CHICO'S DAY FOR SURGERY.......!!

We are waiting for Dr. Weaver to show up to do Chico's "brain" surgery this afternoon.  I hope it goes well, I really hate gelding, it's such a barbaric method, you'd think they'd figure out a better way to do it.  While he's here he will also adjust Frijolita's hips again.  She's been doing just fine, since he "did" her a few weeks ago, but I'd like to make sure she's OK. 

She's having to stay in with Jenny & Katie for "weight" control.  They get out for a couple of hours in the afternoon & all of them think we've lost our minds, especially when they see all the others going out.  Buddy Brat has to stay in with them also for the same reason.  He is on permanent weight control & has been for years.  Unfortunately it doesn't show in his body shape, he is always lumpy.  

Lucy is still doing good in her boots, & gets to go out in the afternoon too.  She is getting pushy to go out earlier, so I guess she's feeling pretty good.  She is also getting demanding.  We assess where the sun is & try to feed so they are in the shade.  Unfortunately she "prefers" to eat in the middle of the pen, which is usually sunny.  She won't go to the hay, she will stand in the middle of the pen, & watch us feed everyone else.  I know under that fly mask her eyes are very sad.  So of course we move it to her & she starts eating.   For her to be demanding after being shut down emotionally for so many years works for us, & we'll let her get away with it.  Probably shouldn't but we do.............!!!!

Lucy girl, did not lay down at all last night.................YIPPEE!  I had my doubts about boots, but I am now a firm believer. Thank you Courtney.............!!!!!!  And I know Lucy thanks you.

Allen Pinkerton - Antietam, Maryland - 1862

For once, everyone seems to be headed in the right direction as far as health is concerned.  Lucy seems to be doing well, in her boots, in fact this morning she was pushing on the gate to get out of the pen.   John opened up the pen next door so she can roam around a little if she wants.  I'd let her out of the pens, but she doesn't need to be out eating more green stuff and/or mesquite beans, which got her in this condition in the first place.  

The 3 sores on her shoulder & front legs are looking good.  Now that she isn't laying down so much they are getting a chance to heal.  They've gone from almost the size of my hand & rather icky, down to silver dollar size & dry.  I've been using equ-aide on them the last couple of days, & it really is doing a good job.  

I'm getting a handle on Sha'ba habronema larve, it's a good thing, his "godmother" is coming out to see him next week, so I want him to look good or she'll think I've been neglecting him.........!!!  (G)  Quilla's sores on his legs from the sun are always a challenge, but as long as he's doctored twice a day & wears his leggings we can keep them from getting bloody. 

I think Katie's pones (fat pockets) are finally starting to look less prominent.  She has been penned except for a couple of hours a day the last couple of weeks, much to her disgust.  Jenny, Frijolita & Buddy Brat are also being kept in.  There is just too much out there to graze on for the ones that think eating is the most important thing in the world.  Actually Jenny isn't a big eater, but she is susceptible to foundering.  She was starting to walk like her feet hurt, so she's better off staying in a pen until there is less out there to eat. 

LUCY UPDATE......

When we went out this morning Lucy was up & it didn't look like she had laid down much last night.  It's late morning, as I write & she is still up, so I assume the boots are making her feet more comfortable.  That is really good news, they are so miserable looking when their feet hurt.  

I took the boots off to see if there was any rubbing, especially in the area where the vet took off that piece of hoof, & everything looked good.  

Sha'ba seemed OK this morning, although he didn't eat much of his hay last night, but I think he's over his bout with colic.  When I opened his gate this morning he toddled off in his normal direction to do his thing for the day.  He has a little routine he goes thru, so if we want to find him, we know where he is, depending on the time of day.  We're still fighting the habronema larvae battle with him.  We're down to one pocket on his sheath, & just this morning I found an area under the edge of his fly mask.  He had a sore there a few days ago, but it had healed, or at least I thought it had.  Obviously not.......!!!  Boy I will be glad when summer is over, this one has really been rough on some of the gang.  

This morning when John went over to Burroland to remind them it was breakfast time, he found Daisy all by herself.  She just stood there, so he moved closer & picked up a stick to maybe encourage her to move.  He said she walked off & all of a sudden took off running, & ran all the way to the gate.  I haven't seen her run since Paladin was here & she would run in front of him to get him to chase her.  Guess she doesn't make the effort unless there is a reason, after all she is about 25 years old.  She sure is looking good this year, she's lost weight & the pergolide is controlling the hair growth from the Cushings.  We have to look twice to make sure it is her & not one of the other donkeys these days. 

This is Lucy in her "garb" to protect her shoulders from getting pressure sores.  She managed to get one pressure sore, & I finally figured out that the sore on the outside of both front legs were being caused by her hooves when she laid down to rest.   I've tried different ways of protecting the sores.  Figured out they need to be open rather than bandaged, otherwise they stay gooey.  She had habronema larvae in one of the sores, & I think I got them all out, the wound today was dry all day, which is a good sign.  

Courtney came out Sunday & trimmed Lucy.  She suggested putting boots on Lucy to help stabilize the bottom of her feet & maybe make her comfortable enough to not lay down so much.  The boots came today & really were easy to put on.  I was afraid we were going to have a battle, but she cooperated, although she wasn't sure what to do for awhile.  She finally started moving around & actually looked a little more comfortable, so hopefully they will help.  

It was raining during chores tonight, & after we got done I noticed Sha'ba was laying down & had not eaten his mush.  Had gut sounds, & didn't seem really uncomfortable, so we watched him for awhile.  Checked on him later, & he was up & eating, so I assume he had gas colic, from too much green stuff or mesquite beans.  There aren't many beans left, but if the wind blows, some of the beans still on the trees hit the ground & they know it.

This morning when John went over in Burroland he found Pepper enjoying some type of greenery all by himself.  John said he was buried in some brush, surrounded by all this green stuff & really having a good time.  John said there wasn't anyway he could have went in to get him, so he tried asking him to come out.  Boy was he surprised when Pepper actually came out & started following him back to the pen area.  

Jenny got trimmed Sunday too, & is pretty ouchy on her right front for some reason.  She was moving pretty slow before the trim & has been for awhile.  Of course her feet inside are a jumbled mess, & Courtney thinks because these chronic foundered equines do not have normal circulation in their feet, that the hot weather is really hard on their feet.  Our ground can be over 120 degrees for hours at a time, & normal feet can handle it, no problem.  But if we go out to round them up, Jenny is always standing in the shade, & is very reluctant to move out into the sun, so there might be something to what Courtney says. 

I got back from Texas around midnight Friday night.  Trip went well, although every time I fly the hassle gets worse I think.  And the TSA people really take their jobs seriously, to the point of being almost entertaining.....notice I said......... almost.  

Lucy of course was one of my main worries.  John had said she was doing OK, but was getting sores on her shoulders & elbows from laying down.  Saturday morning when I went out I was really surprised at how big they had gotten in just 2 days.  One side is almost the size of my hand, thankfully they haven't broken thru the skin & become bloody.  Where they are at, is impossible to bandage, too many angles & muscles.  Yesterday I went out 2 or 3 times & "redid" them & when we came in from the races last night about 2am, I "did" them again.  John came in this morning with the cheerful message that she had lost 2 of them & judging from the cleanliness of them, I think probably right after I put them on last night. 

This morning I'm trying a different approach, if it works I'll take a picture.  I'm using honey on the pressure sores, it's suppose to work really good.  So far they aren't getting worse & actually look a little drier, so hopefully it will work.  Courtney is suppose to be out today to trim up her feet.  She wants to put boots on Lucy but I don't think she'll be able to.  Lucy's feet are so deformed anyway & she just had that piece of hoof taken off earlier this month, & that is still tender.  So we'll see. 

Everyone else was OK.  Of course John got to spend quite a bit of time, looking for masks & leggings, but we're use to that.  We've even figured out where they usually lose them, at least we like to think so.  Where they dust bathe is a good place to look.  

Still very hot & very, very humid.  Our backyard looks like a jungle & it's too miserable to go out there & work.  Doing chores is bad enough, at least the little ingrates are showing more interest in their hay & feed.  Guess the adventure of eating "wild" food is not as exciting as it was. 

TIME FOR A CRISIS........!!!

This morning when we went out to feed most of them didn't come in.  This is becoming a habit, but we are still getting rain, & the green stuff is everywhere.  Pepper still hasn't come in from Burroland today & it's almost time for supper.

Buster & Lucy were 2 of the holdouts, but John had seen them on this side.  Once we got done with chores, John went out to look for Quilla's fly mask, the name changes, but unfortunately we get to spend a lot of time looking for masks & Jenny & Quilla's leggings.  He came across Lucy laying down & acting colicky.  I checked all her vitals & nothing was out of line.  I have some colic relief made of natural products called Equine Colic Relief & just a few minutes after giving it to her, she passed a lot of gas & stood up.  Once she stood up we noticed another problem, ouchy front feet.  Checked them & they were warm, so she probably has eaten too many beans & since she has a history of foundering shouldn't be a big surprise.  There aren't that many beans this year, but she probably found a big stash of them.  Chester's pen is the softest, with lots of sand & powdery dirt & it was fairly close to where she was.  We had to use a butt strap get her to walk, but finally got her in the pen.  Soaked both front feet in ice water & gave her some banamine.  Soaked some hay & she is enjoying it this afternoon.  We'll soak her a couple more times tonight & hopefully she'll be more comfortable tomorrow.  

This is something she doesn't need.  Her feet are really nasty & her coffin bone is right on the ground with only the sole between the bone & the ground no concavity at all.  I doubt that she is ever completely pain free, but she toddles around with her boyfriend Buster & does her thing.  I just hope this doesn't make her feet any worse than they already are long term. 

Boy is Chester going to be surprised when he tries to go into his pen tonight.  We'll put him in with Tula, to eat.  We've done this before when we needed to use his pen for someone else.  He doesn't mind, but Tula really doesn't appreciate him being in HER pen. 

I will be gone for a couple of days, I'm flying to Texas to a friend's funeral.  I hate to leave John with all the work, but he wanted me to go.  She was a good friend for years when we were in Saudi Arabia, in fact we were neighbors for about 6-7 years on our compound.  Made the best homemade bread you ever tasted, tried to teach me, but mine never tasted as good. 

Lucy, Buster & Pepper are still holding out for the "wild" life in Burroland & not bothering to come over to the pen area in the morning.  This morning John didn't even bother looking for them, just closed the gate.  I would think they would get thirsty, but obviously not enough to give up their "freedom".

Poor Quilla, between the flies & the sun allergy, he really is having a time of it.  It takes about 1/2 hour in the morning to get him doctored for the day.  It seems like every morning I find another spot breaking out.  I've been all over the internet looking for someway to improve his liver & immune system, to help control the sensitivity, but haven't found anything so far.  Once they start having problems & the sores break out, the general consensus seems to be deal with it.  Poor guy, he is such a "love mush", & would make someone a wonderful companion, but in the summer he takes so much care that very few people would want to deal with it.  I'll keep looking, but I'm sure if there was a "fix" I would have found it by now. 

Susan called this morning & Ernie got the 2 girls trimmed.  When we went & helped a month ago, Martin was the easier one to work with.  I guess today, she was a pill, & Sandy was actually a little cooperative.  Go figure, just about the time I think I've got them figured out, they let me know different.

Ernie will come back in October, & Susan is suppose to work on getting a halter on Sandy without a fight, & also picking up their feet.  If she gets that accomplished, it will certainly make his job a lot easier. 

WILD DONKEYS OR ARE THEY "BURROS"?

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND 1904

Buster & Lucy are living over in Burroland.  Yesterday afternoon Buster finally showed up at the gate about feeding time & yelled at Lucy, which she ignored.  You'd think they'd get thirsty, we quit putting water over there, & the first thing they do when they come over is go to the stock tank.  But they still stay over there.  The only reason Pepper wasn't over there last night & holding out this morning is, he was slow leaving his pen last night, & John shut him in with Frijolita, Jenny & Katie.  This morning he was a real handful for an old buzzard, I thought John was going to lose the battle of going thru the gate, but he finally prevailed. 

Until the monsoon is over I guess we will save on hay.........!!!  The flies right now are absolutely horrible, even though we use the fly predators & have fly traps hanging in the trees.  The traps are filling up fast, but there are still plenty of flies out there to pester the donkeys.  I can't imagine how miserable they would be without the fly masks.  In the 50 years since I had horses, there have been a lot of equine inventions, but I think fly masks have to be in the top 3, not sure what the other 2 are.  Probably over the counter wormers would be one.  Worming in the 50's was really nasty, they had to be tubed, & heaven only knows what they were using to worm with.  Of course when we got BlackJack they were worming him by giving him cigarettes......!!!  Not sure if that works or if you just end up with a bunch of worms that are addicted to nicotine.........!!

CHICO "THINKS" HE'S A MAN........!!!

A couple of days ago when John was rounding everyone up, Jenny decided to check out the new boy with her usual "come hither" style.  She went over to his gate, started clacking, winking & peeing, & something clicked in his brain & elsewhere.  He started bellowing, running around, jumping & kicking & trying to get thru the gate.  That means he stuck his head thru the gate & got it stuck.  Hadn't heard him bellow, nor had I seen him pay any attention to the jennies before.  So now anytime some of the donkeys walk past his gate, he runs up there to see if they are interesting.  

This morning he & Honcho were playing thru the corral panels, trying to take each other's mask off & playing with a rope.  We are thinking about putting Honcho in the pen with Chico so they can play a few hours a day.  As long as they don't get too rough, the exercise would do them both good. 

We're about ready to give up on feeding these little ingrats.  I've tried telling them about the poor little donkeys in third world countries & how they would love to have access to hay & pellets & all that good stuff.  So far I don't think any of them care.  We got more rain last night, so the growth of green stuff will continue for a little while longer.  John has cut their hay allotment over half & they are still leaving hay. 

Honcho is now eating outside the pens with Buster, Lucy & Quilla & Katie is eating by herself.  We were going to move Daisy out of her pen, but she really likes to have structure in her life & loves being in her pen to eat.  Of course right now she doesn't eat when she goes in it, but she likes to lay down where it's "safe" & take a nap. 

Honcho was a little confused last night & was determined to get in a pen, any pen.  But once he figured out there was hay outside the pens, he was fine.  There are a few of them that still want their hay, & he is one of them. 

Quilla came to us one year ago today.  He had open sores all over his legs & was extremely overweight.  He's lost some weight although we still call him Mr. Marshmallow, & we've figured out how to keep his sun photo sensitivity under control. 

And tomorrow will be the 1st anniversary of Max the big red horse's death.  It really seems longer than that in a lot of ways, he was a real neat horse.  When Gus came back a few months ago, the 1st thing he did was look for Max.  It took a couple of days for him to figure out Max wasn't here.  Now Gus has 3 horses of his very own in his new home although Chief is his favorite.. 

REBELLION

This morning when John went out to round up the group, Pepper didn't show up.  This is about the 3rd morning in a row, he has just not shown up.  We went out & got him, but I told John this morning to put out a bucket of water on Burroland & close the gate.  We've been checking the water & John even went down where he is a couple of times to entice him to come to the pen area.  NOPE, don't want to.......!!!!  He seems to be perfectly happy to be a wild burro today.  

John went out this afternoon & let the 3 girls out for a couple of hours.  Jenny really needs to be able to move around or her feet get even worse than usual.  So we have to weigh the good of letting her out & all of them having access to green stuff.  Katie is the only one that really needs to be on a restricted diet, she is a real air fern.  In fact we are talking about feeding her by herself, we think she might be eating more than her fair share, Honcho is definitely starting to look svelte. 

UPDATE ON HANNA & REMINGTON

Georgette called this morning & said it seems that she has been replaced in Remington's heart.  He & Hanna are staying side by side, even if Hanna is in her little eating pen, so it looks like the grand experiment is working.  In fact Georgette said they didn't even want her to put their fly masks on & kept walking away.  Remington better watch it, if he gets too independent, Georgette will stick him in the "patience" pen for awhile.  Hanna hasn't had the pleasure of getting stuck in there yet, so they better remember who is actually in charge, or they might get a wake-up call.........!!!!! 

John is threatening to not feed any of ours, he's picking up more hay than they eat, & that's after he's already cut back on their hay.  Let's put it this way, they aren't showing up, ready to go into the pen, & enjoy their hay.  In fact they look at it like it's not edible, which really irritates John.  At least they could go thru the motions of prowling thru it, looking for tasty tidbits, rather than giving it a cursory glance & standing by the gate yelling to get out & back to the buffet.  

Lucy's foot where the piece of hoof was cut off, seems to be healing just fine.  I'm keeping thunja zinc oxide on it & after the first couple of times she isn't pulling away, so I assume it isn't real sore. 

Today we took Hanna to see if she & Remington would bond with each other.  Getting her into the trailer was an experience I would like to not repeat anytime soon.  She wasn't mean or nasty about it, she just didn't want to go in.  Well actually she threw a couple of kicks in my direction, which I let her know wasn't allowed.  Talk about put us off our schedule..................!!!!! Geesh!  John was in the trailer pulling on 2 ropes & I started picking up feet & putting them in the trailer.  Thank goodness she isn't a centipede, by the time I picked up 3 I was real happy when she put the other one in herself.  Usually if they are scared or really don't want to go in, if you pick up a foot & put it in the trailer, they will immediately remove it.  She never did, when I put the foot in the trailer, she left it there.  I think she really didn't know what to do, so hopefully next time it will take less time.  We headed down the road & about 5 miles from home, the rear axle on the van started making a funny noise.  Rather than take it out on the highway, we turned around, went home & got the other van.  

REMINGTON WELCOMING HANNA TO HIS NEIGHBORHOOD

I didn't really know how they would react to each other.  Remington has always been with geldings & Hanna stayed with Tula when they weren't in their pens.  They didn't do much posturing, & as you can see they were getting along just fine. 

This is Georgette rubbing Hanna's belly & Hanna seemed to think it was OK.  I think Remington was just trying to figure out this change in his lifestyle.  We did find out that Hanna is a little jealous.  Lou the man that owns the property, came out to see if Hanna would let him pet her.  She seemed to think that was just fine, & when Remington tried to horn in, she ran him off.  She will probably rule the roost, hopefully Remington will accept this reality of the equine world, the jennies usually are in charge & the guys, if they are smart just go along with it.  If they try to change the rules, it usually doesn't take them long to figure out, it "ain't going to happen". 

Katie is having to stay in the pen with Jenny & Frijolita as of today for weight control.  They think we've lost our minds.  This morning Pepper didn't come in.  We always worry when he doesn't show up on time, so John went over to Burroland & came back empty handed.  After everyone was fed, I went over & found the old buzzard with his head buried in green stuff, chomping away.   Then tonight Lucy didn't come in, although Buster did, & kept yelling for her.  She finally wandered in when we were about done with feeding.  Tonight everyone left hay in their bunks, they are getting enough green stuff, that old dry hay isn't very interesting I guess. We hate to cut their hay anymore, but there is no sense in putting it out, if they are just going to walk away from it.  A few hot days without rain, & their buffet will disappear.

LUCY GOT HER PEDICURE

We took Lucy into the vet this morning to get that piece of hoof cut off.  Our plan of attack was to numb the area & use a dremel tool to trim it back.  But after Nancy saw it, she said it might be better to just go in & cut it off back far enough so it hopefully wouldn't grow back.  It's always grown in unattached to the hoof, & Courtney keeps it at bay, by trimming it back.  Since it really doesn't do anything except be a nuisance that has to be worked with on a regular basis, Nancy went ahead & cut it back & then used a goat dehorner to seal it over.  She said to just keep it covered with thunja zinc oxide & she should be fine.  

Lucy was ready to come home, & Buster was standing in the driveway in about the same place he was standing when she left.  He loves his Lucy girl & we would have taken him with us, but he stresses real bad in a trailer, the floor gets soaked with sweat, so he was better off staying home & worrying here. 

As of today Jenny, & Frijolita are having to stay in a pen.  Jenny's feet are starting to get a little warm, & she is walking gingerly so she is probably getting too much green stuff.  Frijolita is plumping up & since they are usually penned together anyway, I thought it wouldn't hurt for her to stay in too.  Then I looked at Katie & she looks like her pones might be getting a little more defined, so she'll probably go in tomorrow.  

Hanna will be going to hang out with Remington tomorrow, to see if they like each other.  They would make such a cute pair, unless they can't stand each other.  Georgette has really worked with Remington, they even trimmed his feet a couple of weeks ago, & she is really looking forward to Hanna coming to visit. 

This picture of Frijolita was taken over the back wall.  All of the donkeys have been shaking the trees to get the mesquite beans to fall.  For some reason this particular tree seems to be a favorite.  I think it's because some of the limbs are hanging on this side of the wall, & they can't get to them, but they can see them.  

We had a real nice couple come out today to visit with the donkeys.  They might adopt in the future, they still aren't settled.  The woman was intrigued with Tula & her story of being so distrustful of people.  She spent quite a bit of time trying to get Tula to come to her, & got her to within 4-5 feet.  I said something about maybe she should foster Tula & she is mulling the idea around in her mind.  So we'll see if she wants to try working with Tula, next April, when they move out here permanently. 

We're still trying to clean up the mess from the wash going out of it's banks Saturday.  The pens are still too wet to work in, & believe me the donkeys don't like walking across the mud.  It's dried out, so it doesn't suck at their feet, but they still don't like it.  It's going to take days & days to get everything straightened up & leveled out I'm afraid. 

Hobo the feral cat we feed finally started bringing a baby around this week.  It's as spooky as she is, but certainly knows where the food is.  

 

It's a real pretty perfectly marked red tabby, of course we don't know if it's a boy or girl, although I think most of the red tabbies are male, at least I don't remember seeing a female.  So we've been calling it Sunni, if it's a girl, & Sonny if it's a boy. 

Last week I saw a light caramel colored kitten up by the garage, running like 90 miles an hour, because I saw it.  So far it hasn't come down to the house to eat.  Hopefully nothing happened to it.  We'd like to get Hobo to the vet to be spayed, but she is extremely live trap wise, & will not even go on the porch is the trap is in sight.