Well it looks like I'll be having cataract surgery on one eye next month.  If I like the results then I'll have the other one done later.   I've never been able to understand why things start so early in the morning, like wars & surgery.  Shouldn't doctor's get to do their work at a decent hour?  I remember reading war stories when the pilots met for their take off briefing at 4am.  Are they trying to sneak up on the enemy?  If so, why did they usually find planes from the other side flying around too.  A nice 7am wake up call sounds better to me. 

When I have to be in Tucson at  6:45am it's going to make doing chores a real challenge.  John's about decided to drive me in, come home, do chores, come back & get me.......!!!  The woman making the arrangements looked at us, & said "that's going to be a lot of driving".  REALLY......???  But she still put me down for 6:45am..............LOL

Heard from Pancho & Ruger's mom.  She said they seem to be adjusting just fine, & Ruger tried to go to work with her this morning.  I assume that means he was at the gate when she was trying to get out.  When we were there yesterday, I noticed the driveway gate might be a problem, so I told her not to panic if they do get out, because it's probably going to happen.  

Haven't heard from Karla how BlackJack & Boaz are doing.  I'll probably try to call her tomorrow & see if they've lifted their heads yet.  

We're trying something different with Buddy Brat & his weight problem.  We had been leaving him in the pens, & feeding him a minimum amount of hay.  If he's lost any weight it wasn't much.  

There is a train of thought, that if you cut too much food their body goes into starvation protection & hangs onto every calorie, & they really don't lose weight.  John got the idea of feeding him a bare minimum of hay, less than 2 pounds a day & we're still soaking it.  But let him out to roam & browse on brush, he will get exercise & hopefully not find enough to gorge himself.  We're watching his neck crest & if it starts to get harder we'll have to come up with another plan.  He is really a challenge, he needs to be on a complete dry lot, but if his body is clutching on what calories he's taking in, not sure a dry lot would even work.  

Jenny definitely has an abscess, hopefully that's all the problem she has.  I soaked it again this morning, I want to make sure it stays open, so it can drain.  So far it hasn't drained much.  She's putting a little more weight on it.  The more she walks on it, the faster the infection will work out, so hopefully she'll continue to improve.  

Something bit or stung Quilla on his sheath a few days ago.  His sheath & belly swelled up pretty bad, all the way to his chest, & about 3-4 inches thick, poor guy.  I started him on Tucoprim Friday.  Over the years I've had others that had the same type of swelling & the vet had me give them Tucoprim. 

Both Cisco & Gus have something going on with the front of their hind legs.  There's a serum type stuff oozing out of their legs.  If I comb thru the hair I end up with a gooey mess on the comb & they don't like me doing it.  I assume it probably hurts.  The gooey mess looks like skin that's been in water too long.  I'm using thuja zinc oxide on Gus & Ironwood Horse Medicine with baking powder on Cisco, to see if either will help.  If by tomorrow one or both isn't better, I'll call the vet & haul one or both for a "lookie see". 

If you notice, Nigel's head is on my mouse-pad.  This is a rather common happening, he & Moogee, both seem to think I need their help to "computer".  I've tried "wallering" his head to hopefully irritate him enough to make him leave.  Hasn't worked yet, & don't have high hopes that it will.  

This is going to be an "interesting" week-end.  We race both Sat & Sun night..........well we race Sat night & hopefully the car will be in one piece for racing Sun... no guarantee.....!!!  Have a tour coming out Sun morning.  Monday we are going to do 2 home studies, one for Ruger & Pancho.   BlackJack & Boaz are going to go out for a couple of weeks of weed control.  I hope a couple of weeks away will give Boaz a chance to learn some manners.  He can make Frijolita run by chasing her.  She seems to be afraid of him at the time, but the next time you see them they are shoulder to shoulder, so I'm not sure what the game is. She has string halt, which usually doesn't bother her very much, but she doesn't need to be racing & crashing thru the brush trying to get away from a bully. 

Pepper except for his bum knee is back to "normal", in fact he has taken to hanging around with the Tula bunch.  How he keeps up with them, I have no idea.  

Jenny is a little slow these days, she has a big piece of hoof missing from one of her front feet.  Don't know if that is her problem or not.  Courtney was talking about coming out this week-end, if she does the week-end will REALLY be busy. 

