HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE...!!

Yesterday we delivered C.J. the little mini horse to her new home.  Had to drive thru rain, freezing rain, sleet & snow on the way to Tucson.  At least by the time we got to the other side of Tucson, the sun was shining, which at least gave the illusion of warmth. 

C.J. hopped out of the trailer, walked to her pen like it was all a grand adventure,  & walked past her welcoming committee of 2 large horses & a goat.  They were fascinated & wanted to get close & look her over.  She saw hay in a corner & buried her nose in it & kept them at bay with a half hearted kick if they got too close.   It had rained the night before & some that morning, so the pen was a mess.  I hope she doesn't get thrush again, I'm sure Ernie will keep a close eye on her feet, he said they weren't all that bad & should grow out good.  

It was so cold last night, Sha'ba was shivering this morning, even with his blanket on.  It only got in the 40's today, so tonight I put a microfiber blanket under his regular blanket & also polo wrapped all 4 legs.  When John went out tonight to let the others out he checked on Sha'ba & said he is OK.  

I can't believe that Pepper is still going out every night & walking as good as he is.  This time last year he was blanketed every night, legs covered & was so thin & shaky we never knew what we'd find when we went out in the morning.  He's put on some weight, walks with very little limp & still loves the ladies, or at least would like to........!!!  Dirty old man......!!!!   (G)

We were suppose to pick up Flora & Fauna today, but that didn't happen.  We got there & met with the owner's daughter.  The neighbor that takes care of the older woman, came over & started yelling at the daughter, said she couldn't take the donkeys.  She called the sheriff, which added another level to the problem.  The sheriff went in the house with the daughter & the neighbor to talk to the woman.  I don't know who said what, but the outcome was, she doesn't want the donkeys to leave now.  The donkeys are very overweight, feet that are past needing to be trimmed.  And the one has habronema larvae under both eyes, & they are active under one.  

The sheriff suggested the daughter call the livestock inspector, or go thru the court system.  I doubt that the livestock inspector will get very involved as long as they are standing, & have no idea how long the court system would take.  The daughter is very upset, she wants the donkeys taken care of & says her mother would want them taken care of too, if she didn't have dementia.  All in all a sad situation & I would imagine no matter what the daughter does at this stage it will be wrong, especially if the neighbor keeps the ear of the older woman.  The donkeys aren't in immediate danger, but their situation isn't going to improve I'm afraid.  I left a message for Rebecca, the foster home, I'm sure she is disappointed, but I'm hoping it will all work out soon.  

When we got back this afternoon I thought I'd go in & see how Noelle's "pulse" was.  I think what was thought of as her being shut down, was really a lack of enthusiasm for human companionship.  Not only that, but she tried to impress me with first turning her butt to me, & then throwing a kick towards me a couple of times.  I had a 3 second tantrum & worked with her until she decided to show me both eyes & watch me as I walked around the pen.  We'll let her out tomorrow & see if that sweetens her disposition.  (G) 

SAFE HAVEN: KEEPING OLD DONKEYS

 

Photo by Eric Hansen

 I think you will have to cut & paste the link, but you might find it interesting.

http://www.grit.com/livestock/mules-donkeys/old-donkey.aspx

I went to meet Flora & Fauna today.  Their owner is over 90 years old, & has dementia unfortunately.  Today was not a good day for her, she wouldn't come out of her bedroom to talk to her daughter & me.  Her daughter hasn't been able to make her understand that it's time for the girls to be rehomed for everyone's sake.  

We will pick them up Friday & had planned on taking them into their foster home over the week-end.  But Flora, the daughter has got a large pocket of habronema larvae underneath one eye.  I wouldn't start Rebecca out with something like that, so they will be coming out here for probably a couple of weeks, until I can get a handle on the problem, hopefully.  

They are really cute, a little smaller than average standards & were more than willing to come up to the fence to get carrots.  Flora has never had a halter on, & Fauna hasn't had one on for years..............sooooooo..........friendly but unhandled is just about a perfect description.  We will take corral panels to make a small area around the back of the trailer. to "funnel" them in.   They are on 5 acres, so we will certainly need to get them into a smaller area, or run them around until they get tired....!!!! (G)  The first option sounds much better to me.  

Tomorrow we will take C.J. the little mini horse to her new home.  She's only been here about 6 weeks, but has already wiggled her way into our hearts & Rusty the mule too.  I looked out the bedroom window this morning & they were snacking on mesquite leaves.  He'd wait until she moved, then he'd move, so he's really going to miss her.  At least Jack will get Rusty back as his running buddy, he's been left out, since C.J. arrived.  

