smaller & all of a sudden he stuck his nose in the trailer, stepped up & went in. Just like that! I think we all were shocked. He seems very gentle, just hasn't been handled.

Yesterday was "G" day. I called the vet clinic to tell them, that he wasn't wild & that we probably wouldn't need the dart gun. Figured they would appreciate not having to dread coming out here so much.

They used the middle gate of the trailer to squeeze him, so Nancy could give him a shot. He wasn't really thrilled with this situation & although he didn't kick at anyone in particular, he did kick out real quick a couple of times. Once the shot started to make him goofy, we opened the back of the trailer & he backed out into the pen. Didn't take long for him to go down, & then the fun started.

I hate gelding them, it such a primitive method, but it has to be done. This was right after he went down & they were getting ready to start the surgery. I have pictures of the actual surgery, but I don't think it's necessary to show them. John won't even stay in the area when the scalpel comes out. (G) As you can tell from the picture below, it doesn't bother the other donkeys at all.

It was rather uneventful, although like many donkeys he took a lot of drugs to keep him out. Which means it takes awhile for him to come out of it. This is a picture of him & Shawn when he was still trying to get his sea legs back.


Today he has been laying down a lot & isn't interested in eating or drinking much. He doesn't have a lot of swelling, so I guess that's good news. I hope by tomorrow he will feel better. I'd like to be able to hose him down, but he's not the least bit interested in me or anyone else getting close to him. I can't blame him at this stage.

On the way home I came up with the name Paladin, a good strong name for a real pretty guy. I think it will fit him just fine.

TODAY'S THE DAY.........!!

We got up early this morning to feed, so the old guys would have time to finish their breakfast, before we leave to go wrangle the jack. Our helpers should be here about 10, & we'll hit the road. John was out in the dark last night, moving corral panels from stock trailer to car trailer, & trying to organize 2 vans. We're trying to take anything we might possibly need, ropes, halters (like that's going to happen) & of course treats. That's probably not going to happen either. (G)

There is one little wrinkle, I will be driving the van with the car trailer & corral panels. I have gotten to my advanced age without very much trailer towing. John has "forced" me to drive with an empty trailer a few times, saying I need to know how in case of an emergency. Well this isn't an emergency, but it looks like it's time to upgrade my skills or lack thereof. At least I won't be hauling some poor animal. John tows great, I think you could put a glass of water on top the trailer & it would be there when he got to where he was going. I doubt that I have that skill, I'm more the bonsai type of driver............!!! (G) Maybe I shouldn't tell the helpers that are going to ride with me that I've never towed a trailer much before, what do you think? (G)

GEARING UP FOR TUESDAY

Today John loaded corral panels, t-posts, & a "thumper" in the stock trailer & I got all my paperwork lined up to turn ownership of the jack over to us. The corral panels are to make a pathway to the trailer, & the t-posts are to keep him from trying to run thru the panels, if he wants to. We are planning for a worse case scenario, & hope all of our planning won't be necessary.

We also have another couple to go with us, so there will be 6 of us. I hope so many people won't overwhelm him into trying to escape rather than following the path to the trailer. We had planned on leaving the corral panels there until we go back to get the little jack gelded. We won't be able to load him & the corral panels in the trailer at the same time. But since there are so many of us going, we've about decided to take both vans & I'll bring the corral panels home on the car trailer. We'll see how it all plays out, believe me all our plans are very flexible.........!!!!!!

Courtney came to trim today. She was quite pleased with Frijolita's feet & also Jenny's feet are doing much better. She want's me to soak Jenny, & Quilla's feet in Colloidal Silver . I used it to soak Jenny a few weeks ago, & that may be why her feet are doing better. But she has a spot right above one hoof that has never had hair on it. Occasionally it will get bloody, & I've always been able to heal it up with the Equ-aide. This time it isn't working, & I have it wrapped with honey. Courtney seems to think the Colloidal silver might work, she even loaned me a soaking boot, since Jenny can walk out of mine, at will. So we'll give it a try.

Quilla's legs have broken out again. Maybe it's the time of year or something, since both he & Jenny are crashing on me. This morning I cleaned his legs up, & wrapped them with a honey poultice. I'll check on them Wed to see how they are doing, hopefully before the vet gets here to geld the jack.

All in all she trimmed 7 of them, & said they all looked pretty good. That's always good to hear, I'd hate to have her find a case of thrush or something stuck in the bottom of a foot. That would make me feel like a bad mom.

I got a call today to do a talk at a Tucson school about the sanctuary. It's been awhile since I did one, so I'll have to get out my notes & bring them up to date. I'd like to do a slide presentation, in this day & age kids are so use to videos, some old woman standing up there talking, probably isn't going to be too interesting. If I had a video, at least they would have something to look at.........!!! (G)

OFF THE INTERNET

The dynamics are changing around here. Quilla is following Tula around like he thinks she might care & she looks like she's trying to escape, but it doesn't deter him at all. Oh! well he needs the exercise. He's lost the easy weight, so he's looking a lot better. But both he & Daisy have still got a long way to go. They both have large pones on their sides that might never go away. When he came here, we were told he was crippled & because of his club foot that had overgrown he was walking rather gingerly. But once that was trimmed, he moves just fine, keeps up with Tula when she is trying to get away from him.

Buster & Buddy Brat have been wrestling or fighting. I watched them for quite awhile last night & actually couldn't tell if it was play or real. Buster is really low key, so I'm sure it was play, but it got pretty rough, before I tried to break it up. All they did was run off behind the hay barn & continue the "battle".

Pepper the old buzzard, is still eating good, has put on some weight, & is walking much better than he was earlier this year, thank goodness. Last spring he really looked pathetic, a rack of bones & 3 legged lame. Two vets looked at him & without x-rays couldn't tell exactly where the problem was. The general opinion was he probably had been knocked down or been smashed into a gate & cracked his scrawny hip bone. If that is what happened, I assume it has healed as well as possible. He doesn't have full range of motion, but he toddles along at his old man's gait & gets where he wants to go pretty quick.

For awhile he was eating mush, but over the summer he started eating hay again, & now eats very little mush. The problem is, his teeth aren't good enough to chew up hay, even short stem. But obviously he's getting some food value out of it, because except for his protruding hip bones, he looks pretty good. Both he & Sha'ba will get their "blankies" every night when it starts getting down in the 40's at night.

Next week the dynamics are really going to change when we bring the new guy on the property. I'm sure the girls will think he's an answer to their prayers. I just hope we can get him in the trailer without traumatizing him. From what May had told me, he's not particularly spookie or anti-person. So hopefully he will fairly easy to socialize. Of course if someone forced me in a trailer, left me there all night, didn't feed me the next morning, & someone else came along, put me to sleep & when I woke up found out what had been done to me, I don't think I'd be very social, would you........!!! (G)

Buddy Brat, Lynn & Justin lazying away the afternoon

It looks like we will be picking up the jack next Tuesday & the vet will come out Wednesday to do his "brain" surgery. The vet is going to bring a cowboy friend with her in case we need some expertise. She thinks we might be able to snub him up to the side of the trailer & give him a shot in the neck vein, rather than use the dart gun. But, just in case she's bringing the gun.......!!!

I talked to May tonight & she said he seems just fine with being in the pen to eat, in fact she is feeding him in a shed & he is fine with that. I think instead of being wild, meaning frantic fighting to get away, he is probably just unhandled, which makes him cautious to new experiences in his life. I hope when we drive in with a truck & stock trailer he doesn't decide to panic. Joe & Julie his wife are going with us, which is great. Like I told the vet yesterday, John & I don't mind getting into the fray, but we're too old to be very useful if speed & agility is needed. (G)

I took the "honey" bandages off Quilla yesterday morning. Just like before all the sores were gone after 2 days of being wrapped. I've read up some more on using honey on wounds & it seems like up until WWII i.e. the advent of antibiotics such as penicillin, honey & turpentine were widely used. Farmers use to keep honey & turpentine in their barn in case they needed it for them or their animals. I don't think turpentine would feel very good in a wound for man or beast quite frankly. When I was a kid I remember Merthiolate & that was bad enough. Do they even sell that particular type of torture anymore?

Heard from May this morning & it looks like I will call the vet Monday morning & set up an appointment for the jack's "brain" surgery. Once we know which day the vet can come out, we will go over & get him in the trailer the day before. May said he is comfortable eating in the pen & doesn't mind her being in there with him. It sounds like he might not be wild, just not worked with. Hopefully..........!!!!!

We have a friend that has offered to go with us, if we need more "wranglers". Joe was the one that wrangled Fred the pot bellied pig for us a couple of years ago. He's big & strong & was raised on a farm, all things we aren't............!!! (G) The pen is large enough that John & I couldn't control it by ourselves. We will take corral panels with us to build a chute to aim him towards the trailer, but he probably will look at this as a very suspicious situation & not anything he wants to do.

This morning I wrapped Quilla's front legs with honey, cotton & vet wrap. After doing good for so long for some reason both front legs developed bloody sores again. I had changed over from the thunja zinc oxide to using Equaide because it dries rather than being gooey like the zinc oxide. Unfortunately it didn't do the job, & rather than seeing if the zinc oxide would work, I decided to just go back to square one & start over.

Yesterday Frijolita was limping around. I checked her over & she didn't want her fetlock squeezed. But today she's walking normally so I guess she just stepped wrong. Easy to do especially over in Burroland, where they head as soon as John lets them out at bedtime. Old lounge lizard Pepper is usually the 1st one to the gate. He can just barely walk, I don't know how he gets there so fast. This morning he was posturing at BlackJack, which isn't a real good idea. BJ could knock Pepper over & not even know it. No fool like an old fool I guess........!!!!! I wonder what he was like when he was young. If his personality was anything like it is now, he was a handful.

BACK HOME AGAIN...........!!!

Some of the burros at Hacienda de Los Milagros

Got back from my trip last night about 8pm. Had a great time, even though it was rather quick. I think we spent more time on the road than we did anything else. Jean seemed to survive my driving without any permanent damage............!!!! (G)

Spent an hour or so at Milagros visiting with the burros. Milagros has always been a sanctuary that did not do adoptions. Over the years the numbers have grown & in the last few months they have began an adoption program to reduce their numbers. This morning I got a call from a woman looking for a buddy for Poncho her new little donkey, so I told her about them. I got an e-mail from her this afternoon & she had already gotten in touch with Milagros. Hope it works out for all involved.

This is a picture of Daisy's old pasture mates. Rosie on the left & Andy on the right. They are really pretty mules, & although Rosie wasn't going to allow me to pet her, Andy loved attention. In fact he likes to mouth your hand & sleeves to make sure you know he's there. He's a pretty big guy, it would be hard to miss him even without the smacking lips. He's one of those gentle giant types.

John had a jeep tour this morning, so I fed by myself. I went out & expected everyone to show how much they missed me. Didn't happen, it was more like, "Oh! there you are, where's breakfast"...............!!

I will call May in the morning & see how the wild jack is doing. She left a message while I was gone, & said she thinks he's about ready. I'd like to think that means that he's following her around & likes to be petted..................BUT I seriously doubt it. I'll have to find out what day the vet can come out & we'll try to go get him the day before. That way he will only have to stay in the trailer one night...........that is IF we can get him IN the trailer.......!!!! (G)

ON THE ROAD AGAIN........!!!

I'm waiting for my co-pilot Jean to get here in a few minutes, so we can hit the road for Flagstaff.

Heard from May last night. She left a message that she thinks the jack is about ready. I left a message for her last night, but didn't get to talk to her. I'll call her when I get back Thursday & hopefully we can make arrangements with the vet & get this boy's "brain surgery" done soon.

John just heard the weatherman say it is 30 degrees at Flagstaff this morning. So I just prowled thru my closet to find a coat. Might need more than the little light jacket I have in my bag. Hope it doesn't snow while we're up there, I haven't driven in snow for a LONG time.

ROAD TRIP.....!!!!

I took this picture of Daisy this morning to show her Mom when I see her Wednesday. I'm heading up north to Flagstaff, Chino Valley & Prescott. Since I was going to be in the area, I'll get a chance to see where Daisy use to live.

John is already asking me over & over if I have the feeding schedule up to date. Well.........no I don't, not yet anyway. Hopefully before I leave Tuesday morning, it will be. I keep telling him the only important things are the meds & those usually stay about the same. He never has a problem, but he sure is a worry wart until I'm off the property........... (G) Well there was that one time when Pepper choked before I was on the road 2 hours & had to go to the vet..........but that was then. Unfortunately John hasn't forgotten it, so he gets a little anxious.

Speaking of Pepper, we were calling him Larry the Lounge Lizard this morning. When it was time for the round-up he decided that Frijolita was what he had been looking for all his life. He tried to show her what a wonderful old guy he is, & she double barrel kicked at him. That seemed to get him all excited, up went the head......well otherwise his head would have been half way across the area. The ears were perky, & the old buzzard looked like he was trying to prance. He can just barely walk, but obviously old memories die hard. Good for him, it certainly keeps him moving, which is good for his arthritis.

I will wrap Quilla's front legs, so John won't have to mess with them while I'm gone. When I unwrapped them this morning some of the bloody places are still bloody. I gave my raw honey with all the wax, pollen, bee parts & whatever else was in it to a friend that has a horse with some bad fence wounds. I tried using regular eating honey, & it looks to me like it doesn't do the job like the raw honey does. I may have to go on mission when I get back, I don't know if Mr. Busby has any more of the raw dirty honey or not.

42 DEGREES THIS MORNING........!!!

DONKEY LOVE, OFF THE INTERNET

I guess summer is over..........!!! What's really neat is, you get to sleep under a comforter, get up & by 8am, it's time to shed the long sleeves. I LOVE THE DESERT..........!!!!

Everyone is doing good, although I had to wrap Quilla's front legs this morning. I've been good about keeping his legs covered with thunja zinc oxide, but yesterday I noticed a few little bloody spots & this morning the areas were larger. So I got out the honey & wrapped him up. I'm not sure why, but I still think that these jack sores have something to do with light sensitivity. They sure seem to do better when covered.

The wild jack is now going into the smaller pen to eat & drink. I asked May to up the ante by putting the gate up against the corral close to the opening, so he can "think" about it. Once that is OK, she can attach it to the corral, & then start opening it different directions, wide, narrow, just mix it up, until he gets bored with the game. At least I hope he gets bored with it.... (G)

I think the vet is lined up to come out here & dart him in the trailer. So if we can get him loaded, it should all be downhill from there............well except for that little nagging problem of him being wild. We'll have to work on that.

The junk cars are finally gone. John had to build a pen around them with corral panels to keep the fur kids from shopping for goodies. Can you imagine how nasty the inside of a car with the windows broken out, is after sitting for 15 years? They were pulling out the carpet & finding old mesquite beans to eat & the upholstery got pulled out with the stuffing going everywhere. John kept thinking they would get bored, or he would get enough stuff cleaned out that it wouldn't be interesting. That didn't happen.................!!!!! Glad they're gone...........!!!!!

HAPPY AUTUMN, OR FALL AS I KNOW IT....!!

My goodness someone has a lot of time on their hands, don't they? But I'm glad they do, so the rest of us can enjoy it.

The jack is now going in the pen to drink water, but not to eat, so I guess that's progress. John asked our friend if he would come & rope the jack, he's still thinking about it.....!!!! (G)

I called one vet's answering service, & haven't heard back. I perhaps shouldn't have mentioned squeeze chute & dart gun in the same sentence. I am really spending a lot of time trying to figure the logistics out. My next step will be to personally talk to a vet that is suppose to have a dart gun.

This morning Quilla had an outbreak of the bloody spots on his leg. It's just a small area, where I had not been putting enough thunja zinc oxide on I guess. So I greased it up good & added powdered zinc oxide on top. Usually the zinc oxide cream ended up covered with dirt, so maybe the powder will help with that little problem.

John cleaned the junk out of the cars yesterday. This morning he found things he missed strung around on the ground with Chester looking very proud of himself. Of course at the rate they are prowling in them for goodies, John won't have to worry about anything blowing out on the highway, when he tows them to Tucson, hopefully this week.

Right now we're in the high 90's during the day & the low 50's at night. Certainly makes it fun to decide what to wear..........!!! All the donkeys are growing their winter hair at a rapid rate. Daisy's seems to be growing in normally, rather than all that wild growth she had last winter. She has been on pergolide for most of the summer, & although she isn't losing weight very quickly, she seems to be perkier & less hairy. She & Quilla are still eating together, & seem to have reached an agreement to ignore each other. It's not as entertaining for us, but seems to work for them.

This is the jenny & her little jack we saw a few days ago. They were very friendly, unlike the jack. Got a call from May yesterday & getting him into the corral with food & water isn't going well. Although her cow doesn't have a problem & is eating his hay too. The cow doesn't see monsters hiding in that corral I guess. She said she would call in a few days to update us.

In the meantime we are having to think about plan B. We have a racing friend that works at a dude ranch not far from Dos Cabezas. Although I hate to do it, we will ask him if he & a friend could rope him for us. I have to weigh one roping experience against being used for roping on a regular basis.