Poor little Buddy Brat is having to stay in the pens 24/7.........!!  He & Honcho were returned after about 1 1/2 years with a family.  Unfortunately their diets weren't adhered to while they were gone.  Buddy I think has been insulin resistant since birth or soon after, he was fluffy when we got him about 12 years ago, & he is still fluffy.  His crest is really thick & even being in the pens is not making much of a difference.  The new hay is pretty low in sugar & starch, but I think we're going to start soaking it anyway, hopefully if will make a difference.  He understands he is being mistreated & voices his displeasure every chance he gets, poor little guy. 

IT'S NOT GETTING ANY COOLER.......!!!

June is NOT my favorite month in the desert..!!  We're starting to get a few clouds & the humidity is starting to inch up, but so far no rain.  The usual 1st rain of the monsoon is July 4th, so we'll see.

When we did round up yesterday afternoon, Buddy Brat & Pancho were play fighting over by the chicken pen.  First thing I noticed was Pancho didn't have his fly mask.  Looks like Buddy is up to his old tricks, he has always thought fly masks are toys & it looks like he hasn't forgotten.  Pancho seemed to be a willing partner, but neither of them were interested in helping me find the silly thing.  When we got done feeding we started looking for it, just what we wanted to do in the heat.  Did find it though.  We still have 3 fly masks & a Jenny boot out there somewhere we can't find.  When we find one it's more exciting than an Easter egg hunt........!!!  Doesn't take a whole lot to amuse us sometimes...........!!!

BlackJack & Buddy Brat 2001

Not much new with the donkeys, when it's this hot, they hunker down someplace & don't move around much.  Doctoring is at a minimum, which is good.  Boaz's knee is still not healed, but I think the proud flesh is gone.  I've just been putting tunja zinc oxide on it everyday  & the scab area is slowly getting smaller.  He's such a good boy, but I seriously doubt that anyone would ever adopt him.  He will always have that area on his knee & it will always have to be watched & treated.  

Chester's mom came out yesterday morning & groomed on Ruthie & Ruger.  Ruger is finally losing his baby hair &  it had matted on his belly, so Linda worked on him with curry comb & scissors.  She got most of them out, said she'll be coming out again.  She's thinking of adding Ruthie & Ruger to her family.  They have acres of mesquite brush, 2 horses, Chester & Norton & it would be a great home.  They adopted Chester & Buster last year & sweet Buster dropped dead while playing.  They added Norton to the family, but like a lot of people that get donkeys for the 1st time, the more the merrier, Linda loves her donkeys.  We'll see if it works out.  

Jenny is keeping her boot on pretty good this time.  The Hoof Wrap seems to be a great product..............except for one small problem. The various areas of Vel-Cro aren't long enough or wide enough for the amount of wrapping & bandages on her foot.  I did sew a couple strips of Vel-Cro on the one she is wearing now,  & she hasn't lost it since, so maybe I'm onto something.

Yesterday afternoon I took little Skeeke squirrel into the Tucson Wildlife Center.  He was lively & perky & all that, but I just don't think he was thriving.  And if his little bum foot doesn't get to where he can use it more, he will have to stay in sanctuary.  They are diggers, & in the wild he would need to be able to use both front feet effectively.

Skeeke in my tomato patch on the courtyard

They have quite an operation, I guess they take in anything wild, they had a baby bobcat, 3 tiny baby bats, a couple of baby hummingbirds, javelina, racoons, quite a few different type of hawks & falcons.  They also have a roadrunner that lives on the property.  One of the women was giving me a short tour & here come the roadrunner.  She went in & got a couple of dead mice out of the refrigerator, threw them to him one at a time, & he gulped them down.  She said he expects to be fed when he sees people.  I guess he's decided this is pretty easy living, much easier than chasing lizards..........!!!

WHEW IT'S HOT.........!!!!!

Been over 100 degrees in the area for the last week or so.  I think last year for 99 days Tucson had 100 degrees or more in a row, broke the record.  Hope we aren't going to do it again this year..........!!!! 

Last night the weatherman said the humidity was only 8%, sooooooo, if you are inside or in the shade it's not so bad.  If you are unfortunate enough to be out in the sun, it doesn't take long to figure out, it's HOT..........!!!