Noelle is still in her pen & has finally settled down & isn't trying to entice everything that moves. I noticed yesterday the front of her mouth looks funny.  I checked her mouth, which really wasn't appreciated, & found that she only has 2 little bitty teeth right in front on top.  The teeth themselves look deformed, so I wonder if her teeth have always been like that, very strange.  When she is more cooperative I'll try to take pictures.  I checked & she has her back teeth.  She won't take treats out of our hands, but is now eating animal crackers if we put them in her pan.  I started her on pergolide this morning, she has a lot of the symptoms of Cushings, so we'll see if this makes a difference.  We would usually let her out tomorrow to roam the property with the rest, but since we'll be delivering C.J. she is going to have to wait probably until Saturday to be "wild & free".  Once John lets the rest out at night, he opens all the connecting gates, so she has access to all the pens on the east side. 

NOELLE IS HERE

This is Noelle right after we put her in her pen.  You will notice a white head on the right side.  Rusty the mule went right over to check her out, which is unusual, he usually ignores the donkeys.  Her most loyal admirer so far is Quilla, he latched onto her, & spent all night standing by her pen & yelling occasionally.  John says he is probably telling us, "Hey stupid people, you forgot to open the new lady's gate".  This morning when John went out to "start the dance", there was a line of guys at her corral including "Lounge Lizard Pepper" & diminutive Justin. And she was letting them know she was there & ready to party.  Boy, we went from "shut down, very sad" to "hussy" in one trailer ride.......!!!  LOL

Thankfully she is not shut down like the rescue thought she was.  She is very aware of what is going on around her, she just chooses not to participate, up to & including not eating treats.  She does look Cushings & is at least 100 pounds overweight, & I am being kind with that estimate.  Because they did bloodwork on her, we know she is healthy as far as blood numbers go, they also checked her thyroid & it was within normal range. 

She is not an advocate of bermuda hay.............hmmmm......makes me think she's another alfalfa type of gal.  She will eat it, but not in large amounts, she just picks at it.  That's fine, maybe she will lose a few pounds.  The problem with these fatties & not eating is they can go into hyperlipidemia which can really cause problems.  So we'll watch her & make sure she eats the nasty old bermuda.  We'll let her out of the pen after a couple of days to adjust, then she can add to her diet if she wants. 

We almost became a travelling sex show on the way home.  Because they thought she was shut down, we took Cisco with us to be a buddy on the trip.  He is about the most nonthreatening donkey we have.  Got down there, loaded her & headed home.  So far, so good.  Had to stop at Wal-mart & when I got out & checked on them, she was trying to entice Cisco, by clacking her mouth & slobbering all over the place.  Cisco has no memories of "before gelding", thank goodness, I can just see us flying down the road with 2 donkeys in the trailer..........well.......do your own visual......!!!  When we were loading Cisco, & he wasn't interested in loading, Chester was trying to get in the trailer, & we joked about taking him instead, he's pretty mellow.  Now I'm glad we didn't, he has memories & knows what to do with them, from beginning to end.

A couple of nights ago, when we were feeding Sha'ba was really acting strange.  We usually, feed everyone their soaked feed, then go get the hay & bring it around.  When we got down to Sha'ba's pen with the hay he was standing by the gate which is really weird, he's usually got his nose buried in his mush chomping away.  We opened the gate & he flew into Rusty's pen, & chased the cart back into his pen.  We dumped his hay & I started trying to put his blanket on him, & he was having an absolute fit, wouldn't stand still, kept circling me & really being a little pill.  I checked his bucket & there wasn't any mush in it & all of a sudden a lightbulb went off in my little pea brain.........I had forgotten to bring the feed buckets down for Chester, Tula, Rusty & Sha'ba.  He hadn't gotten his mush & was trying to tell me in every way he knew poor little guy.  He almost turned wrong side out when I left to get the buckets, but sure was a happy little camper when I came back with HIS bucket. 

Tomorrow we will go visit with Flora & Fauna & see just how "unhandled" they are & also how to get them in the trailer.  We've been told we probably can't get the trailer up to the pen, so we'll have to look the situation over.  Rebecca the foster home is getting ready for them, we'll probably move them this week-end.

Thursday we'll haul C.J. the little horse to her new home.  It will be a good home, Ernie is a farrier, so she will get trimmed as often as she needs it.  She'll have 2 horses a goat & about 6 dogs of assorted sizes & shapes as companions, & Ernie is absolutely smitten with her.  The only cravat I have is there is oleander on the property.  I said something about it, & Ernie said it's never been a problem with any of the animals.  Unfortunately it only takes once & it only takes a leaf or two.  I've printed out some horror stories to take to him.  He's a horse person & has been all his life, so I'm sure he's heard stores before.  Almost everything I've read points to accidental, starvation, or boredom, being the usual reasons for horses eating oleander, supposedly it isn't tasty.  I'd sure be a lot happier if they were gone. 