I still haven't figure out all the logistics, if anyone has any brilliant ideas I am certainly open for suggestions. I'd love to have access to a squeeze chute to put him in long enough to tranqualize him before gelding.

I would imagine that these 2 cars look like junk to most people. Obviously to donkeys they look like toys. John is hauling these cars to Tucson for a neighbor as scrap. Yesterday he hauled them over to our property to await their fate, hopefully this week.

This morning when he went out, the upholstery & anything else left in the cars that looked interesting had been removed & strung out in a pattern that met with their approval. Most of the windows are broken & jagged with loose glass all over the inside. I checked everyone & there isn't a scratch anywhere. But they sure had fun. I hope the entertainment value has worn off & the donkeys will leave them alone until he can get them out of here.Our latest visitor, nice & fat getting ready to hibernate I guess. Yesterday it was out in the open headed across the driveway. John was going to catch it with the catcher & put it in one of the brush piles. But after we watched it for awhile, we figured out it was actually heading for the nearest brush pile, so I took a picture & left it alone.

WILD MULE.........!!!

John got to chase a mule yesterday, allllllllllllll over the neighborhood. John was dragging a junk car thru the driveway gate, & Rusty the white mule took advantage of the situation when John stopped with the back of the junker in the way of shutting the gate. John said Rusty wasn't that close he didn't think. Obviously Rusty was close enough, saw an opportunity, took it, & OUT THE GATE HE WENT, with John rapidly losing the race tagging behind.

I was in the house & wasn't aware of what was going on, until later when John came dragging in & said he needed my help. I guess Rusty had gone to the T intersection, let John catch up & decided to snort & run. He ran all the way to the end of the trail. John said he ran around some brush, disappeared & a few seconds later came running back out with 2 cars in pursuit. Ran back to the T & headed west past our driveway.

When John got to the driveway, he peeled off to come & get me. I ran out got my treats, halter & lead (like that was going to happen............ :-), we jumped in the golf cart headed down the driveway.....................& noticed a big white mule at the gate waiting to be let in. I got out, opened the gate & Rusty waltzed in like it was no big deal.

Well it was a big deal, he's the first to escape out the gate in all these years, all the time he was out poor old Jack was screaming bloody murder & John looked like he'd been dragged thru a wringer after all that frantic running around. He found out a mule can get thru a gate faster than a man can get gate closed with a car in the way. He also found out this wonderful relationship he thought he had with Rusty under normal circumstances, doesn't count when Rusty had a taste of freedom.

Not sure why he came back so quick, I would have thought he would continue running around & exploring until the normal time to go in his pen to eat. Unless we could encourage him to come back. Maybe getting chased by the cars took some of the fun out of the game. I bet they were as surprised as he was..........!!! (G)

YEAH.......COME GET ME..........!!

Yesterday we went out to check on the 2 jacks that need to be gelded. Hmmmm..........this is going to be "interestin". The big jack is running on 40 acres & she was right, he's wild. I took sugar free peppermints, & animal crackers, & the best treat of all ginger snaps with me to show I was a friend bearing gifts. He all but told me what I could do with my gifts.........!!!! She has a smaller pen & said she would start feeding & watering him in there. If she can get him in there, & also keep him in there, without getting out, hopefully we can back the trailer up to the gate & run him in the trailer. Of course that brings up another problem. Most vets really prefer a cooperative patient, & I have no idea how they could put him out to do the surgery. A dart gun comes to mind......!!! (G) He's a pretty boy, but she doesn't want him. So I'm afraid if we do get him gelded, & he goes back there he'll either just continue to run wild or she will give him to the first person that will take him, probably a roper. I'm sure he's the type they like to "play" with. So we've talked about if we can get him in the trailer, if we can find a vet to geld him, if they can get it done, then bringing him out here, putting him in Max's old pen, which is about 36 x 40 & trying to work with him. I have this thought in the back of my mind, that if he does come out here, he & Tula will probably become an item. Just what she needs, someone that thinks like she does.

This morning started out a little unusual. John went out to start rounding them up, & I came out later. Just as I got to the feed room, I heard thundering hooves running over from Burroland. Looked up & it was Buster & Chester, running & wrestling. At first I thought they were playing, but I don't think so, Chester was trying too hard to intimidate Buster, & Buster seemed to appreciate me breaking it up. He went over to Lucy to soothe his shattered nerves.......!!! (G) Chester didn't look mad or didn't try to continue, so I have no idea what was going on.

Then John noticed Buddy Brat wasn't eating his hay. For Buddy not to eat, you know something is wrong. We watched him for a few minutes, & he laid down & tried to roll. So I went for the banamine & John got a halter & lead. We walked him for about 30 minutes, actually John walked him, he wouldn't walk with me. He seemed to be just fine, even pooed, so I would imagine he just had some gas colic. This is why it doesn't do much good for us to plan our days we never know what is going to happen.

I guess for the foreseeable future I won't be able to add pictures to my blog. My new CPU isn't recognizing my external hard drive, where all my pictures are...........at least I hope they are still there. I am not a computer person, just know enough to use one in a limited sort of way. So I will have to take it to a geek I guess. ;-(

Yesterday John & I went out to visit with a couple of our alumni, Shiloh & Belle. They went to their new home a couple of years ago, & it's a great home. Shiloh has even come out of his shell more & came right up to us to be petted. As Cathie says, "they know they are loved", which is wonderful. They have 2 horse buddies now, although Cathie said the donkeys weren't too impressed at first with these interlopers. The horses names are Risen & Shine, isn't that cute.? Very nice, well behaved horses.

Belle is having problems with her old nemesis, habronema larvae. Not on her face, thank goodness, they keep a fly mask on her 24/7, which means no flies can drop their little hitchhiking stomach worm eggs. But she has a place on a front leg that is bloody, & I saw at least 3 larvae in the wound. Paul has been treating it, but until the larvae are gone & the flies are outsmarted, it will just keep getting worse until cold weather. We go racing tonight & will drop off a "care" package of Ivermectrin to use topically, equaide for the wound itself, some gauze rolls to wrap it so the flies can't reinfestate & tape to hold the gauze. Hope it helps, it will if they can keep it covered.

Well as of this morning Daisy seems to be back to normal. We saw her get a big drink this morning, & she was talking to us like she usually does, so I guess that crisis is over. She was actually doing good last night, so good I didn't try to get mineral oil down her. For both of our sakes.........!!! (G)

Frijolita is now eating in Max's pen by herself & doesn't seem to have a problem, except she wants out as soon as she gets thru eating her hay. She gets done before Buster & Lucy, so that sort of shows that she's been getting more than her share.

Still mice free in the feed room. I've kept the live trap set, just in case, but so far no takers. I'll probably go ahead & put it back in the hay barn, until next time.

I got a call from a woman a few days ago, that has an older jack & also a pregnant jenny with a 4 month old jack by her side. Someone gave her the big jack about 16 months ago....................!!!! Hmmm??? She wanted to find a home for the jack, but after I explained how impossible it is to find a good home for a jack, I had to became part of the solution. They both need to be gelded, but that particular operation has become so expensive, $225-$325, even though we said we would haul them, she can't afford to pay the vet. Some of the rescues & sanctuaries get grants to help people get medical care for their equines, even paying for euthanasia if needed. I think we will be able to get them both gelded without any cost to the woman, thanks to a very generous sanctuary not even in our state. It's all about the animals & what is best for them.

Unfortunately she says the jack is wild, & we need to find out if it would be best to haul them or to have a vet go to her place & geld them. We will go check out her place next week & see if we can figure out a plan that will work & be less stressful for the donkeys. Since the jenny is already pg I guess there isn't a real big hurry to have the big guy gelded.........!!!! (G)

Well this has certainly been a couple of "interesting" days. Monday I was having so much trouble with my computer I decided to reload Windows.............."WHATEVER YOU EVER DO, DON'T DO THAT".........!!!! I liked the old days when you could reload a program, & life pretty much returned to normal. First thing I noticed after reloading Windows is.............it wiped all my data off the hard drive. All the personal stuff like pictures & letters, documents, etc.............GONE........!!!

My hard drive had been giving me an error message for a few weeks when it loaded anyway . So yesterday we made an emergency run to the "puter" store. Because my computer was 5-6 years old they didn't recommend just replacing the hard drive. I'd already figured that out, although it was a shock to John. (G) So for the next few days or weeks, I will be attempting to get my life back. What did we do before we had these machines? I think I read a lot.

In amongst all this drama, & believe me it can get dramatic when I remember something that is missing, John came in from feeding the chickens last night & reported a rattlesnake caught in the chicken wire. Over the years we've had 6 or 7 get caught, one unfortunately we found too late. So we gathered up the snake grabber & our little plastic box & headed to the chicken pen. Destiny was helping feeding last night, & seemed to think this was lots of fun. In fact she wanted to take the snake home to show her folks, which didn't happen... (G)

I was in charge of the grabber to keep the head from turning back & biting John, while he was trying to cut the wire enough for the snake to get out. Destiny's job was to try to keep the silly guineas from running over the snake. They seem to operate in a panic mode most of the time, & with 3 people & a snake in their pen, they upped the panic into high gear.

Once the snake was loose we were just going to let it go, but it tried to go thru the wire on the next pen. Obviously not the smartest rattlesnake in the world. So John caught it & stuck it in the box. He & Destiny took it over into Burroland & turned it loose. Since we've been turning all the mice loose in the chicken pen, & we haven't seen any of them, I have a feeling I know what's happening to them................!!!! YUCK! They probably became "Snake Snacks"..........!!!

Last night when John let the donkeys out at bedtime, he came in & said Daisy was standing with her ears down & wouldn't take her carrot. Standing with the ears down wasn't so bad, but not taking a carrot is very unusual behavior for Daisy. We sat out in the pen & watched her for awhile. She was stretching her neck out like they do when they choke, but her mouth was dry, in fact too dry. I sloshed some water in her mouth, & gave her a shot of banamine. I watched her until about 1am & she was acting a little perkier. This morning she was a little better, but still not talking to us, & begging for carrots. I called the vet & she said this time of year when the weather starts to change a lot of times horses will act funny, not really off, but not really perky. Daisy got another shot this morning & ate about 1/2 her hay. She pooed & peed last night, but hasn't today. If nothing hits the ground by feeding time this afternoon, the vet said to get some mineral oil down her. This is one of my least favorite things to do, by the time you get any down them, you need a bath, they need a bath, & they are giving you the "if looks could kill look". So I'm hoping when we go out to feed, she greets us with a big bray & complains about being in the pen all day.

MICE FREE......!!!!!

I am happy to report that although we are keeping the trap ready & waiting, so far no more mice. John trimmed the limb & nailed the warped board, & it seemed to fix the problem. I spent most of one day cleaning the feed room top to bottom after not catching a mice for a couple of days. Well not exactly top to bottom, John noticed I didn't clean the top of the refrigerator. As I told him, I'm not tall enough to see up there, so from my point of view, it doesn't need to be cleaned.

Burroland is a definite hit. Poor old crippled Pepper does his best to be the first one in line waiting for John to come over & open the gate. They get such pleasure from going over there, it's really sad to think of all the equines in the world that live their lives in small pens or stalls, awaiting the pleasure of their owners. When we go to town we pass by 3 mules that live in a small pen by a hay field. There is no shade of any kind except for a very small tree, maybe 8 feet tall. Certainly not big enough to make shade for 3 mules. I don't understand the mindset of a human being that would not do whatever they could to make sure animals under their responsibility were kept in comfortable conditions. It doesn't take much, clean water, adequate food & shelter to get out of the weather, be it sun or rain.

I don't know what they do over there, but for the most part they all stay together in a herd. Except for the 2 mules, I don't think they go over there at all. John has been going over in the morning & "escorting" them back over here. I told him this morning he is setting a bad precedence a few days of that, & they will think they don't have to come over here until someone shows up. I ring the bell & expect them to show up., although my expectations aren't always met. The minis usually bray when they hear the bell, but they don't come running.

Everyone seems to be doing pretty good right now. Quilla is the only one I am having to doctor every day. All four of his legs have to be covered with zinc oxide every day to keep the flies away & also to helpfully get some moisture into the tissue.

We're probably going to start feeding Frijolita by herself. She's been eating with Buster & Lucy, but we think she is eating more than her fair share of the hay. Lucy has started checking out the feeders when we open the pens, which she has never done before, so I assume she is still hungry. Firjolita's opinion of eating alone without access to more hay than her ration

BURROLAND IS UP & RUNNING......!!!!

John never works on anything without help........!!!

Last night we wondered how long it would take them to find out Burroland was open after being closed most of the summer. We took their masks off at feeding time, & opened the gate. Only Lucy, Buster & Frijolita were out, but when John went out at 10pm to let the others out, Buster & Lucy were already gone, he followed their little hoof prints thru the gate. Frijolita was waiting for her treat, don't know if she had gone over with the other 2 & came back or what.

This morning there was no one in sight except for Jack & Rusty the mules, & of course Sha'ba who stays in at night. John found them all in one big herd, even BlackJack was with the group. Usually if you go after Tula the rest will follow. It started out that way, but by the time John got her to the gate, everyone except Quilla had peeled off along the way. Quilla is fickle, I thought he liked Jenny, but he seems to like all the girls...........well except for his pen mate Daisy.

When we let them out this morning, I would imagine they will make a bee line for the gate, that's what they usually do, for a few days, until they figure out they only get over there at night.

THE BICKERSONS CONTINUE

Well maybe it isn't the Bickersons, but Daisy & Quilla are not exactly bonding as a couple. It just posturing they usually aren't even close to each other in the pen, as they pin their ears & shake their heads & Quilla turns his butt. They eat in a bunk & since there are 2 sides to the bunk, there's no problem. We tried feeding them in 2 places, in the bunk & also in a feeder on the ground across the pen. If there was any hay left in the feeder once the bunk was empty, Daisy controlled it & Quilla watched. Poor old henpecked guy........!!! (G) We went back to putting all the hay in the bunk, so when they are done, they are done.

Quilla's legs are still doing good, as long as I put the zinc oxide on every morning. I think the fly season is winding down, which helps a lot. He actually looks like he's losing a little weight. That's one reason we have him & Daisy eating together, they both are on a diet, & they eat at about the same speed.

A few days ago Chester came in limping on his bad leg. He DID NOT want behind his shoulder touched at all........!!! This morning he is almost back to normal, so I assume he stepped wrong & hurt it. Although we have x-rays of his elbow which is where everyone thought the problem was, from what Martha that comes out & massages him said, it's probably higher. The next time we have someone else x-rayed, we'll have his shoulder x-rayed & see what it looks like. Or we might take him up to Gilbert when it cools off. We have to take Pepsi up to have a sarcoid removed from under his eye, so Chester could ride along & keep him company.

John finally got a chance to check out BurroLand yesterday, & reported the cows have done a good job of cleaning up the mesquite beans. He did find a couple of areas where the fence needs to be fixed, so once that's done, they'll be able to go over there at night once their fly masks are off for the evening. I think Quilla is the only one that hasn't been over there, but since he travels with the herd, I'm sure it won't take him long to figure it out.

MOUSE PROBLEM SOLVED........HOPEFULLY......!!!

Yesterday John went on a mission to find out how the mice were getting in the feed room. He checked out the dog den area, & there was nothing there. He started going around the building on the outside, trying to think like a mouse I guess. A couple of years ago the little critters, chewed a hole in the plastic pieces on both sides of the air conditioner & were using that as the highway to goodies. John covered the area with boards, but yesterday he noticed that not only had one of the boards warped so there was a hole big enough for a mouse to get thru, but there was a limb from a tree laying on top of the air conditioner. GOOD GRIEF.........it was a virtual highway with no detours. Up the tree, over the limb, in the warped place & "party time".............!!!! For the first time in months there was no trapped mouse last night, or this morning........!!!!! We have our fingers crossed that this fixes the problem. I have been itching to clean the feed room, especially under the sink where we set the trap, & which seems to be their place to hang out.

John is going to check Burroland today to see if the cows have eaten the mesquite beans. Everyone seems to be doing just fine. Quilla's legs are doing good with a covering of zinc oxide every morning. I've noticed his legs are bleeding a little bit occasionally. Before I put the zinc oxide on in the morning the skin is dry & probably itches. Yesterday I noticed him rubbing his leg with his muzzle, & just that pressure caused the skin to break. I'm glad to find out it isn't really the problem reoccuring, just the thin skin. Hopefully over the winter we can get the skin in better condition for next summer.

