WHY DO WE DO THIS?

John & I were asked yesterday, "why do you do this, you can't save all of them". This question was from people that care about us & worry that at our age, & contending with the hot Arizona summer, that it's too much for us to take care of. John tried to explain it, but I'm not sure they understood.

WISHING FOR COOLER WEATHER........!!!

One day is just about like another this time of year, at least until we get some clouds to hopefully jump start the monsoon season.

I feel bad that the donkeys are out in the heat. But as desert animals they seem to handle it just fine. In fact, I have seen BlackJack lay out in the middle of the wash, on his side in the afternoon sun. Most of them though stay under the trees in the shade, & if I try to feed too early in the afternoon, they won't move. I've been feeding about 2 hours later than I would in the winter & it works much better.

I hate to think of the animals that are in pens with no shade to get out of the sun. By watching my guys, I know any animal, given the chance would use shade if they could. We try to set the feed bunks in shaded areas, but a couple are in the sun. As soon as those donkeys get thru eating, they head for shade. How anyone can sit in their air conditioned house & not give a thought to the animals in their care, is something I can't identify with.

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

Yesterday I stopped looking at the thermometer at 110.2*.........!!!!! Sure makes you want to stay inside & vegetate. Can't do that till chores are done, which with John gone takes me a lot longer to do. I'm writing this while cooling off, before going back out to finish cleaning the last pens.

I started chores a little later than usual yesterday, & the trouble causers, were present & accounted for, so chores went well. This morning I tried the same "trick" & had 6 holdouts, that didn't show up until I had already fed everyone else & the chickens. Then it was like "hurry up, we're here now"........!!!! I won't say they are ungrateful, BUT, they seem to know that they will get fed no matter when they show up.

Jenny has been walking pretty good the last couple of days. Hopefully the abscesses are working out of her feet & we'll see some long term improvement. We are anxious to see what her x-rays show, hopefully no long term internal damage. If her feet are in pretty good shape, then it will probably just take time, & frequent trimming to get her back to walking without pain.

Everyone else seems to be doing good. This morning after I let everyone out, Mirage went on a running terror, down the wash, up the driveway, crashing thru the trees & scattering donkeys everywhere. I don't know where Max & Jack were, but they didn't participate. He sure runs pretty.

MIRAGE

Not the best picture I could have taken, but this time of year, they have fly masks on all day long. When it's 108* I don't really feel like taking the camera, & trying to find which tree they are hanging out under, taking off the fly mask & them trying to figure out, what the heck I'm doing. This was taken after evening feeding & before the hay arrived. Otherwise it would just be a picture of his body, with his head buried in hay.

John left this morning, so I got my first opportunity to do ALL the chores by myself. It sure takes a lot longer.....!!! I don't spend as much time gathering every little tidbit of poo, I'm sure he will notice that when he gets home. It's too hot to be that "tidy", especially when the small pieces quickly grind into nothing, as hot & dry as it is.

BlackJack has been in the Fat Farm a few days, & is ready to get out, now. He really enjoys going around all the pens in the morning & picking up whatever hay is left. He knows which pens are likely to have leftovers, & hits them first. Now that he is in the pen, as soon as he is finished with his hay, he starts watching us as we work, & yelling, to let us know, we forgot to let him out, I guess. This morning when I was weighing hay, he yelled the whole time. Unfortunately he is an "air fern" & loves to eat, which is a bad combination.

HAPPINESS IS A FULL HAY BARN...........!!!

We finally got our load of hay this morning. We really weren't sure the truck & double trailer could get in our driveway. They left the 2nd trailer out on the main road, unloaded the 1st trailer, took it out & brought in the 2nd trailer. JOHN & I DON'T HAVE TO HAUL & UNLOAD HAY THIS YEAR........!!! Whoopee! And Mr. Land said he'd come back next year, so I guess it wasn't too hard on his truck & the squeeze. We got 8 of these "blocks" of hay & they fit nicely in the hay barn, with room to spare.