The donkeys get somewhere for the afternoon & stay there, not much moving around.  They have lots of mesquite trees to stand under & seem to know where the prevailing winds are.  We've always said, if you want to know where it is the warmest in the winter or coolest in the summer, watch the donkeys.  

There are some interesting relationships going on amongst the herd.  Honcho follows Boaz around.  Considering I thought they were going to kill each other the first few days Honcho was here, this turn of events is a little strange.  Boaz doesn't really show much interest in Honcho so far.   

Simmons & Jenny are no longer an item, Simmons is hanging more with the guys.  Guess that was just a passing fancy on his part.  Jenny could care less, when new guys come on the property, she does her thing for a day or two & if nothing happens she just ignores them.  

Pancho hasn't found anyone to run with yet.  He tried Buddy Brat for a few days.  That's a little confusing because they look a lot alike, although Pancho is a little darker grey.  And Buddy is a little heavier.  He looks at Simmons every once in awhile, but Simmons is too busy doing his thing.  When they are in their pen eating, Simmons stays busy showing Pancho who is in charge.  Pancho is very sweet, hope he finds a buddy. 

Gus spends most of his day hanging around by the dog pen.  The biggest & best dust bathing hole is there & he likes to lay there in the heat of the afternoon. He's going real good this summer, hasn't really had to have a lot of medication to keep his feet comfortable.  And his feet are actually looking pretty good for him, although to most people his feet are too tall, heels WAY too high.  Courtney has tried to take them down & it makes his feet sore.  So everyone has agreed to keep him trimmed to where he is comfortable & not worry about how they look.  

Just heard from Linda, Chester's Mom.  When we were up at the clinic Dr. Voss ran a test for Vally Fever.  Came back positive.  HUH?  Hate to show my ignorance, but I know very little about Valley Fever & never even thought about equine getting it.  I knew people & dogs get it, but that was about the limit of my knowledge.  Checked on the internet & there really isn't much information about equine Valley Fever.  Dr. Voss is going to give her a prescription for a drug she said they use for people & dogs.  

One symptom of Valley Fever is joint pain, I guess that is what caught Dr. Voss's attention.  Just went in & checked Merck on the internet, that was after I couldn't even find Valley Fever in the index of my Merck manual.  I can only assume Valley Fever in equines isn't very common, did find out the incubation period is 1-4 weeks. 

I forgot to ask the clinic how long we could leave Jenny's foot bandaged without changing it.  We've gone 6 days & it looked just fine.  If we could go 1 week, that would be easy to keep track of.   When they took the bandage off, John asked about the smell.  Dr. Voss said it's just stinky feet, like ours can get if they are sweaty.  OBTW the bandage they put on wore thru in 2 days, I've had one last 4 days.........!!!  Still haven't found the boot she lost a few days ago. 

JENNY HAS AN "AROUND THE CLOCK" BOYFRIEND......!!

Simmons is Jenny's slave, he goes where she goes & does what she does.  If she wants to move he moves, if she wants to stand all afternoon under a tree, he'll stand out in the sun if necessary, as long as he is close to her.  Doesn't seem to matter what the other donkeys are doing including his "bud" for the last couple of years, Pancho.    Pancho is still trying to find a new buddy I guess.  He was following BlackJack this afternoon, which probably isn't going to work.  BlackJack's opinion of most other donkeys isn't very favorable.  He tolerates them, but he seems to think he's on a higher plain than they are, & doesn't appreciate them trying to ingratiate themselves.

We are still keeping Jenny's hoof bandage & will be for the foreseeable future.  It seems to be doing good.  I called the vet clinic & they said to keep doing whatever we are doing.  Putting on about 8 or 9 different layers of things like diapers, Elasticon, duct tape & of course the fashionable brown gauze, gets old in a hurry.  I had ordered a hoof wrap awhile back with the idea of using it on her foot.   When it arrived, I was so disappointed.  It looked flimsy & had all these velcro straps that had to go in order.  So I put it aside & continued on with the wrapping.  As it has gotten warmer, all the material is making her foot sweat.  So I decided to "try" the boot if I could figure out how to put it on.

