DAISY DISCOVERED BURROLAND

National Geographic picture of zebras & their shadows

Most of today, whenever I went outside I would see Daisy standing around with the "horsey" group. But when John went out to round up for supper, she was no where to be seen. Most of the donkeys were missing, & we assumed they were over on Burroland. When John ran out of equines over here he headed over there. He had been gone about 5 minutes & all sizes & types of donkeys came running from over there. And sure enough one of them was Daisy. She came thru the gate, trying to kick up her heels, dust flying everywhere. Everytime she came close to another donkey she'd try to kick up her heels. I think it's been awhile since she tried that, because she seems to be out of practice. I thought she was going to fall a couple of times. She disappeared down below the pens, while everyone else headed for their pens. John went down to find her & she followed him back to her pen like a lady. He said when the others saw him, they took off running to the gate, any excuse to act silly I guess. Daisy didn't get the "memo" & got left behind when the others started running. I guess she didn't know why they were running & started trying to catch up. John said he doesn't think she's ever ran in trees before, & she kept having to duck & swerve. If she had slowed down a little she might have seen the trails the others were running on. When they run like that over there, you would swear they are going to hit a tree. But they know where the trails are.

This morning Chester was walking with almost no limp at all. He was following John to his pen, & for a moment I didn't recognize him, he was walking so good. I still stretch his leg every day. In fact all I have to do is hold his leg up & hang onto the knee & he will pull against me, & stretch it himself. He will always limp, but hopefully we can keep the tendons from contracting & keep him from limping too much.

Judy has managed to wiggle her way into the inner circle of the horsey group. When they are standing under the mesquite, she usually ends up standing closer to Max, the horse than either Jack or Rusty. I assume there is some type of hierarchy at work. I know one thing, she has made a believer out of all the pen runners, looking for hay. All she has to do is pin her ears & they take the hint. BlackJack is the only one that even attempts to hold his ground, but it usually doesn't do him any good, she runs him off anyway.

ROCKY HAS HIS FOREVER HOME.......!!!

We checked out Rocky's new home today. He will have a friend named Harley, that almost looks like his twin. Harley really is a neat little guy, loves people & wants to be where the action is. It should be a wonderful home & I have no doubt they will become great friends. We almost always haul the donkeys to their new homes to make sure they settle in without any problems. Both Rocky & Harley are not territorial or aggressive in any way, so I don't anticipate any trouble.

This Thursday Daisy's mom is coming down from Prescott to visit Daisy. We've only talked on the phone, so it will be nice to meet her in person. So far Daisy hasn't found a buddy. I'm sure once she gets settled in she'll find someone to hang out with. Yesterday afternoon we fed early, which was a first for her. John had her to her gate 4 or 5 times & she would just keep going. Usually she walks right in, so we don't know if rounding her up early confused her, or if she was playing with John's mind. I came out of the feed room, pointed to her pen & told her to "git". She promptly went past it. I don't think she was impressed with my authoritorian attitude, because she turned around & went right in, once she had shown me she didn't have to "git".

Once Rocky leaves I might try feeding Daisy with Buster, Lucy, & Frijolita rather than by herself. They along with Rocky eat at bunks that aren't in pens. But Rocky is what you might call an energetic eater & thinks it's his job to make sure no one leaves any food in their pans or hay in the bunks. Those 3 hold their own with him, so he doesn't get away with much. They are all about as gentle as she is & if she eats with them, she would probably start hanging out with them too. At least Buster & Lucy, Frijolita is usually with Tula's herd.

For once the weatherman was right. They said it was going to be windy today, & they were RIGHT.......!!!!! The donkeys absolute hate wind with a passion. I looked out one time & Daisy was standing under a tree by the driveway. Her long hair was standing up & flopping all over the place.

When it was time for afternoon round-up, we noticed the usual suspects were missing & probably over on burroland. John rounded up everyone else & finally went over to find them. As soon as they see you they head for the pen area, which is really irritating, if you have walked the 20 acres looking for them. Tula & Chester went right in their pens, & I had Jenny & the 4 minis in their pens before John caught up.

Tomorrow we are going to haul a horse for a nice lady, who's friends or aquaintances wanted to charge her $75 to move her horse from one side of Tucson to the other. The old saying "with friends like that who needs enemies" comes to mind........!!!

One time I was in the express line at Safeway in Benson. You might know I didn't have enough money for what I was buying, which of course messes up the whole reason for having an express line. All of a sudden a hand came up beside me with a dollar bill in it. I turned around to thank the person & it was Baxter Black the cowboy poet & humorist, who has lived in Benson for years. Anyway I thanked him & he said, " not a problem ma'am, just helping life move along". So I guess that's what we're doing, helping life move along. I guess their time, gas & trailer are worth more than ours is...........!!!! (G)

Loading 34 sturdy Wehrmacht Cavalry horses aboard an Me-323 somewhere on the Eastern Front during WWII. From the book THE WORLD'S WORST AIRCRAFT by Bill Yenne

Daisy out visiting with one of her new friends, Anubis the dog. She seems to be absolutely fascinated with the dogs for some reason. Now that she is "out & about", I have to check her over a couple of times a day to make sure she doesn't have any mesquite sticks stuck in her hair. This morning she had 4 caught up in her hair, a couple of them had already started to wind up in the hair.

She's decided that hay pellets are pretty good & is eating her hay without leaving some to munch on later, so she gets to go out on schedule with everyone else. Tula is still trying to dominate her by trying to herd her. Daisy really isn't very impressed, when Tula tries, Daisy just goes in her pen & stops. For some reason Tula won't go in to herd her in there. I guess it's neutral territory.

DAISY'S OUT & ABOUT

Daisy got released from solitary this afternoon. She went out & promptly ate a poor little greasewood bush about 8 inches tall. I don't know what they find so tasty about greasewood, but it seems they all go for them the first time they get out. Didn't see her for awhile, & the next thing we see a rather large herd following her, with Tula in the lead. We watched for awhile, & made sure they weren't being mean. Tula got a little close a couple of times, & Daisy threw a kick in her direction. A few minutes later, everyone dispersed & went on about their business. When John rounded everyone up at feeding time this evening, she was in the wash by herself, & readily followed him to her pen. We always wonder if they will go back in their pen, & they always do. She finished her hay tonight, so she got to go out. Wonder where she will be in the morning?

We had a nice couple come out today to see if Rocky might fit into their family. They got a donkey last month & are looking for him a friend. We will do a home study next week-end, & if everything is OK, Rocky will have his forever home. They also might be interested in little Pepsi. He has had a sarcoid tumor under his eye at least twice & it looks like it's coming back again. It will probably have to be surgically removed, so I don't know if we would let him go at this time or not.

Daisy has settled in just fine, we'll probably let her out tomorrow. Frijolita visits with her quite often thru the fence, so maybe they will be friends.

We tried putting Rocky in with BlackJack & Cisco to eat. It didn't work very well, even though we put an extra feeding bunk in, so they couldn't keep him away from the hay. He was upset at not being with Lucy, Buster & Frijolita. He couldn't take time out from running the fence & yelling to do something as unimportant as eating. BlackJack & Cisco thought that was great, they ate everything he didn't. So after that one abortive attempt at changing, we put him back out with his "herd". We will just have to watch to keep him from scarfing up all his feed & running the other 3 off of theirs.

Now that John is back we are trying the new idea of doing all the hay in one run instead of two. It's working out pretty good, still have a few glitches to fix, but all in all I think it will get the hay handed out quicker. Quicker seems to be very important to all of them. Except Daisy, she's is a well mannered lady, & doesn't rush you when you come in with feed or hay. Her Mom said she had never had hay pellets before, but it didn't take her long to decide they are pretty good.

I do see a problem when she starts going out of the pen. She isn't use to eating her hay until it's gone. She likes to eat a little & come back during the day to finish it. That isn't going to work with this bunch of "pen" runners. They all know who leaves hay, who drops hay & don't pick it up & who they can run off of "found" hay. At first we will probably only let her out during the day, & leave her in her pen at night with the majority of her hay for the day. That way she can eat at her leisure. If she figures out that she needs to eat hay when it's available, then we can let her out at night too.

JOHN'S HOME........DAISY'S SETTLING IN

I took a quick picture of Daisy this morning, since I didn't get around to it yesterday. Contrary to what it looks like her ears are the same length. She's hard to take a picture of, she is a pocket donkey & wants to be where you are. Isn't she cute, she looks like a stuffed toy, with all that hair. The picture doesn't really show how much hair she has. I noticed yesterday she stood wherever the shade was, & it isn't even summer yet. I have a friend that grooms dogs & she has industrial strength clippers. We might body clip her for summer, I'm sure she would be much more comfortable. Also the next time I have a vet out here, I will have a insulin/glucose blood draw on her & probably also run an ACTH test for Cushings. She has some symptoms & even if she isn't I like to have numbers to start with, for the future.

John got in last night, & I must say, chores went a lot quicker this morning than they have recently. I figured out a couple of changes that "might" make things go smoother. Notice I said might.......!!!!! We've always fed hay in 2 separate runs with the golf cart. But I think I've figured out a way to do it in one run. We'll find out when we feed this afternoon. One change will be busy little Rocky is going to go into the Fat Farm with BlackJack & Cisco, rather than staying out with Lucy, Frijolita & Buster. He eats his pellets & beet pulp real quick, & then runs all of them off of theirs. I think he will find BJ & Cisco a little more challenging. I had originally wanted him to bond with Frijolita, they would make such a cute couple. But I think he has burned his bridges for any relationship with her, by being an obnoxious little boy. She doesn't appreciate his "in your face" way of interacting. So it doesn't matter if they are together or not.

DAISY IS HERE!!

Daisy got here late this afternoon, just about feeding time. I had put everyone in their pens, except for Chester & Tula, who usually hold out until they see me headed for their pens with their pans. Ned drove in dropped the ramp on the trailer, & my first thought was, "it's a little yak, not a donkey". My goodness she's a hairy little girl. She wasn't quite sure she wanted to come out of the trailer. Of course after a few minutes, Chester showed up & was trying to either meet the new girl, or get in the trailer. I finally got him out of the way, & she came hopping out. Since she is going to be in a pen for a few days to get use to the place, I moved Judy to the emergency pen & put Daisy in Judy's pen. I don't think Judy cares as long as she gets fed.

Once she was in the pen she started checking it all out & trying to figure out what was happening. She seems to be very sweet natured. I asked her Mom about all that hair, I thought maybe she had Cushings. But according to Lynne she has always had long hair & lots of it.

Tomorrow I'll take some pictures of her & get to see her better. By the time I got thru feeding, it was getting dark. I'll let everyone out tonight as usual, so she will probably have lots of company during the night.

This morning I spent about an hour, trying to get Tula in her pen. I really wasn't interested in her, but unfortunately the minis were attached to her like glue. So in order to get them in their pens, I needed to get rid of their "leader". Nothing like starting the day off with LOTS of exercise...........!!!!

John comes in tomorrow night about 9:15 at the airport.................!!!!!! YIPPEE........!!!!!

John's Mom passed away in her sleep Saturday night. Everyone was very shocked, as she had been doing so well. She had made all her arrangements long ago, even her obituary. John will be busy the next couple of days, but is planning on coming home Wednesday night, unless something unforeseen happens.

The donkeys & I are getting along pretty good, although Chester is still limping more than I would like. He did real good right after Martha worked on him, but is regressing somewhat. That leg seems to be warmer than the other one, Martha noticed it also.

Some of the "horsey" group are starting to shed a little bit. Rusty the white mule with rusty spots, is shedding more than any of the others. I even noticed if you pull on Judy's hair a little bit, a few hairs come out. That's a good sign with a Cushings horse or mule on pergolide, it helps them to shed properly. The donkeys probably won't start shedding until June or July, they are usually only slick for a few weeks & then start getting fuzzy again.

Looks like we will be getting a new girl Tuesday. Her name is Daisy & I'll wait till she gets here to tell her story. This puts us over our self imposed limit of 20. Hopefully Judy will be able to go home soon, which will drop us down to the magic number again. We probably should start looking for a "forever home" for the few we have that would have a chance at a home of their own. We've been in no hurry, but healthy donkeys take up space that could be used for those that really need sanctuary. I was hoping Frijolita would bond with Rocky, they would make a beautiful couple. Unfortunately he acted like such a silly boy when she got here, I don't think she even likes him now. She hasn't really found a friend although she spends a lot of time with Tula & the minis, or as John calls them Snow White & the "4" dwarfs. Tula is definately an alpha jenny, whether she wants the job or not. They follow her like she was the Pied Piper.

No skunk this morning, & all 8 chickens were running around inside their house...............!!!! I set the trap again tonight in the pen, & shut the chickens up in their house. Hopefully it will be empty in the morning. I REALLY don't want to have to deal with a skunk........!!!!!! (G)

Courtney came out today to trim Frijolita. When she was here 3 weeks ago, Frijolita was limping around, so she couldn't be trimmed. She's fine now. She was a pretty good girl, Courtney trimmed her at her old home, so they know each other. She tried trimming on Pepper & he almost fell down. He is pretty frail, & I haven't been able to figure out anything that will help his creaky old joints. He's an old roping donkey, & I would imagine his joints have just worn out. He still goes out everyday, eats a little cactus, stands in the sun or shade depending on the temperature & limps around slowly when it's time to go back in his pen. He's actually eating a lot better than he was a few months ago, which is good. I was worried that he wouldn't make it thru the winter. He is both insulin resistant & has Cushings disease, so we watch him pretty close.

Martha also came out & massaged Chester's shoulder & leg. He's been pretty lame recently, but after she worked on him he was walking pretty good. I hope that means that the problem is with his injury & not a return of the infection. She said he didn't seem to be particularly sore, she couldn't get him to react when she poked & prodded him. He really seems to like her working on him, although when he's had enough he'll try to get her to scratch his butt rather than keep working on the leg.

John's Mom's surgery went very well considering she's 96 years old. The surgeon was very pleased & they didn't even put her in ICU, she went straight from recovery to the surgical ward. I don't think she'll be up a dancing tomorrow, but we're very happy with how well she is doing so far. He said if she continues to do well, he'll probably try to come home Wednesday.

THEY'RE BAAAAACK..........!!!!!

Well last night was certainly one of the most interesting I've had in awhile. I was on the computer, & the cats were at the back door acting like Hobo the outdoor cat was there for her supper. I looked & there was a skunk cavorting on the back porch. Guess it was too much to ask that we never have skunks again. So I got the brillant idea to go check in the chicken pen to see if there might be one over there. Looked behind the nesting boxes & there was a fluffy black & white tail wiggling around.

I was afraid to leave the area since the chickens were right there & I had no idea how long it would take to gather up cages, & traps & whatever else I needed. So I plucked the chickens off their roosts & stuck them in one of the guinea pens. I knew I couldn't haul them in the big cage like we did before, John had to steady it on the hay wagon, while I drove the golf cart. I found that the small cage we have fits perfectly in the hay wagon. I put the big cage in the garage, & headed over to gather up the chickens. Good thing we only have 7 hens & Rowdy the Rooster, I don't think I could have stuffed another chicken in the cage. Set the trap in the pen, & brought the chickens over to the garage & moved them into the big cage. I'm sure by this time they think I've lost my mind, I know one thing I slept good last night..........!!!! (G)

I was dreading going over this morning to check the trap. I don't want to have to haul a skunk by myself. I'm sure somewhere in the process I'll either uncover the trap or drop it. Either way I'll probably get sprayed. But I guess all my running around, with lights, making noise, & grabbing chickens made him decide to leave the area as soon as possible, because the trap was empty...............!!!!!

I talked to John tonight & he said to shut the chickens up in their house, & set the trap in the pen. That way I don't have to put them in the garage, I just hope the skunk doesn't ignore the cat food in the trap & go for something a little tastier.

This afternoon a group of about 15-20 people came to visit with the donkeys. I thought they were coming next week, so I hadn't kept the donkeys in their pens. That means they can be anywhere on the 30 acres. We were lucky though, as the cars came in they had to almost drive thru the herd. When they came up to park, the horsey group was standing around, & while we were talking about them, the donkeys started coming up the driveway to mingle with the people. So it worked out really nice. Everyone behaved themselves, except for Max the horse scattering the donkeys. He wasn't really being mean, he just moved & they quickly moved out of his way. I'm always a little leery of letting the donkeys mingle with people. Although none of them bite or kick, they are still large animals & a lot of people that come out have never been around large animals & don't know how to read body language. If they are out when people visit, we never let the people feed them. Some of them will compete for food & that could be dangerous. But I think a good time was had by all, & the donkeys got lots of pets & attention, that's almost as good as food.......well at least for most of them..............!!!!

John's Mom will have surgery tomorrow. When he comes home, will have a lot to do with how well she gets along.

AND SO IT GOES..............!!!!

Everything is going pretty good while John is gone to Indiana. Although I am getting a little too much help from some of the gang. Actually it's not so much help as it is, taking advantage of the one human that is here. I do have to say they have been very good on leaving tidy piles of poo in the pens. For some reason the last few days they have not only piled it, but haven't walked thru it as much a they usually do. We always thought they were trying to design scavenger hunts for us, you know, "see if the old folks can find each & every "apple". We also have a few that like to walk-a-bout as they go. The other day someone strung a line from one pen & halfway across the next pen.

This morning it was time to carry out the trash, which is usually John's area of expertise. I loaded it in the golf cart & headed up to the garage. On the way the "fat" farm abeit BlackJack, Cisco, & Buddy Brat, started yelling at me, they had finished their hay & wanted out. Being the good little slave I am, I stopped to let them out. Of course the minis saw them getting out & wanted out too. Then Jenny, & Judy, & poor old pokey Pepper. Pepper is so eager to get out, but usually gets about halfway thru the gate, & forgets where he is going. So we usually stand by for awhile, & eventually give him a nudge. We also have to protect him from the others, mowing him down in the gate, as they race into his pen, where they know there is leftover hay. The point is, I left my golf cart with trash & garbage, sitting WAAAAAY too long in the driveway.

Trash was everywhere, the little culprits were busy throwing the sacks around, looking for the best stuff. I yelled & Justin & Pepsi took off. I'm surprised it wasn't BlackJack, he usually is the first one to find treasures, especially if it might be food.

John's Mom is suppose to have surgery either tomorrow or Friday, so I don't know when he'll be coming home. Sometime next week I would imagine.

Courtney & Martha didn't get out Monday as planned. They are suppose to be here Friday. Chester is walking pretty good again, I sure wish I knew what causes him to limp badly sometimes.

I took John to the airport before sunrise this morning. Threw him out waved bye, & headed home to take care of the gang. I got home about 1/2 hour after we usually start chores, so they weren't too upset. Until they figured out operations weren't going as quickly as usual. I keep explaining to them, there is one of me & quite a few of them, so they need to be patient........!!!!!

I found out how to get Judy the mule to take her pergolide, don't put any soaked beet pulp or pellets in her pan. It seems the soaked food is the problem rather than the pergolide. I can spritz her pellets with a little water, open the capsule & dump the contents on the wet spot. Or I can just throw the capsule in & it disappears. But not if there is soaked food in the pan. This brings up another problem though. How do I get her Arizona Regional Mix, extra iodized salt, Magnesium oxide, copper & zinc into her system? All of that is to balance my bermuda hay, with what it lacks for optimal nutrition. I guess I'll just give her pergolide for a few days & see how it goes. She really should have the supplements, but the pergolide is more important right now.

We had a little bit of rain last night, which I appreciated, although I don't think they did. Except for Rusty the white mule. He loves to roll in mud, & is absolutely filthy right now. I don't know how he does it, but by tomorrow he will be white as snow again. Jack the other mule loves to roll too, but he is almost black & doesn't look quite a dirty as Rusty does.

I'm going to try to frequently add articles I find interesting to the sidebar under NEW STUFF. I just added 2 today. The one on roping donkeys is something that needs to be brought to the forefront. Quite a few of our donkeys have been roping donkeys & for the most part even if they survive mentally, they will never be 100% whole. Equines are classified as livestock rather than companion animals, like dogs & cats. Consequently, the laws covering their care & treatment are different, although there are laws to protect them from being used in a cruel manner. The problem is the laws are ignored & even if the problem is brought to the attention of the public, very little is ever done to the people involved. Very rarely do people found guilty of animal cruelty serve jail time, even when companion animals are involved. Many times they get their animals back if they want to go thru the court system. Even if they don't get the animals back, there usually isn't any court order to prevent them from going out & getting more animals immediately.

This is a good article on the subject, looking at both sides of the issue from a neutral position. When we picked up Chester, his owner was proud of the fact that he was a "trained" roping donkey & would run a pattern. How many times does a donkey have to be roped before he becomes "trained"? I don't think my Cisco was ever a "trained" one, judging from the scars on his legs, & how mentally shut down he was.

Usually when I carry Judy's hay in her pen I just open the gate & leave it open until I go back out. A couple of times she's gone out, but when I yelled at her or went out & headed her direction she would go back in. Last night she decided to act like a mule, & go out.............BUT...........this time she decided to see how determined the human was. We went around the pens a couple of times & she went back in. I left the gate open to prove I should be able to, she went out again to prove she could............. GRRRR! These power struggles are really irritating at the time, although I always find them funny after the fact, once I get my breath back. Around & around we went again a few more times than the first time. I picked up a play rope to "encourage" her & when she finally decided to go into the pen, I threw it in her direction. It "grazed" her hip, it wasn't even a hit. She turned around, went back out the gate, prancing & kicking up her heels. I think she might have given me a dirty look on her way past. We went around the pens a few more times, & finally she went again. This time she stood politely by the bunk waiting for me to put the hay in....with the gate OPEN. You think they don't have a sense of humor?

Her tummy is back down again, maybe it was all that exercise.......!!! (G)

I'm glad Martha is coming Monday to see Chester, he seems to be limping more than usual. He's learned to pull against me, when I lift his bad leg at the knee & pull on it. It must feel good, cause it makes his lip wiggle.

1917

I think California is blowing thru on it's way to New Mexico today. Spring winds in the desert can really be strong. The donkeys REALLY hate wind, & usually act like it's my fault, if I try to do anything with them while the wind is blowing.

I thought Judy was doing so good, for the last few days she has looked svelte. But this morning her belly is sticking out on both sides just like it was before I started giving her pergolide. Hmmmm.......!!!! it seems like I spend most of my time, trying to figure out what's going on with these guys. So now I'm not sure if her belly is caused by the cushings in which case I would think the pergolide would do it's job. Or if at her age of 23 she's getting a gut. But if that was the case, why would it have gone down for a few days? Rusty our 31 year old mule is pretty round also. He has no health problems, & is losing his topline a little bit due to age. BUT, there is one big difference between them, she is ribby & he isn't. Which brings me back around to, "what's going on with Judy".

It looks like I'll be chief cook & bottle washer next week. John has to make an emergency trip back to Indiana for a few days. Boy, the gang really gets grumpy when there is only one of us doing the slave labor. For some reason it seems to take 3 times as long for one to do chores, as it does for two, & the equines are all very good at keeping track of time. It would go much quicker, IF they all marched into their pens as soon as they saw the "chore giver" coming out of the house. But they don't, sometimes it's like a scavenger hunt gathering them all up. We really enjoy it, when they all stand in the wash watching us. Actually I'm a little less inclined to patiently encourage them to go into their pens than John. He is an old softy & has infinate patience, no matter how long it takes. They all know if I stand in front of them & point, that it's time to move.

I hope everyone stays healthy while John is gone. He leaves the tow van hooked up to the trailer, but I'd rather not have to haul anyone by myself.

Judy's body is starting to look normal, rather than looking like she is pregnant. Since she is a mule, "I DON'T THINK SO"...........!!!!! The pergolide seems to be working, although Patti said she would probably shed quicker if I had her on chasteberry, rather than pergolide. With her "sensitive" palate, I doubt that she would touch it. She has a way of looking at me when she thinks I'm trying to sneak something past her. So far I am managing to get her to eat the pergolide. It's a teeny tiny amount of powder & if I take it out of the capsule & put it on top of her beet pulp & soaked hay pellets then throw the capsule in the pan, for her to find & refuse..........so far, so good..........!!!

This morning we combed out Frijolita's tail. What a mess that was, the wad was about 8 inches long & packed real tight. Since she is suspicious of men, I held the front & John worked on the back. He actually has more patience for that sort of thing than I do anyway. He can even get necklaces untangled.........!!!! She did real good, even when he was trying to pry the wad apart with a hoof pick. Some hair got pulled out or broke off, but we managed to save the length. Sprayed it with conditioner which really made a difference. We had to close all 3 gates going into Chester's pen, where we were working on her. BlackJack was trying to get in one, Judy was at another one, & Justin had the other one captured. There was no food in there, but they seemed to think that what we were doing needed their help. BRATS!

Chester has been limping more the last couple of days. I'm still massaging his leg most mornings & have noticed that when his limp is worse, he has a big egg size lump right behind his shoulder blade. Martha that does the massaging says she thinks it's the end of his tri-flex muscle. If I try to rub the lump with a lot of pressure, he acts like he's going to bite me, so I assume it is sore. You can tell if he likes what you are doing, his lips start flopping around.