PUTTING OUT A CALL FOR HELP..........!!

I'm not exactly much help these days with my bum knee, & we have a situation that needs to be made better for 4 donkeys.  

We went out this afternoon to figure out the situation.  The woman said a man had come out & said they were not salvageable, & he could butcher them on the spot if she wanted.  OMG.........!!!!  What kind of people are there in the world...........some of them are obviously on a parallel planet that I never want to be on.  

The couple had gotten in touch with us & I told her we were full, but this situation started us figuring out who could move & what pens could be used for 4 donkeys, actually 2 pens for 3 jennies & an intact jack.  

All 4 of them are unhandled, never haltered or led, never had their feet picked up, nothing.  They are friendly enough in fact I think it was Louise latched onto John & I think she would have gotten in his hip pocket if she could have figured out a way.  Of course her feet are about 12 inches long.  Thelma's feet are flared all around like a plate.  But neither of them look like they have been foundered, they just haven't been trimmed & are on soft ground.  

Beau's feet aren't bad, although he does need "brain" surgery, he's just a little over 2 years old which is just about the time the jacks really start feeling like they are the answer to a maiden's prayer.  Which is why I told the people that they might have 4 donkeys on the ground, but they probably actually have 7...........!!!!!   I've always said I wouldn't have a jack on the property, but it is too hot & too many flies this time of year to geld him.  But we'll figure it out, he'll probably go in Max's old pen, it's the best pen we have.  

That leave poor little Mocha, she's also about 2 years old, the older jennies were PG when the people got them, & they didn't even know it.  She probably was born with some foot or joint problems.  One front foot is really clubbed, & the other 3 are knuckled over with her walking on the front of one of them.  Poor little thing, if they had just got her some care when she was a baby, a lot of the problems would  have been taken care of & she wouldn't have to have a lifetime of being crippled.  

The couple have agreed to let us have all 4 of them.........but we're going to have to take corral panels to make a chute, which means we'll have to take 2 vehicles..............& I can't drive.  I also won't be able to help with the "roundup" much..............so if anyone is close enough to Benson, & would like to do a good deed by helping get these donkeys into a better situation, let me know. 

RACING IS OUT FOR NOW.....!!!

 Went to the orthopedic specialist yesterday & was told if I was a good girl for 4 weeks in an immobilizer knee brace, I probably wouldn't need surgery.  So I guess I better be good & not push the issue.  He wants no weight bearing on it at all & I doubt that pushing on a gas pedal & getting bounced around would pass muster.  He also didn't approve of the brace they put on at the emergency room & now I know why.  The new one goes from ankle to thigh & is about as graceful as carrying around a log.  Very awkward to say the least.  

I'm still helping John feed by mixing up the supplements & driving with golf cart when he feeds hay.  I've learned how to drive it using my left foot.  

So I'll miss 2 race days, luckily we don't race then for 3 weeks.  I tried to talk John into driving it & he said why should he make more work for himself..........!!! LOL  I just thought he might like to see what it's like out there.

The animals don't seem to miss me, right now they are finding quite a few mesquite beans to eat & aren't all that interested in coming in & eating.  Quite a few of them are showing lots of beans in their poo, so far none of the fatties.  But it's about time for some of them to be in pens until the beans are gone.  We're restricting them from Burroland at night.  They're out about 12 hours at night & about 9 hours during the day.  So John closes the gate at night, which cuts down on their eating time over there.  If that doesn't cut down on beans in poo, in the pens they will go.  Hate to do that, makes more work for John & makes for cranky donkeys that think they are being mistreated. 

DEXTER BREED OF BOVINE  33.5 INCHES

Just got back from the emergency room.  When I got up this morning my leg at the knee & below all the way to the toes, looked like an overstuffed sausage casing.  I helped with chores as best I could, but when John got done, he dragged me kicking (well not kicking very high) & screaming to the emergency room.

To make a long story short, after x-rays the doctor came in with the good news, that my knee is broken.............!!!!  It's some little bone on the outside, I think it's the tibia, that has the head snapped off.  So I came home with goodies, like crutches & a knee immobilizer.  The first knee thingy the nurse brought out was so big I could have lived in it, so told her we might do better with a child's size, if they had one.  I've never used crutches before & to say there's a learning curve is an understatement.........!!!!  Frankly I think they are more dangerous than the 2 canes I was using, I tend to over balance on them.

