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.