The equine dentist from Idaho was at one of the local equestrian centers today, & we took Jack the mule, & Jenny the mammoth to have their teeth checked. Jack leaves little pillows of chewed hay (quids) everywhere & chews his "cud" continuously. Jenny had recently started grinding her teeth, so we figured she needed to be checked. Jack has visited 
with Bert before, has even had teeth pulled, but we never know if he is going to behave or not. Jenny was a complete unknown, I doubt if anyone has ever even looked in her mouth.
They actually loaded pretty easily this morning, so our day started off good. Well, except for the fact that to make the appointment we didn't have time to pick up poo. Got there & watched Bert work on a squirrelly Arab. The Arab did pretty good, but he was nervous. Arabs have a reputation of being "high" strung & they usually live up to the reputation.
Then it was time for Jack. I swear he likes Bert. Bert can do just about anything with him, & Jack goes along with it. His teeth are tight, at least the ones he still has. He only has one molar on the bottom & one on the top. Of course they aren't on the same side, so no wonder he leaves little pillows of hay when he chews. He didn't get anything done, just a check-up, because there isn't anything that can be done, once they outlive their teeth. He loves his mush of soaked timothy pellets, beet pulp & hay cubes & stays in pretty good shape on that diet.
Then it was Jenny's turn. All the people at the place stood around to watch, because we told Bert we didn't know how she would react & that she wasn't very well mannered sometimes. So between her big long ears & the fact that she might cause a rodeo, they all stuck around for the show. I think she fell in love with Bert, he certainly has a way with animals. So there wasn't any rodeo, although he had to cut one tooth off that was horribly long & jagged. It was cutting into the side of her cheek. Then he filed all the sharp places off her teeth, & she stood like she knew he was helping her. I was proud of both of them & the way they acted.
We had been told that she was about 9 years old when we got her last May. He said he doubted if she was older than 7.........!!!!! We were also told she had one live birth & one stillborn. If that is so, she was just a baby when she became a mom. The mammoths aren't mature until they are 5 or 6 years old. Poor girl never had a childhood & her feet were ruined by being foundered & not being treated properly. She's comfortable on her feet now, but they still look nasty, & I'm sure the inside is as bad as the outside. She will never be able to be ridden or pull a cart, not with those feet, but she seems to enjoy her life, hanging around with Tula.
Well the 2 bad boys, Chili & Gus were in their pen this morning, so the hay strings tied around the gates, managed to thwart their escape. We'll give them a couple more days of imprisonment & then try letting them out. They'll do fine, but this way they will know where to go to be fed.
with Bert before, has even had teeth pulled, but we never know if he is going to behave or not. Jenny was a complete unknown, I doubt if anyone has ever even looked in her mouth.They actually loaded pretty easily this morning, so our day started off good. Well, except for the fact that to make the appointment we didn't have time to pick up poo. Got there & watched Bert work on a squirrelly Arab. The Arab did pretty good, but he was nervous. Arabs have a reputation of being "high" strung & they usually live up to the reputation.
Then it was time for Jack. I swear he likes Bert. Bert can do just about anything with him, & Jack goes along with it. His teeth are tight, at least the ones he still has. He only has one molar on the bottom & one on the top. Of course they aren't on the same side, so no wonder he leaves little pillows of hay when he chews. He didn't get anything done, just a check-up, because there isn't anything that can be done, once they outlive their teeth. He loves his mush of soaked timothy pellets, beet pulp & hay cubes & stays in pretty good shape on that diet.
Then it was Jenny's turn. All the people at the place stood around to watch, because we told Bert we didn't know how she would react & that she wasn't very well mannered sometimes. So between her big long ears & the fact that she might cause a rodeo, they all stuck around for the show. I think she fell in love with Bert, he certainly has a way with animals. So there wasn't any rodeo, although he had to cut one tooth off that was horribly long & jagged. It was cutting into the side of her cheek. Then he filed all the sharp places off her teeth, & she stood like she knew he was helping her. I was proud of both of them & the way they acted.
We had been told that she was about 9 years old when we got her last May. He said he doubted if she was older than 7.........!!!!! We were also told she had one live birth & one stillborn. If that is so, she was just a baby when she became a mom. The mammoths aren't mature until they are 5 or 6 years old. Poor girl never had a childhood & her feet were ruined by being foundered & not being treated properly. She's comfortable on her feet now, but they still look nasty, & I'm sure the inside is as bad as the outside. She will never be able to be ridden or pull a cart, not with those feet, but she seems to enjoy her life, hanging around with Tula.
Well the 2 bad boys, Chili & Gus were in their pen this morning, so the hay strings tied around the gates, managed to thwart their escape. We'll give them a couple more days of imprisonment & then try letting them out. They'll do fine, but this way they will know where to go to be fed.
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