Yesterday a friend was here & we were going in the feed room to get something. Nicky was so thrilled to see someone he wiggled out of the door. In the process of getting him back in Anubis also got out & took off like a greyhound, well at least half a greyhound. Nicky went back in pretty easy, but in the meantime little mini Pepsi was following the half a greyhound as she tried to check out the whole area around the pens. He kept her moving as a pretty good pace & he finally got close enough to her, she decided that she REALLY wanted to go back into the feed room. I think if he could have caught her he was going to do her bodily harm, even though she isn't that much smaller than he is. Perhaps all the threatening the dogs do thru the fence, isn't such a good idea after all........!!! (G)

This morning when John was doing the round-up it was Quilla's turn to go into his pen. You could almost see the wheels turning as he decided he didn't really want to go in there. He turned & trotted off, which was a shock........!!!! We were told he was crippled when he got here, & we hadn't seen him move any faster than a sedate walk & at times if he stepped on a rock he would limp. This was a bonafide trot, so I guess he's feeling pretty good. It took both of us to get him corralled enough to go in the pen. Actually it took me growling at him in my "I"m in charge" voice more than us chasing him around, because quite frankly he was winning that battle.

This afternoon we moved Honcho & Remington from their old homes to their new one. Remy isn't really into halters & leading & all of that nonsense. When we got there, they were in a small pen & between gates & corral panels we got them in such a small area behind the trailer they really didn't have much choice. I shook the a pig paddle, which sounds like a rattlesnake behind them, popped Remy on the butt with the paddle, & he hopped in. Before we got Honcho in Remy came out again, but by that time there was very little room left behind the trailer, the back gate was almost closed. So with a little shooing & arm flapping, they gave up & went in the trailer.Jacquie trying to goose Honcho, which didn't bother him at all......!!!

The trip to their new home was uneventful except for Remy rubbing his butt raw on the front of the trailer. Many of the donkeys that don't like to be in a trailer, will brace themselves against the front of the trailer so hard, they rub all the hair off. If it is a long trip they will rub it bloody. This was a short trip, so he just rubbed the hair off . Lynne their new Mom managed to slap some Swat on it before they came out of the trailer. This is the boys in the round pen at their new home. After a few minutes of looking it over, the gate was opened & they were checking out a big field when we left. This will be a good long term home for these boys, & they will keep Lynne busy trying to keep ahead of them.

SUSPICIONS CONFIRMED.........!!!

We have been hauling mice out of the feed room 2 or 3 a night depending on our attention to emptying the trap & resetting it. We've caught well over 50 mice this summer & considering the building is concrete block with the only opening being a magnetic closing doggie door for Anubis & Nicky we haven't been able to figure out where all the mice were coming from & how they are getting in. The getting in part is still not solved..........BUT.......... we're pretty sure we are having repeat mice.

This morning John took the latest little "guest" over to the chicken pen area across the wash. He rounded up donkeys, & when it was time to start feeding he was in Daisy & Quilla's pen, stuffing a pill down Daisy's reluctant gullet. He felt something hit his foot, looked down & it was a mouse headed from the direction of the wash for the feed room at high speed. John watched & the little critter went in a dog size hole the dogs have dug under the poured concrete floor as a den. John said it looked exactly like the one he took over this morning. Not sure that is true, but it was coming from the right direction & seemed to know where to go. John had to go to town today & didn't have time to investigate the "doggie den" to see if there is a hole somewhere in the concrete that is letting them get in.

Tomorrow we will be hauling Honcho & Remington to their new home, so John might not have time to check it out. That's OK we've got this mouse catching process down to a fine art. I make a suet for the wild birds from lard, peanut butter, oatmeat & cornmeal. Believe me, I could sell that for mouse bait it is definately a rodent favorite.

TRIM DAY.............!!!!

Courtney came this afternoon to check everyone out & finish Quilla's trim. She only trimmed his club foot right after he got here.

She thinks the inside of his clubfoot probably looks worse than the outside. He stood real good considering he hasn't been trimmed in over 9 years. She even used power tools on him a little bit, which he wasn't real sure about. But animal crackers & getting them seemed more important than raising a fuss over a disc sander.

She looked at Lucy's udder which is still swollen although seems to be a little better. She said it might be a scorpion or something like that. If Lucy was laying down I guess a scorpion might sting her if it felt threatened. I'm giving her antibiotics. John said maybe we should take her to the vet, but I'm pretty sure they'd prescribe antibiotics anyway. As long as she is improving, I'll continue to treat her myself.

Chester got a trim also. He stood pretty good for him. She always trims his good front foot first. He seems to stand better on the bad leg, if she does it that way. He is the only one that will not allow power tools. We tried to tell him everyone else lets her use the power tools, even the girls. But he doesn't seem to care..........!!! (G)

QUILLA IS STILL IMPROVING..........!!!

This is the only open area on Quilla's legs at this time. He's really been improving & we are down to only wrapping one leg.........this one. The others I'm trying to keep open just using zinc oxide creme to keep them moist & irritate the flies.

The body behind him is Daisy. She is actually starting to lose weight & it's starting to show. Last night when John went to round them up for supper, Daisy & Tula decided they weren't ready to go into their pens & took off running. John said they were running like goats with their headed turned to the side. That is the first time Daisy has ran since she's been here & judging from her body score, she probably hasn't ran for quite sometime, unless she had to.

This morning Terry & Mary a long term friend of Terry's came out & did some grooming. Terry use to come out almost every week & groom, until she got so many animals of her own to take care of. Mary was trying to groom Frijolita & Frijolita kept walking off & Mary was trying to groom as they moved. John finally saw what was going on & told Mary not to waste her time Frijolita doesn't like to be groomed. She started on Jenny & I kept watching them. Jenny was standing real still & later on Mary said when she wanted Jenny to move it was almost like she was reading Mary's mind. I guess Jenny wanted to make sure she got as much grooming as available. She's usually pretty good at moving if you want her to move, much better than when she first came here. Except for when you want to pick up a foot, & she picks up the one on the other side. (G)

I noticed Lucy was kicking at her belly when she was eating this morning. When I looked to see what was going on I notice one side of her udder is swollen & had a sore on it. It looks somewhat like a habronema, but not exactly. I went ahead & put Ivermectin on it just in case. I'll check it tonight & see if there is any change, & probably put some zinc oxide on it once the Ivermectin has had time to kill the larvae if there is one in there.

This morning Daisy & Quilla were standing nose to tail so I'm not sure what happened yesterday. I still wish I'd had a camera when she flung that rock, that is one of the funniest things I've ever seen a donkey do. Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but it sure looked like she was trying to throw a rock at Quilla.

Tonight I unwrapped his legs & they are really looking good, although the bandages stuck in a few areas which bled when they came loose. I left them unwrapped until morning. I try to bandage & leave them alone for 2-3 days, which hopefully gives the sores time to heal & get some new tissue growth. I'm not bandaging the rear legs at all right now, I'm just keeping them covered with thunja zinc oxide, which heals & keeps the flies away.

Everyone else seems to be doing pretty good right now, they really are enjoying this year's hay. Sha'ba is eating almost a pound every night, which is great. For awhile he wasn't eating any hay at all, just his mush. Pepper is eating 3 1/2 pounds of hay a day plus his mush. He's still thin but not as thin as he was last winter & spring. Tonight when John was rounding everyone up, Pepper went in Buddy's pen & just stood there. That was his pen for years, but about 2 years ago, we moved him & started feeding Buddy by himself in there. If equines get Alzheimer's I sometimes wonder if Pepper has it. He will be walking to his pen, & all of a sudden change directions. Or act like he doesn't know where his feed bucket is. John got the halter, put it on him, led him out of the pen, & it was like, "Oh! I belong over there". John said he took off at a pretty rapid rate for him, & when he got to his pen, went in turned around, & looked at John like "where's the carrot?". Again maybe I'm reading too much into it, but I love to watch them & try to figure out what they are thinking.

EQUINE WAR...............???????

Forget what I said about Daisy & Quilla being very gentle & easy going. This afternoon John was doing round-up & I was in the feedroom. Quilla had gone in their pen & John brought Daisy in, shut the gate & headed out to find some of the others. I just happened to look out & Daisy, dear sweet Daisy, has penned her ears was shaking her head & took off after Quilla. The poor guy was just standing there. He turned his butt & kicked a leg out in her direction. They went to opposite corners of the pen & although they both had fly masks on, I got the idea they were staring at each other. Quilla started to walk to the middle of the pen, & she took off after him again. This time I went out & yelled at her, & went back in the feed room. Looked out & she was standing in the middle of the pen looking at the ground. All of a sudden she picked up a rock about the size of an small egg, shook her head up & down & threw it about 3 or 4 feet. I yelled at her & then had to laugh, sure wish I'd had a camera handy. I don't know if she was trying to throw a rock at him or what. But that's what it looked like. I stayed outside for awhile, & they continued to squabble she pinning ears & him turning his butt. Everytime they acted ugly, I yelled at whichever one was doing it. By the time supper was served, they were back to normal. I have no idea what was going on, but it sure was funny to watch. Made me think of an old married couple picking at each other.

Georgette came out today to visit with her "godson" Sha'ba & to check on Quilla & see how he is doing. She is a good friend of Quilla's former owner & was instrumental in Quilla coming to live with us. She brought Sha'ba a new fly mask & I think he remembers her. He usually will let visitors feed him, but doesn't make a lot of effort to get up close & personal with them. He stood close to her & followed her around, for quite awhile. This afternoon before she left we went down below the house to find him, so she could say good-bye. Not only did we find him, he was standing amongst quite a few of the other donkeys, which is really unusual. He usually stays on the edge of the herd, so he can escape if necessary. She petted him & said good-bye & headed for her car. He followed right along beside her, which just made her day.

She helped me doctor Quilla's legs this morning. I left them uncovered until she came, so she could see how he is doing. They really are doing quite well, although I want to get in touch with the equine clinic up in Gilbert to see is they have any ideas to strengthen the skin on his legs. His legs aren't bleeding quite a easily, so I hope as we get the sores under control, that the skin will become more normal. When it cools off a little more, we will make arrangements to take Pepsi up & have a sarcoid removed under one of his eyes. This is the 3rd time it's returned after being treated, so it's time to get rid of it, once & for all. I'll take pictures of Quilla's legs & e-mail them to Dr. Taylor. If necessary we'll haul him up when we take Pepsi.

This morning I was looking at Daisy, & I think she is finally starting to drop a few pounds. Nothing dramatic, but she is looking more round & less lumpy. Her & Quilla eating together is working out real good. They are both very gentle & easy going, no posturing & making ugly faces, like some of them do. They eat at about the same speed, & although both of them are overweight, they are not greedy eaters. In fact BlackJack has figured out they leave wisps of hay, & makes a point of running in their pen when we open it. BlackJack doesn't leave anything, his mornings are spent running all the pens to make sure there is nothing left anywhere........!!!!

This morning everyone got a piece of watermelon before breakfast. I could tell who has had watermelon before, the 2 silliest ones were the 2 mules, Jack & Rusty. Lucy didn't want anything to do with it, & Tula wouldn't eat it until I put it in her feeder. Jack & Rusty both slobbered so much I don't know if they could taste it or not. The minis were pretty interested too, & tried to mug me for more.

Quilla's legs seem to be doing real good. This morning the gauze on one leg had stuck a little & it bled when I pulled it off, but for the most part there are no bloody spots on his legs now. I'm hoping if I can keep the legs covered & dry they will build up some sort of tissue that will be stronger than the black area is right now. It's just like tissue paper, if you rub it or disturb it in any way, it bleeds. I got in my supply of gauze today, bought some tape, so I'm good to go for the forseeable future. One area this morning was damp, but it was under vet wrap, so I'll try to keep the wrappings to a bare minimum. He let me work on him this morning without being tied. Of course Daisy was standing close by waiting for her animal cracker. And Frijolita has figured out what's going on, so she was standing outside the pen, huffing at me. They sure are smart when it comes to food, actually they are pretty smart all the time......!!! (G)

Yesterday we did a home study for a new home for Honcho & Remington. They have a great home with 2 families that let them run on 40 acres. But everyone is moving or going to be gone for months at a time. When we do find a home for donkeys, we have the people sign a contract to return them to us if they can no longer keep them or care for them. In this case the owners found a wonderful new home for them with a woman that has had donkeys before. We will probably haul them to their new home when the time comes, but they won't have to return to us, which is good. We are like most rescues & sanctuaries right now, full up.This is a picture of Quilla's foot that was flared on one side, & he was walking on the hoof wall on the other. Courtney managed to get a lot of the wild growth trimmed off in the dark the night she was here. She's going to try to tidy it up & trim the other 3 next week. He's got low grade laminitis, which means this foot especially is constantly warm, although I haven't been able to feel a digital pulse. Courtney said something about putting him into boots to help cushion the sole & coffin bone. I'm not sure how boots will work out here in the rock & gravel, they fit pretty close to the hoof, but I know from experience the tiny little rocks get in shoes & socks & really hurt. I certainly don't want to make him anymore uncomfortable than he already is.

PROGRESS....!!!!

This is how Quilla's leg looked this morning when I unwrapped it after treating with honey the last few days. It looks much better than the picture I posted a few days ago, no bloody sores although the skin itself still looks like a crispy burn. I may become a firm believer in honey as a wound treatment. Unfortunately he's been sweating underneath the bandages. I'm trying to make them as thin as possible, but it's so hot he's still sweating. I thought about using shipping boots, I have some that are made out of the same material fly masks are, which would allow for air flow. But I'm afraid they will rub on the very fragile skin. I could get down to bloody just by rubbing the black area, which is some type of scar tissue I'm not familar with. He's getting to be a very good boy when I doctor, as long as he's haltered & tied. I tried to explain to him that we can do the same thing without a halter, but so far that isn't happening. He gets animal crackers along the way, & Daisy his eating partner, figured out what was going on real quick. I've tried to get her to go out of the pen before I start doctoring. But she won't go, because she knows there's animal crackers being offered. I've explained to her that she isn't getting doctored, but she eventually gets a cracker or two. Which is the reason she hangs around.........I shouldn't have ever gave her the first one I guess.

This is John with a "little" herd of minis. He was suppose to be rounding them up to go in their pen, but when they all show at at one time, it turns into a feeding frenzy. They are very good about not pushing & shoving & are willing to wait for their treat, as long as they know it's coming. But they do seem to think if they get as close to you as possible, the treat will show up quicker. BlackJack & Frijolita are standing by, waiting their turn.

I now have all 4 of Quilla's legs bandaged with honey on the sores. I'd like to not have to replace the bandages for 2 or 3 days, to give the honey time to do it's thing. But, I also don't want to continue bandaging with cotton & vet wrap & all that "hot" stuff. It's still 100 degress or better every day, & he was sweating under the heavy bandaging. No one has ever shown me how to bandage, although over the years I've managed to put them on & keep them on. Three of his legs aren't too difficult, the areas are on his cannon (shin) bone. If you bandage down to the fetlock & up to the knee, the larger areas keep the bandage from slipping & sliding around. BUT, one leg has sores all the way up to his hock (knee turned backwards) & down to the fetlock. I'm trying to get by with just using non-stick gauze pads, surgical tape to hold them in place. Then wrapping with gauze wrap & using as little surgical tape & vet wrap as possible. That is the learning curve, how much is enough & how much is too little.

Yesterday one of the bandages slid down, actually it looked like he might have caught it with one of his hooves while getting up. The area that had gotten uncovered was bleeding & really nasty looking. When I cut the bandage off, the area under it looked great, the flesh was nice & pink & no oozing or blood at all. So I'm going to continue with this treatment & will try to get pictures the next time I take the bandages off. I'm really excited about this. I know the track record for treating jack sores is not good. I've been trying to find out if there might be a connection between jack sores & sunlight sensitivity. The sores just don't look like regular summer sores caused by habronema larvae, although that might be what starts them.

We've moved Frijolita out of the pen, to eat with Buster & Lucy. Quilla & Daisy are now eating together in the pen. They both eat slow & both need to lose weight, so it seemed like a perfect feeding arrangement. Makes him happy, he's next door to Jenny his perceived girlfriend. So far he & Daisy are ignoring each other, so not sure that relationship will ever take off.

QUILLA HAS A GIRLFRIEND............!!

Jenny has decided that Quilla might be the one. Actually she welcomes all the new boys when they get here. He is so smitten with her he won't leave her side. This morning it was just easier to put them both in her pen, rather than try to separate them. I have to doctor his legs when they get thru eating, which means he'll have to pay attention to me rather than her for a little while. I'm going to try using the honey, at least on the front legs, they are so scarred there isn't any hair to get in the way. Tonight is race night, so we'll be feeding early. They always think it's great to get fed early, but it makes a long time until breakfast.

He's still walking like on eggshells, but his feet don't bother him enough to keep him from roaming around with the gang. I noticed a chunk out of his back this morning, so I guess he got in someone's space. Everyone is so accepting of new ones, I don't know who did it. Max use to get them if they dared get too close to him, maybe Rusty has taken over that duty, who knows.

A new family has moved into our area & their daughter age 14 wants to be a Vet. She has been coming over to help with the evening feed & is really good help. She's been around horses, so she already knows how to work around them. She even manages to control Nicky the dog to a certain extent. John calls him a "dog-dog", I'm not sure what that means except he is the biggest attention sponge I've ever seen. He demands attention & we have never been able to break him of at least putting his big paw on you. She's good at making him quit, at least for the moment, so maybe she can teach him some manners, we sure haven't........!!! (G)

The cows are spending quite a bit of time over in Burroland so hopefully it won't be too long before the outside gates can be closed & Burroland opened up to the gang. Some of them still go over to the gate at night when John lets them out just in case, "tonight's the night".