The next 5 days are going to be a lot of fun. John leaves early in the morning, & will be gone for 5 days. That means I will be "chief cook & bottle washer" for the gang. I hope they are better behaved than they were today. It was well over 100 degrees & they didn't want to move when it was time for supper. That was after they wouldn't come over from Burroland this morning. I had to go over & lead Pepper & Lucy, before the others decided the "jig was up", & Mom wasn't very happy. I told John if they behave like this while he is gone, they will stay in their pens. I probably wouldn't do it for all, but might round up the ring leaders, & let them stay in "solitary" confinement for a day. Unfortunately the lesson would probably be lost on the others. I don't think donkeys have empathy for one another

Jenny got her feet trimmed today. I wasn't here, but heard that she wasn't very well behaved. She's been doing pretty good with me, when I soak her feet, but I wasn't here for the trimming. I guess, in her mind, there is a big difference between soaking & trimming. I noticed when I came home, she was walking more comfortable, so it's probably going to be important to keep her feet trimmed frequently. I have an appointment to have her feet x-rayed, so we'll see what they look like inside.

COMPUTER PROBLEMS!

I may be gone for a few days, it seems my computer is ill.........!!!! I know just enough about computing to get in trouble, so a technician is coming out tomorrow to see if he can fix it without losing my info.

MIRAGE IS BACK..........!!!!!

This is Justin the mini donkey & Max the BIG horse, looking in the trailer yesterday to see what we brought home. You can't see him, but Mirage is looking back at them. The minis have taken over his old pen, so he went in a pen next to Jenny. He didn't find her very interesting, but after I let her out of her pen & he had access to it, he found her water bucket & amused himself splashing & sticking both front feet in the 20 gallon bucket. We remembered he is a water baby & will play in it until it's gone & put an automatic waterer in his pen. I didn't even think about her bucket.

We'll leave him in for a couple of days to get use to the place again, & then he can go out. Before he could only go out at night, because he was too rough on Sha'ba & Snowy. His Mom said he isn't rough with her mare anymore, so we'll give him a chance to ignore Sha'ba. If he does he can be out all the time except at mealtime.

He's grown quite a bit, looks almost as tall as Max. He also has much better manners. He's had about 5 months of ground & saddle training, so he knows how to behave. He's got such a sweet personality, even when he was being a brat, you couldn't help but love him.

This morning when Jenny saw me coming with the soaking boot for her feet, & she started braying & coming towards me. I can only assume she likes to have her feet soaked now. She stands very good for soaking, much better than the first time when 4 of us got pulled, mashed, squashed, wet & other assorted verbs to describe the experience. I am wrapping both of her front feet in diapers & vet wrap, but only soaking the left one. The right one just looks too thin & although it has open places in the hoof, the left one seems to bother her the most.

Just found out our local vet has a new portable digital x-ray machine, so I will call & make an appointment for a farm call soon.

SOMETIMES CARING ISN'T ENOUGH

John & I just got home this afternoon from trying to get this little guy up & in our trailer. Unfortunately it's wasn't meant to be, & we came home with an empty trailer.

When we got there this morning, he was laying in the same position as he was, last night when we left. We put a halter on him, & used ropes to try to get his rear feet under him. A neighbor woman even came over & tried to help. But he just didn't have the strength to get up after laying for 4 days.

John called the man at work, & told him how bad the little donkey was. The guy said he couldn't afford to call a vet until tomorrow, so John said we would pay to euthanize him. One of the local vets is only about 4 miles away, so John drove up there, while I stayed with the donkey. She said she would come when she could get away. While we waited John found a big umbrella to shade him with. It's suppose to be over 100* today, & it was really getting hot. I'm not sure he even knew what was going on, he kept thrashing his legs, but it almost seemed to be automatic. We waited over 3 hours, he started gasping, & within a few minutes had died.

I don't even know if he had a name, but it was like losing one of our own. While he & I were waiting for John to come back, I told him, if he had no one else worthwhile in his life, to wait for me at the Rainbow Bridge .

