This morning when John was trying to round up the gang, the easy ones went where they knew they were suppose to. The reluctant ones went when John refreshed their memories. I was in the feed room, fixing their yummy breakfast, when John came in to get the halter & commented on the fact that Lucy is "dense".
I thought about that a moment, & when John came back in I said, "you know years ago, she was a cute, curious, cuddly, fuzzy little baby girl", ready to take on the world. I would imagine she "scare spooked" herself, so she could run, jump & hide behind momma. She probably spent time laying down in the sun, just enjoying life. We don't know what her life has been, except for some very nasty feet, from chronic founder, that have to be trimmed on a regular basis.
She's been here for a few years, & having observed her I would not be surprised if she was a roping donkey when she was young. She does not react to any type of pressure, good or bad. She has not completely shut down, like Cisco II, Shiloh & some of the others were when they came here, but she rarely takes interest in what goes on around her. She is quite sway backed, my theory is........once she would no longer run to be roped, she was probably used as a baby machine year after year to breed more roping donkeys.
She now has a very important job, being a companion for Buster Brown. He can be an emotional basket case, probably from some very harsh treatment in his past. He absolutely worships her & stays right by her side 24/7. I wish neither of them had the issues they do, but I think it's wonderful they have found each other. I don't think dense is the proper word to describe her, she has survived in the only way she knew how.
I thought about that a moment, & when John came back in I said, "you know years ago, she was a cute, curious, cuddly, fuzzy little baby girl", ready to take on the world. I would imagine she "scare spooked" herself, so she could run, jump & hide behind momma. She probably spent time laying down in the sun, just enjoying life. We don't know what her life has been, except for some very nasty feet, from chronic founder, that have to be trimmed on a regular basis.
She's been here for a few years, & having observed her I would not be surprised if she was a roping donkey when she was young. She does not react to any type of pressure, good or bad. She has not completely shut down, like Cisco II, Shiloh & some of the others were when they came here, but she rarely takes interest in what goes on around her. She is quite sway backed, my theory is........once she would no longer run to be roped, she was probably used as a baby machine year after year to breed more roping donkeys.
She now has a very important job, being a companion for Buster Brown. He can be an emotional basket case, probably from some very harsh treatment in his past. He absolutely worships her & stays right by her side 24/7. I wish neither of them had the issues they do, but I think it's wonderful they have found each other. I don't think dense is the proper word to describe her, she has survived in the only way she knew how.
5 comments:
These sad stories are almost more than my heart can bear. How can anyone have such a hard heart that they can mistreat animals in these horrible ways? I'm so glad Lucy has a safe and gentle home with you guys now.
Tell me, is her chronic founder a result of improper eating early in life and it just never clears up or are some donkeys/equine more prone to it for whatever reason, no matter what you do?
I would imagine she was fed alfalfa all of her life. Donkeys are really proned to foundering because of too much good stuff. They are genetically engineered to walk 20 miles a day in sparse desert trying to find enough to survive until tomorrow. Being kept in small areas, & overfed really destroys them.
She is not foundered per se, now. We have not had her feet x-rayed, but I would imagine nothing lines up, she probably has some bone loss. She is what they call a sinker, her feet are completely flat on the bottom.
Have you gotten anymore donkeys yet?
Tish
There is so much to know and learn about equine feet...like, why does their diet affect their feet? You would think mud and rocks would have a bigger impact.
Anyway, no, I have not received any more donkeys yet. I'm trying to hold off until the spring... so that new donkeys won't be standing around in mud (I envision this happening - my land has taken a beating since May - 6 donkeys leave a huge footprint!)
Long term mud isn't anything we have to worry about around here, we won't have anymore rain until January probably. If even then. It's nothing for us to have 7% humidity. I know a lot of people have problems with thrush & feet problems because of wet conditions. But not here in the desert, thank goodness. I can imagine all the little trails & places to roll in the dirt they've made. They do "fix" their surroundings to suit themselves...........!!! (G)
Oh, you have NO idea...call it inexperience, but I had no idea my land would change so significantly. Granted, there is a rather steep hill leading down from the barn, but it has been tremendously eroded now and when it gets wet, it merely becomes a slippery mess that the donks -literally- slide down -sometimes on their knees. Not good. It's the only way to the barn and the stock tank. Outside the barn becomes standing mud. I got about a ton of bark chips last week and spread those around, but I'm gonna need more. A lot more. There's a reason Oregon is known for being green. It's all the rain we get.
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