Forever Home Donkey Rescue

THE HERD IS GROWING AFTER ALL..........!!

2012-01-27T08:45:00.000-08:00

The best laid plans of mice & men sometimes take a detour, which is why it is a good idea to "never say never".........!!!

We had made a decision to not take anymore animals in for awhile, because our numbers keep creeping over our self imposed limit, even with some in foster care. But a woman I know that runs a private sanctuary like us, is having to downsize. She has a mini horse with nasty feet, demineralized coffin bones, somewhat like Jenny's are. Rusty the white mule, LOVES the little horses, we've had 2 here & he literally worshipped them, put his life on hold to go with them & do what they wanted to do. Bijou is only 10 years old, & the chances of her being able to find a home that would be willing to take care of his special needs long term, isn't very good. Soooooo, I told her if no one wanted him we'd take him.

As these things often do, as we were trying to figure out a cheap way to haul him about 200 miles, a friend of hers that lives close to us is going up to her area this week-end with a horse trailer. He offered to haul Bijou back & we'll pick him up Sunday. There are good people out there, & although it doesn't really make up for the people that destroy these animals, it is wonderful that the good ones still outnumber the bad ignorant ones. Haven't seen him, have seen his x-rays, poor little guy.

Of course our pens are full, so where are we going to put him? Can't put him in with Rusty, as Rusty doesn't "share" well at meal time. Hmmmmm! Finally decided that BlackJack can eat out of a pen & Bijou can go in his pen. BJ doesn't care, he's become very flexible over the years & as long as there is food he could care less where it's at.

Got a call from Bill yesterday. Kelli his wife got home from the hospital & is really having fun getting to know Zorro & Maddie. He had a question about their behavior. He said Zorro was jumping on & biting Maddie & she was kicking the snot out of Zorro. I keep forgetting to tell new owners about donkey foreplay...!!! LOL Guess I should make up a list of behaviors that donkeys do.

TUCKER'S FIRST TRIM.......!!

2012-01-24T15:29:00.000-08:00

Courtney just left after trimming the usual suspects. There was a time not so long ago, when trimming Pepper was really difficult, he couldn't hardly stand on 3 legs, so we had to literally hold him up. And Courtney had to be quick. He has really perked up lately & gotten much stronger. Of course his broken hip leg is pretty stiff & he walks sideways, but really seems to be doing pretty good.

She's worried about Jenny's abscessed rear foot that is still draining. She is going to e-mail pictures of Jenny's foot to Dr. Teskey & see what he thinks. Dr. Shamis didn't say anything about putting her on antibiotics. I've thought for quite sometime that they might help & so does Courtney. She's worked with Dr. Teskey for years, so we'll see what he thinks.

This was Tucker's 1st trimming, I guess it was the equivalent of a little boy's first haircut. Although hopefully most little boys don't throw a fit & throw themselves on the ground. We have picked up his feet since he was a little bitty baby, so that was no big deal. But having someone do something to his feet really wasn't acceptable from his point of view. I ended up sitting on him & him bucking laying on the ground. At least I think that was what he was doing, he certainly was giving me a ride.......!!!! LOL He did get his first animal cracker afterwards, which he thought was pretty interesting. He'll have to be trimmed on a regular basis, his heels are already contracted, poor little guy.

2012-01-24T09:33:00.000-08:00

A REAL COWBOY HAS NO FEAR

Courtney is suppose to come today to trim everyone else. Boaz seems to be doing just fine, doesn't seem to be sore or anything. Donkeys are some of the toughest animals on the planet I think. His feet sure look a lot better than they did, I hope they will grow out good & no more cracks.

Chantilly has taken up with the "jenny" herd led by Miss Tula, & doesn't seem to miss Zorro at all. I'm glad she is finding a niche, she is so shy I was afraid without Zorro she might go off in a corner somewhere. But she seems to be doing just fine.

Tucker will be 5 months old the 6th of Feb & has started challenging Boaz, when Boaz brays. I don't know what he is saying, but he better be careful, one of these days he'll be out of the pen, (I hope) so he better not be telling Boaz he's going to whip his ass.....!!! LOL

We're thinking about getting in touch with Dr. Shamis about Tucker. It would be closer than taking him to the Equine Clinic in Gilbert & he's been to their clinic twice, so they know him. If he checks out OK, we want to leave him for a couple of days to see if he can eat hay without choking. That way if he does choke, he's where they can work with him. Out here we don't have access to emergency vet care like we did before our mobile vet left last month. Still talking about it. I had been putting it off, hoping that he would drop & we could have him gelded at the same time. But so far his little "purse" is empty, absolutely nothing in it. SIGH!

2012-01-23T17:57:00.000-08:00

Poor Boaz, what he has to go thru, just because he wasn't taught to lead & never had his feet trimmed. Courtney & I both were afraid the wide open cracks running vertical on his hooves, might get caught on limbs or something & damage the coronets even worse than they already are. He actually was a pretty good boy, although when it was time to load him this morning, he let us know that wasn't what he had planned for the day. He wasn't mean about it, but once his feet were firmly planted, we couldn't change his mind couldn't even push him off balance. We don't like to use a come-a-long but he wasn't budging & we didn't want to be late for our appointment with Courtney at the vet.