So I guess I'll find out what is next. This is when it would be real helpful if we had a couple living on the property in their RV.  I'm helping do chores as much as I can, but the bulk of work, John has to do.  Everyone is doing pretty good right now, hope it stays that way.  

We don't race this Saturday, but we do race next Saturday.  I already know I can push with that foot from driving the golf carts around, so if I can get in the car, I should be able to race.  John says he can cut the door down about 4 inches to give me more room to squeeze in.  This is information you don't share with the doctor.  My position is, if he doesn't tell me not to do it, I'm free to do it if I want to........!!!   It was bad enough to see the look on the nurse's face when I told her how I hurt my knee...............!!!! LOL

UPDATE

The P.A. took one look at my knee & said she wasn't even going to x-ray, just send me to an orthopedic doctor that will probably want to do an MRI.  Not sure if this is good or bad......!!! LOL  Can't see the orthopedic specialist until Tuesday, so I have an Ace bandage, Aleve & Tylanol Extra or whatever it is to get me thru.  Actually I helped John with chores this morning after I limped out to the feed room with my 2 canes.  I mixed the supplements,  drove the golf cart, & filled water buckets, so I helped a little.  He was more help when he broke his arm I think.  And we had a neighbor that helped then too, but he moved. 

OBTW Pepper seemed back to his old self this morning & even insisted on getting out in Jenny's pen to help her eat her hay.  Tonight John said he wasn't as pushy as he usually is, so he might still be a little wore out from his adventure.  

NOW I'VE DONE IT..........!!!

Last night Pepper didn't come in for feeding.  After everyone else was fed John went over on Burroland & when he didn't come back I went over &  them.  Pepper was down in one of the dust bathing areas & couldn't get up, although he had been trying.  

He was a long way from "home" thru some rough country & it was getting dark.  What to do, what to do.........???  We finally decided to get some straps & the tractor & see if we could get him lifted enough to get his feet under him.  When John went back to get everything he also called Joe from the Oasis Exotic Bird Sanctuary to see if he could help.  Joe said he'd be right here, & John came back on the tractor.  I had been standing behind Pepper to hold him up on his breastbone, rather than laying out flat, which is how he was when John found him.  All of a sudden he tried to get up & when he flopped backwards my leg got caught under his body, which bent my knee backwards, with accompanying snap/pop sounds.  

I wanted to give him a shot of banamine, so John went back & got the golf cart so I could drive it over to the house.  When I got back from getting the banamine, Pepper was up.  We had turned him over on his other side, which sometimes helps them get up, & he made it, but was very weak.   Just about that time Joe & Ben showed up.  We were afraid he might go down again, so the 3 of them marshalled him back & mentally he was willing to go, although he wasn't very steady on his feet.  Got him back to his pen, & he immediately dived into his mush.  This morning he is perky & "P.O.ed" because he had to spend the night in his pen.  

As for me & my knee.............hmmmmm...........will call the doctor later.  We've iced & moist heated & it really isn't very swollen, at least not as much as I think it should be, considering what it feels like........!!!! (G)  

We were suppose to go check on a rescue situation this afternoon, but I think we'll have to take a rain-check.  I'll let you know more about it later.  Over the phone it's sounds like a real mess, & of course as usual we're full up...........!!!!  SIGH...!

"DANG, SHOULD HAVE TAKEN MY CAMERA......!!!

Just going to the vet for x-rays didn't sound like a "Kodak" moment, so I didn't. 

Since we had an appointment to take Gus in for x-rays, when we picked up Falena with her turned under hoof, I called to put her on the schedule too.

Her x-ray showed no joint damage, in other words a good looking foot, that just happens to turn under when she walks.  Nancy said she had just seen Tyler a farrier than has done some trimming for me in the past in the area.  She called him & he was there in less than 5 minutes ready to put a shoe on her.........!!!!!   WHAT?  I'm about as anti-shoe as they come unless they are being worked a lot on rough ground, & that's usually for horses, certainly not for donkeys.  He said he has seen this quite a lot in donkeys, & in fact has a little mini with both front feet turned under, poor little thing.  He said that little guy will always have to wear shoes, but he walks normal with them on.  And he said sometimes they can wear shoes for awhile & walk normally once the shoes are removed.  