On our way into Benson this afternoon we noticed the man that owns the little donkey was home, so we stopped & John talked to him. He said the donkey was down most of Monday but had gotten up Monday night to eat. But he hasn't gotten up since then. He said we could have him, if we can get him in the trailer.

We went back tonight to turn him over to the other side, since he had been laying on that side for at least 2 days. I also gave him a shot to maybe help if he has pain. He isn't foundered, which is what I expected. The man said he has tried to get up, but can't get his back legs under him. He says he has had arthritis for quite some time.

He's rubbed large bed sores in 2 places & didn't try to get up, after we rolled him. I told the man we would be back in the morning with the trailer, but if we couldn't get him up & in the trailer, that he needs to do the right thing as soon as possible.

Poor little guy has laid in his own waste for so long the sores are scalded from urine. I really hope we can get him up & bring him home with us.

We were suppose to get the load of hay we've been waiting for today, but they won't be able to deliver it until next Tuesday. This will be enough hay for a year, which will be wonderful...!!!! I hope they make it then, or we will have to go buy some to hold us over.

We went back up to Gilbert yesterday & brought Belle home. She had bled a little more in the night they said, but hasn't bled since. She was so happy to see us, & absolutely thrilled to be home. Shiloh was happy to see her too. They are running buddies, & he really missed her. I don't think she particularly missed him though.

Buster's cheek looks good & doesn't seem to bother him. I'll have to take the stitches out next week. The first stitches I ever removed was from Buddy's eyelid. After that, this should be a piece of cake. Working that close to the eye, was nerve wracking.

We're going to soak Jenny's left front foot this morning. She has an abcess oozing & hopefully some soaking will help to open it up. I'm afraid to soak the right front foot, there isn't much hoof material left & I'm don't want to soften it to the point where it might collapse.

BELLE & BUSTER GO TO GILBERT

This is the 2nd sialolith cyst removed from Belle's salivary gland. We hauled her & Buster to the clinic in Gilbert today. Dr. Taylor examined her & said "he would get it out"................!!!! And he did..........!!!!! Unfortunately she started working her tongue which dislodged the clot & she wouldn't stop bleeding. We watched her for about an hour, & finally decided to leave her overnight & go back tomorrow to pick her up. Even then we didn't get home until 8pm, which made for a real "grumpy" bunch of equines at home. They do not appreciate being fed 3 hours late. Hopefully tomorrow we will just have to pick her up & come home.

Buster did get his tumor removed from his cheek, & got to come home. Unfortunately he got rather upset when he figured out Belle wasn't coming into the trailer with him. He hadn't been in a trailer for 7 years & we were really surprised at how he loaded this morning. But we loaded Belle first, so she was already in the trailer, when we tried to load him. We even talked about leaving him overnight with Belle, but he settled down & rode home just fine.

We didn't take Jenny this morning. She wasn't having a good morning, & was too lame to haul 3 hours one way & have to jump into the trailer, & also out of the trailer. It wasn't going to be in her best interest. Tonight when we got home, she was walking pretty good, although still not good enough to be hauled around the countryside.

It rained here today, & we noticed on the way home, the little donkey we've been trying to help, was laying in the middle of his muddy pen. I hope he hasn't foundered, that's the first time I've seen him laying down, he's usually just standing with his head down.

For this time of year, everyone seems to be doing very good. Of course we have the usual, daily doctoring of Cisco & Sha'ba. Sha'ba also has some habronema on the edge of his nostril. I'm trying some new medication, although I haven't noticed it making a big difference. Using invermectin topically seems to work about as good as anything else. Unfortunately during fly season, the flies reinfect, so although I kill the ones already there, the flies come to "visit" & bring new ones with them.

So far Belle has been habronema free this year. Her family gave her up last year because she had such a horrible ongoing problem with them. We got her healed & wondered how she would do this year. SO FAR, SO GOOD.....!!!!!! We keep fly masks on everyone during the day & really think this makes a difference. They line up every morning for their masks, so I think they do appreciate no having flies in their eyes, for the summer.