When John uses a come-a-long he doesn't pull them in the trailer, he just tightens the cable when they move forward a little bit. Once they get close enough to the trailer, I will put a front foot in the trailer & "try" to hold it there. Usually about this time, they figure out it's a losing battle & will hop in the trailer. It didn't take long for Boaz to figure out the jig was up & in he went.

I was surprised to see how much of a tummy he has, he looks much more svelte when he's standing up.......!!!! (G)

Once he was on the ground the vet noticed that his gelding area hadn't healed properly & had yellow "yuck" in it. So she cleaned it up & wants to see it again in 2 weeks. He hadn't acted like anything was wrong & I assumed it had healed after 10 days of antibiotics. I hadn't bothered to grope him to see...........!!!! LOL She said instead of the cut ends of skin healing to each other, they have adhered to the tissue underneath, so there is an open area down the middle. Poor little guy, I'm glad she noticed.

In the picture Courtney had already cleaned all the trash off his hooves & his front feet are getting soaked in White Lightening. There is no telling what gunk is trapped in all the cracks & crevices in those feet, & since White Lightening makes a gas, it hopefully got in all of them.

When he got home, he came out of the trailer like his tail was on fire, & ran to find the other donkeys, so I guess getting his feet trimmed wasn't too traumatic. He had muscle spasms the whole time he was on the ground, & we were afraid his muscles would really be sore, but if they were it certainly isn't bothering him.

The vet also thinks the place on his leg might be proud flesh rather than a sarcoid. It doesn't look like proud flesh to me, but then again, I didn't go to vet school, so I have to bow to the expert. She wants me to use Wonder Dust on it for a couple of weeks & see what happens. I HATE WONDER DUST, almost as much as I HATE xxterra. Both of them are caustic so you have to be very careful to not get "good" skin involved. Of course where the place is on his leg he can rub it if he wants to, which will probably smear it around. So we'll see how it goes.

I called Bill this morning to see how Maddie & Zorro were doing. He said they come by the house frequently to see what he's doing, which is really neat. He said he hasn't had to use the bell at all. While we were talking Maddie was trying to figure out how to get on the porch. Hmmm..........that seems to be the MO of most donkeys, if they know their people are in the house, they really want to know what the heck people do in there. A friend that had a donkey years ago, said the donkey got out one night & went over to the neighbor's to visit. When the neighbors woke up that morning the donkey was looking in the bedroom patio door. That's not really a problem, except the bedroom was on the 2nd floor. The donkey had climbed steps to get up to the patio area outside the door. As I recall, they had a heck of a time getting him down. It's much easier to climb up than down I guess.

MADDIE & ZORRO ARE HOME..............!!!

2012-01-22T17:51:00.000-08:00

We delivered them this afternoon, let them out of the trailer, & they disappeared into the brush, well they did after Zorro had a dust bath in the powder dust that covers most of the open area. He thought that was great. Maddie was too busy running around trying to see everything.

THIS IS WHAT MOST OF THE 20 ACRES LOOKS LIKE, THEY'LL HAVE TO MAKE TRAILS THRU IT.

Bill got some hay pellets. to "chum" them in with. We also took him a bell to use to call them in. He has a bale of hay, but I seriously doubt that he'll need to feed them. Maddie hit the ground with her head down chomping away. It's all native grass which shouldn't be really high in sugar & starch. Once they are there for awhile, they should eat more like a "wild" burro would & hopefully won't gain weight, they are both in pretty good shape right now.

On the way home Bill called our cell phone to ask a couple of questions. I asked if he'd seen them, & he said they kept coming thru the area by the house, & in fact Maddie was licking his arm, even as we spoke. She really picked him out when he was here last week, followed him all over the place, & tried to put her head on his shoulder.

Remember I said the road into their place was like a tank proving grounds? We checked the distance & the time today. It took us 15 minutes to go 1.4 miles, which works out to about 6mph. I don't recall us going that fast.........!!!! LOL At least we got the donkeys there without bouncing them around.

I was worried about how Chantilly would take Zorro not being here. She was pretty much bonded with him, although he didn't seem to return the thought. She came in with Tula's gang tonight, followed John into her pen, & seems to be just fine. Donkeys are "in the moment" animals, so they don't carry a lot of memory baggage around with them, at least that's what the experts say. But I would imagine they would recognize each other if they met again, I don't really know for sure. I know Ruger was very glad to see his momma Ruthie after being separated a week. And Ruthie latched onto her little boy & is busy mothering him & making sure the other donkeys don't get too close to him. He's about a year old & almost as big as she is, but I guess she's still going to take care of him.

Tomorrow morning we'll be taking Boaz into the vet clinic. Courtney will meet us there, we'll get him sedated, so she can work on his nasty front feet. They are cracked & split with quite a bit of damage to the coronets. I hope it isn't permanent, but it looks pretty bad. I'll probably have the vet look at his sarcoid on his leg & see what she thinks. I think most vets inject chemo drugs into the sarcoid to get rid of them. That can be quite expensive. There are a lot of old time home remedies too. It actually is smaller than it was when he came. A lot of times sarcoids will disappear spontaneously, the general opinion is, the immune system goes into hypermode & attacks them. If that is true, I think when he was gelded the 23rd of Dec, & he developed swelling on his belly, his immune system went after the infection from the gelding, & took a swipe at the sarcoid. Two times after he came here the whole thing turned into a bloody mess & shrank in size. But once I started giving him Tucoprim for the belly infection, we didn't see any more changes in the saracoid............SIGH.......!!!!!!!