Worth a try, so he went to work.  He put a shoe on that was longer in the front than her hoof.  Then he used an epoxy that mixes in the tube, comes out hot & when it cools off is as hard as hoof material.  Being long like that she can't turn her foot under very easy & ends up walking on it normally, with just a little hitch to her stride.  He said sometimes they actually end up not having to wear the shoe, but not always. He'll check her in 6 weeks & see how she's doing.  I'm sure willing to give it a try if it might give her a chance at a normal life.

I sent copies of Gus' x-rays to Courtney, but haven't heard back yet on what she thinks of them.  They don't look much different than his old x-rays to me, but then again I don't do very good at reading x-rays anyway.   

Had a couple of "horsey" friends visit yesterday.  Even though they both have "ear challenged" equines, they enjoyed walking around & visiting with the donkeys.  The donkeys of course didn't realize they were my friends rather than being an organized tour, & crowded around to see if they might have treats.  Even Falena & Selena figured it out real quick.  Actually I haven't noticed them missing much that goes on around here.  They are still staying by themselves most of the time.  Gus seems to have given up on hanging out with them, although Quilla still checks them out periodically. 

After we visited with the donkeys, Patti & Joyce wanted to see the race car, so I asked them if they wanted to go for a ride.  They're both the adventurous type, so I took each of them out to the mail boxes on the main road & back.  They both really had fun, although they did complain about having to crawl thru the side window opening.  They both managed to make it though, I told them if they do it a few times it really helps with flexibility.........!!!!  (G)

GIRLS ARE OUT.....!!!!

Falena & Selena went out yesterday morning.  Gus' friends from Phoenix came down to visit him again & were here for the "outing".  I opened the gate & they blew past us like we weren't even there, didn't even check us out for treats, which for these girls is unusual.  They definitely known what treats are, but I guess freedom is more important......!!! 

Gus spent most of the afternoon hanging out with them, except when Sheryl would entice him to come to her.  It was really hot yesterday, getting ready for the over an inch of rain we got last night I guess........!!!!  YIPPEE!  

Of course the rain started just about the time John went out to start the round-up.  It's always "interesting" to get the new ones back in their pens the first time.  Not a problem in these girls case, they saw John, here they came & followed him right in.   

I don't think they've made it over to Burroland yet.  One time we heard thundering hooves, & they were running like something was chasing them.  Sure enough Quilla was hot on their trail.  I don't know if he ever caught up to them or not, he was losing ground fast when they came by us.   Falena might have a deformed hoof, but it certainly doesn't slow her down. 

Of course with the rain, nobody wanted to come in.  John finally got all but 6, & by the time we were ready to feed hay, 4 of those had shown up.  All put Tula & her handmaiden Daisy.  Daisy use to hang with Frijolita & Jenny, but lately she's attached herself to Tula.  Went ahead & fed, & they still hadn't shown up.  It was getting dark, so John went over & did a quick walk thru, didn't see them.  So I went over for one last shot, & found them about 30 feet from the gate.  Told Tula to get moving & they went thru the gate.  Instead of going across the wash & to their pens, Tula took a left turn behind the chicken pen & of course her slave went with her.  By this time it was dark enough that I lost track of them.   I guess they double backed on me & went back into Burroland because we never did find them...........!!!! 

Of course this morning they came in with everyone else.  I hope they were hungry all night long...............  I know that didn't happen, the mesquite beans are starting to ripen & fall, so I'm sure they were very happy out there.  

We're watching poo for beans, so far Jenny & Rusty are eating beans.  They are the tallest ones, so we figure they are picking them off the trees before they fall.  When the beans start falling, we'll have to put the ones proned to foundering in pens until the others gets the beans eaten.  Believe me that makes for real cranky donkeys............!!!

OBTW, the livestock inspector hasn't called me back, are you as shocked as I am?  I'm sure 2 stray donkeys  don't rate very high on their scale of importance.

HOW'S THIS FOR A PRETTY SIGHT.....??