QUILLA IS OUT..........!!!!

We let him out this morning, right after breakfast. He seemed to think this was great fun, even with all the eyes watching him. This is Jenny the mammoth watching to see what he is going to do next. Frijolita & Daisy followed him around for quite awhile, not sure why. I was in the pens & heard the thunder of hooves. Looked up & Quilla was headed for safety.........his pen. Unfortunately the girls were right behind him, & followed him in. As if that wasn't bad enough, BlackJack was already in there finishing hay scraps. Not the safest place in the world after all. The girls weren't being mean, it was like they wanted to check him out & he didn't want to be checked out. BJ could care less, he was interested in the hay.

They got all sorted out & headed out to explore. You might ask why the girls were even out. There has been no mesquite beans in poo the last 2 days. So everyone got to go out today, including Buddy Brat. They all really need the exercise, although I think Quilla will probably be pretty lame tonight. Everytime I've seen him today, he is limping a little more. But long term, the walking around should be good for him.


I finally got the honey today to try on the horrible sores on his legs. I have been trying to clip the hair around the sores, but for some reason my little Wahl clippers have went on the blitz. John took them apart & doesn't see any reason for them not to be cutting. The big clippers are really too big for doing legs, so I may end up using scissors, if I can get him to hold still. He's still a little antsy about having his legs messed with. I'm sure it would be a good idea to clip the hair before putting honey on the sores unless I want a sticky mess. It's probably going to be sticky enough even with the hair clipped.

Quilla has the classic pones caused by taking in more calories than his body needed over a long period of time. He doesn't seem to be a greedy eater, so it just a case of too much being available. His feet don't look like he's ever foundered, which would be a miracle, & he's certainly not Cushings. So we'll just put him on a diet, & see what happens.

Courtney got here just about dark last night. I knew he hasn't been haltered or led for over 9 years, so at first we tried just letting him stand & pick up his foot. No, he wasn't interested in such treatment. I put a lead on him stood at his head & gave treats as I felt necessary. He acted like a perfect gentleman, even with her using a headlamp, once he figured out she wanted him to lift his foot & I dispensed goodies. He seems to be as sweet natured as Daisy is, no spook, John drove by his pen this afternoon, dragging a car behind the tractor, & he watched the whole process like it was interesting. She had a hard time trimming on his clubfoot, it's growing every which way. She said it would be a good idea to get an x-ray to see what's going on inside, so we'll have to figure out a way to get one. We could haul him into the vet, but I'm not sure he would appreciate the trip, & I don't plan on needing a vet out here for awhile hopefully. Courtney plans on coming back in a couple of weeks, so we'll see how he's doing then. I'm sure his foot feels better to get all that gnarly growth off, he was walking on part of the hoof wall on one side. He was a little ouchy this morning, probably because the tendons & ligaments are being used differently after the trim.

This morning I spent about an hour upwrapping & doctoring his front legs. In the process, I found other areas on his hind legs, sheath & belly, that although smaller & newer looking need to treated agressively. I used 2 tubes of ivermectin just to cover all the areas. They make a liquid ivermectin to worm cattle with. I'm thinking of getting it & putting it in a spray bottle. The horse wormer is rather messy to use like that & difficult to make sure you covered everything.

This is going to be a long process.

Last night Jack "allowed" John to take his fly mask off out under the big mesquite tree, which is unusual as Jack doesn't like anything done to him outside of his pen. He also took a treat, but wouldn't go in his pen. This morning he went in his pen & ate breakfast, although when John let him out, he started calling, although not running around like a wild mule. Also this morning when John went out Jack & Rusty were standing fairly close to each other, so hopefully they will start hanging out together. It's so hard on animals when they lose their "buds", although some of them seem to understand more than others. Jack has always been attached to Max, ever since he came here.

I've been leaving Quilla alone since he came Sunday. He is not the touchy feely type & although he will stand if you go to him, he will not come to you. Courtney is suppose to come out today & try to trim on his nasty looking club foot. So I went out this morning to put a halter on him if I could. He stood in a corner & if I wanted to come over & put a halter on him, that was OK, although he wasn't going to pretend he liked it. His Mom said he had some sores on his legs he gets every summer & she had put some Swat on them. I didn't pay much attention at the time, but by this morning the Swat had worn off & I think we're dealing with some real bad jack sores. This is one front leg, the other one looks about the same around on the other side. The dark area is destroyed skin, it is like poorly cured leather. Everything I've read says jack sores are the same as summer sores on horses caused by habronema (stomach worm) larvae. But I am not convinced, although these are definately round circles. He wasn't real thrilled with me, a stranger getting up close to look to see if there are larvae in the circles. I washed them down with betadine water, powdered them with zinc oxide powder & wrapped both legs. One had lots of dirt & gravel in the sores, so I used thunja zinc oxide which is a cream on those to loosen the crusty crud. Tomorrow morning I will unwrap both legs & see what they look like. At that time I will probably go ahead & slather ivermectin on topically, just in case it is habronema. I'm going to be gone for a couple of days, & John doesn't do doctoring. So I want to doctor & wrap effectively for a couple of days. If it is habronema, the ivermectin would be the best thing to use. You can't heal the sores as long as there are larvae in there, so there would be no sense in putting on something to heal. But I can keep them covered so the flies can't reinfest.

I'm going to put Quilla & Daisy together in Max's pen for awhile. Although Daisy & Frijolita have eaten together for months, they really don't seem to have that much in common. And Frijolita has a lot more interest in eating everything in sight than Daisy does. Quilla doesn't seem to be a piggy eater either. So we'll see how they get along, personality wise, they seem to be a good match to me, but I've been wrong before.

R.I.P. MAX APRIL 15, 1990 - AUGUST 10, 2009

When John went out this morning, he found Max dead, where he usually laid at night. Except for a small amount of blood running from his nose, there was nothing to give us an idea of what happened. Although he had been getting more unstable on his rear legs, because of his broken neck, he ate as usual last night, chortled to get into Jack's pen at bedtime to eat his leftover hay, & acted normal.

John started digging this morning with his little sub compact tractor & backhoe. He stopped after 9pm tonight, & still has finishing up to do tomorrow. We buried him in the corner of his pen.

Both of the mules have been upset all day, running around & calling for Max. He was their leader. Tonight when I put everyone in to eat, Rusty hung back, but finally went in his pen. Jack would not go near his pen, continued to run around yelling & when we tried to herd him into his pen, he showed he can still run, even though he has a bad fetlock on his right rear leg. He kept going back to the big trees on the other side of the wash where the "horsey group" always hung out. We finally gave up after about an hour. I hope he settles down by tomorrow.

Rusty tried to paw Max & get him up, & took the tarp off him. Most of the donkeys came by, & at one time the 4 minis, & Chester, stood almost in a circle around his body for a minute or so. When Murial the mule died a few years ago, they did the same thing, made a circle stood for a little while, & then wandered off. All day Jack would not go near where Max was laying, which was fairly close to Jack's pen. Don't know if that has something to do with his erratic behavior or not.

Max was a gentle giant, & loved to have people come to visit. He loved for them to feed him pellets & would use his lips to play a tune on his gate, to get their attention if they walked away to visit with the donkeys. Before his hind legs got so unstable, he would air dance in his pen, if he thought breakfast was coming too slow. When you talked to him, he had a way of cutting his eyes at you, like a little puppy. Considering he probably weighed 1200 pounds, he was a pretty big guy to be trying to look cute, but he managed. We will miss him very much.

QUILLA IS HERE..........!!!

This is Quilla when he arrived. They said he wasn't that difficult to load, so we assumed he wouldn't be hard to unload. Does this look like the stance of a donkey that's ready to get out of the trailer? I guess he figured since he had already ridden in the trailer & it hadn't killed him, he'd just stay there rather than face the unknown. John's in the trailer irritating him with a whip. He's looking at his Momma as if to say, "get rid of this horrible man Mom & let's go home". But he finally hopped out. He's not real big on leading, so it was quite an operation to get him to his pen. But we made it, & right away Chester came up to greet him.

He's been eating real good & I'm not sure who has the most pones, him or Daisy. He doesn't look Cushings which is great, & we feed a basic Insulin Resistance diet anyway. So we'll just watch the amount of hay he gets. I'm afraid he's going to miss his bran & COB though..... (G)

His feet have not been trimmed for years. He's actually self trimmed pretty good, except he has a club foot on the left front that needs some attention. It's clubbed, & flared on one side & rolled under on the other. They thought he is crippled, but I would imgaine when that foot is trimmed correctly he'll walk a lot different. Courtney is going to try to come back out Monday & we'll see if he likes getting trimmed any better than he liked coming out of the trailer. His Mom picked his front feet up, & he didn't fuss. But we'll see how it goes.

HURRY UP IN THERE, WE'RE READY TO EAT.....!!!

Courtney finally made it out to trim. She had been trying to get out here for a couple of weeks, & something always happened. Today a feral cat she had been keeping in her bathroom, got out in the rest of the house, & it sounds like he made a heroic effort to get out. Tore down all the curtains, & cleaned off all the shelves & anything else up high. So she was later than she expected, guess she was trying to tidy up her house. She managed to catch the cat & took him back to where she found him. He doesn't sound like he wants to become a pet, unfortunately.

The trimming went pretty good, she was thrilled with how good Chester is walking. Jenny isn't doing too good right now. She has abscessed in both front feet & the hooves look what they use to call shelly. They don't look solid. I'm afraid to soak her feet, they look like they would fall apart. She did so good for over a year, & all of a sudden they really look nasty. She's walking OK, but not as free & easy as she was.

Everyone was fairly cooperative, although Daisy makes all the others look like wild donkeys. You touch her leg & she raises the foot. Then she just stands there until you're done. None of the others are that nice about it, although they have been worse in the past.......!!!! (G)

We didn't know if she could trim on Pepper. He is so lame on his right rear he has a hard time raising the other feet. He did pretty good, she only trimmed his fronts, & did it as quick as possible. Last time she tried to trim him, he almost fell over, so he was better this time.

And Jack the mule got his first trim in years. Just the fronts, Jack can be a real challenge to work with. He did pretty good, although we could tell it wasn't what he had planned to do today, but he wasn't as bad as he could have been. I seen him at his worse, when we use to try to give him shots...............!!! (G)

The new donkey comes in tomorrow. All the pens are full, so I guess Chester & Tula will have to double up again, at least for a few days. Then he'll go in the Fat Farm with the girls & Buddy until mesquite bean season is over. Even though the girls probably wouldn't bother him, Buddy can be obnoxious & this way he will have a few days to get use to all that goes on around here. He's been by himself for 2 years, so this will be quite a change in his lifestyle.

I checked the gate into Burroland today, & there are footprints going in & cow patties here & there. Hopefully it won't take too long before the donkeys can go back over there.

A PARADE OF MICE...............!!!!

We've developed a mouse problem in the feed room It's concrete block, & should be mouse proof, although we are averaging one a night, & sometimes more depending on how many times we reset the live trap. Last night John caught 2 at once. A little boy & a little girl.............Hmmmm.......little boy should have been paying more attention to something other than the little girl....!!! (G) John swears there is no way they can get in around the pipes, BUT this morning I noticed there is a hole in the dirt above where the pipes come out. At least at the rate we're catching them, they don't have time to set up a permanent home, hopefully. He's going to check under the cabinet, which means he'll have to take the cabinet floor out. Might wait until it's cooler, although the feed room is air conditioned & the house isn't.................!!!!

I'm waiting for some people to come out to see the donkeys. This time of year we don't have many visitors. But this woman was here a year or so ago with a group of kids & has family visiting. The donkeys stay in, it's much easier to see them in the pens than roaming around under the trees. Although they enjoy the company, until the people get here, they yell & scream when we go out of the house.

Last night when John went out to let everyone out, Frijolita managed to outsmart him. He's not sure how she got out, but the gate was open, & she did. Poor little Daisy didn't figure out freedom was just a few steps away, before John noticed what had happened & closed the gate. So Daisy & Buddy Brat had the pens & Frijolita had a night of freedom. She showed up in the pen area this morning, but really didn't want to go in. They are really fun to watch, when they start trying to outsmart you. Although it's not much fun, when they actually accomplish it........!!!

Right now I'm having a rebellion on eating mush & supplements. They all get at least a small amount of soaked beet pulp & soaked Lakin Lite pellets so I have a way of getting their supplements into them. Since they've been on the new hay most of them aren't eating their mush, although Sha'ba, & Jack still enjoy it, they don't have many teeth. Pepper has reverted to eating hay & refusing mush. The new hay tested as being very good, so I'm wondering if it is furnishing all the vitamins & minerals their bodies need? Even Sha'ba although he's still eating his mush has started eating the new hay. John's been giving him less than a pound in the evening, & most of it is gone in the morning. It's very short & must be tender enough that he can maul it enough to swallow. I'm thinking of stopping supplements for those that aren't interested for awhile & see if absence makes it more interesting this winter. Right now it's so hot, they may just be not hungry, although they are still eating all the mesquite beans they can find.

The mother & daughter behind the Little House stories...!!
From an article in the New Yorker by Judith Thurman
"Laura Ingalls married Almonzo Wilder in 1885. Their daughter, born a year later, was named for the wild roses on the prairie."

Looks like our little group will be larger by one Saturday. I don't know a whole lot about him, including his name. It's something like Quila, maybe short for Tequila......??? As I understand he is overweight & crippled & lost his horse buddy a couple of years ago. Sounds like this should be a good place for him. It also sounds like he will be going directly into the Fat Farm with Daisy & Frijolita, rather than being able to roam around & snack on mesquite beans & other delicacies.

Frijolita has a new game, called "grab the small holed hay net & throw it around the pen". I think she might be trying to throw it over the corral panels. Maybe she is trying to tell me something........!!!

We've had to use an eye bolt & clip on Buddy's hay net to keep him from slinging it & hay all over the place. He figured out if he shakes the heck out of it, the hay will eventually start coming out the holes. It's much easier to pick up off the ground than getting it out the little holes, although he is really good at that. We've decided we need to use another eye bolt & clip though. With it just attached to the wall in one place, he can pick the hay net up & still shake it. I'm hoping being attached in another place will cut down on his ability to "outsmart" me.

FRIJOLITA IS THE ESCAPE ARTIST........!!

Yesterday morning John was cleaning pens, & heard the gate rattling. Looked over & Frijolita was working it over even though John had locked it. He said she looked like she knew what she was doing, & seemed to think if she kept at it, magic would happen. Daisy was standing by, ready to escape although she wasn't participating in the actual gate opening project. John ignored what was going on & she finally gave up. We haven't seen her mess with it since, but than again, we've made sure to keep it locked. I think the bean crop is getting rather scare on the 10 acres, they are actually showing interest in coming in to eat. For awhile we've had to almost drag them, kicking & screaming in to eat. I told them either they eat hay to mix in with the beans in their system, or they will be in pens like Buddy & the girls. The new hay really looks & smells good, & they are more interested in eating it than the old stuff, so it might just be a coincidence. Pepper will leave his mush of beet pulp & Lakin Lite to eat hay, which is unusual for him.

This afternoon John prepared the trash trailer, for a trip to the dump tomorrow morning after chores. He came in & said he would have to wait until morning to put some of the more interesting items in the trailer. It seems that Rusty the white mule & Justin the small but determined mini donkey, found a bag of old egg cartons, left over from when we had more hens & we had eggs to give away. When John found them they had egg cartons strung from here to the next county.................!!!!! Justin isn't tall enough to take the bag out of the trailer...........BUT......Rusty is. I guess he started it & Justin joined in the fun. So John will have to finish his load in the morning, while everyone is in their pens, & we're ready to head for town.

It's still very hot, the humidity has dropped, but still no rain.

We went to town this afternoon, & when we came home, the girls were out again..............!!!! Me thinks one or the other has figured out how to flip the gate latch & open it. We haven't had to put clips on the gates since Chili went to his new home. John rounded them up & unlike last night, they cooperated & headed for the pen. They probably figured they might as well, since they are getting so good at opening the gate. Wait till they run into the clip, Chili never figured it out, & I would match his determination again anyone.

John finally started feeding the new hay today. It really is pretty hay, even has a little bit of oats in it. When I had it analyzed, it tested very low sugar & starch which is great. It seems to be a hit with the herd, which is good, since we have a lot of it.............!!!

A HOT INTERESTING DAY.............!!!!

The temperature in Benson today was 101* at about 1pm, when we drove by the Chamber of Commerce. I'm sure before the day was over it was a couple of degrees warmer. I don't mind the heat, BUT, I really dislike the humidity this time of year, especially if we don't get the payoff of some rain. We got a few drops today, what we call a 2 foot rain, about 2 feet between drops.