2012-01-21T09:05:00.000-08:00

This is old Pepper headed out for a day of adventure. You will never see a more curious equine interested in what's going on than he is. He's finally put on a little weight, so he doesn't look like a walking skeleton. He's on 5 or 6 different supplements & doing so well right now, I'm afraid to mess with success by trying to figure out which one or ones are making a difference.

We haven't had to roll him over so he can get off the ground in quite awhile. We assume he's figured out he can't lay on his right side, so is only laying down on the left.

Looks like Maddie & Zorro are going to a new home tomorrow. A man came out this week to see the donkeys & hopefully adopt some for his wife. She is in the hospital, coming home this week & he wanted them to be there when she gets home. She's had horses, jumped, shown all that good stuff, but like a lot of us is getting older & not up to riding anymore. He also picked out Pepsi the little mini, because his wife has always wanted a mini.

We did the home study yesterday & decided that it wouldn't be a good place for a mini. They have 20 acres of pretty rough country, covered with scrub mesquite & lots of native grass that is pretty tall from nothing eating it. It's so far out in the boonies, they have no electricity, & the last 2 miles or so of the "road" is like a proving ground for tanks. John said it will probably take him an hour to drive in because he doesn't want to bang the donkeys around.

Since these 3 donkeys are not bonded with each other, at first they wouldn't be a herd. Don't know if there are deer in the area but if there are, it's a good chance there are also mountain lion. Of course a mountain lion could take a standard donkey too, but a mini wouldn't have a chance. They also can be killed by dog packs & packs of coyotes. The minis are more of a "token" donkey in a lot of ways. They are "designed" as urban equine for people that live on the outskirts of town & want to be farmers.

If Pepsi got out in the brush & got into trouble, on 20 acres they might not even know it. We had a coyote take a red bourbon turkey one time that was within 20 feet of where we were. The grass was tall & I guess the coyote was determined.

After a couple of phone calls back & forth they agreed that it probably wasn't a good idea. It's going to be like a Donkey Wonderland for Zorro & Maddie though, in fact I told Bill that they probably won't even need to be fed hay. They are both very gentle & tame, but a few days or weeks in such an invironment & they might decide not to come in for treats or pets. We're taking them a bell to ring to hopefully get the donkeys use to coming in when they hear the bell. Not much fun to have donkeys you never see.......!!! (G)

2012-01-18T10:43:00.000-08:00

Boaz got to go out of his pen yesterday during the day. We were gone for the day but before we left, the "herd" went over to Burroland, & we let Boaz out on this side.

When we came home, Boaz was standing in his pen, & BlackJack & Justin were pounding on the Burroland gate, with the "herd" behind them. It was just about feeding time & I guess they wanted to make sure they weren't forgotten.

It sure would make life easier for everyone involved "IF", Boaz & Zorro could get along. Last night after Boaz was shut in his pen, Zorro came by & postured..........that doesn't help matters at all, of course Boaz had to let him know what he'd do to him if the gate was open..........SIGH

ZORRO WITH HIS HERD

2012-01-15T20:48:00.000-08:00

Boy am I glad 2 days of racing is over, it wears me out & I wasn't doing anything except sitting in the bleachers.....!!!

The races started 2 hours late yesterday, which meant we didn't get home until about 9:30pm. The donkeys are use to being fed starting around 5pm, give or take a few minutes. Needless to say they weren't happy. We rushed around, getting them in & "slinging hash", so to speak. It was going pretty good until John took BlackJack's hay into his pen. BJ always has definite idea of right & wrong, especially when it pertains to his personal wants & needs.

When John opened the gate, BJ slammed into the gate & got out. No big deal, but he rushed over to where Frijolita was enjoying her hay & grabbed a big mouthful. I yelled at him, which of course scared Frijolita, she thought I was after her, so she took off. BJ went past me, & kicked up his heels as he went by...........Grrrr.......!!! I grabbed a poo rake & went after him. If I could have moved fast enough to smack him I would. Unfortunately he seems to know exactgly how long the handle is, & managed to keep that distance, while munching on his stolen hay........!!!

John & I finally trapped him, so his only option was to go into his pen, which he did with style & grace. Anyone that ever thinks these animals aren't smart or don't have a sense of humor, obviously has never observed them very much. He was putting us in our place for having the audacity to feed so late. The little kick to the side always accompanies his judgement of our short comings, it's never close to us, in fact I doubt that you could ever get kicked by BJ. But he does want you to know you have upset his routine.

The races today started closer to on-time, but we still got home late. The neighbor's were going to feed, but were in a car wreck in Tucson today. They are OK, but feeding didn't go as planned. Dave fed hay, he hasn't learned how to feed mush & supplements, but that was OK, they just got their hay first & got to stay in their pens until we got home & fed them their pans. It only takes them a couple of minutes to eat the stuff, so then they got to go out. Of course they ALWAYS get their hay AFTER their mush, so they expected more hay. But once they figured out they were going out, all was forgiven & they took off.