It's really not that bad once you figure it out, although because of the bandage on her foot I can't get it to fit nicely.  But by some miracle it does stay on & we are getting by with just one layer of duct tape, actually Gorilla Tape with a layer of Elasticon.  Of course there is still the brown gauze & diaper, but they help with the sweating I'm sure.

She kept it on for 5 days straight last week, which is great.  It has a pad in it that stands up to the rocks & sand very well.  We tried going 7 days last bandage change & her foot looked just fine, so we are now on a weekly schedule.

It only weighs something like 4.3 ounces, so it's lightweight.  She has lost it twice, but I think the problem is with the bandaging her foot is larger than a "normal" foot would be.  Also I have to rough up the vel-cro with a brush, to make sure it is as sticky as possible.

I've also ordered 2 more boots.  They advertise them to be good for a few days.  She's been wearing this one over 10 days & it still looks pretty good, no tears or wear spots.  But I really don't want to be without one, if I can help it.

John & I cored the new hay today & I'll send the sample off to Equi-Analytical tomorrow when we go into town to vote.  If it's low in sugar & starch maybe we won't have to soak Gus & Buddy's hay anymore. It's not that much of a problem, but it does add a few extra steps to the feeding routine.

The hay truck got here an hour early this morning which makes for a panic attack, since we were still involved in morning chores.  But it worked out OK, well except for the 1st squeeze of 62-64 bales coming apart & having to be restacked, so the squeeze could pick it all up at once.  The other 7 stayed together & it really didn't take the guys too long to get it all in the barn, safe & sound.  

Of course all this time the donkeys were watching all that was going on & letting us know if they were out, they could help with the hay. 

They got to go out as soon as the hay barn was secured.  Of course there was hay everywhere up & down the driveway, which kept them busy, once the mesquite branches were picked clean.  John had to do some trimming along the driveway, so the big truck could get thru without picking up a lot of "Arizona pinstriping".

 Tucker had to leave the mesquite eating "party" to visit with me.  I didn't realize he was in the picture when I was taking it or I would have made him "prettier".   He just looks like a little blob. 

Simmons & Pancho got to go out for the 1st time today.  I figured with all the excitement going on, if anyone did want to act silly, they'd be too busy to pay attention to the new guys.  I forgot about Jenny & Tula.  Jenny is a rather casual "slut".  If they are in the neighborhood, she'll do her dance for awhile.  Then she wanders off.  Tula seemed to keep Simmons attention most of the day, along with BlackJack, Boaz & Buddy Brat.  Silly boys........at least they weren't doing anything except squabbling amongst themselves for the most part & trailing behind Tula just in case.

When it was time to go into their pens tonight, Pancho went in like he knew what he was doing.  Simmons had no clue where to go,  except to stay with Tula.  Tula will NOT go into her pen if someone is following her.  Simmons was like glue, which really irritated her, which really irritated us, since they were the last two out.  It took both of us to finally get him separated & headed away from her long enough, for her to run in her pen.  Then he went in his pen like a good boy.

Got Mocha & Tucker's health certificates today, so they are good to go to their new home in Las Cruces.  The plan is we will feed early Thursday afternoon & hopefully get on the road by 4pm.  It will be cooler than hauling them during the day.   If everything goes OK, we should get home about 1am.  Like John says , it will be like when we go to the races, although it's usually a lot later than 1am by the time we "drag" in.  Have to go eat & do some "bench racing", so even if the races get over at a decent time, we still drag in late.

Took Mocha & Tucker to the vet this morning to get their blood tests & health certificates.  As soon as the results for the Coggins test gets back, we'll make arrangements to haul them to their new home.  Tucker is 9 months old today & we sure are going to miss him.  No matter what he's doing, he always comes up to the fence to greet you, if you are in the neighborhood.  Before this morning I had never seen him kick.  But he did NOT appreciate having his temperature taken & gave one of the "frustrated baby" kicks they do when they can't control what's going on.  Ruger is about 1 1/2 years old & he still does it.  

Buddy Brat got  a complete blood work-up for Thyroid & also Glucose & Insulin.  I know he is insulin resistant, want to find out how much.  Poor little guy has always had a weight problem & he loves to eat. 