This is Smokey & Tom behind the gate, their first day of "driving".  Tom said he took to it like it was no big deal............well except for the "WHOA" part, they're still working on that.  Tom said he's got backing down pat & turning also pretty good.  He even looks like he's enjoying it. 

Tom said he can't put him out with all the mules at one time, they beat up on him, even the mule at the bottom of the pecking order.  But he said it works pretty good just putting him in with one at a time, so Smokey is getting rotated thru the herd with a different companion every day.  Hopefully he'll find his place.  

We picked up the girls yesterday as planned.  They sure are nice girls, jumped in the trailer with very little coaching & have settled in nicely in a pen.  We'll give them a couple of days to get use to the place & turn them out.  

 

 Justin met the trailer, but lost interest pretty quick.  Quilla is absolutely smitten & has set up camp outside their pen.  Selena tried to kick him thru the panel, which didn't deter him at all.  This morning he was still there & judging from the poo, had spent most of the night there.  

This is Falena's bum foot, it's been this way for awhile, the hoof has some deformity to it.  She can put it down solid, but most of the time it flops & she walks on the front.  When we take Gus in for x-rays next week, she's going too.  It might be something that would be better if it was surgically fused in the long run.  

I called the livestock inspector yesterday, left a message & haven't heard back.  I did talk to another livestock inspector that isn't in the Douglas area.  He said they are classified as strays & after holding them for 7 days the state sells them at auction.  He said usually no one shows up to the auction.  I guess if the other inspector doesn't call me back, we'll just press on like we know what we're doing.  

They are very nice mannerly girls, so someone has worked with them.  I still might put an ad in the paper, I'd hate for someone to be looking for them after they turned them loose during the fires or some scenario like that. 

 

By the time we got on the road the weather was getting a little iffy.  We drove thru squalls 3 or 4 times.  Actually they were deeply appreciated, since it was pretty hot, & the rain or threat of rain, cooled it off quite a bit.  

Found the place, asked the lady if she had seen them today & she said no.......!!!  So we started figuring out our plan of attack, with T-posts, barbed wire, & corral panels.  The area is about an acre fenced in with chain link.  Of course the pine trees weren't together, so we had to fence 3 areas.  

John just happened to look down the road to a grassy area & look what he saw?  

 It was about 1/4 mile away, so I took off with my camera & a container with Strategy in it.  I took this picture when I got close, I figured if they took off I'd at least be able to show they existed.  (G)   When I got a little closer I shook the container & here they came......!!!!   Me thinks, they've heard that sound before.  They came right up to me & expected to be fed, thank you very much.  And we hadn't even been formally introduced........!!!!  

I turned around & headed back down the road towards the house, looked around & sure enough, they are right behind me.  An occasional sharing of the Strategy kept them right with me.  

John said he looked up & here I came like the Pied Piper with my little following of two.  They were going to go wherever that Strategy was that's for sure.  So in the gate we went.  We had brought a bale of hay but there is plenty of bermuda grass growing everywhere, so I don't think they would have cared for our offering.  They did like the salt block though..

It took about a 1 1/2 hours to get the trees fenced in.  Unfortunately John has all the lightweight  panels protecting some of our trees, so the 6 panels he took are HEAVY ones.  All the time we were carrying them & wrestling them thru the grass, & over hill & dale, we kept saying, "you know the way things turned out we could have brought the stock trailer instead of corral panels & probably had them loaded & gone in a lot less time".  SIGH...!!!  

So tomorrow after chores we will head out again, only this time with 2 vehicles, the stock trailer, & the car trailer to bring back the corral panels.  Actually we've hauled panels in the stock trailer before,  but can't do it if you have animals in it.

We were thrilled to find out they are 2 young jennies about 2 to 3 years old.  If they don't have a name I like to name them on the way home.

Falena

Selena

 They are in good shape & very pretty girls.  Don't think much of ropes so they might have been used as roping donkeys.  Stuck their heads in the halter.  In fact they pushed each other's head to see who would get it on first.  It's really difficult to put a halter on 2 donkeys at the same time. .......!!!   So I'm hoping tomorrow they also know how to lead & will follow the Strategy into the trailer.  If not we have the corral panels there to make a chute with.  