2012-01-13T08:38:00.000-08:00

Yesterday went pretty well, with Boaz having to stay in the pens, & Zorro out with the others. Boaz wasn't too happy about the turn of events, but he wasn't overly excited, so this should work out OK. Boaz will be out at night & Zorro during the day. John said when he let Boaz out last night he tried to entice Madie & she double barrel kicked him twice. John said he just went off somewhere else, so he isn't overly aggressive, but he sure doesn't like Zorro.

Ruthie & Ruger are out & about. Ruger sure loves his momma, & she sticks pretty close to him too. Of course she is the only familiar thing in his life, besides Boaz. He's really a sweet little guy & easy to work with.

First races of the season tomorrow. I won't be racing, the Hornets don't race until in March sometime. But our son & grandson's class, Super Stocks will race both Sat & Sun.

Grandson, JR, car is back to family tradition of ORANGE for this year, thank goodness.

Rod hasn't messed with 43 years of tradition.....!!

2012-01-12T10:03:00.000-08:00

Ruger is a momma's boy. He loves his momma & she wants to be with him. In fact she spent the night in his pen. Boaz has slowed down quite a bit from chasing the girls, so we're going to try letting EVERYONE out today. John will close the gate to Burroland, so they have to stay close to the pen area, in case it goes wrong. Hopefully Boaz will leave Zorro alone & everyone can be out to roam around. I think Ruger will stay with momma.

Yesterday morning John went over to Burroland to stir up some donkeys since no one seemed interested in coming in for breakfast. He found the whole bunch together & told Tula to get in her pen, which gets her moving. She took off running with the herd trailing behind.............including Pepper........!!! John said he was actually running, although he was going more sideways than straight. There are times when he can't hardly move, & it's been years since we saw him run. This morning he almost knocked Dave down when he went in Pepper's pen to pick up poo. Dave hasn't been around long enough to remember when we use to call Pepper "Bulldozer".......!!! So I assume he is feeling pretty good.

UPDATE: So much for letting everyone out together. John let Zorro & Chantilly out so they could get away from the pens. He said when he let Boaz out, it took him a couple of minutes to find Zorro & start biting & chasing him. Zorro ran behind John & Boaz slowed down enough to pay attention to John & followed him into a pen.............BIG MISTAKE, on his part. He's still in a pen, we're waiting to see if Zorro will go over to Burroland, which is now open. If he does then Mr. HotShot can be out over here in the pen area. If not he may stay in a pen all day.

2010 aka RUGER IS HOME......!!!

2012-01-11T17:26:00.000-08:00

Picked the little guy up this afternoon. He was born there, so had never been in a trailer. But he was willing to go along with all the nonsense, although we had to pick 3 of his feet up & put them in the trailer before he finally scooted in. I don't think he knew he could jump. The name 2010 didn't hold any meaning for us, so I named him Ruger after the gun company. I've named other "gun metal" gray boys that came in without a name after gun companies.

I don't think he had been unloaded 10 minutes & Boaz came over to look him over. Don't know if he recognized him or not, he didn't stay long. He's more interested in following Tula around these days.

Ruthie showed up & started running all over the place.

She really wasn't paying much attention to him, so maybe she would have ran like that even if it was another new donkey. Who knows, I have just about given up on figuring out how their minds work. Just about the time I think I've got it figured out, they show me I don't.

2012-01-10T12:07:00.000-08:00

BOYS & MULES WORKING THE MINES

Well, we're trying something new today. Boaz is just too rough on Zorro. Zorro is pretty young & although he hasn't been gelded very long, he's been gelded longer than Boaz. Boaz sees him as a threat & has been chewing on Zorro's neck until it looks like a science project. Yesterday Zorro & Chantilly stayed in the pens for the day. i got the brilliant idea that if Boaz & the herd went over to Burroland, I could shut the gate & let the kids out on the 10 acres.

So that's what we're doing today. Should work out just fine, we'll put the kids in their pen before we let the others come back over here. Almost had a problem, I went over to make sure where they were, & Ruthie followed me back to the gate. I guess she thought I wanted her to follow me. I had to push her to get her out of the gate, so I could close it.

Tomorrow we're going to pick up Boaz & Ruthie's son. We were suppose to pick him up the 1st time, but the owner wanted to keep him even though we explained donkeys need to be with other donkeys. He called & said he had changed his mind.

Now we will really be over full, not even counting the ones farmed out to foster homes, as the web-site now reflects. Hope everyone doesn't come back at the same time, or John will get to build some more pens. Right now there aren't very many people looking for donkeys, I'm sure the price of hay has a lot to do with that. Chantilly & Zorro are bonded, gorgeous & ready to go...........to the right home.

Heard from Amy about Rambo. They haven't put a halter on him, because he has a wound under his jaw where he probably had a too small halter on for too long. He also has a permanent ridge across his nose. But she said they've done about everything else & he's cooperative & enjoy the attention. What a difference from the hormonal brat he was here. I asked her if she thought someone traded donkeys on us during the trip to deliver him to her? LOL What a difference not having girls around has made in his behavior. She said he's easier to work with than Gus. I can believe that, I remember Gus as having a lot of attitude & definite opinions on what he would allow or not.