In the "musical" pen dance, he ended up without a pen, & Honcho & BlackJack are sharing a pen with the hay bunk down the middle.  We dump their hay into the bunk & they can both eat from their respective sides.  Well, they would be able to except BJ has decide Honcho doesn't need to eat.  He makes ugly faces at Honcho & Honcho respects BJ's space, although their space is separated by the bunk.......Sigh........!!  I guess Honcho's run-in's with Boaz have made a believer out of him.

Buddy hates not having a pen, so we tried putting a corral panel across the side of the feed room to give him a feeling of being in a pen.  Not good enough, so John is out in the heat of the day, building another pen for Honcho, so he doesn't have to put up with "nasty" BJ.  BJ so loves to have someone that actually takes him serious.  And he's going to put up a "real" pen for Buddy, so he will be comfortable in "his" space.  

This is Simmons on the left & Pancho on the right.  They came in yesterday morning & have already met everyone thru the corral panels.  We'll keep them in for a couple of days to get acclimated without having everyone in their face at one time.  Boaz looked them over pretty good last night, daring them to challenge his authority I guess.  They just kind of looked at him like, " whatever", so I don't think there will be any fireworks like there was with Honcho.  Honcho by the way has been staying out of Boaz's space & everything is nice & quiet.  

Jenny of course came by & did her "slut" walk for them last night.  Poor little Pancho got so excited he jumped on Simmons.  I don't think Simmons appreciated the experience, he seemed to think he should be the guy.  Jenny meets & greets every guy that comes on the property & always has.  She's still got Buddy's attention, he loves to follow her around. 

I hope Stacy doesn't mind if I put this video of Dusty on the blog.  I missed him when he was really doing his thing, running up & down the fence trying to get a better view of Bijou.  Energetic little guy, I guess health wise he's really had a pretty rough life.  She got him when he was a month old, I didn't ask how old he is now.  She said he is so ornery if he was a full size horse, he'd be a rogue.......!!!  LOL  The word spoiled comes to mind, she said they never knew how long he would live, so they really spoiled him, & he fooled them by getting better. 

This is Bijou with one of the dwarfs & in the 3rd pen is the little 24 inch dwarf.  I forget to take a picture of him.  Both of them have horrible fused joints, but they were very friendly & move around.  She says when she is out in the pen area, she lets all the little ones out together & they get along just fine.  I don't know if Bijou will be with them or not, he looks big compared to them.  Stacy has already talked to her hoof guru.  She's seen his x-rays, about all they can do is get the heels down & leave the sole alone.   His soles are pretty thin & the coffin bone is really close to the ground.  She is hoping to get him out of the boots, I put him in the boots when he came here, so he's been getting along without them before.  OBTW Stacy likes the name Bijou, so I guess he'll keep it. 

Honcho is getting along just fine now.  This morning when he came out of his pen Boaz was standing there waiting for him.  Honcho spun around & kicked at Boaz, & I got on both of them.  Then they walked off together.  I guess they are still figuring out who's going to be in charge.  I would imagine it will be Boaz, but I could be wrong.  Honcho isn't serious enough to be in charge.....!!!

Both Honcho & Buddy are losing their "sausage" look.  And their neck crests.  We're soaking Buddy's hay & they are both getting Magnesium Oxide & Al-Car to help with balancing the hay & to help with their insulin resistance.  Honcho has always been built "sturdy" like an ox, but he's never had problems with fat pockets or anything.  Buddy on the other hand has always looks like a sack full of basketballs, & no matter what we try, he doesn't lose his "basketballs".  We keep trying though, John said he needs to get bit by a rattlesnake like Quilla did a few years ago.  I don't think that would be a good idea..........!!

 DAISY RESTING UP FROM PLAYING WITH THE BOYS

We let Honcho out of his pen yesterday & everything seemed to be going well, no one paying attention to anyone else & life is good.  

Last night right after we went to bed, we heard the thundering of hooves, grunting, braying & in general lots of commotion going on.  Got out of bed, put on enough clothes to survive in the mesquite brush, grabbed some flashlights & went out to see what was going on.  