This morning Georgette came out to visit with Sha'ba. She came out on a tour about 3 years ago, & Sha'ba touched her heart & she has stayed in contact ever since. She brought him a new fly mask, guess the last time she was here, the mask he was wearing looked pretty ratty. She brushed him & loved on him, & I think he really enjoyed it. At least he didn't butt her like a billy goat, which is what he usually does to me.

This afternoon we went into Benson to my Mother's place. Years ago John put a 250 gallon stock tank in the ground for Mother to use as a fish pond. She got some little goldfish from a friend, dumped them in & over the years they have grown into foot long beautiful fish some with veil tails, really pretty. Earlier this month her electricity went off during the night & by the time she got in touch with us & John drove in 7 of her larger fish died. They needed more oxygen than the water was carrying I guess without the pumps running. So Mother decided she wanted to get rid of the rest of them. One of her neighbors has some friends in Tucson that have an 1,100 gallon pond in their back yard. So we went in to help catch the fish. Boy was that fun, even though we had 2 large nets, the water was murky from us stirring it up, & they were very quick. I finally took off my shoes & climbed in. First thing I figured out was the bottom was extremely slimy. So slimy that I couldn't move my feet without danger of sliding around on my keister. The man would say "there is one behind you"..............right......there was no way I could turn around & catch one. Mother had said she thought there was 11. We caught 15, which made for a pretty full ice chest. They had a pump to pump air into the water & also put ice in the water. They brought fish from Kansas when they moved out here years ago, with the same setup & said they got along just fine. I'm glad someone got them that will enjoy them.

When we came home from the fishing trip, the first thing we noticed when we drove in, was Daisy under the big mesquite & Frijolita over by Max's pen. Hmmmmm.......!!! Neither of these areas are near the pen we left them in let alone IN that pen...........!!!! The gate was wide open & we have no idea how it got that way. I've never seen either of them messing with the gate, so I assume it got left unlatched this morning & they figured it out. It was only about an hour till feeding time, so we let them enjoy their freedom till roundup time. John came in the feed room & said he needed my help, they weren't interested in going in the pen. Surprise, Surprise......!!!! (G) I went out to Frijolita, pointed & said GIT.....!!!! She took off towards the pen, tried to detour, I yelled at her, & she took off at a trot right in the pen. John said he had her at the gate 3 times & she took off. Like I told him, she doesn't recognize him as the boss, he's just the hired help...........!!! I got a dirty look for that observation.........!!! Daisy wasn't interested in going on her own, she was too busy sniffing out mesquite beans. I got a little rebellion when I put the halter on her, but she finally decided the jig was up, & followed along to the pen like a little lady.

Tonight when we fed, Cisco choked. We've had a lot of trouble with choke this year for some reason. I've about decided to not feed pellets anymore. The vet told us every choke she has ever cleared has been on pellets. I will try soaking them into a mush & feeding them that way, rather than adding dry pellets to the mush, & see how that goes.

This is not donkey information, but is something that was sent to me, & really caught my attention. This is just part of the article, but it gives enough information to lead me to believe they should be paying more taxes.


Tax Haven
Arizona racing operations like Tucson Greyhound Park enjoy 15 years of subsidies
by Tim Vanderpool




* Susan Via: "I'm not sure that encouraging more gambling is a great idea in a time of economic collapse and hardship. And I'm not sure that subsidizing a dying recreational industry is where Arizona wants to go."

Few things have dodged the budgetary ax this year, as conservative Republicans milk a rare opportunity to gut the social contract; everything from education to prenatal care has been on the block.

But somehow, one local welfare project seems to have avoided this fiscal bloodbath.

For nearly 15 years, Tucson Greyhound Park and other Arizona racing facilities have gotten an almost-free tax ride, thanks to the generous citizens of our fair state. This largesse dates back to 1994, when American Indian casino gaming began eating into profits at Arizona's dog and horse tracks. As a hedge against further losses, lawmakers created a tax exemption for simulcast-race wagering, allowed the tracks special deductions for capital improvements and instituted a "hardship tax credit," which often allows them to avoid paying any taxes at all.

Opponents of greyhound racing don't think these tracks deserve any breaks whatsoever—especially when crashing state tax revenues threaten vital services. "It's outrageous," says Joan Eidinger, publisher of the Phoenix-based Greyhound Network News. "We're closing schools, and the taxpayers are subsidizing this?"

According to the Arizona Department of Racing, in fiscal year 1995—the last year before the subsidies took effect—the state received nearly $9 million in revenues from horse and dog tracks. In 2008, because of the exemptions, that sum shrank to about $430,000. A 2007 review by the Arizona Office of the Auditor General revealed that exemptions and tax credits for the racing industry cost the state $44 million in revenues between 2001 and 2006.

In fiscal 2008, according to the Department of Racing, Tucson Greyhound Park pulled in a cool $16.2 million in wagers, and kept $3.4 million of that—while paying nothing in parimutuel betting taxes.

A call to park manager Tom Taylor for comment was not returned. But Susan Via has plenty to say about TGP's free ride. She heads Tucson Dog Protection, which last year spearheaded a South Tucson ordinance to improve the treatment of dogs kenneled at the park. Via says these tax credits and exemptions simply prop up a fading sport.

"If the voters are really concerned about raising adequate revenue for the state of Arizona, stop giving breaks to this industry," she says. "Make them pay their fare share on simulcasting. That's three-fourths of their revenue, and they pay zero taxes on it."

LUCY BEING A BAD GIRL

This is the 3rd time in recent history I've caught Lucy Girl on the courtyard & I love it. A few months ago she would not have made the effort. Now it seems whenever we forget to close the gate, she likes to come on the courtyard & chew on the poor little mesquite tree we planted to make shade. It never has grown very fast & her gnawing on it certainly doesn't help.

All of the donkeys know they aren't suppose to be on the courtyard, gate open or not. Most of them, when caught will start trying to get out as soon as possible. I'm always afraid they might slip on the saltillo tile, so we don't chase them although we do encourage them with harsh words. Harsh words do not bother Lucy at all, she also doesn't lead unless you are going where she wants to go. In this case she wasn't interested in leaving just yet. I finally picked up a little hand rake, & started tapping her on the butt. It took long enough that I don't think my tapping had much to do with her leaving, I think she thought it was time to go see what Buster was doing. Buster is one that starts scrambling if you catch him. Usually they are joined at the hip, but for some reason he was off somewhere else.

We've had some wind which of course blows down the mesquite beans. Sometimes it's almost impossible to get them rounded up to eat hay, they'd prefer to stay out & eats beans. John checked Burroland to see if the cattle had found the gate. So far they haven't, & he said there are beans on the ground everywhere over there.

Flies are really bad right now. Even though we use the fly predators, fly traps & fly masks, there are still plenty of them around. I hung a new fly trap yesterday morning & by evening feeding time there was a layer of flies in it about 1 1/2 inches deep. I figure each fly I catch is one less to bother the animals or reproduce.............!!

This letter was sent to a friend that shared it with me. It's good to know that the state is working on animal issues & while they do get laws passed, there are always more laws to work on. Let your representatives know you appreciate their efforts or give them a wake up call if they aren't on the right side of an issue.

Arizona 2009 Legislative Session a Victory for Animals

The Arizona Legislature adjourned earlier this month after a long session focused mostly on budget issues. Though non-budget bills were put on the back burner, we worked with a coalition of groups to fight hard and were successful in pushing major animal protection reforms over the finish line on the last day of the session.

Animal Fighting, Kennel Inspections, and Horse Tripping
Legislation to strengthen the law against animal fighting, S.B. 1115, passed both chambers overwhelmingly (28 to 1 in the Senate and 53 to 1 in the House.) This bill expands the current dogfighting statutes to prohibit the intentional, staged fighting of any species of animal -- which effectively bans the cruel practice of hog-dog fighting in Arizona. In addition to animal fighting, this bill also creates a procedure that will allow for kennel inspections by the county enforcement agent, as well as bans an inhumane rodeo practice known as "horse tripping," which is roping the legs of a galloping horse. (This cruel practice is already banned by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and the American Quarter Horse Association.)

Passage of this bill was an incredible community effort. See how your legislators voted on this bill by clicking here for the Senate Votes and here for the House votes.

Release from Shelters
The second bill the legislature passed, H.B. 2458, involves the release of dogs and cats from animal shelters. This legislation requires shelters to spay/neuter and microchip unlicensed dogs and cats who have been impounded, as well as dogs and cats who have bitten a person, before the shelter releases the animal to the owner. A person who wishes to forgo the spay/neuter requirement is required to pay a fee. This legislation also passed both chambers by wide margins. See how your legislators voted on this bill by clicking here for the Senate Votes and here for the House votes.

We are grateful to Governor Brewer, our lawmakers, and bill sponsors for their action on these bills. Please take a moment to let the supportive legislators and Governor Brewer know you appreciate their support on these animal-friendly bills. If you do not know who your two state Representatives and one state Senator are, click here. Use the following links to find contact info: House Members, Senate Members, Governor Brewer

Bad Legislation that Failed
Fortunately, the legislature adjourned without passing two other bills that would have set our fight back -- S.C.M. 1001, which would have urged the state to oppose federal legislation banning horse slaughter, and S.C.R. 1009, which would have allowed the legislature to suspend the Voter Protection Act in times of “budget deficit." Both bills could be reconsidered next year, and we will continue to fight against efforts that would promote horse slaughter or weaken the initiative process in Arizona.

Other Animal Protection Measures Considered
In addition to these major issues, the Arizona Legislature considered other important animal protection bills. One of those bills would have included pets in domestic violence protection orders; however it was not heard in committee due to the hectic scramble to get bills through at the end of the session.

We made significant and meaningful progress for animals in Arizona this year. We are committed to continuing the fight in 2010, and look forward to more successes next session. Help us grow our grassroots network of dedicated animal advocates by inviting your friends to join our online community. The more advocates we have working to pass animal protection legislation, the more victories we can secure for animals.

Thank you for all you do for animals.

Sincerely,

Mike Markarian
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
The Humane Society of the United States

LIFE GOES ON........!!!!

Although I don't think our 3 "chubbies" are too thrilled with being in prison, they actually haven't been too upset. They do yell when we walk towards the pens though. Well, Buddy does, the girls just stand at the gate looking hopeful. The girls also will push the gate, & Daisy will push on us with her nose. I was afraid they would get really hungry, since they are just getting 1% of their body weight in hay, plus a small amount of soaked beet pulp & Lakin Lite pellets. But so far, getting out seems to be their primary goal, not getting more food to eat.

We have been using the small opening hay nets to feed them the last few days. I guess donkeys are smarter than horses, it took Buddy less than a minute to figure out how to push down on the nets & force the hay out of the holes. The girls took a little longer maybe 5 minutes. They spent the first 4 minutes looking at us like, "you have GOT to be kidding just feed us, don't turn it into some sort of silly human game." Once we walked away, they went over & got to eating. I can't tell that it takes them much longer to eat their paltry little bit of hay than it usually does. But John & I get the exercise of trying to stuff the hay into the nets, which I guess comes under the heading of entertainment for us........!!! (G)

Frijolita is back to walking without limping or jerking her hind legs when she walks. Dr. Weaver & I played phone tag for a couple of days & I never got to actually talk to him, before she "healed" herself. I wonder if she maybe pinched a nerve or something like that?

Haven't checked Burroland to see if the cows have found the open gates. It usually takes them a few days. We're checking poo every morning to see if someone is eating too many beans. So far Jenny big girl, & Buster Brown are probably going to be the next ones to go into prison. Buster has never had any problems with weight or laminitis, so I hate to lock him up. Jenny of course has ongoing problems with her feet, I check them every day for heat, so far she seems to be doing just fine.

Courtney is coming to tomorrow to trim & Martha is coming to massage Max & Chester. She hasn't seen Chester in quite awhile, & I'm anxious to see her face when she sees how well he is walking, almost no limp at all. He started getting better when she started massaging him, a few months ago.

THE FAT FARM IS IN OPERATION..............!!!

As of yesterday, Buddy Brat, Daisy & Frijolita are in the Fat Farm for the duration of mesquite bean season. They seem to think we have absolutely lost our minds, & don't realize the gates are closed & they can't get out. So everytime we go out the door, they TELL us & tell us, & tell us some more. There will be others going in I'm sure, but these 3 were already overweight, & their poo was more beans than anything else. My fancy small opening hay nets are suppose to get here Tuesday, so we'll see how those work out. I have a feeling they aren't going to be very well received, but hopefully it will slow down their eating, so they have to "graze" all day.

Dr. Weaver was here Friday & worked on Frijolita. Last night she was 3 legged lame on the right rear & doing her string halt high step with both hind legs. She was fine in the morning, so I don't think it has anything to do with her acupuncture treatment. I checked her leg from hip to hoof, & she doesn't react to being poked & prodded, so I don't know what's going on. I'll call Dr. Weaver in the morning & see what he thinks.

This morning John opened the outside gates to Burroland & put salt in the gate openings to get the cows attention. He said he saw cow tracks around, so hopefully they will find the new territory quick & get those beans eaten. In the process he found Justin's fly mask that had been missing for over a month. We had looked & looked for it, but it took driving the golf cart down to open the gate to Burroland, to find it. It was hanging on the outside fence, Justin had probably reached thru to snag a tasty morsel & left his mask behind.

UPDATE ON THE DAY...............!!!

Tonight when we started rounding up for feeding, John noticed Justin was on the wrong side of the fence. Where the fence goes across the big wash, is a little creative because when the wash runs it takes out fence posts, etc. John built the fence so that it will kick out rather than burying the posts. All that does is get the posts bent when the water & everything else comes crashing down the wash. When John noticed Justin he went over to the fence & tried to coax the little escape artist back on our side. Rather than come to John & go thru where John was holding up the fence, Justin made the mistake of going to where he went under the fence & coming back that way. Made it real easy for John to figure out where he needed to string another piece of wire. He found out the bottom wire was smooth wire, so it's a wonder they haven't gotten out before. Now it's barbed wire, so that should slow Justin & his " little friends" down for awhile.

It looks like Burroland will be closed as of today. We had a wind storm right before dark, & it started raining mesquite bean pods all over the place. In fact the 4 that don't go in pens to eat, left their hay & headed for the big trees. Tomorrow we'll open the gates & put salt out to get the range cows to go into Burroland & clean up the beans. I just hope the donkeys show some constraint about the beans available around the house, or they'll have to stay in pens for awhile. I've ordered some special hay nets with very small openings in the mesh, to put their hay in while they are staying in the corrals. It's suppose to be a great way to make them take a long time to eat their hay, rather than grabbing great big mouthfuls & being done in an hour or so. I hope they are a bigger hit than the wading pool was for the dogs. I figured it was so hot the dogs would be thrilled with a pool of their own. NOT! Only if I get in first.......!!! I'm not swimming in the pool, & I'm not eating hay out of the nets to show how much fun it is................!!!!

IT'S HOT, HOT, HOT..............!!!!!

Hot & humid, with very little rain to show for it. I feel sorry for the gang when it's hot & humid like this. Although they always have access to shade, it's still HOT..........!!!!!

Everyone is doing pretty good right now, although they aren't eating much hay or beet pulp mush. It seems that the mesquite beans are really getting ripe & they are like kids in a candy store. We keep threatening to close Burroland for the duration & throw the ones that need it, such as Frijolita, Daisy & Buddy Brat into pens until all the beans are gone on the 10 acres. But they so enjoy being out & going to Burroland, every night we give in & open the gate. The only one that really has too many beans in poo is Jenny, big girl the mammoth. She really is eating too many & looks at her hay like it's not real food. Pepper looks at his hay the same way, but if we let him out into Jenny's pen, her hay tastes great......!!!

Dr. Weaver came today to acupuncture Max & Frijolita. He said Max's hips are much more level & Max actually seemed to enjoy the process today. When Dr. Weaver came the first time, Max didn't know what was going on, which makes him very nervous. We were afraid he was going to fall down, trying to back away. But he stood real good today. Frijolita very rarely jerks her hind legs anymore & if she does it's very mild. So I would say the acupuncture is helping both of them. I think Max still has nerve damage, & doesn't always know where his rear legs are, but hopefully with the passage of time he will be able to gain more control over them, in spite of the nerve problems.

I had a lot of fun Saturday getting into a race car again. Even got slammed on my side of the car. We always said "Dirt racing is a contact sport", so even that was fun........!!! In the main event Will rolled the car. That would have been a new experience, I've never rolled one, although I have climbed a few walls............!!! (G) I can imagine the trouble that would have caused if we'd rolled with me in the car. They might have stopped letting passengers ride, so although I would have liked to see what it's like to roll, I'm glad I wasn't in the car.

Getting in the car brought back memories, so I went thru some old pictures. The picture above is a little dated, considering our son Rod will be 45 years old in November........!!!! The fender behind us was the race car at that time, happened to be a 1955 or 1956 Chevy.

Fast forward a few years, by this time Rod was a teenager & we were still slopping around in the mud when we got the chance. At this time we had downsized to a VW from the old Chevys. I don't think it matters what you race, it's all relative, when all the cars are going the same speed. The little thing was quite competitive & John & I both had a lot of fun in it.