2012-01-09T06:41:00.000-08:00

Thanks Mary Jo....!!

Looks like Gus is enjoying visiting with his friend Trinity. Trinity & her brother came out to visit with the donkeys. I think you can see Tristan's hands on Gus' withers. Gus absolutely adores kids & wants to be with them, so I'm sure he was really enjoying all the attention.

Quilla, not so much, Claire said he watched from a distance, but wasn't interested in "getting involved". When he first came here, if kids came out to see the donkeys, he'd disappear if he could. If he was in a pen, he'd get to the farthest corner. So he's getting better, although I don't think he'll ever enjoy being with them as much as Gus does. I think the white spot in the background is probably Quilla.

Looks like we'll be going Wednesday to pick up Boaz & Ruthie's son. The owner has decided it will be better for him to be with donkeys. His daughter thought he'd change his mind & do what is best for the donkey, & I'm glad he did. Although we certainly don't need another donkey.......!!! (G)

Poor Zorro is getting his neck chewed up. Boaz doesn't recognize that he has been gelded, & wants to control his world. He'd not anywhere near as obnoxious as Rambo was about the subject, but he is making poor Zorro's life miserable.

Speaking of Rambo, heard from Amy. She said he's fitting in & is very sweet. I thought he would be if he'd just think with his big head instead of his little head. Glad to hear it's working out.

THINGS ARE SLOWING DOWN A LITTLE....!

2012-01-08T10:21:00.000-08:00

SOMEONE PUT THIS ON THE YAHOO DONKEY GROUP

GORGEOUS TEAM

We're letting all the donkeys, except for Mocha & Tucker out except at feeding time. Zorro & Boaz seem to have reached a level of acceptance, in fact last night they were hanging around together for a little while. Maybe they've decided there's enough girls to go around, who knows.

Boaz is busy making Tula happy. I sure hope Dr. Weaver was right when he told me they have one shot left after gelding & after 7 days even that shot isn't viable. The world doesn't need anymore little standard donkeys, I'm afraid.

He's not going in his pen real good yet, but he's willing to "go along to get along", & I'm sure he'll catch on pretty quick. Like all the donkeys I've ever met, he's not stupid.....!!! This morning was Ruthie's turn to not know where she was suppose to go. We moved Zorro & Chantilly into Sha'ba's old pen yesterday, & they have pretty much figured it out. Boaz will be on antibiotics for a few more days, so he has to eat by himself. Once that's over, we'll put him & Ruthie back together to eat. Then BlackJack & Frijolita can have their pens back. Unfortunately, those 2 are the biggest muggers & "get in the way" experts on the property. If you leave the pen open to try to get Ruthie or Boaz in it, by the time you come around with them, usually BJ has got his big fuzzy self in the gate or close enough that whoever is suppose to go in.........won't........!!!!

INTERESTING MORNING.......!!

2012-01-07T11:53:00.000-08:00

CHANTILLY'S 1ST OUTING A FEW DAYS AGO, WITH OBSERVERS

Started with John coming in & saying Boaz & Ruthie were out via knocking down the corral panels for the mini pen.............!!!! I envisioned blood & mayhem from one end of the property to the other.

Granted there were a few bangs & bloody scratches on assorted animals. But none on old Pepper, thank goodness. The two "STUDS" (at least they seem to think they are) Boaz & Zorro had divided the herd, Zorro seemed to have the most followers. Tula was letting Boaz know she is in charge of this operation & was staying with him.

Some of the yelling & fighting had been around Mocha & Tucker's pen, they were standing in a corner of their pen & when we went in Mocha was very spooky for awhile. She finally decided all the excitement was over I guess, & wanted to be scratched.

While John repaired pens, I started rounding up everyone. Most of the oldtimers were in like normal, although Cisco was the last one in even after we spent over an hour, enticing Boaz into his pen. Zorro & Chantilly went in their pen like they knew what they were doing, & Ruthie was about as good. But Boaz wasn't having any of it, & he wouldn't focus on us "herding" him, he'd just take off flying. Neither of us can "fly" so it would take us awhile to make "contact" again.....!!! (G) Finally had to close off the opening between the 2 sets of pens, so we could trap him & he's only choice was to go into his pen.......... unless in one of his flying trips, he comes in on the wrong side of the trap.......!!!!! A couple of more trips around the property, & he finally was on the right side & walked in like it was his idea...............Grrrrr..........!!!

One thing I'm thankful for is Rambo not being here. If he had been in the mix I think someone would have gotten hurt. Haven't heard from Amy, I'm sure he's getting along just fine, he's outnumbered & everyone of them are bigger than he is, including Gus.

Everyone except Mocha & Tucker are out again today, by our choice. They have plenty of area to be able to roam around without having to squabble thru the corral panels.

I hope by feeding time tonight Boaz has learned where his pen is & that we want him to go in it.....!!!

ZORRO IS OUT......!!!!

2012-01-06T17:26:00.000-08:00

He came out this morning like he was shot out of a gun, I guess he was trying to make up for lost time. He wasn't interested at first in any of the other donkeys or anything except running. Later on he was trying to fight with Boaz thru the corral panels. I am pretty sure he hasn't been gelded very long.