You know that old saying, "I'm so busy, I don't know if I've found a rope or lost my horse?".............well I'm about there......!!! (G)  I know people with more on their plate than I have, but they seem to "Git 'er done" without whining.  

I will be glad when the holidays are over.  The Christmas' of my childhood no longer exist & I was disgusted this year to see the stores starting their banter & decorating before Halloween. Our youngest grandson is 22, so there is no little ones to work the magic on.  I remember some of the methods my family used to make sure Santa was "alive & well" in my mind & appreciate all the effort, although I'm sure they enjoyed it as much as I did.  In the case of my grandfather probably even more.

Sunday we will be going on 2 different home studies.  One is for the foster home for Flora & Fauna.  The woman needs some work done on her corral area & shelter, & a friend has offered to do the work, but needs to know what needs to be done.  So we will take pictures & measurements to give him a little idea of what he will need to do.

We will also go check out a new home for C.J. the mini horse.  A farrier we know in Tucson, got a little mini from a client that had been attacked by her dogs.  The vet gave it a 50/50 chance, but it didn't make it.  So he has been looking for another one ever since.  Usually I wouldn't let her go out this soon, her nasty little feet have only been trimmed twice, but so far she is doing really good.  Since we know him, he's a farrier & we have seen him work with animals, it should be a good home for her.  I don't know how much room he has for her to move around.  I think that is probably why she is improving so quickly, roaming around on 30 acres of "hill & dell" is exercising those legs & feet.  So I hope he has enough room that I will be comfortable with her being there.

Monday we will be going down to Green Valley to Equine Voices to pick up a jenny they got in.  She has been traumatized & Karen thought she might be more comfortable with donkeys.  We haven't seen her, Karen says she is really cute, although I guess she is really swayback.

So if I don't get back to update for a few days that's why.  I wish one & all a very Merry Christmas & a New Year that is the best one you've ever had. 

ANOTHER ROUND-UP

Today was round-up day for the black mare & the sorrel kicker.  This morning before we left we let everyone out as usual.  I looked in Jack's pen, which had quite a bit of hay left in it & this is what I saw:

 Rusty the mule, Frijolita, Lynn & her "friend" Pepsi.  As you can see only one of them is eating.  Rusty got there first & was hogging the leftovers.

 

This is Chubby Pepper, getting a drink from the one water tank that has a heater in it.  He probably doesn't look too "chubby" to most people, but compared to last year he looks pretty good.  I haven't had to put a blanket on him yet this year, which means he gets to go out every night with the "herd".  He doesn't care about the herd per se, but he does like his ladies, Jenny in particular.  He's even walking pretty good on his cracked hip, & blown out knee.  I have kept a wrap on his knee 24/7.  I don't know if it is making the difference, but he isn't limping much at all, so I'm afraid to take it off............!!!  (G)

We met the people from the rescue & headed out to do battle.  The man wasn't there although he knew we were coming, & had signed paperwork for these 2 Saturday.  The horses weren't in the corral again, in fact they weren't even in sight.  So James & Deana took off cross country in their pick-up to find them.  Didn't take long, as soon as the horses saw the pick-up they started following it.  In the meantime, John & I were entertaining the dogs, the alpaca & the jack that had gotten ''aggressive".  He didn't misbehave the whole time we were there. 

This is John sharing breath with the alpaca & petting the jack, while we waited.  Once the horses got to the corral, it didn't take very long to get them in the trailer.  The black mare was more than happy to go in & eat hay.  The sorrel was a little less intrigued with the idea, but finally went in.  I guess there were too many people & trailers Saturday, because today they weren't bad at all.  

After they were loaded Deana & I went up by the house to visit with the bottle babies.  

They both are suppose to have new homes, but the people haven't picked them up yet.  James told the man if the people don't show up, to let him know & we'll take them.  Since they have been raised by people with bottles, they really don't know they are donkeys.  A few weeks out here would really be good training for them.   Bottle babies can really be a challenge, if they don't learn they are donkeys & not people.  We've had a few come thru here that were bottle babies or weaned too young & not kept around donkeys.  They end up confused & difficult to work with because they really don't know how to behave like a donkey.  We had one we thought was going to get knocked down, because she didn't know an ear moving in a certain way meant, "GET OUT OF MY WAY"..........!!!  She's come a long way, she now has Chili to boss around, which she does very well, & Sherry is their loving slave, so she was lucky.  A lot of these bottle babies get very frustrated & just don't know how to deal with other animals or people & never learn.  