Now we're back to racing the big cars again.

So much for memories...............

The well is now working like it should, although the water isn't real clear yet. They had to break all the calcium deposits loose & the well guy said it will take a few days for everything to settle back down. We've got a lot more pressure & can actually run 2 hoses at one time again, should have done it months ago I guess.

I think Jack the mule got bit in the mouth by a bee a couple of days ago. The bees are really bad right now, they are at all the water buckets all day long. Jack was real protective of his head & wouldn't take a treat. He also wasn't finishing his mush, which is very unusual for him. Food makes his world go around. This morning he was back to his old self. I had planned on calling the vet today, if he wasn't better.

Jenny is trying to grow proud flesh on a split in one of her hooves. Her feet had been real good for quite some time, but a few weeks ago, she developed a split running down from the top. Right now the "blob" is very small & I've started treating it with Equaide, hopefully it won't have to be cut off. I have no idea what what caused her hoof to crack again. It's no where near as bad as it was when she came, it just a plain old split. But I thought we were past splitting, she had been doing so good & her feet were looking great...! They still look good, except one has a split in it. Hopefully it will grow out without leaving a damaged area on the coronet. Lucy has a lot of damage to her coronets & her hooves grow lumps & bumps & all sorts of strange ways.

This is Pepsi, & Chester checking out the roof off the well house, & Lynn standing in the shade. Our well has been in operation since 1990 & had started losing some pressure. So it was time to have the pump pulled & clean out the calcium deposits that were blocking the holes in the pipe. The well guy brought us a 300 gallon tank we filled up at the neighbors, so we could fill water buckets, etc.

John used the bobcat to tear the roof off. When it came off it took limbs off the nearest mesquite with it. Guess what was on the limbs.........mesquite beans.......!!! That's what the boys are doing, vacuuming up beans as fast as they can. I looked out one time & there were 4 donkeys eating beans, & John said Pepsi was hidden between the roof & the well house. Sometimes it's convenient to be small I guess.

Notice I said John tore the roof off, it didn't exactly come off in one piece. It seems he had some hidden hurricane straps that he forgot to undo, & the bobcat had enough power to press on with the job. He hasn't decided whether to rebuild the roof or start from scratch & build a new one. It was 105 degrees here yesterday & suppose to be the same or hotter today. If that keeps up I would imagine he will do as little as possible to get the roof back on. It's just too hot outside to be doing anything you don't have to do.

We'll be feeding early today, our cars aren't racing, but John helps a friend in the pits with his factory stock, & I'm too nosy to miss anything. Actually tonight I will be riding "shotgun" in one of the little 4 cylinder cars they call hornets, in the heat race. Some of the hornet guys have put an extra seat in their race car for passengers. And one of the guys said I could ride. Yippee! It's been 29 years since I raced, I don't even know if I remember how to get in one.......!!! (G) You have to climb in the window & I'm not sure my creaky old body will bend that way anymore. I'm going to tell the guy to "run like he stole it" & think of me as ballast. In other words I don't want him to worry about me while he's racing.

MESQUITE SEASON IS HERE..........!!!

Last night the rebellion started when it was time for evening feeding. We got some wind in late afternoon & the little "hoovers" were vaccuming as fast as they could as the ripe beans started falling. John had to take a switch to Jenny to even get her to move. He also used a halter on some of them. They weren't the least bit interested in cooperating.

This morning the rebellion continues, which isn't good. So many of our guys have insulin resistance & none of them need the extra calories either. So from now on we will do "poo 101" during pen cleaning in the morning. As the beans take over the poo, individuals will start going into pens at night. If they manage to eat too many beans during the day, they will have to stay in until the bean season is over. They will all be restricted from Burroland as soon as the beans start showing up regularly in poo, which probably will be within days. But it's a fine line to straddle for us, because if we keep them off the beans completely, the beans will still be on the ground when we do let them out. Thankfully after they lay on the ground for awhile, the donkeys won't eat them. We'll open the gates to Burroland, & encourage the range cattle to "come on in", by putting salt by the open gate. It usually doesn't take them but a few days to find the salt & start wandering around.

Yesterday when John was trying to be in control, he was down to Tula & Chester. They were over on the other side of the wash that runs across our property. John got behind them & they took off for the other side of the wash. Chester actually jumped off the bank of the wash about 18-24 inches, landing on both front feet equally in loose gravel. Didn't even faze him or slow him down. He wouldn't recuperate from a bowed tendon this quick, so now I'm wondering if he had a bowed tendon in that leg before we got him, & just tweaked it a little the other day. There is thickening on the back of the cannon gone, & I just assumed it was a new problem. I never checked that leg out because I spent so much time with the other one, so there's no way of knowing. But except for a slight lameness, he seems to be sound. The hoof on his bad leg is contracted. Courtney thinks she can work on it & get it to widen out. The other day when she trimmed, I picked up the part she trimmed off him, & thought it was one of the mini hooves, it looked so small.

This morning when John rounded up the gang for breakfast, there were 5 holdouts that stayed hidden on Burroland. This is 2 of them, Frijolita & Jenny. Also involved were Tula, the ringleader, Chester her paramour & a surprise rebel, Daisy.........!!!! She is always the first one to greet John every morning, at least up until this morning. I guess she's found out following Tula is a lot more fun than being predictable.....!!! (G) We went ahead & fed the ones we had & then went over on Burroland to find them. I went one way, John went the other & of course he found them. He said he tracked them, since it rained last night & the ground was soft. I'm not that smart, I just go out & tromp around till I flush them out of the brush. When I caught up, he was following along behind them at a slow meandering walk. I told him they needed to be cranked up rather than just being allowed to do it their way. I took over & we went thru the gate at a decent trot. I would have made them run, but it's hot & humid & I couldn't move that fast....!!! If I have to get involved it's going to be on my terms, not theirs............. (G)

Monday night John had gone out to let them out at bedtime, & I was nodding off in the recliner, when all of a sudden I heard what sounded like a bomb going off in the kitchen. I figured Moogee the cat had climbed something & knocked it down, although it was a lot louder than her usual OOPS! The kitchen looked fine, so I went back to the pantry..........!! YIKES! Do you have any idea what an 8 x 14 foot pantry looks like, when a gallon can of apples has exploded? I didn't before, but I do now, & it's not pretty. The floor, the walls, the shelves, all the stuff on the shelves, our coats leftover from winter, & I hate to go back to it, but the floor. There was no place to walk or stand without "getting involved". John was amazed & quite impressed when he came in. He said we'll clean it up in the morning, so I had to explain to him what a exploding gallon of apples with sugar would be like after sitting for a few hours. Three hours later we finally got to bed, & yesterday was spent continuing cleaning, sanding the shelves & putting eurathane or however you spell it on them. That little step got neglected when we originally put them up. Now we know why it's important to have the wood sealed. Right now it's pretty humid, so it's going to take a few days to get 2 or 3 coats on & get them dried enough to put cans, etc on them. I had been talking about cleaning out the pantry & getting rid of outdated stuff, should have followed thru, I guess.

Yesterday I finally got Daisy's legs clipped. It's been hot & humid & she was also picking up a lot of sticks & junk that had to be picked out. So it was time, even if she was cute with her "pantaloons" on. Here she is on the left with her friend Frijolita, waiting for breakfast to be served this morning. I found out clipping legs with large clippers is quite an operation. I tried using my little Wahl clippers, but they weren't up to the job. Her hair has the exact texture of cotton candy, fluffy & lots of it. The little clippers are for clipping around wounds or something like that, not industrial strength hair removal. So I used the big clippers to get off most of the hair, & used the Wahl to touch-up. She was very good & stood patiently for the whole process. I can think of some of the others that would have let me know in no uncertain terms that clipping was NOT what they had planned for the day. Probably Frijolita for one, she doesn't even like to be brushed............!!!!! (G)

Chester has done very good with his bowed tendon. I let him out this morning, after explaining to him that I expected him to be careful, unless he wanted to have to stay in the pen again. I watched him for awhile & he was using that leg just fine, not favoring it at all. It's a little hard to figure him out, since he's already lame on the other side. He could end up in a situation where, because of lameness on one side & bowed tendon the other, he would look like he was walking without favoring either one, while actually favoring both of them.

I've had to do something I never thought would happen, Jack the mule is now on a diet. Jack doesn't have very many teeth, & has quidded hay for years. Since he really doesn't chew hay, he gets a wet mash of soaked beet pulp, timothy pellets, & Lakin Lite a hay pellet made in Arizona. He at one time was really thin, so I've been feeding him about as much as he will eat. The other day I noticed he has no ribs showing & some very round little cheeks, & they aren't on his face. So the days of unlimited mash are over, at least for now.

Last night when everyone started wandering in for supper, I noticed that Chester was favoring his "good" front leg. Once he was in the pen, I checked him out & felt a swollen area on the back of the canon (shin) bone. Just what he doesn't need, a bowed tendon. No telling what he did, but obviously he mis-stepped while out roaming around with the herd. I got the polo wraps & a gel pak out of the freezer to wrap it. To say he wasn't impressed is an understatement. Had to tie him up short. One good thing about him, if you tie him up he usually gives up. I also gave him some bute for inflammation & pain. Kept it wrapped until bedtime, & of course he had to stay in for the night, which we heard about all thru the night. This morning he's actually walking pretty good & is standing around with weight on it. I wrapped it with the gel pak again & will leave it on until it loses it "cool", probably a couple of hours. We'll be car racing tonight & tomorrow night, so everyone will have to be in the pens more than usual. I'm sure he will enjoy the company. Not sure how long I'll keep him in. If you read the "rules" for treating a bowed tendon, they say months of stall rest. That's for horses that are going to be worked. All he has to do is walk around & be comfortable, none of that work stuff.

A few years ago the neighbor's dogs chased Belle & one of the other jennies during the night. The other jenny came in with cuts all over her where she had ran thru the trees. Belle came in with bowed tendons in both front legs. She could just barely walk. I kept her in for a few days & she spent most of the time laying down. Courtney came out to trim, & said since they are a flight animal that they might do better with exercise. We let her go out, she did very well & I don't remember her being lame for very long. So I guess I'll have to try to figure out what will be best for him. I certainly don't want him to have long term problems with his good leg, although he is walking very good on the crippled one these days with barely a discernable limp.

HAPPINESS IS A FULL HAY BARN,,,,,!!!

Well, it looks like we're ready to feed for another year. This is a double semi load, like you see going down the highway a lot this time of year & lasts us just about a year or a little longer. We've still got about 15 bales leftover, that the guys will have to eat before they start on the new stuff. I wasn't here when they got thru unloading, but John said when he let the donkeys out of their pens, they headed straight for the hay barn to see what had happened, & probably to see if there was anyway for them to participate. By that time John had the panels back up, much to their disgust.

Right now the mesquite beans are still green, although they are starting to ripen. Everyone is eating the green ones they can reach, right now which I'm not really worried about. When they ripen the sugar will be a lot higher, & some of the ones that are more inclined to foundering because of insulin resistance, will have to stay in pens. We will also shut off Burroland, & open it up so the range cattle can go in & eat the beans over there. A few of them like Pepper & Buddy will have to stay in the pens, because there is plenty of beans even with Burroland unaccessible. We watch the poo & if someone starts having more beans than hay in their poo, they'll have to be penned. Unfortunately Pepper really needs to move around as much as possible because of his arthritis & whatever is wrong with his hip. We'll just have to deal with it when the time comes, because he can't have another bout of laminitis, i.e. founder.

Courtney got out to trim Monday. We had quite a list this time, including her 3 little minis. They hadn't been trimmed since they came quite awhile ago, & were starting to get a little long. She said they would probably chip off if we get some rain, but went ahead & ruined their day. They very rarely have to do anything they don't want to do, & that is usually only herding, NOT, putting on a halter & lead rope, & having to stand still. They actually did good after getting the halter on, that was the hard part......!!! (G)

I'm waiting for a phone call from the hay delivery. It's coming from northern Arizona & they are suppose to be here around 7am...........!!!!! They certainly started early this morning, I guess...........!!!!!

John is on an emergency run to Benson. Mother called this morning & the pump in her fish pond quit during the night & she had 5 dead fish this morning from lack of oxygen. So he took off to take care of that crisis. I told him he might run onto a load of hay on his way home, & if so, just bring it home with him.......!!! (G) I'd like to go out & get everyone in their pens, before the hay gets here, so we can open the driveway gate. BUT, I have to stay in the house & wait for the call......!!!

It's hot enough today, I hope this picture will make us feel cooler..............!!!

Sha'ba seems to be back to normal, although he still isn't cleaning his feed bucket. In fact this morning he wanted out & left about half of his breakfast. I don't think he is a big mesquite bean eater, although a lot of the others are eating the green mesquite beans hanging in the trees. They haven't ripened yet, but I anticipate they will pretty soon. We are watching poo for beans & when they start dominating the poo, some of them will be staying in pens for awhile.

I'm waiting for Courtney to come out to trim the ones that need it. The victims had to stay in their pens this morning because we didn't know for sure when she would get here. Daisy has stayed by Chester's pen most of the day. I didn't even know she had a "thing" for him, she's usually with Frijolita.

Speaking of Frijolita this morning while she was finishing up her hay I casually reached down to pick up her foot to see if she needed to be trimmed today. Well, she took off like I had insulted her. Sigh.................... chasing her was not what I had planned, so off we went. She caught up with Tula & started following her. Tula certainly didn't want to be chased by me, so she started trying to escape, & of course Frijolita kept following & I kept following. Heard a noise behind me, turned around & there was Daisy, also following. Frijolita would stop, I would pet & as soon as I reached for her foot, she'd take off again. And the entourage continued............!!!! On about the 3rd trip thru the pen area John what I was doing. He was picking up poo which is what I was suppose to be doing.....!!!! One time Tula started to go into her pen, because she knows that is neutral territory. As she got close to the gate, she started kicking back at Frijolita. I guess she had figured out Frijolita was the one I wanted & was trying to tell her to go away. Daisy girl was hanging in there. After about 3 or 4 more tours around the 10 acres, she stopped, planted her feet, I walked up petted her, told her what a silly girl she was, reached down & picked up her foot. After a couple of seconds I tried to put it down & she held it up in the air. I guess she was trying to tell me after all that, the least I could do was get a good look.......!!!! (G) One thing I did notice, in all that walking around she never once hiked her hind legs up with string halt, which is great. Maybe the acupuncture Dr. Weaver did, has made a difference.

Yesterday when they all came in for breakfast, Chester & Pepper came in about the same time & were standing outside the pens. Old Pepper started pushing his chin out at Chester & tried to intimidate Chester by putting his neck across Chester's neck. Silly old fool, Chester could clean his clock if he wanted to. Pepper doesn't have a clue that he is old, crippled & really should take life easy. He chases the girls, tries to intimidate the boys & in general seems to think he's "hot stuff".....!!!!!!

Daisy's Dad & his friend Tim, made it by yesterday as planned. We hadn't met George before, & we always enjoy meeting the people that have molded personalities of the donkeys, good or bad. In this case very good. You can tell what kind of home donkeys have been in, by the way they interact with their surroundings. Daisy is very very gentle & has the sweetest nature of any of the donkeys. I worried about her when she first came, because I don't think she has a "stand up for myself" bone in her body. But she adapted very quickly, if someone wants to eat where she's eating, she just goes someplace else. We always make sure there are more places to eat than donkeys. Both Lynne & George said she was a wild roping donkey when they got her 16 years ago. You can tell she has had nothing but love in a comfortable home for all these years, by her personality, totally trusting. She does do one thing that is out of character. If I stand in front of her to pet, she will usually push me with her nose, pretty hard, just one time. Not sure what that is about, but it seems to work for her.

Sha'ba seemed back to normal all day yesterday, but last night when John went out at bedtime he was uncomfortable, with lots of gurgling going on in his tummy. I'm assuming we are dealing with gas colic still. So he got another shot of banamine. I checked him this morning & he took a treat, but hadn't eaten last night's mush. That was at 5am, we're getting ready to go out & feed pretty soon. I'll decide then whether to give him another shot or not. I read up on colic last night, & it seems barometric pressure changes can cause colic. The vet said something about that too. Other than that, nothing fits unless he has something going on internally we don't know about. I might quit adding the Calf Manna to his feed. That is the only change in his routine we've made lately.

GOOD NEWS............!!!!!!

Sha'ba seems to be back to normal this morning. I gave him another shot of banamine before we went to bed last night. This morning he is perky & was "huffing" for food. Last I saw of him, he had his little head buried in his feed bucket enjoying his breakfast. I hope that is the last colic for awhile. We're all wore out today...........!!!! (G)

I think it was gas colic. While we were sitting with him in between feeding the others last night, a couple of times he laid down & tried to roll. The wiggling & squirming seemed to get things moving, & judging from the sound he had a lot to move, poor little guy.

I'm so glad he's feeling better, at his age anytime he doesn't act "normal", I worry. I told the vet I wanted at least 10 more years out of him. She said she doubted it, but it gives us something to shoot for.

