Wow Bert was in & out before noon today. He said whatever we're doing to keep doing it, because only 2 needed work.  

He looked at Tucker's parrot mouth.  I told him the molars had been x-rayed & were perfectly aligned.  He said if they weren't he could actually do some work on Tucker & help to overcome some of the overbite.  He said he will get along just fine & could even eat grass in a pasture if he was ever lucky enough to have pasture.  He said they learn to use their tongue to get the grass.  He also said they are inclined to overeat more than one with a normal mouth.  

I love to hear him talk, he's always sharing information that I find really interesting & hopefully useful. Of course a lot of it is so far over my head, I'm not sure he's speaking English?  And I know he's simplifying a lot of it.  

Justin & Ruthie were the only 2 that needed anything done & they weren't really bad, just needed some sharp areas filed down.  

 Ruthie & Bert getting to know each other

We had Rusty's teeth done back in late 2011 when we had Drifter's teeth done.  Rusty had been moving his jaw in a weird way like he had it hung up or something.  Since Drifter was going for dental work we threw Rusty into the trailer too.  I've never used anyone but Bert & hopefully I'll never have to again.  The guy automatically drugged them, & used power tools.  That's a quick way to run out of teeth, if not used properly, which a lot of them don't.  Ever since Rusty was done he has been chewing a lot & it takes him longer to finish his hay.  Bert said it's because of the way his teeth were done & there isn't anything he can do now.  But maybe by fall, when Bert comes back thru, a few months of using the teeth the way they are will give him something to work with.  

Unfortunately we got some bad news.  When he looked in Pepper's mouth, he found a tumor that smells.  It's up in the right side of his palate about the size of a quarter, not very thick.  I've been on the internet this afternoon, but haven't found anything encouraging.  We were talking about taking him to have a biopsy & Bert asked why?  After thinking about it........Pepper is somewhere on the other side of 30 or 35.  He's had a broken hip & a blown knee.  Right now his quality of life is good, he eats his mush, ears are up, eyes are bright & he's always ready to get out of the pen & go chase the girls.  If we started messing with it, would his quality of life be as good?  So we will probably wait & watch & when the time comes that he isn't interested in trying to knock us over to get out of his pen, we'll let him go. 

This is the part we hate, having to make these decisions.  But when we decided to take in the unadoptable for the most part, it goes with the territory.  But we don't have to like it.

DENTIST FOR ALL TOMORROW..........!!!

Dentist is coming out tomorrow to check everyone, including Jack & Pepper who's teeth are wore out, Rusty who had his teeth done a few months ago, & has chewed constantly ever since, & little Tucker who is parrot mouthed.

It will be an all day process I would imagine depending on how many actually need something done.  Unfortunately I'm pretty sure at least 6 of them have never seen a dentist.  Should be a FUN day.........!!!!   

NEVER DULL AROUND HERE........!

Tucker & Mocha are going out during the day just like everyone else & he's getting along just fine.  Today he went in Ruthie & Ruger's pen, while they were still in it.........!!!  Hmmm, still working on his manners I guess.  John said Ruthie let him know he was in the wrong place.  Ruger went out of the pen & Tucker started trying to play with him.  John said Ruthie came over & let him know he wasn't allowed to play with "her" boy.  Geeez going to be hard to find someone at this rate.  So he went over & jumped on his mom.  John said he tried to play with Justin one of the minis a little bit too.  So he's getting into the herd slowly but surely I guess.  

Still trying to get Jenny's foot to heal.  It's like a great big experiment, everyone has opinions on how to "fix" it & so far nothing is working very well.  I called Dr. Shamis yesterday & he suggested Metronidazole, which I have never heard of, of course there's a lot of things I haven't heard of but  I do wish they would make drug names shorter & not so much like others.  Does that name have actual meaning, or did someone just string a bunch of letters together & then try to pronounce it?  RANT..RANT..!!!

He also suggested soaking her foot in epsom salts water every day for about 15 minutes, I had been soaking a couple of times a week.  So today we started the Metro "whatever" & we'll see how it goes.  I always taste anything I stick in their mouths without their permission.  Believe me, this is nothing anyone would ever take because it tasted good, it is absolutely NASTY & leaves an aftertaste that I haven't found anything to get rid of it.  I mix it with water & molasses & you can't even taste the molasses over it.  So 3 times a day we'll get to wrestle her, this morning wasn't too bad, first time, have a feeling it's going to get worse each time for 10 days.  Oh! well hopefully it will get rid of the infection, which he said is probably in the coffin bone.  The coffin bone looked OK in November or Dec, so hopefully it's still OK.  