Good grief, almost EVERYBODY was running as a group, some of them running from & others chasing.  Boaz & Honcho were running as a couple, & when I flashed a light on Honcho's forehead I noticed it looked rather rough, like he'd ran into a tree.  (I've seen this type of wound before from crazy boys)  No one, & I mean no one was paying the least bit of attention to us, they were too busy, trying to escape or having fun, depending on their involvement in the "party".  We finally got Honcho trapped in his pen, & then it was fairly easy to get Boaz to go into his.  

Once they were corralled everyone else stopped & stood around looking confused, they aren't use to seeing us at midnight unless we're coming home from the races.  

Honcho was overheated, dripping sweat & breathing so heavy I was afraid he was going to collapse.  I grabbed a rag & started soaking him with cool water, much to his disgust.  Donkeys are NOT fans of water.  It was hard to tell who was the aggressor, so we left both of them in for the night & I finally got Honcho cooled off.  

We also tried to find Pepper, Jenny & Tucker to make sure they were OK, & hadn't gotten in the line of fire, but in the dark unless they want to be found you could walk within a few feet & not see them.  

Went to bed, got up this morning & I told John to let the warriors out before feeding to see what they would do.  Next thing we know we're having a repeat performance, but in the daylight we could figure out what was going on.  This time Honcho was chasing little Tucker & Mocha was trying to protect Tucker.  Honcho was ignoring her like she wasn't even there.  Boaz was trying to engage Honcho, but everyone was moving too fast.  So I would imagine last night Boaz was trying to protect Daisy who was leading the pack when we went out.  I guess he sees everyone as part of his herd, & Honcho is an outsider.  It took awhile to get them separated, but once Honcho was in a pen, everything slowed down.  

Tucker was just fine, & so was Pepper & Jenny.  I have no idea what is going thru Honcho's little brain, but he's going to have to stay in a pen until we get it figured out.  I also have an appointment for blood tests for both him & Buddy.  I need to find out where Buddy's numbers are for Thyroid & also Insulin Resistance.  He has always had a real problem with weight & with the numbers maybe we can figure out something that will work.  Honcho will be tested for testosterone.  He was gelded at the age of 5 by a vet, so I wouldn't expect him to be proud cut, but I guess stranger things have happened. I wouldn't say all his behavior is stud like, a lot of it is just Honcho.  Maybe coming into a situation where there are so many donkeys, just got him all excited, who knows.  We'll find out. 

Courtney got out yesterday late as usual.........!!!  She was suppose to be here around 10:30, got here after 4pm.  Needless to say the ones that had waited ALL day in their pens for her to get here, weren't very happy.  Courtney has never figured out there is only 24 hours in a day, & I don't think she ever will........!!!

She did 8 of them, including Gus & Jenny, which are the reason she was here again so soon.  She wants me to send pictures of Jenny's feet to the clinic in Gilbert to make sure she's trimming the way they want her trimmed, & also to see if there is anything else we need to do.  We don't see any growth down from the coronet over the resection area, but it does look like the open area is getting narrower.  The hole in the bottom has grown out enough that she trimmed some of it off.  So I guess we're making progress.  Jenny was one of those that stayed in her pen all day & didn't appreciate the situation.  She wasn't really horrible, but she did let us know she wasn't real happy.  Although animal crackers given at regular intervals seemed to soothe her nerves.

Courtney was pleased with how well Gus is walking & the fact that he is moving around more than he did a year ago.  She also noticed how svelte he's getting.  He still has his little saddle pads, but like she said, when she first saw him, you could have set a dinner service for 6 on his back.  Now maybe just service for two.  He might keep those pads, a lot of time they don't lose them, but he does look much more comfortable.  

She noticed Honcho's feet were pretty long so we decided to do him.  When Honcho left here 1 1/2 year ago, he was good with his feet.  I put a halter on him, he took one look at Courtney & absolutely had a tantrum.  For a donkey he is very quick & always has had a lot of attitude.  Let me put it this way, you better be smart & knowledgeable or he'll be running the place in no time.  Courtney said, "no problem",  She has a couple of rope halters with knots that line up with the nerves on either side of the nose.  All rope halters have the knots but these are "special"....!!!  Put that on him, & he never even challenged it, he stood like it was what he had planned for the day.  Which of course irritated both Courtney & me since he could have done that in the first place.  But he's always challenged authority & guess he always will.  I'd love to find him a home where his personality was appreciated as it is, he could be taught to do just about anything.......if he wanted to do it. 

Found out yesterday what probably happened to the masks Boaz is missing.  When we were rounding up last night, BlackJack had a death grip on Boaz's mask.  Yelling & chasing on our part just made it more fun, no matter what we did, BJ wouldn't let go........Grrrrr!  Finally Boaz took a quick turn & BJ lost his grip.  I wondered why Boaz was the only one losing masks.  Now that Buddy Brat is back BJ will have 2 of them to pester.  Years ago I went out & saw dust & dirt flying up in the air.  BlackJack had hold of Buddy's mask & had reared up in the air, so all 4 of Buddy's feet were off the ground.  GOOD FLY MASKS, sorry Betty quit making them..........!!!!!

OUR LITTLE FAMILY IS GROWING..........!!

Got a call this afternoon that isn't all that unusual for a rescue unfortunately.  When we adopt out donkeys there is a contract that says if for any reason the family can no longer keep them, the donkeys will be returned to us.  

Honcho & Buddy Brat have been in their home for about 1 1/2 years.  This morning Honcho killed a 9 month old goat & tore another up pretty bad.  The people wanted the donkeys gone as soon as possible, so we went & got them as soon as we could get the trailer hooked to the truck.  

 BUDDY BRAT

 HONCHO

This happens occasionally, although usually it's with newborns.  They weren't there before, so they must be an enemy, & the donkeys will stomp them, like they would an intruding dog.  Not sure why he went after a goat he had been with in a 4 acre area for months, the survivor is a buck.  Maybe he was starting to feel like a "man" & challenged Honcho, who knows.  The other one was a young doe.

Poor Honcho, this is the 4th time he's been here, & even this time isn't really his fault, he was acting like a donkey.  But people don't want to hear that when something like this happens.  I'm glad they bothered to call rather than just shoot him which is what happens often, depending on how mad the people are.  

They are both way too heavy, & Buddy's crest is very large & hard, so he will be starting on a diet tonight.  Buddy has always had a problem with weight, or maybe height.  If he was taller he wouldn't be so fat..........!!!! 

We had to do a "pen dance", obviously Buddy needs to eat by himself to help control what he eats.  BlackJack is getting thrown out of his pen, & will eat at liberty from a bunk by the feed room.  Honcho went in his pen.  Buddy went in Jenny's pen, & she will go back in the hay barn, which is going to be a battle.  She prefers HER pen & let's you know it.  

So things will be a little confusing for a few days, as everyone shifts their ideas of what is right in their world. 

THE LOST IS FOUND...!!

The weather calmed down, Buddy Brat & Honcho were found a few miles from home headed for Vail.  Actually they had found a wash to stand in till the weather got better.  Lauren said when Justin (her husband, not our donkey Justin) found them they were really glad to see him.  Followed him all the way home. 

Well forget about Cisco going along with anything.  When John went out this morning Gus was in his pen, so John went ahead & shut him in.  Rounded up everyone, looked around & Cisco was standing outside "his" pen.  Wouldn't move not even for a treat.  I finally had to halter & lead him to that "other" pen.  Then he wouldn't eat.  Of course all the time Gus was enjoying his breakfast.  SIGH!  They don't make it easy do they?  It will take a few days I guess for Cisco to give up.  

Our weather went to hell just as we started feeding, 30mph winds & rain.  Makes for a fun time for all, especially the ones that don't have a shelter.  As soon as they got thru eating, we let the ones without shelters out, so they can find a place to wait out the weather.  It's suppose to drag into Monday & in fact they are forecasting snow down to 3000 feet.  We are at 3300......!!!  

Just got a call from Buddy Brat & Honcho's mom.  She said someone in the neighborhood has been opening gates & letting animals out lately.  Said their dogs had a fit about 3am, they didn't see anything, but when they got up this morning, gate wide open, horses & donkeys gone.  They found the horses visiting with the neighbor's horses, but no donkeys.  Because of the nasty weather I would imagine they are hunkered down somewhere waiting for the weather to clear.  Her husband had been out driving around & she had been on the phone, but no one has seen them.  One thing about it, if someone wanted to steal animals they'd have taken the horses, not the donkeys.