We saw these 2 people with pack horses riding beside the road when we headed for Marana with the mares.  I almost missed them, as you can see.  I was reading  (that's what I usually do if I'm not driving) & John said, "look at that"...!!  I grabbed the camera, & clicked as we flew by, so I guess I'm lucky to get anything.  Certainly didn't have time to take another picture.  They looked like they were travelling, maybe there will be something in the paper in the next few days. 

Got home & had an e-mail message offering to foster Flora & Fauna from a woman I don't know, but she referred me to 2 rescues that know her.  I also had a phone call from a dear friend that has 2 of our donkeys.  She has a friend that is very interested in fostering the girls.  WOW!  I was afraid no one would offer to foster them & we'd have to go over our self imposed limit. 

GOING BACK FOR MORE.....!!!

Talked to James at Hoofprints on the Heart &  it looks like we're going back tomorrow for the black mare & the kicker.  It will be easier to load them in a stock trailer, than in a horse trailer & we have the stock trailer.

Found out that the jack kicked the owner pretty bad, which is why he was talking about letting the rescue take him.  We are hoping that he hasn't changed his mind & will let us load him up too.  Of course once we have him, what do we do with him?  They have the 4 jennies in the pen they had planned on putting him in before.  He probably could still go in with them, since they are no doubt already pregnant.  They have a vet ready & willing to geld him, so we just have to get possession.  

Christmas is getting here much too quickly.  I have managed to get most of my shopping done, but not a package wrapped yet.  I had planned on doing that tomorrow, but guess not.  I maybe wrapping gifts in the van on the way to our son's house in Tucson, Christmas Eve, at this rate.  (G)

YESTERDAY'S ROUND-UP

Well it was an interesting day.  We met up with others that were going to help, we had 5 trailers in all & headed for the place.  Got there & were greeted by:

Hmmmm..........we thought everyone was going to be in corrals.  So we drove in & there were horses & donkeys running around on a large acreage, maybe 40-80 acres.  They were not the least bit interested in all these people.  But they were 

interested in treats.  I was real proud of the donkeys, they went in the corral pretty easy,  a quick shake of the pig paddle (sounds like a rattlesnake) & they popped in the trailer.  

The man would not release the jack or a very pregnant jenny.  They both were friendly & probably would have hopped in the trailer if given the chance.  

Thanks, Deana

Some were trailered before the donkeys, but of course the more difficult ones were not going to go without a fight.  

And fight was exactly what one of these horses was ready for.  She is a kicker, & it's not fear kicking it's, "you come one inch closer & see what happens" kicking.  

Someone said let's get her out of the "herd", so we let her out of the corral & the other 3 went right in with a little coaching.  

 Of course there is always one in every crowd that refuses to go along with the program, that is her below, watching from a distance.  She is a pretty black mare, with a lot of speed & attitude.

When we left with 9 horses & 4 jennies, guess who was watching us?

That's the black mare & the kicker, I think they were glad to see us go.  But there are plans to go back & get them, so they haven't won............yet.....!!

This is the girls in their new pen, north of Tucson.  Mark Myers from Peaceful Valley is going to pick them up in January.  The people at Hoofprints on the Heart Rescue, almost doubled their "guests", in one day, so I'm sure they will be glad when he comes & gets the girls.  They have been running with the jack, so I would imagine they are all pregnant.  A couple of the mares are about ready to drop little mule babies.  One of them is a pinto, it will be exciting to see what her baby looks like.  

I guess the owner is having 2nd thoughts about keeping the jack, he has become mean & aggressive overnight.  I was afraid this might happen, his girls have disappeared & he wants them back & will do whatever he can think of to make it happen.  There is a back-up plan if the owner decides to release the jack.  I hope he makes up his mind before someone gets hurt. 

FOSTER HOME NEEDED

  Flora & Fauna

These girls are owned by a woman that is over 90 years old.  Her daughter got in touch with me recently about finding a home for the girls.  I've been looking & thought I found a home, but the people aren't ready yet, they need fencing & shelter.  

This morning I got a message from the daughter that her mother is having a problem remembering to feed & water them, so the daughter is having to check on them daily.  She was asking about what kind of ad to put in the paper for Free Donkeys.  I hate to think of them being advertised on the open market.

I know this is a long shot, but if there is anyone living in the Tucson, Cochise County area that would like to take care of these girls until we can find a home for them, let me know.  We would furnish the hay, take care of any costs & you would get to play with a couple of pretty girls. 

MESQUITE LEAVES, YUMMY.....!!

Well not my cup of tea, but they do seem to be a big hit with the equine herd.  The leaves have been falling for a couple of weeks.  The last couple of days we've had wind, which of course makes them fall quicker & in bunches & piles.  They leave their hay, come out of the pens, & their heads automatically go down & they start vacuuming.  Then when it's time to put them in the pens to eat it's like, "Oh! do I have to?"  This morning I thought CJ the little mini horse was going to have a fit before we finally decided to let her out.  She stood by the gate & in her little squeaky voice let us know that she was done with hay.  