Daisy's Dad is coming to see her today. Her Mom came down a few weeks ago with a friend, but this will be the first time George has see her since she left home. I wonder if she will recognize him? Bet she will...........!!!!

This morning when breakfast was served, Sha'ba wasn't interested after sticking his head in the bucket, which is highly unusual for him. I watched him for awhile & thought he had choked on his first bite or two. We worked with him in between chores, & about an hour later I gave him a shot of banamine. Watched him for awhile & finally put in a call to the vet. She said she could make it out this afternoon, & by the time she got here, we knew he was colicing instead of choking. So far he isn't popping back to normal very quickly. He's too small for her to palpate, so we have no idea what is going on inside. She tubed him, we had to put him in our little homemade squeeze because he really was being uncooperative. As it was, he tried to rear and/or climb out the corral panels. Got a hoof caught thru the panel, & I had a heck of a time getting it back on the right side. He stepped on my finger in the process. John ended up with a bloody hand, & no idea how it got that way. After the vet left & we started feeding, we took turns doing feeding & setting with him. He seems to be more comfortable, but still isn't back to normal. Not the least bit interested in eating.

It's odd that the last few posts I've made to the blog were all about him. Hopefully I'll have good news in the morning, at least I hope so. He's too old to start having to doctor & colic can really be nasty.

It seems like right now we have a lot of bees, going after water. So far no one has gotten stung but I worry about someone gulping up one, which wouldn't be good. It's starting to get hotter & drier, so I assume the bees will keep coming. I spend a lot of time fishing them out of the water, unlike wasps I guess they can't land on the water.

Sha'ba & I are still fighting the battle of the habronema larvae on his sheath. We're down to 2 small areas, which is a piece of cake from my point of view. I clean him up in the morning, & cover the area with invermectin. At night I cover his sheath with swat, figure that will slow down reinfestation.

I was asked about his history. Everyone is doing pretty good right now, so I'll give a little background on him. He came off one of the local Indian Reservations, I don't know which one. A horse trader got a good deal, 5 donkeys, but she had to take them all. Four of them were young, healthy & wild as march hares. We got a call about the 5th one. She said he was crippled, blind & there was no way she could re-sell him, would we take him? We said yes, & drove to Tucson to pick him up. He was in much worse condition than we expected. He was a small standard, should have weighed around 300 pounds, probably weighed 200 or less. About half his ears had been cut off, he had an old break at a rear fetlock. His eyes were so matted & infected we also thought he was blind. His face was raw & bloody from flies & habaronema larvae. He had a hole thru his nose that lines up with scars on his mouth, where someone had ran a chain, rope, bull ring or something thru to lead him or tie him up. I don't think I have ever seen a more pathetic sight. He had been in with 4 young strong animals & I have no idea how long it had been since he had eaten well. We were told he was about 40 years old, but since he has very few teeth & those are completely worn down, I really don't know how old he is. We loaded him as gently as we could & didn't know if he would make the trip home, about 65 miles.

That has been 6 years ago. We cleaned him up I started agressively treating the habromena, which as above, I continue to do annually. When we got his eyes cleared up we were thrilled to find out that he does have sight in one eye. We made sure he had all he wanted to eat & found out that he will only eat so much. He seems to have a built in "I've had enough" trigger, so we don't have to worry about him getting fat.

He's my little Muffin Man, he was emotionally shut down, (wonder why) but once he came out of that, he is one of the most loveable donkeys there is. He also can be the most stubborn. Thank goodness he self trims his feet, even the one with the broken fetlock, which healed crooked. He might be little & he might be old, but two people & a cross tie can't control him enough for a foot trim.

He seems to be very healthy, after getting bit by a rattlesnake a few years ago, which was scary. He's probably actually more healthy than some of the others that were fed too much or too rich for years & have developed insulin resistance & have other problems. I think his leg was broke early in his life, perhaps his mother stepped on him or if they were in rough country, who knows what happened. I don't think he was ever worked, because he has no concept of people/donkey working relationships. At least normal ones. (G)

SHA'BA BIT ME.............!!!!!!!

Sha'ba has always been allowed more freedom to misbehave (if he wants to) than the others. Once we found out he wasn't blind & we got a little weight on him about 7 years ago, we found out he was mentally shut down. He actually came out of the shut down, & started reacting to people, although he was & still is hesitant about being close to the other donkeys. Along the path of rehabilition he started showing a little spunk which we encouraged. One thing he has done for a long time is to butt me like a goat when I come in with his feed. I dance around & we've developed a routine that works for us that gets his feed in the bucket & he thinks he's personally responsible for it getting there.

Usually I can get from the gate & to his bucket before he does. Then it's a simple matter to dump it & back away, as he marches in & starts to chow down.

This morning for some reason, he was fast or I was slow. When this clash happens he will stick his head in the bucket & you can't dump the soaked feed. So I turned the bucket I was carrying upside down in his feed bucket & just stood there. I guess he got upset because not only could he not get his head in the feed bucket, but he could smell breakfast under the thing that was keeping him from getting his head in the bucket. He turned around & bit down on my arm. Usually when an equine bites you, it's a crisis of sorts, good opportunity for broken skin, crushed tissue, blood & not a pleasant experience. Getting bit by one that has very few teeth & those are worn off to gum level is a little weird. I don't think I've ever been gummed by an equine before, complete with lots of slobber. It was kind of a slimy "yuck" moment. Yes he won, I immediately took the turned over bucket out of his feed bucket, he dived in & his little world continued to rotate as usual. And I will try to be quicker in the future, so as to not upset him.........!!!! (G)

VISITORS TODAY...........!!!

Georgette & her friend Cilla (I think) came out today to see the donkeys. A few years ago, Georgette came out with a tour company & fell in love with Sha'ba. She has kept in touch, keeps track of how he is doing & has helped out when we have Open Houses. Last but not least she also adopted Sugar a couple of years ago as a friend for Jacque. She comes out to visit, when she has time, which isn't often, I think she said it had been 10 months. This is her & Sha'ba getting to know each other again. The cup of timothy pellets she is holding certainly helps.

Cilla has a donkey too. She originally got him as a companion for her horse, that has since died. So now she is down to a donkey, a goat & 5 dogs. She said the goat & the donkey get along real good.

We're suppose to get some rain tomorrow, at least they are forcasting a 40% chance. We sure could use it, everything is so dry. We make sure there is always water out on the ground, so everyone even the tiny critters can get a drink. The other day a gopher (king) snake was drinking out of the short stock tank. I ran to get the camera but of course by the time I got back outside, he was finished. I miss a lot of good pictures. It always amazes me at what neat pictures some of the blogs have on them. I'm usually lucky if mine are clear & not blurry.

RACE NIGHT

BlackJack & Buddy playing with dog rope toy

Had a good night of racing last night. John finished 7th in the main event out of 20 & our son finished 11th, after having to go into the infield for a tire change. Brought both cars home relatively unharmed, except for the back end of John's car. One of the other drivers used the left rear fender of John's car to stop, rather than using the brake pedal. He got blackflagged & fined, & John gets to do body work this week. Anytime you bring them home with the running gear OK, & the frame & body fairly straight, it was a fun night. We'll do it again next Saturday night. I found 2 pennies at the track last night, so I hope the good luck will carry over.......!!!!

After the races we went with some of the other racers to TTT (oldest family owned truck stop still operating in the U.S) to get something to eat. They gave John a birthday card with a donkey on it, a lot of the driver's had signed. All in all John had great birthday. Forty years ago when we started this particular hobby, I don't remember thinking, "gee whiz, I bet we'll be doing this in 40 years"................!!!!! (G)

Of course at that time we didn't know we would be doing donkey rescue either. We never know what twists & turns life will deal us, do we? The gang was happy when we got home about 1:30 am. They had been cooling their heels in the pens, while we were out having fun. When we come in late like that & they hear us unlocking the gate, they start yelling. Of course there is no sleep-in for the humans, the cats expect breakfast at the usual time in the morning. And once there is movement in the house, the equine also expect breakfast to be served. John use to use Sundays to wash the race car & check it over to get an idea of what needed to be done to get it race ready. But as the years pass, Monday or Tuesday or even Wednesday works just as well............!!! "Mature" people have to save energy where they can you know...............!!! (G)

We had to make a trip to Phoenix yesterday. That is always fun, we have to feed early, in order for the gang to have time to finish eating. Given a choice between eating early or staying in their pens all day, I can tell you which they would choose.............!!! Of course eating early is one of their favorite things anyway.

The day before Dr. Weaver came out to do acupuncture on Max & Frijolita again. He said Max's hips are actually more level than they were, even though he's been flopping around a lot & falling in cactus. Frijolita has string halt & she really has improved since he was here a month ago. I haven't seen her hiking her back legs at all. So he gave her another treatment. Hopefully there will be some long term improvement for her. She & Chester are kind of an "item" & they would make a wonderful addition to the right home. It would take some one that wasn't looking for perfect donkeys, but wanted beautiful donkeys with sweet personalities. They both love attention & even though Chester was a roping donkey, he doesn't hold any grudge at all.

Dr. Weaver doesn't think acupuncture would help Pepper, & said my white willow bark, substi-Bute, & hylaun is probably as good as anything to help with his poor old legs. The old buzzard was checking out the girls this morning, to see if anyone thought he was cute, so he's doing pretty good for the shape he is in. I'm not sure any of them appreciate his attention, but it doesn't seem to hurt his feelings at all. Earlier this year he was so very thin, & I couldn't get him to eat anymore than he would eat. But I've started adding a lot of water to his feed, & also have been giving him Calf-manna & he's actually putting on a little weight. Someone on one of the groups mentioned Calf-manna, so I checked it out. Good heavens, they need to change the name, you can feed it to just about anything, including chickens. It's been around since 1931 & is touted as a healthy feed. I think it has licorice in it, which seems to be a real hit, not only with Pepper, but with Sha'ba & Max. All 3 of those have a hard time holding their weight.

Today is John's 69th birthday, & he is going to drive the race car tonight instead of our grandson. I hope he keeps it between the fences, doesn't run over anyone, or get run over & keeps the greasy side down..........!!!!! (G) Our son will be racing our other car in the same races, so maybe he'll look out for his Dad. Actually it doesn't work that way, if he tried watching out for his Dad, he'd probably get run over. I just hope they don't run over each other, that would really be bad.........!!!! (G)

JUDY WENT HOME TODAY

This is Judy & Rory, getting ready to go home. I think she was glad to see him. Now maybe she will get brushed more & get some of the long hair off. One of the symptoms of Cushings disease is long hair that doesn't shed. Since she's been on pergolide, she has started shedding, although I don't know if she will ever slick out, her coat is pretty rough.

Noticed today that Frijolita is not losing weight. She was plump when she got here, & she's still plump. Now that we have an empty pen, we thought about feeding her by herself, rather than with Lucy, Daisy & Buster. But I don't really think she's eating that much hay, the four of them only get 10 pounds of hay a feeding. I would imagine she is eating "off the land", which is going to get quite interesting pretty soon. The mesquite trees have set lots of beans this year. Right now they look like small green beans, but once they plump up & turn brown, the equines will go after them like candy. Which means the ones that will over eat, such as Frijolita will have to stay in pens until the beans are either eaten or have fallen on the ground. Once they have been on the ground for a few days, the donkeys won't eat them, which is good.

Daisy looks like she is losing a little weight, which is good. She doesn't really seem to go out on the property & try to eat everything in sight, like some of them do. At least she is headed in the right direction.

Max still has a few cactus spines in his shoulder & still isn't very steady on his feet. He does pretty good walking in a straight line. But if he tries to turn or change direction, his hind legs go every which way. I sure hope this is just a bad time he's going thru.

JOHN'S BACK......................YIPPEE.................!!!!!

I guess during the night someone brought back my sweet cooperative donkeys & took the ones from hell away. Well at least most of them, I still had 5 that waited until the last minute to show up this morning. That's a definite improvement over the last couple of days, besides Tula, Chester & Jenny don't count. They are ALWAYS late.....!!!

I've identified a problem area while John's been gone. He usually does the rounding up & fly mask detail. Tula will stand for you to put the fly mask on & off, BUT, when you're taking it off, she will throw her head & run, as soon as she knows it's loose. I don't allow her to do this & will keep working her around her pen, & get her to show me 2 eyes, until she gives up & will stand. John is the....... get it on, get it off, type even though I've told him it's much easier to get things accomplished when both parties know the rules. I can tell from her attitude, that she's been doing her thing, & he's been letting her get away with it. Last night in the dark, (thank goodness the moon was pretty bright) we were doing "stand still for fly mask removal, 101" for quite sometime. She finally stood, but I could tell from her body language, she was probably thinking bad thoughts about me. Although she is hard to work with she has never offered to kick, bite or run you down. I'm sure if you tried to corner her she might, although if she gets herself into a corner, (the pen is square) she will bury her head & tuck her tail, rather than show any aggression at all. I sure wish I knew why she is like she is.

Max still has a few cactus spines in his shoulder, I plucked 3 more out this morning before the muscles started twitching & he figured out what I was doing. He likes John, so maybe when John gets home tomorrow, he can get the rest, if they haven't broken down & fell out by then.

This morning when I went out, the horsey group was here as usual. When Max the horse walked over to get his treat, I was horrified to see hundreds of prickly pear cactus spines sticking out of his neck, shoulder & body on his left side. He obviously had fallen in a cactus sometime during the night. He looked like he had a nasty run-in with a porcupine. No pictures, my first reaction was to start trying to pick them out. He was pretty good about standing & I got most of the big ones out, although, when I got to the shoulder the nerves that automatically get rid of flies kicked in, & some of those I haven't been able to get ahold of. He's also covered with the little tiny red hairy stickers, everywhere. He did try to bite me a couple of times, but doesn't seem to be bothering the remaining stickers, so I assume they bother me more than they bother him. It will only take a day or two for his body to start breaking them down, so I guess it's not a major crisis, but I do feel bad about it. Because of his broken neck & nerve damage we have to keep in the back of our mind someday he will get to the point that he will no longer be safe to roam around on rough ground. At that time we will have to make a decision in his best interest. I hope this was just a fluke & not a change in his situation.

Right now I am not happy with the rest of the gang. It was after 10 am this morning before they all managed to wander in for breakfast. It's interesting to watch the dynamics of the herd. They will go along for weeks, showing up on time, going in their pens, perfect little angels. Then something happens............. I sometimes think they've been replaced during the night with donkeys from hell. So the battle is on for a few days, & then they go back to being angels again. I've threatened to close the gate to Burroland, with them on the other side & leave them over there for the day. I have 2 reasons why I haven't........... # 1, there's no water over there..........& # 2, they probably wouldn't notice & if they did they probably wouldn't care.......!!!! (G) They do love their WILD country..............!!!!

John got to Indiana just fine, said he actually landed early in Dallas & Indianapolis, which was a pleasant surprise. He had a busy day planned today, getting ready for the memorial tomorrow.

I guess we're doing OK, although we did have a power struggle this morning. I'm probably the only one that recognizes it as a power struggle, we'll see if feeding tonight goes any quicker. When I went out this morning I had the horse & mules, & BlackJack. Everyone else was over on Burroland, ignoring the bell, & the passage of time. I fed the chickens, mixed up breakfast & still no donkeys. I fed the few I had, got ready to get the hay wagon & low & behold, here they came wandering across the wash. I ignored them, except for putting on their fly masks, no treats not even a sweet word & loving pat. I told them to get to their pens, & I MIGHT get around to them sooner or later. Everyone except Tula, I closed her pen, so she couldn't get in it. When I do this she stands outside & screams at me, like it's my fault. Everyone ended up in their pens got their breakfast & their hay, but no treats. I'm curious how tonight will go. Usually after one of these control battles, they straighten up for awhile. We'll see.......................!!!!!!

Flies are terrible right now, I use the fly traps & fly predators & they do a good job, but right now it's humid & flies are everywhere. It would be nice if it would rain & get it over with. We sure could use it.

As planned we trimmed on Buster's feet. Bless his little heart he was such a good boy. I don't think his feet have been trimmed since we've had him, which has been over 6 years. He is rather fragile emotionally, although I think he has had good training in the past. But it was probably rather harsh training. Over the years he has learned to trust us & loves to give kisses, by sticking his tongue out the side of his mouth. Depending on your level of acceptance, he prefers to have you hug his head with your cheek on his tongue. But he will settle for a hand if that's your preference.

I sat on a little bucket, put his feet in my lap & trimmed away. He never pulled away or anything, just stood quietly as I spent a LONG time on each foot. If he had wanted to fuss, I was in a very vunerable position, but he was great.

Then last night he choked on hay pellets. We called the Vet after about an hour & left a message. It took about 3 hours before he finally cleared. Soon after the Vet called back & we discussed the ramifications of feeding pellets. I've had this discussion before with just about every Vet I know. Although we mix them with soaked beet pulp, they still hold their shape & obviously can get hung up on their way to the stomach.