Got these pictures from Claire today of Quilla. 

 He has the most gorgeous eyes, they are like deep black pools going right into his soul....!!

 He's going to miss all the one on one time Claire has been giving him, when he & Gus come back here next month.  Her grass is starting to green up & Quilla could probably handle it, but Gus can't.  I think she'll miss them too.

 Thanks Claire

TUCKER IS OUT & ABOUT..........!!

This morning we had to go into Benson early & pick up some corral panels.  Big Country Livestock Equipment from Texas go all over the west & southwest with panels they make.  His next stop was suppose to be Tucson........BUT......... since he was driving thru Benson anyway I asked if we could pick them up instead of in Tucson.  When we got there we weren't the only ones picking up panels, guess I just didn't know the routine......!!!  (G)

This morning when we left everyone was still in their pens eating.  When we got home I decided that it was time to let Tucker out with the whole herd, Rusty included.

We let everyone out except Tucker & Mocha first.  Usually they would all take off towards Burroland but....... NO........... not today.  They all stood around the feed room doing nothing I could figure out........!!!  When Tucker & Mocha went out they headed right for the herd, of course.  Rusty took one look at Tucker & took off after him, with Mocha trying to get between them.  I watched for a little while & he really wasn't being mean, it was almost like he wanted Tucker to run so he could chase him.  

Might have been a good idea 25 years ago, but the difference between age 33 & 5 months started to show up pretty quick.....!!! LOL  The video was later, you can see Tucker is still perky & bouncing around, Rusty, not so much..........!!!  

Haven't seen Ruger around him at all.  He was the other one I worried about. He's a little over a year old & might play too rough with the little guy.  

Tucker is staying busy going all over the place, looking & smelling EVERYTHING, I bet he sleeps good tonight......!! Poor Mocha is going to be a nervous wreck, since she is trying to organize his outing, without much luck.

This year's race car is ready to go.  Poor John has kept himself busy trying to get the seat & safety belts to fit me, & still let me do things like push the clutch, & shift gears.  It's been a challenge, he's threatened to haul the car into our son Rod's & let him figure it out.  But I think he might have finally got it figured out.  I took it out on the road yesterday, found out it is a lot more peppy than the Toyota, more horsepower.  That's good you can never have too much horsepower......!! 

It's been raced, so we're starting out with a few dents

 

I hope BlackJack would be proud.....!!

The hay feeding seems to be going well.  We're still making sure it's broken up as loose as possible, so he doesn't get a big mouthful to chew.  I have made an observation.......... they get their mush first & then we bring in the hay.  They will leave the beet pulp, yeast, Lakin Lite, & timothy pellet mush for old dry bermuda hay. Not sure what that means scientifically, but I do find it interesting.  

They are getting out each morning while the others are in their pens eating.  Yesterday we had a tour so the others weren't in any mood to stay in their pens & watch the kid bop around.  So this morning we'll try introducing a couple of the jennies to him along with the minis of course.  I really don't see anyone being a problem except Ruger is young & might play too rough & Rusty is old & chased him once before when Tucker & Mocha got out accidentally.

Boaz's knee is doing well.  He got the bandage off a couple of days ago, & since it looked so nice & dry I left it open for a night.  Even though it looks good, he managed to bloody it up, so I guess we'll keep it bandaged for the foreseeable future.  He goes back to the vet the 29th for a check-up.

Jenny is still on antibiotics for her rear hoof that is still draining.  Yesterday I noticed she had a piece of hoof on a front foot sticking out like it was trying to break off.  got the nippers, picked up the foot & the problem was a rock about the size of a marble stuck in her white line.  Needless to say her white line is a little wider than normal, but not THAT wide.......YIKES.........!!!  It was stuck in there so hard, I couldn't pick it out, had to nip the hoof wall off to give it some room.  Poor girl, she doesn't need anything else to go wrong with her feet, she's on borrowed time as it is, with her feet. 

Finally got around to calling to check up on Thelma.  Laura said she is the best thing they ever did, they are really enjoying her & getting use to her personality.  Laura said Thelma & Bugsy (ie Eeyore) get along just great, whenever they are by themselves.  She said as soon as Thelma sees people she starts picking on Bugsy, biting & kicking at him.  I guess she wants all the attention herself......!!!

TUCKER'S HOME.......!!!!

WHAT IS IT WITH THE EARS......??

Trip went fine, rain quit on the east side of Tucson, & by the time we got up to Gilbert, the sun was shining.  

I think they were happy to see us, either that or they had been having a great time, coming to the fence & begging for attention.  One of the vets said everyone had enjoyed having them up there, & they both were quite talkative, so I assume they were good donkey ambassadors.

Came home with instructions to feed Tucker hay & watch him.  We could have done that on our own, but I'm glad we had him scoped again.  Since our local vet (we're down to one) doesn't do emergencies if she can help it over the week-end, we're feeding them mush until Monday.  Then we'll make the "big" change.

Let them out this morning, while everyone else was eating in their pens.  Tucker isn't quite as "clingy" to Mocha as I thought he'd be.  Of course he is 5 months old, but going out of the pen is a big step even for a little guy that thinks he's "hot stuff".  And he does think that, we were "persona non grata", I guess he thought we'd stick him back in the pen.  He finally took an animal cracker from John, but none of the "touchie feelie" stuff.

"BOY, DO I KNOW WHAT THAT THING IS"

When the minis got done eating, we let them out too.  Figured they aren't big enough to hurt him.  

Justin had to exercise him a little bit, just for fun I guess.  Tucker didn't seem scared & Justin didn't act like he was really trying to catch him.  I broke it up & the minis all headed down west of the house. 

He settled down & started checking out all the stuff he could.  Even ate some greasewood, which according to my vets, nothing will eat greasewood.  We'll be lucky is we have any left on the property in a couple of years.  They have pretty much decimated most of it.  And the prickly pear isn't faring too much better.  He poked his nose on a cactus & seemed to learn not to do it again.  

Tomorrow we'll let a couple more out while he's out & see how it goes.   We don't want them to overwhelm him, all at the same time. 

SHOULD BE A FUN DAY.........!!

Unless the weather changes between now & when we pick Mocha & Tucker up, this will be at least the 3rd time we've hauled them in rain.  And it's not like rain is usually a biggie in this part of the world...........!!!!  (G)

Bijou's pen doesn't have a shelter, so we put him in Mocha's pen this morning to eat.  Certainly hope it isn't raining tonight when we get home.  He is so hairy I'm afraid he'd get soaked if he had to stay out in the rain.  John might have to build him a little shelter.  He has access to the other pens & shelters when the others are out, but at feeding time is a problem.   And of course if it's going to rain, it will be at feeding time.........!!! LOL

VACATION IS OVER......!!!!

Dr. Voss just called & looks like we'll go pick them up tomorrow after chores. 

He said they pulled out the pellets yesterday, Mocha & Tucker have been on bermuda hay only since then, with no problems.  Gee maybe they were listening more than I thought.....!!  (G) 

I just hope Tucker doesn't choke again.  We'll start out probably letting them out while the others are still in their pens eating, for an hour or so to get them use to being out without the "nosy" neighbors helping.

DRAMA QUEEN?

John came in this morning & said when the herd came over from Burroland this morning, Jenny was walking pretty good...........until she saw him watching her.  Then she started walking real slow & limping on her hind foot that has open places that are draining.  Hmmmmm....!!!  I have thought for awhile that she was not always favoring the foot that much.  

John is not the most observant  person when it comes to noticing anomalies that might happen around here.  Unless they are 3 legged lame or are covered in dozens of cactus spines, he usually doesn't notice.  So if he noticed her behavior, I'm pretty sure there is something to it. 

She was on Doxycycline for 10 days & is now on Tucoprim for a couple of weeks, so hopefully we can get it cleared up.  When we had her up to Dr. Shamis' her x-rays didn't show anything except an abscess trail running towards the coronet.  Of course as long as it's been going on, she could have bone infection by now.  Hence, the antibiotics.

Have called the clinic every day to see how the great experiment with Tucker is going.  So far I've been a little disappointed, with the results.  He has been on a mush diet for months & I told them it actually wasn't a mush, it was enough water added to the pellets to break them down into a dry fluffy feed.

They are feeding him & Mocha a mush, along with alfalfa hay that has been soaked in water to soften it.................EEEEEKKkkkkkkk!  When I bring up the subject of "DON'T FEED DONKEYS ALFALFA"  I am told it's softer & easier to eat.  Grrrrr...!!!  Softer & easier to eat isn't where we need to be, & that's why we left them up there.  All the while they are "easing" into feeding dry hay, the cash register is "cachinking" away......!!!!   They've always been very fair with us, but that only goes so far, they are a business.

They did get to go out on a small pasture area the clinic has yesterday.  I guess Tucker had a case of the sillies, & ran around entertaining anyone that wanted to watch.  I would imagine Mocha was busy trying to eat what little grass there is.  It stays warm enough up there that the grass goes dormant, but even though it's brown, I'm sure she enjoyed it. 

Click on Ebenezer to see the final story about an old donkey from the town where I grew up & went to school. 

When I went back for my high school reunion last year, I got to visit with him & his caretaker Shirley.  His behavior reminded me a lot of Pepper, opinionated & crotchety.  That's what makes the old guys so loveable I guess

HIS WEBSITE

I wrote a little bit about my visit with him in the 1st post for October 2011, if you'd like to see how my visit went.  Just go to the sidebar & down to October 2011, & to the first entry for October.

TUCKER & MOCHA ARE "VACATIONING"

"MOMMIE SAVE ME.....!!"

I guess that's what they are doing.  They stayed up in Gilbert for a couple of days.  Dr. Voss scoped the little guy & didn't see anything unusual.  So I flew my idea of leaving them there & letting the experts feed him hay & see what happens.

MAYBE IF I YELL LOUD ENOUGH SHE'LL COME & GET ME........!!!

Everyone at the clinic thought he was just the cutest little thing.  Of course they are use to horses, so donkeys especially a cute little fuzzy baby is a rarity.  He was a good little boy, well except for that planting all 4 feet & having to be dragged into the clinic by the above butt strap.  

If he eats hay without choking we'll go back up & get them later this week.  If that happens, then we'll start introducing him to the outside world a little bit at a time.

I think I've figured out why Rusty was chasing Bijou a few days ago.  Our neighbor that helps with chores a couple of mornings a week, was here this morning.  He said Rusty spends hours & hours standing by our shared fence, visiting with Twiggy, a mare he is boarding at his place.  I bet Rusty thinks Bijou might be another suitor for her attention.  Poor little guy can just barely walk, & he's certainly not going 20 acres away to visit with her.  

"WELL AT LEAST I GOT MOMMIE BACK"

 This is what we saw when we left.  Dr. Voss did say Tucker is very sturdy, which I think means he might be a little chunky for his age.  One of the vets commented on how nice & healthy Mocha looks.  Not sure, but that might mean she's chunky too.....!!!  (G)  Actually she is just about right, but I have been thinking about cutting down on their mush, I don't think Tucker has any bones that you can poke.  Maybe if he gets out to run & play he'll get more exercise & won't be so "sturdy".  

HEADED FOR GILBERT

We're waiting for Mocha to eat some of her hay before we load up for Tucker's appointment at the Equine Clinic with Dr. Voss.  Keep your fingers crossed that he will pass all the tests & can start being a regular little donkey that can go out, run & play.

Bijou is still a little gimpy even in the boots, but I think he likes them.  This morning when I got ready to take them off to check for rocks etc, he started trying to get away from me.  So I assume they feel pretty good.  I held his foot up when I took the boots off, put a little baby powder in them & stuck his foot back in it before setting it on the ground.  Once he figured I wasn't going to take them away he stood real good for the other one.  He's staying on his feet most of the time & is a little "talkie" guy whenever he sees us. 

Redid Boaz's knee this morning, it looked real good.  Vet called yesterday with the results of the biopsy, it was all proud flesh, no cancer or anything like that.  So if we can keep the proud flesh from reforming, it should heal good, although I'm pretty sure it's going to take awhile.  It doesn't slow him down any, this morning about 5am we were awakened by donkeys serenading us real close to the house. It sounded like a party of boys yelling at each other, so I assume one of the girls was batting her eyelashes at them.  We recognized Boaz & Cisco, not sure who the others were.   Actually Cheyenne came in with a chewed up ear, so it probably was her.  She is only 32 inches tall, so I don't think she's going to get much out of the boys except for a sore ear.

This afternoon we went down to see Rambo.  Amy said he is really a good guy & when we got there, he came over & wanted to be petted immediately, kept trying to run the horses away, so he could get all the petting.

He's such a good guy they've been calling him Bo instead of Rambo, she said he's too sweet to be a Rambo.  Too bad she didn't see him in action when he was up here with the girls...!!!! (G)

Checked on Drifter yesterday in his new home.  Crystal said he is absolutely perfect they are more than satisfied with him & how he has fit in at the stables.  She said there is one woman that use to come out to see her friend take lessons.  Now the woman comes out on her own to visit with Drifter.  He also has a little 5 year old girl wrapped around his hoof, she's too young to read the "Do Not Feed" sign, so Crystal has had to intervene in treats headed his way.  Crystal's 2 year old son, leads him around all the time & grooms on him. I love it when they get a great home like this one seems to be. 

Also checked in on Maddie & Zorro.  Bill said they are fitting in nicely, getting a routine & getting him & Kelli trained to their ways........!!!  Sounds like typical donkeys to me.  He did say he cut back on the small amount of hay he was giving them because Maddie looks like she is gaining weight in her neck crest.  There is so much to eat on their property, I'm not surprised, I hope this isn't going to become a problem, they don't want to put them in a pen, & I certainly don't want them to either. 

BIJOU GOT HIS TRIM........!!

Here he is with his little boots on.  Actually it looks like we won't have to get another pair for him.  This is the smallest pair I have & Courtney doesn't have any small one, so we decided to try these.  Courtney thinks the way his feet are built, he probably couldn't wear smaller ones anyway.  So we'll try these for awhile & see how it goes.  

He seems to appreciate having them on.  He was perkier last night when John went out at bedtime, & was on his feet.  Lately he had been laying down by then.  

This morning he was up when we went out & he's still up, so I assume he's more comfortable with them on.  I sure hope so, I hate to see them not be able to move around very well.  

If anyone has had trouble downloading all the posts for February the last couple of days, it should be fixed now.  I just barely have enough smarts to do what little I do in the blog.  If anything does wrong, I'm pretty much up the old "creek w/o a paddle", which I was when the posts all disappeared. 

I went on the forum at Blogspot & asked for help.  Some blessed soul left a message that I can't copy a picture into the blog rather than downloading it. He said it puts in huge amounts of machine language & nothing below it can load.  Went back in & did it "right", & low & behold, everything is back where it belongs. YIPPEE...!  

 Well it looks like Tucker will be going up to the Equine Clinic at Gilbert next Monday to be scoped.  Dr. Voss just called & said he can do newborns, so Tucker shouldn't be a problem.  He said they can also do a barium swallow to make sure he doesn't have any pockets or areas that aren't right that could trap hay.  Whew!  this little guy is going to end up gold plated I think....!!! (G) 

This is what Boaz's knee looked like when he came here in January.

This is what it looks like after surgery.  We hope the proud flesh can be controlled long enough for it to heal.  It will always be scar tissue & probably will skin easy when he lays down, but at least it won't be an open blob flopping around on his leg. 

For some reason I am having a heck of a time getting a picture of Boaz's "surgery" on his knee.  Didn't get one at the vet clinic & this morning I changed the bandage.  She said if it oozed thru the bandage to take it off & look to make sure everything was OK.  

Although it had drained somewhat, it had dried up enough to be stuck to the "non-stick" pads, so I had to spray it with water to soften it up.  Don't want to pull off anymore good cells than I have to.  It actually looks pretty good, so I bandaged it back up. Unfortunately my bandage isn't as pretty as the one she did, but it should do the job, I hope.  

First I put on Animax as per vet instructions, then non-stick pads, a roll of gauze to hold the pads in place, taped the gauze in place, added a disposable diaper & vet wrapped it in place.  Diapers are a great bandage for a knee & probably also a hock, because of the way they are built.  

I'll probably change it once a day, so I can be nosy.  So maybe tomorrow I can get a picture of it, if I don't forget. 

Little Bijou is really having a time of it, he's limping pretty bad on his right front.  Our ground is so hard, Susan said he does better on soft ground.  Courtney is going to try to make it out tomorrow, we wouldn't try to haul him with his feet bothering him.  I'm pretty sure Courtney will agree that boots might be good for him.  

RUSTY'S IN THE DOG HOUSE.......!!!

 Canal in France

We're going to be home all day today, hopefully, so we let Bijou the little horse out this morning. I think he needs more exercise to help his arthritis in his feet, but that should be his choice.  He lays down most of the day in the pens, because quite frankly there isn't anything of interest doing on.  

We let him out & he was wandering around, so I went in the house.  Later on the dogs were barking their, "Oh boy this is fun" bark, which we always check on to see just exactly what they think is so much fun.  Usually it's Tucker doing laps in his pen. 

This time it was Rusty chasing Bijou & making him run.  Don't know if it was in play or what, but Bijou certainly doesn't need to be running around on his crippled feet.  They came past me, I jumped in front of Rusty, put Bijou in his pen, & John came to put Rusty in his pen, much to his disgust.  I let Bijou out of the pen & he went right out to start looking around, but at least this way he doesn't have to contend with Rusty being in his face.  

Since we got Bijou as a companion for Rusty, this isn't exactly going as planned.  If Bijou wants to move around & explore, then Rusty can stay in the pens for awhile.  We've had "problem children" before & have let some out at night & the others during the day.  So it's workable, I just wish Rusty would behave himself. 

Boaz hasn't missed a beat with his leg being in a bandage.  It doesn't seem to be bothering him at all.  If it doesn't start draining thru the bandage or doesn't tighten up on his leg, we'll leave it on until Friday probably.  Hopefully when the bandage is removed it will look good.

INTERESTING DAY.......!!!

We took Boaz into the vet today to check where he was gelded & also to check the big sore on his knee.  This morning when we got ready to load him, it only took a few animal crackers to entice  him to jump into the trailer.  He really is a good boy, hasn't been worked with much, but more than willing try to figure out what in the "sam hill" we want him to do.  

The vet thinks the sore is proud flesh, that earlier in his life he got a cut or something on the side of his knee.  When he lays down, it is perfectly placed to get pressure put on it.  I asked the owner when we got him how long it had been there & he said it was there when Boaz came to him over a year ago.  But it also could be cancer, so we decided to do a biopsy & send it off to the University of Arizona.  In the meantime while he was doped up, she decided to clean it up as well as she could. Thank goodness she cauterized it, otherwise I think he might have bled to death.  Excessive bleeding is a sign of proud flesh, so hopefully that's what it is.  She wrapped it up & hopefully when we unwrap it in 3 days or so, it will look good.  I had the camera with me, but got so involved in the surgery, I forgot about taking any pictures..........!!!! 

He was happy to get home, someone called to him from Burroland, & he took off as soon as he got out of the trailer.  

Courtney has had more car trouble than one person should have, & we haven't been able to hook up with her, to get Bijou's feet trimmed.  We're trying for this Thursday.  He's pretty ouchy right now, although we open up the pens for him during the day he prefers to stay in & lay down.  When he first gets up he is really lame, but after a few steps he get much better.  So I think if he would move around more he might be better off, but then again I haven't "WALKED A MILE IN HIS MOCCASINS", so it's his choice.  He's a friendly little guy, I just wish he was more comfortable. 

BAH......DOCTOR VISIT.......!!!

 

This is poor little Tucker getting ready to have a tube ran down his nose.  Dr. Shamis has the tube in his hand.  Unfortunately Tucker's throat still isn't large enough to use the big endoscope, & the small animal one isn't long enough to go all the way to the top of his stomach.   Soooo we still don't know if the top of his stomach opens & closes properly.  Dr. Shamis said since we don't mind feeding him soaked pellets, to just continue to do so, for a few months, until he is bigger. We were hoping he would be OK, & get to go out on the property.  Guess not.   Then maybe the big endoscope will work.  John said next time he won't be able to straddle Tucker like that & still have his feet on the ground  is Tucker continues to grow, which I'm sure he will.

One thing that was found is Tucker has a Dorsal Displaced Soft Palate.  The last time he was scoped 3 months ago, they thought he had DDSP, but thought it might have been temporary because of him choking twice in a 3 day period.  But guess not.......!!!!   He also has a severe parrot mouth which we already knew.  But his molars are all coming in perfect, so hopefully the parrot mouth won't interfere with him being able to eat long term.  I doubt that he'd ever be able to eat grass in a pasture, but in this part of the country, pasture isn't usually an option anyway. 

We took Bijou the little horse with us, so we could meet Courtney on the way home & get him trimmed.  Unfortunately we couldn't get hooked up, so she's coming out today to trim him.  He got to go for a ride for nothing, but didn't seem to mind.  He's real good about hopping in & out of the trailer & likes to watch what's going on.  I've only looked at his worst foot, the one he limps on.  If there is a frog on that foot I can't find it, it's just a big gaping hole where the frog should be.  No wonder the little guy limps sometimes.   

We are taking Mocha & Tucker in to the vet today to see if he can finally eat hay instead of just mush.  He will be 5 months old Monday & really thinks he's "hot stuff".  Every once in awhile he just can't help himself & has to grab a coat sleeve & hang on.  We grab the hair on his chest & then he's a good boy for awhile.  

We're also hauling Bijou to meet Courtney to get his little feet trimmed.  I'm going to ask her about maybe trying boots on him to see if it would make his feet more comfortable.  The only problem is, he has little bitty feet, not much bigger than Tucker's, & none of my Soft-Rides will fit him...........!!!! SIGH....!!    I did check their web-site & they make tiny little boots, so I'll see what size Courtney thinks will fit him. 

This morning Cheyenne decided there was a Cheyenne eating monster at the neighbor's.  None of the other minis had a problem going in their pen, but she decided she wasn't going as she stared over there.  All of a sudden the jennies are starting to act like drama queens.  At least the "Bijou scares me" crisis seems to be over, hopefully by tonight she won't have to be chased around & around the pen area with a stick.  We never use it, but when we pick up a stick, they know we mean it.........!!!! LOL  

NOT GOING, CAN'T MAKE ME.....!!

Bijou was out all day yesterday.  After watching him for awhile, we've come to the conclusion that he has probably always been in a pen of some kind.  He had no idea of what to do, with all that freedom.  He stood around the pens for awhile, went in one & laid down & finally in the afternoon started following some of the donkeys around.  John had to put a halter on him to get him back in his pen.  He was down in the far corner of the property, when all the others heard the dinner bell & headed back to the pens.  I'm sure after a couple of days, he'll figure it out.  

John put everyone in their pens, before he went to get the little guy.  All of a sudden Frijolita, Chantilly, & Jenny "discovered" him.  He had been in a pen beside Jenny for over 2 days, he had been out with them all day, & for some reason those 3 zeroed in on the fact that.........."he ain't like us"....!!!  It was like he had grown another head or something, absolute panic on their part.  John thought Chantilly was going to try to jump out of her pen again, & Jenny actually ran, even though she is almost 3 legged lame because of abscesses in her left rear hoof.  Since her pen was closest to him, she wouldn't even go near the pen, ears up & totally locked in on this hairy little thing with no ears.  It took almost half an hour to entice her into the pen & I tried putting her hay where she couldn't see him.  But noooooooo, she had to be able to stare at him while she ate.  

The whole time all this nonsense is going on, he is busy doing little horse stuff, like eating & ignoring the big silly girls.  So far this morning everything seems to be OK, but we kept him in his pen overnight. Hopefully when he goes out today they will accept the idea that he is part of the herd, even though he looks a little funny.  

So far Rusty hasn't really paid much attention to him.  SIGH!

BIJOU IS OUT & ABOUT..........!!!

He went out this morning right after everyone else.  We should have waited a little while to let him out, everyone was "running" the pens to find little scrapes of hay, & weren't the least bit interested in him, including Rusty.  I saw him later on & he was up visiting with Tucker & Mocha, everyone else had disappeared.  

John said Rusty probably thinks he isn't going to be here very long like the other 2, so why develop a friendship.  I'm sure they will find each other eventually, but I certainly thought Rusty would be right with Bijou as soon as he was out of the pen.  

I cleaned out the foot he was limping on & the poor little guy doesn't have any frog at all.  We're going to haul him, when we take Mocha & Tucker in Friday to see Dr. Shamis.  On the way home, we will meet Courtney on the east side of Tucson & get his little feet trimmed.  

Last night Chantilly must have gotten scared by something.  She slammed into one of the corral panels in her pen, moved it enough that John couldn't open the gate, without pushing it out of the way.  This morning she has a "boo-boo" in the middle of her nose.  Can't imagine what scared her, she can see for a long way & I'm sure her hearing is excellent.  So John had to redo the pen this morning to straighten it out.  I'd like to get all the pens straightened out, they passed "not" square a long time ago.  Which is why I really like them for pens, they have a lot of give when something happens, like last night. 

Still working on Boaz's proud flesh or sarcoid on his knee.  The Wonder Dust is working on it, but I'm pretty sure she will have to cut what's left off.