Falena has a deformed foot on the left rear.  It looks like she's had it for a long time, when she walks it turns under & she walks on the front of the hoof wall.   But it doesn't keep her from going where she wants to & doing what she wants to do from what I've seen so far.  

Tomorrow I will call the Livestock Inspector & find out what I need to do to make sure, I don't get accused of "rustling" in case someone does show up & says they are their donkeys.  I doubt it would happen, unfortunately  there are people that have taken advantage of the fire & evacuating to get rid of animals they don't want to feed anymore. 

 

GOIN' TO BE FUN TOMORROW..........!!!

I DIDN'T HAVE THEM, SHOULDN'T HAVE TO BABY-SIT THEM....!!!

Should be a fun day............s/o.....!!!!  A woman that lives down by Douglas called a few days ago.  There have been 2 burros hanging around where she lives for awhile & she lives close enough to a highway she & the neighbors are afraid they will get out on the road.

I asked a few questions & found out real quick, that she isn't a donkey person......!!!  She's doesn't know how big they are, what sex they are or anything that would help us figure out what to do.  She fed them lettuce as a treat over the fence, so I assume they aren't "wild eyed" wild, thank goodness. 

She has an fenced in area but it has 4 pine trees in it, that she doesn't want eaten, can't disagree with that.  None of her neighbors have an area to contain them, she said anyone that has a fence, has dogs behind the fence.  

Soooooooooo our plan of attack is, we are taking down corral panels to be used hopefully to make a chute to get them in the trailer when the time comes.  Barbed wire & T-posts to protect the pine trees, a bale of hay, & a water bucket.  They don't come by at the same time everyday she said, so we'll get the trees fenced & it will be up to her to get them in the area & the gate closed.  Then we'll go back down & pick them up.........!!!  

Tomorrow it's suppose to be 110* in Tucson, & I'm sure it will be appropriately hot down there........!!!  Perfect weather to be pounding in T-posts as John has already "mentioned" as he was loading corral panels in today's heat. 

Hopefully when we go back, they will be geldings or jennies rather than jacks, & will not be opposed to "hopping" in the trailer...............yep, that's what I hope, we'll see........!!

SILLY OLD BOY.............!!!

BlackJack has decided that Tula is his type of gal.........!!!  This morning when John went for round-up, everyone came in except those two.  Tula really hates the way the other donkeys follow her around & will not go in her pen as long as anyone is "stalking" her.  So she will not even come over from Burroland, or if she does she does it at the last minute & expects one of us to head them off, because she REALLY hates it when they follow her into HER pen. 

Her loyal subject stayed right with her, when she went in her pen, & when John ran him off, he went to the other side of the pen to try to find a way to get in.  Then he went on the other side of Jack's pen to see if there might be an opening there.  

This is so funny because BJ was gelded when he was about 10 years old, & has never shown any interest in the girls at all.  In fact he prefers horses & mules to donkeys most of the time.  So now he's decided that donkey girls are pretty neat...........or at least this one?  Wonder how long his new found interest will last? 

4th July Parade - From the Donkey Yahoo Group

Last night Jenny came in real slow & stumbling around on a front foot.  John checked her feet & she was sloughing a piece of sole.  So we got out the hoof knife, nippers, & hoof pick.  While we have all the tools, using them is another thing.  Usually one of us has to hold the foot & the other has to do the work.  And Jenny isn't the most patient "victim" when it comes to working on her feet.  She will give you the amount of time she thinks it should take, & if you go over that time, she gets snitty about it.  And she is big enough to make her point, if she wants to. 

The piece of sole came off pretty easy, but then I found a couple of rocks caught in her white line.  Picked them out, & found come crumbly white line & then some questionable dark stuff that didn't smell very good in the white line.  So she got soaked with White Lightening.  This morning it looks pretty good. Courtney has left her feet long because she seemed to walk better with the extra length, but right now all of their feet are growing fast, & her's are flaring & because the insides are so messed up, growing long in some places & splitting in others.  Courtney might have to give her a normal trim next time, to get her thru the monsoon season...........which so far has been heat & humidity & very little rain...........!!! 