John flies back to Indiana tomorrow for his Mom's memorial. He'll only be gone until Monday or 8 feeding sessions, depending on how you look at it. Up until a couple of days ago, they had been doing real good on coming in to be fed. But for some reason, independence has set in & they don't seem to see a need to come in until they are good & ready. John usually does round-up & he isn't quite as "forceful" as I am. Since there are a lot of them, & only one of me, I think it works out much better, if they take responsibility for showing up without me having to go ferret them out of the brush. I'm sure by the time he gets back, we'll all be organized & cooperative, at least I hope so. It's suppose to cool off into the low 90's, which will be nice.

Buster with his Lucy girl.......!!!

This morning when we were getting ready to feed, I noticed Buster had a piece of hoof wall split off & had gravel behind it. Got the nippers to get it off. When I lifted his foot I was shocked at how long his hooves are. They are about 1/2 inch longer than they should be. They are wearing evenly, which is why I hadn't noticed the length. So as soon as he gets thru with breakfast we will see if we can trim them a bit. What it takes Courtney a couple of minutes to do, seems to take us a LOT longer.....!!! I guess we better physically look at everyone else that usually do their own trimming too, just in case there are some others out there that haven't been walking enough. Lucy is one of Courtney's "regulars", as she has been chronically foundered in the past & really has nasty looking feet. We've never had her x-rayed, but I'm sure if we did, the inside looks as bad as the outside.

The little kangaroo rats didn't make it. After 2 days they were not gaining weight & were getting weaker, so John put a piece of cotton with ether on it with them in their nest. To let them keep going downhill until they died, would have been cruel. I'm sure this happens frequently, mother doesn't get home, & babies starve in many wild species. But once a person gets involved we should do our best for them, which I think we did.

THE ODD COUPLE

I don't think Daisy & Jack the mule are an item, I think they were standing together by accident this morning. Daisy is usually with the donkey herd & Jack is with the "horsey" group.

I've got Sha'ba's habronema larvae under control, I hope. I haven't seen anymore large ones, although this morning I found 2 or 3 little ones, that have probably been brought in by flies in the last few days. Those I can deal with, it's the deeply embedded large ones, that really get me going.

I found a couple of small ones on Chester's belly, in front of his sheath. I assume that is the ones the flies were coming to visit & he was kicking at over the last few days. He stands real still for me to "doctor" him now, don't have to use the squeeze or even a halter. Of course he expects to get a butt scratch when I'm done.........!!! (G)

There has also been some change recently with his crippled leg. He's been improving quite a bit, since Martha has been massaging his leg & we've been stretching it every morning. The last week or so, not only is he walking with very little limp, the swelling in the elbow area is noticeably smaller. I have no idea what is going on, it will be interesting to see what Martha thinks the next time she comes out.

This morning John came in & said there were 2 little rats in the garage, so small their eyes weren't open. They were flopping around on the concrete floor which doesn't sound right. I went up & these little things are about an inch long, trying to go someplace & not making much progress. We looked all over & didn't find a nest. We figure the Mom didn't make it back last night, & they were getting hungry. Made a "nest", I got on the web, joined a rat/mice yahoo group, to figure out how to feed them. They can be fed puppy or kitten formula, which of course I didn't have, so off to town we went. Before we left though, I mixed up some canned milk, sugar & water, which is what we use to use when I was a kid, & puppy, kitten formula hadn't been invented yet, I guess. They actually ate a little bit, of course they have to be rubbed to make them go potty, which is scary on something so tiny & not very effective so far. They have to be fed every 2 hours, night & day, OH! GOODIE...........!!!! I haven't quite figured out why John found them, & I get to be nursemaid.........!!!! (G) When we got home I tried them with formula, one is eating pretty good, the other one hasn't caught on yet. I hope he does before he gets dehydrated. Oh! by the way they aren't common garden variety rats, they are Kangaroo Rats. It's really difficult to raise such small wild animals, but I'll give it my best shot

He makes a Q-tip look big...................!!!!

This morning when I went out to feed, BlackJack was watching the feed room door. John was in there cutting up carrots & BlackJack wanted to make sure he was first in line, when John came out with the goodies.

Right after I took the picture, he started pawing the door, which doesn't make things move any faster, & usually brings out the person with a crop in their hand, to "remind" him pawing & banging the door isn't allowed. He hops off the porch when we storm out flailing the air with the crop & yelling at him. Usually he's back on the porch before we get back inside & get the door close, so it's isn't a very tramatic experience for him. We always tell them, their help doesn't make things happen any faster, but they keep trying.

While remembering those brave soldiers who gave their lives to protect our freedom, also remember all the horses, donkeys, & mules that have been in wars throughout history. They never had a choice, but were used as needed. Most of them suffered great hardships & didn't survive.

OFF THE WEB, UNKNOWN

Samuel Taylor Coleridge
TO A YOUNG ASS
Its mother being tethered near it

Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834) was an English poet most famous for his Rime of the Ancient Mariner,
which also has a theme concerning the mistreatment of an animal.

Poor little Foal of an oppressed race!
I love the languid patience of thy face:
And oft with gentle hand I give thee bread,
And clap thy ragged coat, and pat thy head.
But what thy dulled spirits hath dismay'd,
That never thou dost sport along the glade?
And (most unlike the nature of things young)
That earthward still thy moveless head is hung?
Do thy prophetic fears anticipate,
Meek Child of Misery! thy future fate?
The starving meal, and all the thousand aches
ÔWhich patient Merit of the Unworthy takes'?
Or is thy sad heart thrill'd with filial pain
To see thy wretched mother's shorten'd chain?
And truly, very piteous is her lot -
Chain'd to a log within a narrow spot,
Where the close-eaten grass is scarcely seen,
While sweet around her waves the tempting green!

Poor Ass! they master should have learnt to show
Pity - best taught by fellowship of Woe!
For much I fear me that He lives like thee,
Half famished in a land of Luxury!
How askingly its footsteps hither bend?
It seems to say, 'And have I then one friend?'
Innocent foal! thou poor despis'd forlorn!
I hail thee Brother - spite of the fool's scorn!
And fain would take thee with me, in the Dell
Of Peace and mild Equality to dwell,
Where Toil shall call the charmer Health his bride,
And Laughter tickle Plenty's ribless side!
How thou wouldst toss thy heels in gamesome play,
And frisk about, as lamb or kitten gay!
Yea! and more musically sweet to me
Thy dissonant harsh bray of joy would be,
Than warbled melodies that soothe to rest
The aching of pale Fashion's vacant breast!

Well not the best picture, but you can see a large habronema in the top sore. Below the white spot is the rest of the body, which is probably about the size of a small grain of rice. The bottom sore, had a larger one, the one I pulled the head off yesterday. It came out when I wiped the dried invermectin off this morning. But the 2 small white spots one at the top & one in the middle & to the right are still in there & you can see the amount of damage they do. Bless his little heart, Sha'ba is very good about letting me work on him, considering how tender the area is.

Heard from Judy's Dad & he will be coming to take her home soon. She's done real good, seems to be adjusting to being on pergolide, although I wish she would shed out more. She's much more alert now, & isn't pot bellied & ribby like she was. I know my hay is higher in sugar & starch than I'd like, so we've soaked her hay ever since she came in January. Rory gets his hay from a feed store, so he won't be able to have it tested. I will recommend he continue to soak hay. But other than that, & trying to outsmart her about the pergolide, she shouldn't need any special treatment in the future.

HABRONEMA SEASON IS HERE AGAIN.......!!!

Poor little Sha'ba came here with a horrible infestation of habromena on his face & sheath 6 years ago. We got the face cleared up the first 2 years by daily efforts & fly masks. The fly mask keeps flies from reinfestating (not sure that's a word, but you get the idea).

Unfortunately there isn't anything to protect the sheath from flies long term. I have been checking him daily & was quite pleased to make it thru the spring without any sores on his sheath. But a couple of days ago, I noticed a couple of sores. Sure enough, a couple of them obviously wintered over. A few years ago I read someplace that they can incubate 6-24 months, which is the reason they are thought of as being chronic. It's not that they are chronic, they survive the winter, become active & draw flies, which bring in a new supply of larvae. There were a few teeny tiny ones on the surface that were brought in with the visiting flies & a swipe of invermectin got rid of them. I wormed him that night, supposeably internal worming kills external habronema. Can't say I've seen much difference, but I'm willing to do it, just in case.

I tried to take pictures this morning before I cleaned the area & put more invermectin on it. Although he's a good little guy & puts up with all my "doctoring", it's rather difficult to hold the subject matter & take pictures too. John said he will help tomorrow.

I know one of them is dead, I pulled the head off with tweezers. But the other one is still buried too deep to get ahold of. Pardon my rambling, but it makes my day, when I know they are dead, dead DEAD........!!!!!!!!! What a horrible incidious pest......................!!!!!

Cisco is my other chronic habronema guy, & so far this year he is doing good.

Here is an update picture of Daisy I took this morning. I've still got a little touch up to do with my small clippers, but for the most part she's done. The dark spot on the side of her neck right in front of her shoulder is where she was shot when she was still on the range years ago. She still has shrapnel in there, & her Mom said she gets an open abscess about once a year. I'm hoping with more exercise maybe it won't break open, but if it does we'll take care of it.

I was hoping when I upwrapped Jenny's foot this morning the abscess would be open, but not yet. I soaked her foot while she was eating her hay this morning, & she stood real good. Sometimes her cooperation level is rather low, but she was a good girl this morning. It still isn't open, so I put some ichthammol on it. We'll see what happens.

Judy, Max, & Frijolita all seem to be fine this morning after being poked & prodded & stuck with needles yesterday. Max actually seems a little perkier, although I can't say he's a whole lot more stable on his feet. Judy is moving good, although I never could really see what Courntey was talking about when she said Judy was "out". But her hips sure cracked, when Dr. Weaver manipulated them.

Now that I know where Pepper's problem is, I spent more time on his hip when I massaged him this morning. I have a little 3 legged thing you put batteries in & it vibrates, which he loves. He won't let you forget in the morning, & refuses to go out of his pen until he has been "worked" on. Like with Max I don't know if it makes a difference, but he enjoys it.

I noticed that Chester had a lot of flies on his sheath this morning, which could mean it's either dirty & smelly or has habronema larvae on it. Either way, it was time for my simple answer to "dirty little boys", thunja zinc oxide . The general sheath cleaning is a little involved from my point of view, so I have developed a short cut that works for me & my boys. Most of my guys see me coming with the zinc oxide jar & you can almost see them roll their eyes, & assume the position. But Chester has never had to have the "treatment". I got a glob of zinc oxide on my fingers & headed for the object of interest. Well, let me tell you, I don't think he's ever had THAT done before, & isn't really interested in being the subject of such an insult. I called for John & a halter. That makes it official & usually when we put a halter on them, they give up. NO, THANK YOU LADY, KEEP YOUR HAND TO YOURSELF, or I will personally kick you into the next county...............!!! Hmmmm, as I checked my hand for permanent damage from a flying rear hoof, I decided that it was time for the squeeze. Got him in the squeeze, & he never moved a muscle. Of course I didn't spend a lot of time working in the zinc oxide, I figured he could do that himself. Gave him a treat for being a good boy...........NOT.......... turned him loose & no hard feelings I guess, he was looking for more treats.

Thank you Dorothy for the new "hair-do"

Does anyone remember the 1st pictures of Daisy I put on the blog, back in March? Or how about the later one when Katie trimmed half of her & left the front half from the withers forward untrimmed? Well this is what she looks at completely trimmed, except for her legs & ears. We decided to not trim those, to help keep the flies at bay.

She is a tiny little girl once all the hair is gone except for a few extra lumpy pounds here & there. I'll try to get a better picture tomorrow. As soon as she was trimmed, I put a fly mask on her & once again, she started walking around like she couldn't see. We watched her for a few minutes, & she finally started walking normally, although still putting her nose down to the ground like she was sniffing a trail. Her Mom said she had never had a fly mask on before, but I've never seen one act like that. By feeding time, she was doing just fine.

Today was so busy I don't know if I can remember it all. Courtney & Martha along with Dorothy came out this afternoon, to trim those that needed it & massage Chester & Max. We also had a new Vet come out to check out Chester, Max & Pepper. Dr. Weaver does a lot of acupuncture & manipulation & all 3 of those are crippled in one way or another.

His exam of Pepper showed his problem is probably in his right hip. He said it could be bad arthritis, or it could have gotten broke or cracked. I know in the past he has been knocked down at least twice, so who knows. He said there really wasn't much that could be done, unless we had x-rays to show exactly what the problem is & even then probably nothing could be done. So I will continue trying different things to hopefully find something that will help that leg be more comfortable. Right now, he's getting Hyalun, Vit E, Flax Seed Oil, & White Willow Bark, subject to change..................!!

He adjusted Max, after poor Max almost fell down. Max can get real nervous if he doesn't know what's going on. So this strange man, carrying a bunch of medicine & hauling an aluminum ladder type thing was almost too much for him. He started trying to back up & his "backie" up doesn't work very good at all. I thought he was going down. Dr. Weaver got to see him at his worst physically. We got him collected back up, & he let Dr. Weaver adjust his back. Now we will see if it makes a difference, or if all of his problems stem from the break in his neck.

He didn't do any work on Chester, although he did give him a happy shot so Courtney could trim his good front foot. We know he can stand on his bad leg, BUT convincing him to do so isn't easy. A happy shot makes it much easier. Dr. Weaver said new x-rays might give us a better idea of what is going on in there. We had planned on taking him up to the Equine Center the next time we have to haul someone anyway for new x-rays.

Courtney wanted him to look at Judy, which Judy wasn't so sure about the whole situation. Martha & I were standing clear across the pen, & heard her hips crack when he adjusted them. Courtney had been saying she was "out". I'm real anxious to see how she moves tomorrow.

It's been about a year since Jenny the mammoth donkey has had any problems with her feet. When Courtney started to trim her, she noticed a lot of flies in one spot above her coronet. Sure enough there was a soft spot, a probable abscess. At this period in time of treating abscesses there is 2 schools of thought. Soak or poultice & wrap. Soaking has been a long time treatment for abscess, but a lot of people are going to poultice & wrapping instead. I'm about in the middle on the subject. So I wrapped tonight & will think about soaking tomorrow..........!!!! (G)

SUMMER HAS ARRIVED...........!!!!!

I don't know where the weatherman gets his numbers. He keeps saying it's in the high 90's. My thermometer goes over 100 every day. John has always said they put their equipment in a cooler place in Tucson, so the temperatures won't scare off the tourists. Makes sense to me.

This is the latest in the year Cisco has ever gone, without having bloody places where he's itched because of habronema larvae. YIPPEE! That's not to say he hasn't rubbed bald spots all over his back & butt, which makes me feel like a bad Mom for not brushing on him more often. Everybody has started shedding now, & there's no way the two of us can keep up with all of them. Most of them are self starters, "If they aren't going to brush us, we'll just take care of it ourselves". Unfortunately they aren't very careful about how they rub & scratch, & end up with bald spots. Poor Cisco looks like a moth eaten coat, with all his missing divets.

Judy is finally shedding out pretty good. She isn't slick, but everytime I brush her I get a lot of hair.

Monday is going to be a busy day around here. They will get feet trimmed, massages as needed, & there's a new Vet in the neighborhood, that will be coming out to look at my cripples. I like to keep in touch with all the Vets in the area, so if we have an emergency, maybe at least one will be available to come out.

I want to see if he has any ideas to make Pepper, Max & Chester more comfortable. Actually Chester is pretty good, although he still limps he doesn't seem to be in any pain at all. Pepper is the one I worry about, he has almost no use of one hind leg. So we'll see if the Doc has any brilliant ideas.

I'M BACK.............AGAIN...............!!!!!

Got in from Los Angeles, actually Torrance about 7pm last night. We went the upper way, came home the lower way, & decided, there isn't a whole lot of difference, time wise, which way you go. Although the lower way you don't have to participate in Los Angeles traffic patterns............!!! We went thru a couple of hours after rush hour, & there were still cars everywhere...............BUT at least they were moving.

Gulliver was his usual goofy, bratty self. Actually, although I haven't been around large birds that much, he seems to be rather mellow & accepting of whatever is going on around him. I've seen birds that aren't that eager to meet strangers & seem to have issues. He'll go to whoever has their arm out, & really seems to enjoy being the center of attention. In fact if he thinks he's is being ignored, he has a rather high loud shriek that definitely gets your attention.

Sybil gave a good talk, & the club members all got to meet Gulliver, which was fun.

Got home late enough John had already fed, & everyone was eating. I went around to say hi & got the impression that I was interrupting their dinner. Daisy was the only one that actually seemed to enjoy the petting. At least John said he was glad I was home...............!!!

John said everything went just fine, except my big old male guinea was dead yesterday morning when John went over to the pens. He was probably 9-10 years old, I have no idea how long they live. He didn't seem to be sick or anything, he was just laying under where he roosted.

I went out this morning before they started eating, & petting seemed more important.