Chantilly followed him around all day although he ignored her for the most part. I would imagine they have been together for awhile, & she sees him as something familiar. They would make a beautiful couple for someone to adopt. I wonder if she is pregnant? Very possible I guess.

Hopefully he & Boaz will get over their "macho" attitudes, so when we let Boaz out it won't be a battle. We'll keep Boaz & Ruthie in at least until he's done taking antibiotics for the belly swelling from when he was gelded. If they can't get along, we'll let one out during the day & the other one at night. But I think they'll settle down pretty quick.

This afternoon Lynn one of the minis was trying to get Zorro to notice her. He noticed her alright, don't know if he put a smile on her face, but he looked like he knew what he was doing. I sure hope Dr. Weaver was right when he told me a week after they are gelded they can no longer become a daddy....!!!!! (G)

2012-01-05T08:31:00.000-08:00

Boaz is feeling much better this morning. That's code for being pushy......!!! Not bad, but having an elbow "at the ready" is a good idea.

Here's a picture of his sarcoid. It has some good tissue at the edges, & it wobbles, so I wonder if it's getting better. Sure looks nasty although it doesn't seem to bother him.

Heard from Thelma's mom this morning. The Duchess of Canterbury "ie" Roo is doing just fine. She's settled in, getting some training from Mike, that did the walkathon with Zeke, & getting along just fine with Eeyore. I love it when a plan comes together, it sounds like she has a great home.

http://grand.noir.du.berry.over-blog.com/pages/anes-du-proche-orient-6264977.html

A man from the Yahoo Donkey Group, shared these pictures his uncle sent to his grandmother during the 1st world war. He is a Frenchman, & said his uncle was in the Syria, Turkey area. Notice in the first picture the donkey's nostrils have been slit. This is suppose to make them able to take in more air, & unfortunately is still done in some parts of the world today.

MOVING DAY FOR RAMBO........!!

2012-01-04T19:10:00.000-08:00

We took Rambo to his foster home this afternoon. He actually loaded pretty well this morning. I did find out that even with 4 feet in the trailer, & his fanny hanging out, I don't have enough strength, to push him in. I'm not sure even a big strong cowboy could have shoved him in, he is very strong. But we worked with him some more & he finally decided to hop back in. Animal crackers helped the process.

Got to his new home, & he was ready to get out & explore.

He will have 6 geldings, 2 mares & of course Gus that was adopted from us a couple of years ago. Gus is a quirky donkey, Amy, Joe & their daughter Morgan are the perfect "foils" for his mischief. He loves to open gates & let the others out, which I would imagine can get pretty exciting. They just laugh & enjoy telling about his exploits.

I don't know if Rambo's mind works like Gus', but I do know he will probably give them a few more stories to tell, before it's over.......!!!!

Ruth is on the left & Boaz is on the right. I couldn't get him to stand still, so I could get a picture of his knee, maybe tomorrow. The swelling on his belly seemed a little larger & he was acting lethargic, it's only been a little over a week since he was gelded. I called the vet & picked up some Tucoprim on our way out this morning. He should feel better pretty quick, Tucoprim is usually pretty good stuff.

I've been trying to figure out a plan of attack on his sarcoid. Figure a few more days of not treating it won't hurt, although the owner had treated it a few times he said. Went on the internet to look around & came across this interesting idea.

http://horsekeepingbycherryhill.wordpress.com/2010/12/09/a-simple-equine-sarcoid-treatment-anecdotal/

Years ago I tried toothpaste on a small one on Buster's cheek. It did get smaller, but they sometimes disappear on their own, so who knows. We were taking someone else up to the clinic at Gilbert, so we had them remove it, & it never came back.

2012-01-03T21:20:00.000-08:00

We only picked up 2 donkeys today, Ruth & Boaz the 2 older donkeys, older being 5 years or less. The owner decided to keep 2010 their year old offspring. I tried to talk the man into releasing him so he could go with his "herd", but it didn't happen. His daughter thinks he might change his mind in a few days.

They said Boaz was Ruth's husband in the bible. I'm ashamed to say I don't know if that's true or not..........but I plan on looking it up as soon as I get a little extra time I don't know what to do with. It might be awhile...........!!!! (G)

I'll try to get some pictures tomorrow, before we leave to take Rambo to his foster home. I didn't take any when we picked them up, we were too busy trying to get them to load. Wasn't what they had planned for the day, although Boaz, jumped in pretty good once, Ruth, FINALLY, gave up & went in. They are friendly, but unhandled.............SIGH! Seems like all the ones we've gotten recently are like that. Guess it's better than UNFRIENDLY & UNHANDLED & at least the boys are gelded now.

Chantilly is now going out after eating, & follows John back to her pen like she's been doing it for years. Still no touchy, feely, although she will take treats. It looks like tomorrow she will be eating with Cisco in his pen. They both eat slow & Cisco is about the most non-threatening guy we have. Here goes the pen assignment musical chairs for tomorrow.............

Rambo will go to a foster home with 6 geldings & Gus the donkey. Gus is bigger than Rambo & is an "in your face" type of guy. With no girls around to get Rambo going I hope he will settle down pretty quick.