Gus has an appointment to get his feet x-rayed before Courtney trims him again to see what's going on in there.  He seems to be walking around more, but still doesn't move like he's really comfortable.  The new growth coming in seems to be nice & strong, but he's still got about 1/2 of the foot that needs to grow out to get rid of the old stuff.  

COMMANCE - ONLY SURVIVOR OF THE BATTLE
OF 
THE LITTLE BIG HORN 1876

When John went out at bedtime to let everyone except Sha'ba out, he heard Gus " whoofing " from his neighbor Jack's pen.  I guess the gate between their pens didn't get closed when we were feeding & Gus "discovered" this over sight, hopefully late enough that Jack got a chance to eat most of his supper. Jack eats primarily mush, & doesn't eat very fast, so Gus probably got a good meal out of the deal.

Jack is a rather sloppy eater, but John said the feeder & surrounding area were polished, so obviously Gus figured it out.......!! 

I guess I "crowed" too soon about Sha'ba being habronema clear.  This morning when I checked him I found a real small area with 3 little white specks in it, & he let me know it is itchy.  So we ramped back up to attack mode again for a few days.  I would imagine there are more pockets that are still too small for me to see, so the battle isn't over................!!!!

RED LETTER DAY...........!!!!

I don't believe it......!!!  This morning when Gus' gate was opened he headed out with the herd.  I think that is the first time he has left his pen as soon as the gate was opened.  

I think I will call the vet tomorrow & get a new set of x-rays on his feet, so Courtney will have something to go by, when she comes out in a couple of weeks.  He's walking pretty good now, although he still moves oddly when he turns in a tight corner, like he's thinking about it before he moves.  About 1/3 of his hoof is new growth, & seems to be growing out straight & strong, so hopefully by the time the whole hoof is replaced, he'll have some good growth internally too.  It will be interesting to see x-rays to see if the rotation is improving.  

Another red letter occurrence this morning was when I checked Sha'ba.  I could only find 2 small spots, ie sores on his sheath & neither of them looked like they had habronema in them.  Hopefully I've got them all out, & he can get healed up.  Even if he heals up I will continue to smear him with invermectin every morning & cover the area with Alu-shield, which is a liquid bandage you spray on.  It will make a barrier to help keep the flies at bay, hopefully. 

LADY YOU NEED A HOBBY, QUIT "GROPING" ME.....!!!

I'm putting fly boots on Jenny & Gus now.  I tried putting on the leggings I made last year, that are strips of cloth hanging & fluttering in the breeze, but Jenny was losing 2 a day & I haven't had time to sew up anymore.  I'm not a sewer anyway, & it takes me forever to get a few made.  I'm sure someone that knows what they are doing could make a dozen in the time it takes me to make 2, so for right now we're going with boots.  The protein flies love Jenny's legs, & take the hair off quickly, so the boots stop that.  Gus has photo sensitivity on both front legs & although the hair grows over the area, it's not real thick & the flies know it.  And as a bonus the boots keep the sun off his legs.  Quilla of course has no hair on his front legs, only scar tissue.  Right now I'm using zinc oxide & no covering.  If I had some covers for him, I would use sunscreen, it's a lot less messy, but this is working for now. 

ROPING DONKEYS.........!!!

The last couple of days on the Donkey Mule Info Yahoo Group we have been having a "discussion" about roping donkeys.  I "kinda" started it, because a friend e-mailed me an ad off Craigslist selling roping donkey.  

What a lot of us do in these situation is send the info to the Yahoo groups we belong to, & the owner get e-mails sometimes LOTS of e-mails explaining the other side of donkey roping whether they want to read it or not.   

For some reason a woman that belongs to the group, decided to take a stand, because we were accusing innocent people of something they might not be doing, maybe they were using silk ropes, & maybe the donkey liked it..........!!!! HUH! 

We haven't heard from her today, but yesterday she got a lot of messages from a lot of different people concerning her lack of I guess you might say, common sense.  

One of the moderators e-mailed some files that have been on the Group site since 1999.  Some of you might be familiar with Throcky's famous picture of one of his little minis with his head stuck in a refrigerator.

Anyway, while the subject isn't pretty I wanted to put the information out there for anyone that might know about roping donkeys, but aren't really sure what it means. 