Tomorrow we take Belle, Buster & Jenny to Gibert. I wish it was a cooler time of year, but the stock trailer is open & covered, so they will be in the shade with a breeze. Or a gale depending on how fast John drives.......!!!! I hope Buster gets along OK. He is so emotional & really hates change in his routine. Hopefully being with Belle will help him not get so stressed.

Everything has been pretty routine for the last few days around here. Jenny is doing pretty good, she blew a small abcess & is walking better, although still limping. I'm sure there are more abcesses in there. Hopefully with the moving around they will be encouraged to keep moving up & out the coronet.

Remington will be going to his new home sometime this month. He's going to have a wonderful home, & Honcho to play with. They will make a good team, I think. Their personalities are completely different.

We have been trying to help a little donkey we pass every time we go to town. We've had 2 different people ask if we could help him. He is the saddest looking little guy I've ever seen. The woman says he's old that's why he looks like that. No, I've got at least 2 that are older, & they don't stand in one place with their head hanging, day after day. He's not healthy, & desperately needs to be groomed & have his feet trimmed. The man wants to keep him for his grandkids to play with. I hope they change their minds, I'm afraid he won't make it thru the summer, without a change in his care.

Sugar is not as much help as she would like to think. The building at the right is the old chicken house, & John was attempting to use the tractor to clean out the floor before dismantling it. He finally had to shut the gate & keep everyone out..........everyone wanted to help.

He had planned on leaving the roof up as a sunshade, but it had different ideas & collapsed in a heap on the ground. So today he is trying to get it into small enough pieces to haul to the burn area.

Remington went out yesterday as planned, & did just fine. In fact when everyone started gathering to go into their pens, he showed up. He wasn't quite sure what he was suppose to do, but followed me, (actually followed a carrot) into his pen just like he knew what he was doing.

Terry came out again today to groom. She said Sha'ba really is losing a lot of hair. So far everyone else isn't shedding much, although they do appreciate the brushing. She even worked with Tula a little bit. That's great, because I'm the only one that has worked with her. She needs to find out that no one is going to hurt her, even if she doesn't know them.

She also groomed the minis. They weren't very "helpful" she said. I don't know if they have ever been groomed that much. Justin was a wiggle worm, although I think Lynn stood pretty good except for her legs.

Jenny enjoyed the attention to something other than her feet. She's shedding out to a nice shiny black. She's eating better & going out of her pen every day, so I assume she is feeling pretty good.

We will be taking Jenny, Buster Brown & Belle, up to the Equine Clinic at Gilbert next Monday. Jenny will get x-rays, so we know what's going on inside those feet. Buster has a growth on the side of his cheek. It's probably a sarcoid that will continue to grow if it isn't removed. Poor Belle, will have someone else take a look at her sialolith cyst & see if they think it can be removed. We will have to leave Belle & Buster, will probably pick them up the next day, but should be able to bring Jenny back home after her x-rays.

UPDATE

We are going to let Remington out of the pens today for the first time. Since he isn't halter broke John ask if this might be a problem. Tula's not halter broke either & she wasn't sure the first day, why we were chasing her around to get her back into the pen to be fed. Once she figured it out, she's never been a problem. In fact if she goes in her pen & you aren't right behind her, with her piece of carrot, she will yell at you, to let you know, she is ready..............!!!! He is so mellow, just getting him to move might be a problem. But we'll deal with it, if it happens.

Jenny is doing pretty good after her trim. She is trying to blow an abcess this morning & has been laying down in her pen, with the gate open. I gave her some bute, & she will probably get up & move around once it kicks in. She was up & out all day yesterday & the day before, so she's getting quite a bit of exercise. She following me into her pen last night without a halter, so she's learning the routine.

Cisco & Buddy have been penned for a few days now & are actually accepting it gracefully. I figured they would be trampling us at the gate every time we tried to go in. But they don't seem to mind this turn of events. Of course now BlackJack is out 24/7 with the other 4 that don't go in pens to be fed. Not sure they appreciate him eating with them, as he has to have one side of a bunk ALL to himself, no one is allowed to eat with him. But there are plenty of "spots", so no one get left out.