As I said Chantilly will go with Cisco, Zorro will go into her pen. Ruth & Boaz will go into Zorro & Rambo's pen. BlackJack & Frijolita will get their pens back, that's where Ruth & Boaz are until Rambo leaves. Tonight BJ & Frijolita ate in the outside bunk. Not a good idea, both of them "helped" the golf cart & wagon go from pen to pen until it got to the bunk, which is about halfway thru. Life is really easier when they are in pens, at least for us.........!!

Boaz has some swelling on his belly, I assume from his gelding, the 23rd of Dec. He also has a sarcoid on his left front knee about 4 inches in diameter. We have had sarcoids before but nothing this large. There are different types of treatments, his owner had gotten some x-terra from a vet & gave it to me. It's very caustic & I'd like to find something else if I can. I haven't even gotten a good look at it yet, it was almost dark when we got home.

Still no ideas on why the blog isn't doing what it's done in the past. I asked for help on the blog web-site, but so far no one has gotten in touch with me. It's no big deal I guess, but it's a little more involved to have to go to the side-bar to look for older information.

2012-01-02T15:09:00.000-08:00

My blog seems to have a problem. None of the daily updates are showing except the one I did this morning. If someone reads this, could you tell me if you are seeing the rest of the updates? If there is a problem, I have no idea how to fix it. I just barely know enough to do the little blogging I do.........!!!!! LOL

THE NEW YEAR BEGINS......!!!

2012-01-02T08:29:00.000-08:00

Well things are going pretty good around here, so far. Yesterday we took Jenny out of her pen on a halter, turned her loose, & instead of going towards Rambo, she headed for the "herd" that were already out. We had to be gone in the afternoon & were afraid she might change her mind while we were gone. So we haltered her & her friend Frijolita to lead them over to Burroland. Looking back & it looked like we were leading a parade, so everyone spent the afternoon over in Burroland away from Rambo. He's actually settled down a lot, but we didn't want to take a chance.

If everyone is willing to trek over to Burroland for the day, we could let Zorro & Rambo out on this side for some exercise. They are in a 24x28 pen, which doesn't allow for much working off of energy.

Of course tomorrow when we pick up the other 3 new ones, the dynamics will all change again......SIGH,,,,,!!!!!!

2011-12-31T23:01:00.000-08:00

from all the gang......!!!

2011-12-31T14:53:00.000-08:00

JENNY BIG GIRL

It's been rather peaceful most of the day today. Of course Jenny is still in her pen. Unfortunately she was almost 3 legged lame this morning. I guess she needs to be moving in order to keep that long term abscess from bothering her. It's only about 1/5th of the way down her foot, so if it keeps plugging up & making her lame, she'll be dealing with it for months. I soaked her foot in epsom salts this morning, & if she isn't better in the morning I'll soak her in White Lightening. The gas should kill off any bacteria that might be lurking in there.

Rambo & Zorro for the most part behaved themselves.........well after Lynn who is a mini, wiggled by this morning for her close up view of the new boys. They both got rather lively, till John ran her off. She hasn't come back so far, so I guess she was just looking. Jenny is serious about it unfortunately.

Tomorrow we're going to probably put a halter on her & lead her far away from the boys. Hopefully she'll find something else to do & forget about them. If not the next plan of attack is to lead her over to Burroland, hopefully with some of the others following, & shut the gate for the day.

If we could get all of them over on Burroland, we could let the boys out to see what they will do. I don't want the old boys to get hurt by getting in the way. That's how Pepper got his cracked hip we think, trying to be in the middle of all the fun. Years ago we saw him knocked down a couple of times. I'm sure he got knocked down at other times when we didn't see it.

JUST WHAT WE NEED.............!!!!

2011-12-30T08:46:00.000-08:00

RAMBO

I think Zorro & Rambo haven't been gelded very long. This morning Jenny "discovered" them & worked all her wiles before we finally put a halter on her & dragged her to her pen. Rambo has been upset every since & trying to get out of their pen. So far pawing, braying & shaking the gate. I hope he doesn't try to climb out like Beau did in September. I'd go ahead & let him out, make Jenny happy...........but........he's aggressive enough I'm afraid someone like Pepper or Jack might get hurt if they couldn't move out of his way fast enough. So we'll have to figure out a plan, the longer he stays in the pen without exercise, the more agitated he'll probably get..........SIGH! Zorro was interested, but not quite as silly.

We've been separating Chantilly from them at feeding time. With this latest turn of events, if they have all been together since before the boys were gelded, she might be PG.

Got an e-mail this morning from a woman with a young family & a jack. They got him from ropers & he was in bad shape. Now that he's feeling better he's acting like a jack, up to & including going after her young son. They want him gone now.....!!! And we are over full & can't take him. Life would be so much easier for everyone involved if people would get these guys gelded as soon as they have anything to geld.

BEEN WORKING ON NAMES..........!!!

2011-12-29T09:35:00.000-08:00

CHANTILLY

Chantilly is a shy little girl, & seems to have developed a method of hiding behind the boys. We are probably going to put her in a pen by herself, at least part of the time, so she can learn to take care of herself.