I particularly like the woman at the end rooting for I assume one of the ropers, certainly not the donkey..

GOTCHA

NO PLACE TO RUN

 NO PLACE TO HIDE

This is Brownie in 1999 just a baby........!!!!    I asked Throcky what happened to her, as most roping donkeys don't have much longivity.  He said he thinks a woman in the group, that had gotten her away from the ropers, I don't know how, sent the picture to the group.  I hope her life has been all it could be since then.

GUS - JULY - LOOKING PRETTY GOOD

He's got a ways to go, but he does seem to be thinning down pretty good.  His friends from Phoenix came down to visit him again yesterday.  Sheryl's son Matthew didn't get to come the first time.  They thought he looked pretty good & was glad to see he isn't in his boots now.  They groomed on him, & quite a few of the others.  I think they brushed Daisy many times.  Once she figured out there was brushing being offered she made sure she was wherever the brushing was going on.  

After grooming they walked around & he was willing to follow them down below the house where the other donkeys were.  I told them he is the first donkey we've had that is satisfied to stand in his pen most of the day.  All the donkeys we've ever had, always went out as soon as their gates were opened.  Even Jenny when her feet were so horrible 4 years ago, as soon as she could stand for any length of time, would hobble out the open gate.  Of course a lot of times she would get so far out, it would take us a LONG time to get her back to her pen.

Speaking of Jenny, she just blew an abscess out the coronet on her right front foot.  She didn't limp or anything. Usually with an abscess they are 3 legged lame until the darn thing blows out.  Then this morning I noticed she's "gimping" on a rear foot.  I looked it over & didn't see anything, except the fact that she has no existing frog to speak of.  I wish the people that mess these animals up, could see the long term results of their ignorance & neglect...........!!! 

THANKS FOR THE PICTURE, TOM

This is Smokey going for his first "pony" walk.  That is Tom riding a horse of all things, didn't even know he had horses.....!!! LOL  

Smokey was # 5 & when we loaded them, he is the only one Tom couldn't get a halter on, so he roped him.  He really wasn't mean or anything, like the others he just hadn't had any training at all.  He was the youngest about 2-3 & is the one that got beat up when Tom turned them out of the trailer, that night.  One of the brothers that are going to be trained to pull a wagon, didn't like him at all & was pretty adamant about it.

The other 5 have all went to their new homes, & Tom has checked on them.  Everyone is pleased, & busy working with them.  They all are really like a blank slate, since they haven't been worked with, they are really open to being led anywhere someone wants to take them.  

Tom said the first outing with Smokey went real good, once he figured out the world wasn't going to attack him.  He said he was really glad to get home though.  Guess he isn't real curious about the outside world right now.  Poor little guy, he's had a lot of changes in his life in the last month or so.  I think Tom likes having a project &  Smokey will turn out to be a wonderful riding donkey before it's over I bet.

We're getting back in the groove I guess, although every place I look there's something that needs to be done.  Guess it will get done, sooner or later, or not....!!!!  LOL

Sha'ba is doing better, although this morning I "removed" a big habronema larvae.  I told John I should have had him taking pictures, this sucker was huge.  Sometime I'd like to have someone explain the life cycle of a habronema, when they hatch out someplace other than a stomach, & what their MO is.  Years ago I read that they can winter over & survive for months, don't know if that is true or not.  Can they hatch & grow to the size of a grain of fat rice in a week?  When they get that large you would think you could just pluck them out of the crater they are in.  But they seem to latch on with hooks or something.  If I stick a needle into one to pull it out, Sha'ba kicks, so I assume it hurts him.  But the needle isn't touching him, & it takes more effort than just pulling it out, so I assume they latch on someway.  

Everyone else are doing good, although the flies are terrible right now.  I wish Pepper would eat all his mush though.  Right now he's only eating about half of what he usually eats.  He does this periodically & there is nothing I've found to change his mind. 

READY TO GO BACK TO THE LAND OF PINES & JUNIPERS.......!!!

Boy,  coming back to the dry desert of Arizona, after a week of the Grand Canyon & Colorado, is quite a shock.......!!!!  We keep telling ourselves to remember what the people up there told us about their winters, but so far we "ain't" buying it.........!!!  Especially when it's over 100 degrees & time to pick up poo...........!!!!