Of course there is a group, John calls them the "Merry Maids", because they clean up.   Although they spend as much time eating leaves as any of the others, they also make sure they are available when the pens open.  They know who leaves hay & who doesn't, Sha'ba's pen is a particular favorite.  One day I looked down there & there were 7 critters in his pen.  His pen is 20' x 24' which makes for quite a crowd.  What got me is they weren't squealing & feinting & acting like brats.  I guess they knew I was watching them.  Usually if someone gets in someone's space they start acting horrible.  I always tell them I don't care what they do when I'm not out there, but when I am, I'm head jenny & in charge.  Finally they are figuring it out I guess, because there were some really strange groupings & everyone had their heads down enjoying the hay.  

Found out today the man where we are going in the morning to pick up the mares & jennies hasn't signed any papers releasing them.  He had agreed to let the jack go, but has since changed his mind.  He also now wants to keep one of the jennies.  I hope this all doesn't fall apart before we get the animals in the trailers & off the property.  It's possible we will all show up & be told no......... I sure hope not.  There are 8 mares, 3 jennies, & 1 mammoth jack.  

It looks like we will be getting a jenny next week.  She has been abused & it sounds like she is emotionally shut down.  John has already built a new pen for her, because we had no empty pens.  She is suppose to be very heavy, & very sway back, probably has been used as a roping donkey.  Her name is Noelle, which leads me to believe she came into the rescue that has her now, without a name, & they named her for the season, but I could be wrong. 

ADVENTURE SATURDAY

Just about the time I think we're going to have some down time, something happens to change my mind.  Yesterday morning when I went online I had 4 messages bringing my attention to a message on Craigslist trying to get rid of some mares & possible untamed jennies.  We aren't in a position to take what at that time was an unknown number of jennies probably pregnant, there is also a jack on the property.  

I got in touch with Mark Myers at Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue  & although he can't come & get them right now, he said he could come after Christmas.  So to make a long story short, the people at a rescue north of Tucson is going to take all the mares & will take care of the jennies until Mark can pick them up.  The rescue people tried to talk the man into giving up the jack, but he wants to keep him.. They say all the mares look pregnant, so obviously he swings both ways...........SIGH!  We haven't given up on getting him, Saturday when we go to pick up the mares & the jennies.  We offered to haul the jennies for them, at the time we thought they were wild & were making all these elaborate plans to funnel them into the trailer.  Since then from what we've heard they have been worked with.  So as usual we really don't know what is going on until we get there.  Stay tuned..................!!!!! (G)

MULES ARE WEIRD........

Yesterday morning during poo detail, boots off, blankets off, a little doctoring here & there I noticed that Rusty the mule had goopy eyes.  He is pink skinned, a white appaloosa with not much "loosa" & has allergies most of the year that make his eyes run.  We try to clean them every day, & usually in his pen.  But he was already out yesterday when I noticed his eyes.  So I walked up to him & started to wipe his eye with my glove.............OH! MY! GOODNESS............you would have thought I was trying to pop his eyeball out, rather than just wiping underneath it.  He took off like a race horse.  For a 30 some year old overweight mule he can move pretty good.  I especially liked the bucking & the heels flying up in the air.  SIGH!  

I know the next thing is to walk him down until he lets me do his eyes, or the next time it will be worse.  John telling me "you know you can't walk down a mule" certainly didn't help.  He would run a little ways, stop & look back to make sure I was still there.  I was, I just wasn't staying very close.  He did one circle around the pens on the west & headed for his pen in the east.  Went in there & waited for John to shut the gates, while I'm still trying to catch up.  We both went in with him, I tried again & he spun & kicked out.  

That's when I went into "monster mode", yelling & telling him what I would do with his worthless hide if he didn't quit acting like an idiot.  Of course by this time he had checked all 3 gates & knew the jig was up.  So he came over & put his head over my shoulder.............BRAT!  Let me clean his eyes & even snuggled for awhile.  I"m not sure if he liked it or was just psyching out the human, either way his eyes got cleaned. 

I'm still working on Sha'ba's habronema on his sheath even though it's winter.  One of the problems with the habronema (stomach larvae) is they winter over.  So next spring they become active , making sores to draw the flies & start the whole cycle all over again.  My WAG (wild ass guess) is if I can get rid of all the hold overs maybe they won't get started up again maybe.  I recently read of a method I hadn't heard about before, so I'm trying that.  Our weather has been so warm so far, I'm still putting a fly mask on him.  There aren't a lot of flies, & they don't seem to be bothering the other guys, but he has always been a fly magnet, unfortunately.  

I guess the honeymoon is over for Rusty & CJ.  When she first came about a month ago, he was like glue, where she went, he went.  Lately he's not been quite as loyal & more often than not she comes in by herself.  I'm sure that makes Jack happy, he likes to hang with Rusty.  She doesn't seem to care. 

'Twas the night before Christmas & out on the ranch

The pond was froze over & so was the branch.

The snow was piled up belly-deep to a mule.

The kids were all home on vacation from school,

And happier young folks you never did see-

Just all sprawled around a-watchin' TV.

Then suddenly, some time around 8 o'clock,

There came a surprise that gave them a shock!

The power went off, the TV went dead!

When Grandpa came in from out in the shed

With an armload of wood, the house was all dark.

"Just what I expected," they heard him remark.

"Them power line wires must be down from the snow.

Seems sorter like times on the ranch long ago."

"I'll hunt up some candles," said Mom.  "With their light,

And the fireplace, I reckon we'll make out all right."

The teen-agers all seemed enveloped in gloom.

Then Grandpa came back from a trip to his room,

Uncased his old fiddle & started to play

That old Christmas song about bells on a sleigh.

Mom started to sing, & 1st thing they knew

Both Pop & the kids were all singing it, too.

They sang Christmas carols, they sang "Holy Night,"

Their eyes all a-shine in the ruddy firelight.

They played some charades Mom recalled from her youth,

And Pop read a passage from God's Book of Truth.

They stayed up till midnight-and, would you believe,

The youngsters agreed 'twas a fine Christmas Eve.

Grandpa rose early, some time before dawn;

And when the kids wakened, the power was on..

"The power company sure got the line repaired quick,"

Said Grandpa - & no one suspected his trick.

Last night, for the sake of some old-fashioned fun,

He had pulled the main switch - the old Son-of-a-Gun!

-anonymous

Lucy head butted me this morning when I was syringing her medicine down her.  Actually it was afterwards, we were having quality time as she rolled the molasses in the mix around in her mouth.  I had my head laid over her neck, petting her & she raised her head up, so it actually wasn't a head butt.  More like the top of her head met my lower lip.  Boy I hate it when that happens.........!!!!  It's black & swollen, I was going to attach a picture. But when I saw a close up of my wrinkles I couldn't decide which looked worse, my lip or the wrinkles.  It will be better for you to just use your imagination........!!! (G)

This morning I was laying in bed contemplating my day, & heard a grinding noise in the spa room.  Sounded just like something gnawing on wood.  Got up out of my warm cocoon to check & caught Justin & Pepsi.  Well, I didn't exactly catch them, I caught them standing within a foot of wooden frame on the window.    For some reason the minis like to eat finished wood.  A couple of years ago we thought Cheyenne was going to eat the whole well house.  She finally quit when she had a hole almost big enough for her to walk thru in the back wall.  Hasn't touched it again, even when John replaced the wall with new unchewed "yummy" wall.  

It seems like lately, I am getting at least one call almost everyday from someone trying to rehome an equine.   I wish we could take them all, but we just recently managed to get our numbers down to our self imposed limit.  At one time this year we were over by 5 & that wasn't even counting the 2 that were in a foster home.  Most of them are older, & have issues, which is so heart breaking.  I had a woman call this morning about a 23 year old horse that could only be a companion.  She's had him on Craigslist & is afraid some of the people that have called are interested in taking him to Mexico for slaughter.  There are people in this area making a living picking up free horses & hauling them across the border.  We talked for awhile & I finally told her if it was me & I had to rehome him for whatever reason, & could no longer keep him, I would euthanize him.  I almost cried when I said it, anyone that knows me knows I didn't say it without thinking of the horse first & foremost.  To allow an animal that really has no value go out into the unknown, to maybe be passed around or neglected, is cruel, & should never happen.  They all deserve better. 

EDEMA

We took Lucy into the vet today to check a swollen area on her belly about the size of a saucer.  The vet said it was edema, which could be caused by, liver failure, heart failure, bug bites or something else.  In other words it's one of those evasive type symptoms that isn't definitive.  She ran blood & fecal & everything looked pretty good, except of course Lucy was anemic because of a low Red Blood Cell count...........hmmmmm.  I've fought this battle before, because vets use horse numbers which in the case of RBC, donkeys numbers are normally lower, they tell me the donkeys are anemic & need Red Cell.  She didn't agree with me even after looking at her pink healthy look gums, which is OK. 

Lucy actually had this about 3 years ago, but for the life of me I can't remember what we did about it.  I seem to remember a vet being involved, but think it was a different one.  I try to use all the vets in the area, so that hopefully when I need one in a hurry, there will be one available.  

I told her what antibiotics I had, she picked out Tucoprim as the drug of choice, said give her some bute & bring her back in 10 days for a recheck.  Not looking forward to the experience, this morning when we loaded her, she actually loaded good.  When we got ready to load her at the clinic, she locked up & decided she wasn't going in the trailer, today or ever...............!!!!   I wish I had a camera, the sight of John with his shoulder shoved half way up her butt, trying to lift her into the trailer, was worth the price of admission.  Especially with her front feet firmly planted on the ground in front of the trailer.  Thank goodness no one was watching or helping us.  Her behavior would have added to their opinion of how stubborn donkeys can be.  Next time we'll take the butt strap, I didn't take it because she loaded so sweetly at home this morning.  We finally managed to get both front feet in the trailer, & she walked in like it was her idea.......GRRRRRRR!  I swear they know when the game is over & give in gracefully. 

 

Well I got a couple of surprises today.  This morning I was taking Lucy's boots off & as usual she wasn't lifting her feet without a tussle.  By this time she knows the drill, but still doesn't cooperate.  I'm of the "squeeze the tendon" until she gives up school of thought.  As I was squeezing she tried a new method of getting rid of me........walking away.  It would have only been an irritant, except I was in front of her.  She literally bowled me over, pulled a muscle in my back & landed me on my butt.  I swear when I was yelling & giving her what for, she just looked at me like, "don't blame me, if you don't have enough sense to stay out of the way".   Grrrrrrrr!  

When I went out this afternoon to start feeding, as I went out the door, I saw Sha'ba running as fast as he can, with Quilla trying to catch him.  WHAT WAS THAT...............??????  Sha'ba usually stays away from the other donkeys, & I've never seen Quilla move any faster than a walk for any reason.  I took off after Quilla with my sore back & bruised butt & he finally broke off the chase.  Then I chased him around & let him know in no uncertain terms that chasing Sha'ba is NEVER allowed, by anyone for any reason. Then I went to find Sha'ba, poor little guy.  He actually can run pretty good on his broken fetlock, but he doesn't need to get chased.  I put Sha'ba in his pen & headed for the feed room.  Quilla came up to me & acted like he was trying to make up with me.  He pushed his head against me & just stood there.  No one has ever even paid any attention to Sha'ba, so I'm going to be on guard for awhile to see if there is something going on.  

Still don't have the boots for Jenny, she's been walking lightly since Courtney trimmed her Monday.  Courtney keeps forgetting to order them.  Boots have really made a difference for Lucy, & I'm hoping they will help Jenny too.  

C.J. got trimmed Monday too & she is really walking much better, no limp at all.  She sure is a perky little thing, & Rusty is absolutely smitten with her.  If she is in her pen, he's standing by it.  If she is out, he is right by her side.  Poor Jack the other mule, has become the odd man out, his old buddy Rusty doesn't have time for him anymore now that he has his little girlfriend. 

OPEN HOUSE IS OVER FOR ANOTHER YEAR

This lady is about out of treats, anybody else out there got something?

Although we didn't have as many visitors as most years, I think everyone had a good time, including the donkeys of course.  The weather was wonderful, nice & sunny.  A lot of the visitors had been here before which is always fun, except when they ask where is "so & so" & they aren't here anymore.  But that means a new home for some donkeys, so that's a good thing.  

Quite a few "parents" of our "graduates" were here & helped out.  Katie/Maggie's savior & her husband came out from Tucson, & brought carrots, which of course was a big hit with the gang.  Had some people interested in maybe adding to their families, one nice woman has 40 acres.  Boy oh boy, does that make my little beady eyes light up, 40 acres would hold a lot of donkeys.......!!!!  (G)  She had been here last year & was talking about minis, because she had never had large animals & wanted to start small I guess.  But she's seriously thinking about standards, & I know of 2 jennies & also 2 geldings that need to be re-homed.  I was ready for her when she said, "but we don't have a trailer"..........we have a trailer 2 or even 4 donkeys would fit in nicely.......!!!  (G)  I had pictures of Flora & Fauna the 2 jennies, which of course I whipped out like a proud parent, & she was going home to talk to her husband.  

Re-homing directly from one home to another works out great for us, & anytime that is an option we will do whatever we can to make it happen.