ZORRO & RAMBO

The boys don't know what the word shy means & Rambo is a "gate worker"........!!! I was hoping when Thelma went to her new home, we'd get a break from having to keep the gates double locked, but guess NOT.....!!!! In fact if you look at his lip in this picture it isn't just hanging on the bottom of his face, it's being "busy"...............!!!

Already have a call in to get their feet trimmed.

THEY'RE HERE........!!!!!

2011-12-28T17:45:00.000-08:00

This is the 3 new kids on the block, when we went to pick them up this afternoon. It seems like a lot of the time I end up with either butt shots or snot shots & today wasn't any different.....! (G)

They came with no names, so far the larger one on the left, looks like & acts like Rambo. Actually for anyone that knows BlackJack or remembers the 1st Gus we had, this guy has the same type of personality. His big nose is in your business at all times. He has had a halter on that was too small at some time in his life, & it has made a ridge across his nose. Other than that he looks to be in good shape.

The middle one is the little jenny. The boys have no problem letting you pet them & feed them treats. But she is not quite ready for all that being up close & personal stuff yet. She'll stretch her neck, but so far not far enough to actually grab a treat. It might take a few days, but she looks like she'll come around pretty quick. No name yet. She needs a sweet one.

The black one doesn't have a name yet either, but he is very friendly. Their feet need to be trimmed, but other than that, they seem to be just fine. Of course we haven't put halters on them or tried to lead them around yet. We'll find out more about their training then, I'm sure.........!!!!!

If I knew more about taking pictures I bet they wouldn't blur......!!!

As usual when we come home with the trailer, the gang surround it, to see who is in it. There was a lot of mouthing going on in & out of the trailer, so everyone seems willing to "go along to get along". We'll keep them in a pen for a couple of days & give everyone a chance to meet them, before we let them out to roam around.

Rambo thought he needed to threaten poor old toothless Jack, when we fed tonight. I yelled at him to knock it off, although I didn't see that he thought my opinion counted for much.

"No Name" & Rambo

Maddie went in the small pen, so for now everyone has a pen. When we pick up the other three on the 3rd of January, I think BlackJack & Frijolita will have to give up their pens. There is a divider down the middle that can be removed & make a larger pen. BJ & Frijolita are both food hogs, so we'll have to see if this works or not.

Little Miss No Name

Any ideas for names?

NUMBERS ARE GOING UP............!!!

2011-12-27T07:45:00.000-08:00

Don't have much information but looks like we have a young jenny & 2 geldings coming in either today or tomorrow. They were picked up at Casa Grande yesterday & delivered to Karen @ Equine Voices south of Green Valley. Karen will either bring them up today or we'll go pick them up tomorrow.

She says the boys look gelded, I hope so, after the tragedy with Beau this summer, I am really hesitant about having a jack here, in a pen. She has agreed if they aren't gelded, to keep them & have them gelded for us.

I think for now Maddie will get put in the small pen to eat, & we'll put the newcomers in her pen. That should work out OK, until the next 3 come in the 3rd of January. Then we'll have to figure out who gets to eat outside.

When Pepper came in this morning he was almost prancing...........what is that all about? He still has on his legging, & he's getting meds to hopefully help with his bad hip & knee. But it was amazing to see just how good he was walking. Granted by normal standards he's still not moving too fast, but for him he was "SMOKIN"......!!!!!

UPDATE: Just heard from Karen, looks like we'll be going down after morning chores tomorrow, & pick them up. She said they are relatively friendly, which is always good......!!!!

MADDIE'S GOT A BOYFRIEND.......!!!

2011-12-26T09:44:00.000-08:00

This is Maddie & her new best friend, Justin, one of the minis. I've never seen a jenny & gelding wrestle & play fight before. These 2 do so, every day & as you can see when it's time to rest they still stay together. I don't know whether Justin has visions of grandeur or if Maddie just thinks he's cute, but they do seem to be an item. Not sure what Cheyenne thinks about it though, Justin use to hang out with her all the time, but they never played, guess Maddie is a more fun "date"......!!!

Pepper is do pretty good considering it has been in the teens every night. He is moving a little slower than usual, but the ears are up & he's going out as soon as the gate is opened. His blanket is hanging in his pen, in case he needs it, but so far being able to move around is more important. We watch him to make sure he isn't just standing around, or shivering when he comes in. I think the leg warmers on his bad knee probably helps keep him moving.

Here is Tucker soaking up some sunshine. All the donkeys seem to spend time laying down this time of year. I think as the ground warms during the day they take advantage of getting as warm as they can, when they can.

Tucker will be 4 months old the 6th of January, time sure flies. I think we're still planning on taking him up to Gilbert for evaulation in January, if it warms up. We won't haul him & Mocha if it's real cold. Granted it will be warmer the closer we get to Phoenix, but starting out in an open stock trailer, would be chilly.

I had a brilliant idea that if he had to stay up there so they could feed him hay for a couple of days, what a perfect time to geld him. (And I wouldn't have to be involved.......I hate the process of gelding, it's so barbaric) Checked him out & not only does he not have anything to geld yet, he doesn't even have a little purse to put them in..........!!!! Something needs to grow, before we even think about gelding I guess........SIGH!