Enough whining I guess, considering what a great time we had.  Got robbed by train robbers..........

Saw the Grand Canyon..............!!!

 

That little green stripe is trees, WAY down in the bottom.  Actually it isn't the bottom, if you follow that line to the middle of the picture, it drops off a cliff hundreds of feet high down to the Colorado River. 

Saw some wild donkeys, although the jeep driver said their names were T.D., his mom Jenny & Cinnamon.  They know the jeeps & know the drivers sometimes have apples, so being wild is OK, unless treats are offered.  

Got to the river & started a 40 mile trip, the first half being the white water part.  Did that before lunch.........good thing...........!!!!!!!

Looks pleasant enough doesn't it?  Till they get you in the raft........!!!

They forget to mention the water temperature is between 45 & 60 degrees, until after the first rapids............!!!!  Of course we were all trying to catch our breath when the driver "mentioned" this little tidbit of information.  I am sitting in the middle with my head down so the hat will catch most of the water instead of my face.  John is on my right looking straight at what is coming.  The woman on my left ended up flopping around in the bottom of the raft on my feet.  They said if you fell to stay there, & she did until we got to calmer water. 

The driver put me in the front in the middle, guess he thought I was too old to hang on..........!!!!  Heh! Heh!

 

Rode up to the  rim in style, neither of us had ridden in a helicopter before. 

Headed for Colorado to visit with Kathy & Alan at Longhopes Donkey Shelter.  Saw a lot of our stimulus money at work, at least they had up signs saying that's what they were doing.  

In some places there were actually guys there, directing traffic & some equipment, but we really didn't see a whole lot of "WORK" going on.  In most areas we couldn't even figure out what they were suppose to be doing, except for putting up signs & setting out traffic cones.  

Colorado is gorgeous, I have to keep reminding myself, when it's winter time, they have REAL winter............!!!  But this time of year it's was really nice.  

Kathy & Alan have a wonderful operation.  They have a lot of barns & sheds because of their winters.  Most of the time Kathy said in the winter  they close the doors, leaving an opening so the donkeys can go in & out if they want.  But sometimes it gets so bad they shut everyone in, which makes for a lot of poo picking up.  She has a lot of old guys that have to be blanketed too, so I guess SE Arizona isn't so bad after all. 

Everyone was very friendly & wanted to be petted & hopefully given a treat.

What a great barn................  !!!!!!!

John visiting with some of the "fur" kids.  She has a little mini named Caesar, that has access to the whole place.  He likes to roam around & so far they haven't figured out how to keep him in the pens.  He just wiggles under them & goes on about his business.  He was a cute little devil, looked like Pepsi one of our little minis.  I was trying to figure out how to fit him into the pick-up.......!!!! LOL  

Got home & everything was pretty good, Michelle had even cleaned the refrigerator & the washer & dryer.  I had to look twice at the W & D to make sure they were ours.  

The flies are really bad right now, we're going into the monsoon season & the humidity is starting to climb.  In fact we got a few sprinkles last night, so hopefully in the next few days we'll get some measurable rain.  

Poor little Sha'ba, he is the one I worried about, because he already was having problems with habronema on his sheath, that I've been doctoring twice a day.  Unfortunately there is no set method of getting rid of the little monsters.  I had them put Ivermectin on his sheath & then coat the whole area with thuja zinc oxide, but obviously the flies worked around the barriers.  I'm using Animax ointment, use to be called Panalog to help with the inflammation the larvae cause, which of course itches like crazy.  We'll fight the good fight, I just wish he didn't have to put up with them.  

We got in Saturday afternoon, & spent all day yesterday just doing crisis management.  That's the bad thing about going away, there's always so much to do when you get back.  But it was worth it, we had a great time. 

I'M BACK

Got back this afternoon, had a real good time.  But there is always so much to do when you come home, it will probably take a couple of days for me to catch up. Do wish it was cooler,  it was 111* in Tucson, today.  John said he's ready to head back for northern Arizona & Colorado, the weather up there was really nice, although we did get a little sun burn on our legs, when we rafted the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon.