HOMEMADE FLY SALVE

Someone on the Yahoo Donkey Group posted this recipe. I haven't tried it yet, but if it works it would be great....! I wonder if you could use another carrier besides lard? Shortening, vaseline, etc..........?????

Subject: [Donkeys] Homemade Fly Salve

I buy powdered sulphur at the garden center/nursery and mix it into lard till I have a light green paste. About a heaping tablespoon to a quart of lard. I smear it on the donks' legs. No fly bites. Flower gardners dust roses with sulphur to keep aphids off them. I also give them the yellow salt blocks (high sulphur content).

YESTERDAY WAS A RAINY DAY........!!!

It rained most of the afternoon here yesterday. It wasn't one of the "frog drownders" we get sometimes. With those most of the rain runs off & doesn't soak into the ground. This was just a nice soft steady rain. Of course it was at feeding time, but that's OK. John was out in the rain, putting up a temporary roof over Pepsi's eating area. He's about the only one that didn't have a shelter. If he didn't have to be on a diet we could feed him in with the other minis, but for now he will have to eat by himself.

Ever since he's been here, Lynn has been acting like head jenny with him. He couldn't do anything right. So this morning she decided that it was time for a little action, & he was the chosen consort. Poor old Pepper thought he might like to throw his hat in the ring, but she let him know in no uncertain terms that she had a headache as far as he was concerned. Of course Pepsi's gelded, so she won't settle, but for the moment she thought she was having fun. It's amazing to watch the geldings, some of them act very studdy & others could care less.

TWINKIE'S NEW HOME

This is Twinkie's new friends trying to figure out who she is & what's she doing in their favorite stall & pen area. She will be in this pen for a day or so, until everyone gets use to each other, & then will be in with the other girls. They didn't seem to care one way or the other, although they did have a lot of interest when she got a treat & wanted to make sure they also got one, which they did..............!!!! Typical donkey behavior...........!!!

This is Twinkie with her new Mom. It will be a wonderful home & they think she is really cute, with those great big ears. If she grows into those ears, she might be a pretty big girl eventually.

She is going to get a name change. The other 3 girls all have Mexican names with "ita" on the end for little, like Frijolita. The word for cookie is galleta, & that's what they will name her, but I haven't figured out how to write galleta with the "ita" on the end correctly. If anyone knows how to spell it, let me know.

John really missed her last night when he let everyone out of the pens at bedtime. She always "helped" him let everyone out. Her reward was a piece of carrot & lots of pets before he came in the house. I actually think she preferred the petting, she loves to be messed with, in fact demands it.

Poor little Pepsi, this morning everyone else got out of their pens, but he had to wait until we could doctor his sarcoid. By the time we got it done, everyone had disappeared all over the place. Bless his little heart I put a halter on him & he almost skipped into the squeeze, he's really a good little man. The xxTerra must burn or itch or something, because we have to keep him from bothering it until it has a chance to dry. Once we put his fly mask back on & open the gates, he took off like a madman, bucking & kicking & running every which way, looking for the others, I guess. He made about 6 or 7 passes thru the corral area, down thru the wash, around the dog pen, which thrilled Nikki & Anubis to death. He finally found the horsey group, & is hanging with them this afternoon. In the future we'll try to get him doctored before everyone leaves the area, although he'll probably have it figured out by tomorrow.

TWINKIE IS GOING TO A NEW HOME

We will be taking Twinkie into NW Tucson tomorrow to a new home. The people had 4 jennies & lost one to colic awhile back. We visited them a few weeks ago, & it will be a wonderful home for her. They have a gorgeous barn I would love to have if I could figure out how to transport it & they were willing to give it up, which isn't going to happen..........!!! Right now she is going as a foster rather than an adoption to make sure she gets along OK with the others. Especially the one that lost her friend to colic. I'm sure Twinkie will get along with them, she's learned her donkey manners. I haven't seen her do a social misstep for quite sometime.

Pepsi is doing just fine. Last night was the first night he went out with the rest. The night before we left him & the other minis in, so he could adjust to not have Shag with him. This morning of course we were anxious to see how he did. Rather than wait for everyone to come in from Burroland, John went over to head them in the right direction, & of course see how Pepsi was doing. I look out of the feed room & here comes John with Twinkie following him, & Pepsi following her. I asked John if that was all he could find, he said he had to bring her over because she kept chasing the other donkeys away from him. Put her in her pen, then asked Pepsi to go into his. He let us give him a treat, pet on him, wouldn't follow, I came at him with a halter, & he took off like a race horse. Bucking & kicking & headed for Burroland just as fast as his little legs would carry him. Got everyone else over here, & finally got him thru the gate so we could close it. Once he figured out the gate was shut, he wouldn't let us get close to him for awhile. Finally he let John put his arms around his neck, till I could get a halter on him........brat.........!!! He actually leads pretty good, although I could tell his heart wasn't in it.

I think we finally figured out a method of treating his sarcoid that will work. We halter him, lead him into the chute we built with a corral panel, put the xxTerra on & then entertain him until it dries, so he isn't so intent on rubbing it off.

Sure has been hot the last few days. We always have good intentions of getting chores done while it's still reasonably cool in the morning. But it seems like something always happens, like getting Pepsi in this morning, to mess up our schedule.

SHAG...........RIP, little friend..............!!!

This has got to be one of the worst days in my life. This afternoon while everyone was waiting around for supper to begin, they started picking at each other, running & rearing, kicking out & in general having fun playing. I came in to tell John how weird it looked to see Max, at 17 hands & Shag as about 33 inches playing & kicking out at each other. Went back out within about 30 seconds & Shag was standing with his right rear leg dangling. This leg had some problems & we had planned on getting someone out to work on adjusting it. I called the vet & she got here fairly quick. She could tell it was broke before she even got out of the truck. Even though it was the only thing we could do, making the decision to euthanize is so difficult. The vet showed us where the break was, right above the hock, what would be our thigh bone. She couldn't find any marks or anything that would point to one of the other animals kicking him, which gives me a certain amount of piece of mind. Since he was club footed & somewhat crippled, perhaps he lost his balance in all the rearing, kicking & running around that was going on. We'll never know, but I wish things had been different. Pepsi is in with the minis, & should get along OK.

This morning I tried to take a picture of Shag's feet after his trim. He was standing in loose gravel & the picture didn't turn out very good. They really do look a lot better. This afternoon I went out to try again. Walked the 10 acres, (no Burroland during the day, in fly mask season) checked out all their favorite spots to stand in the afternoon when it's hot. Found everyone, except Pepsi, Shag & Rusty the white mule. For some reason he is absolutely smitten with Shag. Maybe he's been with a mini horse before, or maybe he's just never seen one that small. Whatever it is, they seem to be a pair. I'm assuming Pepsi is with them. Rusty is usually right by Max the horse, but it looks like he might have a new best friend. I'll try to get one when they, hopefully, come in for supper.

Doctored Pepsi's sarcoid again last night. He really is determined not to get doctored. Between John trying to hold him still, while tied to the corral panel & me trying to get the xxTerra on the sarcoid, without getting it in his eye, it's quite a battle. He's definately stronger than either of us. We finally got him to stand still just long enough for me to get it on him & even managed to rub it in. Told him what a good boy he was, (really didn't mean it) gave him an animal cracker, which he took like he deserved it, released him & he promptly rubbed it off on his front leg................!!!! I know they don't do things on purpose to really irritate us, but they certainly do.......!!!! (G)

We figured after the battle he would hold a grudge & not want anything to do with us. Didn't seem to bother him at all, he still expected pets & a carrot when John let everyone else out. This morning when I was trying to take pictures of Shag's feet, I was leaned over & Pepsi came up & laid his head on my back. Next thing I know he is licking sweat off my arm. So he seems to think we're great friends............until it's time to doctor...........!!!

FREEDOM DAY..........!!!!!

Pretty much the long & the short of it. This is Rusty the mule on the right, Shag the new little horse in the middle & Gus the donkey on the left. Shag got his feet trimmed this morning & then went out this afternoon, so he's having a busy day. He doesn't seem to know he's little, & he's so overweight he grunts & wheezes when he moves around. All the horsey group, wanted to "greet" him whether he wanted it or not. He was wheezing so much we were afraid he might have a heart attack, but he never turned tail. Rusty was trying to roll him like a tumblebug, but Shag wasn't having any of it, & kept kicking until Rusty found something else to do. We tried to get him to go back in the pen, but that wasn't going to happen, he's having too much fun running around. Unfortunately when he isn't fighting off his new "friends" his head is down eating mesquite leaves off the ground. It's going to be interesting to get weight off these two I'm afraid. Getting out & exercising is good for them, but not if they are eating all the time they are out.

Pepsi the mini donkey went out, bucked & kicked a few times & disappeared. He didn't want anything to do with Shag's initiation into the horsey group. Hopefully he'll find the minis or someone to hang with. I will start treating his sarcoid tonight I guess. Neither Courtney or Katie have ever used it, so I couldn't pick their brains. It's so close to his eye, I'm afraid that it might accidently get in his eye. But it's below the eye so hopefully if it runs or gets smeared around it will go down instead of up.

Chores are SO much easier now that John is home. Everything goes much smoother. I think the gang missed him. Yesterday morning when he went in the pens everyone, except Gus came over to him to be petted. A few of them always want to be petted, but even the ones that could care less, seemed to be welcoming him home.

It looks like Twinkie's new home isn't going to happen. The man has some health problems & doesn't think he should try to take on more responsibility. I fully agree, it would have been a shame to rehome her & then have to take her back because he could no longer take care of her. There's a home out there, we just have to find it.

Courtney was quite pleased with Jenny's feet this time. She didn't even need any trimming, just a few swipes with the rasp. I've been soaking her feet, & it seems to be making a difference.

TWO TRIPS TO THE AIRPORT..........!!!

Well I spent the day, either taking care of animals or running to the airport. Every year John goes to Indiana for his Mom's birthday, this year is # 96. Every year the best connections are on American thru Dallas/Ft. Worth..........except every year he has problems. One year he had to overnite in D/FW. Another time he almost missed the cousin get together, I.E. birthday bash altogether. This year he got there made his connection, everything was great going to Indiana. Well, except for trying to pick up his reserved rental car after midnight.

This morning I was running around like a Tazmanian Devil trying to get everything done in time to go pick him up. Only got half the poo picked up before it was time to pick up Mother & her car..........gets better gas mileage than the van. I checked the arrival info when I got to the airport, said it was on time, we waited & waited & waited. Finally I checked at the desk & was told that flight had been cancelled, in ........... D/FW. It was still showing On Time on the board...........!!!! GRRRRRRR! The guy at the ticket counter found John in the computer, said he wasn't on the plane that just left, might make it on the one after 8pm, but was scheduled to come in on the one at 11pm. What makes it even worse is for some reason our cell phone company will not work at....... D/FW, so we couldn't even figure out logistics. Threw Mother back in the car & raced home to feed. Mother offered to make the second trip, but her heart wasn't in it, so after chores I hopped in the van & headed back to the airport. Guess who was waiting for me................?????? He caught the 8pm flight after all. WHAT A GOAT ROPE.................. at least he got home the same day he was suppose to, which hasn't always been the case............!!!! (G)

Of course when you're in a hurry things don't always go smoothly. Tonight about 15 equine were missing & they were only on the 10 acres. I rang the bell, got things ready, no one showed up. I fed the ones that were here, put the other's goodies in the refrigerator for tomorrow morning & went to get the hay. Noticed Chili & Rusty the mule playing in the driveway with what looked like a pillow. Rusty was throwing it up in the air & when it would hit the ground, he & Chili would put their heads down like they were eating something. Went to check on it & it was a #50 bag of Sunrise Timothy pellets, which come in a white sack............!!! The feed sacks are kept in a cargo container. Checked the entry door & one or both of them had ripped out the screen & managed to snag enough of one of the sacks to drag it out. Once they found out they could shake the sack & get the pellets to fall out a few at a time from where the sack was sewn, they were having a jolly good time. No wonder they weren't paying any attention to my bell. Everyone finally showed up, but were they surprised when not only did they not get carrots, they didn't get anything in their feed buckets. Tula was absolutely stunned & voice her displeasure, very loudly. Twinkie & Jenny both tried to mug me, they were positive that if they pushed me enough a carrot would pop out I guess.

It's been an interesting anniversary..........!! (G)

JOHN COMES HOME TODAY............!!!!

The recorded temperature in Benson yesterday was 107*........!!! With just one person doing chores it takes twice as long. When the temperatures are that high, it seems like chores take forever. Besides the kids get grumpy because they think I'm taking too long. So they'll be happy, I'll be happy, not sure about John. When he called yesterday he said it was about 75* in Indiana, I wouldn't blame him if he decided to stay.........!!! (G)

Today is also our 47th wedding anniversary. Not sure what we thought life would be like in 1961, although over the years it's certainly taken twists & turns we never expected, let alone thought of at the time. Having donkeys & even doing rescue wasn't a big stretch for me. But John was raised with 1 dog, 1 cat & one parakeet. My childhood had a mixture of animals ranging from the usual, dogs, cats, guinea pigs, rats, horses, to crows, bunnies, raccoons & for a short time a possum. Trust me, they don't make good pets.

Can't wait to see what the future brings, I'm sure it will be interesting...........!!!

My thermometer on the back porch said 113.1 yesterday..........!!!! I'm sure that wasn't true, it's attached to a 8 inch beam away from the sun, but it still gets hotter than the air........at least I hope so.........!!!! (G) Today isn't much better.

Old Pepper gave me quite a scare this morning. I went out to feed & almost everyone was present & accounted for. Except for Tula, Chester, Jenny, Twinkie & Pepper. Before I got the chickens taken care of, the other 4 showed up.......but no Pepper. Not that unusual, many times he wanders in late, but usually before all the hay is fed. Everyone was eating & still no Pepper. So I started the search. After 2 complete circles of the 30 acres, I was really getting worried & hot. He's in his 30's somewhere, insulin resistant, Cushings & not too steady on his feet. He could have fell down a wash, got bitten by a snake, had a heart attack, the scenarios are endless. Instead of circling the whole property, I concentrated on the SW corner of Burroland, where he usually comes from. I checked that area 3 times, thought I saw him once on the other side of the large arroyo, but by the time I got over there I couldn't see him. Came back over to the pens, hoping he would remember it was time for breakfast. Still no Pepper, so I went over again to check. SUCCESS........!!!! The old buzzard was standing between 2 mesquite trees & almost impossible to see. He had his head buried in a greasewood, (fly protection). I don't know if he was there all the time I was looking for him, or moving around, but I sure was glad to see the old codger. He could have cared less, from the way he acted, I had to put a halter on him, before he'd follow me.

How's this for a pretty pair of front feet. Shag was born club footed, which is why he was a pet rather than a show horse, like his brother & Daddy were. A lot of times club feet can be kept trimmed & it's hard to even tell there are problems. But his feet have been allowed to grow too long & his heels are definately too high. Although he runs around & kicks up his heels, he is crippled. Courtney will be out to trim him next week, we'll see if getting some of that growth off, makes him more comfortable.

I've found out what mini horse poo looks like. I never thought about it, figured it would look about like mini donkey poo. No, Shag's poo looks like moose droppings. I probably wouldn't have known that, except we lived in Fairbanks, Alaska for 4 years. Right after we got there, I was out walking in the woods, & found these little "things". Knew what they were, just didn't know what left them. So John took some to work to ask the question. Boy did we get teased, so I've always remembered what they looked like........!!! For an animal that can weigh well over 1,000 pounds, moose have a dainty poo...........!!!! And so does Shag......!!!