Courtney is suppose to come out today, to work on C.J's little feet again.  It will take awhile to get them to where they need to be.  Regular trimmings will go a long way to making her more comfortable, although she seems to be walking much better already.   She goes out to run around with the others, although I don't think she's been over to Burroland yet.  She seems to just hang around the pen area.  The horses & mules have never been that interested in going on the other 20 acres, where as the donkeys can't wait to get over there.  If we forget to open the gate, you would think they were being horribly abused to hear them complain.  Usually old crippled Pepper is the 1st one to get over there, we haven't been able to figure out how he beats the others to the gate.  We also don't know what the big deal is, but that's where they want to be.  When we go over there they let us know we aren't welcome, they go on alert, snort & try to hide.  I guess it's their little plot of wild country. 

ONE DAY DOWN ONE DAY TO GO.........!!!

The weather was almost perfect today.........once the early morning chill was gone.  It was so cold I couldn't get my fingers to work, when I was trying to hang signs on the pens.  We fed everyone in the pen they would be in for the day, which was a shock to Daisy.  She wasn't expecting Quilla to be "dining" in HER pen & let us know it.  She also let him know it, every time he moved she'd pin her ears & dare him to move again.  She is really not going to change her mind about him, & we've never been able to figure out what he did to make her dislike him so much.  I always thought they would make a cute couple, but guess not............!!!!

For some reason  having signs on the pens isn't allowed, we all spent a lot of time today, replacing signs that got pulled down.  One we didn't find at all, we figure Pepsi must have ate it.

The volunteers were great, came early & stayed late.  C.J. finally got the cornstarch combed out of her hair.  I never got a chance to groom her, but Terry brought her grooming tools & did C.J. & quite a few of the others.  She use to come out quite often & groom, but her little family of donkeys, mules & pot bellied pigs, not to mention chickens, ducks & geese, more than keeps her busy these days.  Glad she had a chance to come out, we hadn't seen her in a long time. 

Mae brought enough food to feed an Army or two right down to the pickles, & napkins.  She had never been out here, although 3 of her donkeys have been here, Paladin, Lupe & Chico.  Paladin & Chico, were both gelded here because Mae lives so far out in the boonies, it's almost impossible to get a vet to come out to her place. 

I think this is Georgette's 3rd Open House.  She almost knows as much about the donkeys as we do.  She's Sha'ba's godmother & brought him some treats as his Christmas present.  Of course he also got choked on some timothy pellets, while she was here, so she got to help get him cleared.  I really didn't think they could get enough pellets with people feeding them by hand, but he managed somehow. 

John had left a soda sitting in the golf cart, while he showed some folks around.  It was nice & warm today, & when he tried to take a drink of his soda there were 2 bees in the can & one of them bit him on the lip.  OUCH!  I ran out to the feed room & got some of the donkey's Benedryl & gave him 3 & then pulled out the stinger.  His lip isn't sore & hardly swelled at all, but he's got the heebie-jeebies & can't sit still tonight.  Hope it wears off before bedtime, or he might not get much sleep tonight.  When he was taking chemo a few years ago they gave him benedryl as a pre-med & he had the same reaction, but we forgot about that in the rush of trying to do something before his lip swelled up.  

The weather is suppose to be warm & sunny tomorrow, so hopefully we'll have lots of visitors, which always makes the donkeys happy. 

OPEN HOUSE TOMORROW

Boy, we're about as busy as a 3 legged cat in a cat box......!!!!!  I know, not a politically correct "saying", but it's been around longer than me, & for some reason I always thought it was funny.......!!!  This year we got one of those shade thingies that are suppose to go up in seconds.............yes......seconds.  

This afternoon we thought we should try to put it up to make sure it was possible.  I'm sure after you do it a time or two, it gets easier.  BUT, the 1st time was not quick & easy.  In fact it brought out all the reasons John & I have managed to be married almost 50 years.  Because we "NEVER ever ever" try to work together.......ever....!!!  To say we approach a project from totally different directions is an understatement.  So when we do have to work together it can get dicey.  About 1/2 hour, a lot of direction reading, a lot of head shaking,  "discussion",  & voile', we got the darn thing up, on the courtyard.  It would be nice if we could put it up & leave it up overnight out where we will set up the tables.  But as we were wrestling with it, the donkeys were outside the gate, taking everything they could find out of the golf cart.  I can imagine what it would look like after a night of fun & games.  So we'll have to put it up & take it down overnight.  Of course once it's up it's 10 x 10, & can't be moved.  So we had to take it down to manageable size to move outside in the morning.  And we are still talking to each other.......... (G)

We've heard from a couple of the volunteers, letting us know they will be here, so that's good.  The weather is suppose to be nice & sunny, so hopefully a lot of people will stop by & visit with the donkeys.  They have to stay in their pens for the day, & usually start yelling before the people start showing up.  But once the people get here, & start walking around with cups of timothy pellets, it's SHOWTIME..................!!!!   The donkeys all have their own ways of getting the people's attention, it's fun to watch them..........if we have time.