Had a very nice woman come out from Tucson today to groom donkeys. Poor BlackJack had been getting mats. He is more than likely part Poitou & his hair is long & very fine. He's always proned to mats in his armpits in the summer but all this heat & humidity we've had really escalated the problem. So when Molly said she wanted to come out & groom, I set BJ up as her first "customer".
She worked on him quite awhile, but managed to get him mat free. I think BlackJack would probably stand for grooming until he didn't have any hair left, although he did have to act like a bad boy, when she first started. I think he was testing her to see if she was up to speed on working on a "special" donkey. Once they got the initial "I'm not going to, Oh yes you are", out of the way, everything went smoothly.
She also did Ruthie & Daisy. If Ruthie isn't pregnant, she is certainly getting funny shaped. We've moved her into a pen of her own at feeding time, so Ruger can get use to "mommy" not always being with him. He's in with Pancho, & his Daddy Boaz, but as soon as the pens are open, he goes to find Ruthie. This young man is pushing 18 months.......!!! When she has the new little one, she is going to abruptly tell Ruger she is no longer his mommy & if he doesn't get away from her new baby, she'll make him wish he had. Poor little guy is going to be heartbroken. He does play with Pancho quite often, so I'm hoping he'll make the transition without to much drama.
We will be taking Jenny up to the clinic in Gilbert tomorrow to see if they need to do something to her foot to make her more comfortable. It looks like it's pushing inward rather than growing straight down. We'll have to leave early, so we're hoping that Vic can come over & let the donkeys out later on in the morning. It wouldn't hurt for them to stay in all day, but I'm sure they would think they were being punished.
We will be taking Jenny up to the clinic in Gilbert tomorrow to see if they need to do something to her foot to make her more comfortable. It looks like it's pushing inward rather than growing straight down. We'll have to leave early, so we're hoping that Vic can come over & let the donkeys out later on in the morning. It wouldn't hurt for them to stay in all day, but I'm sure they would think they were being punished.
Georgia
Misty
When we were at Longhopes, Kathy asked if we'd like to go over to the killer buyer's to see if he had any donkeys. Kathy has worked with this guy for years. He's a nice guy, just has a lousy job, BUT, if he finds any donkeys at auctions that obviously aren't going to find a good home & are going cheap, he buys them for Kathy. He lives close enough that it's a win, win deal for Kathy, she doesn't have to go to auctions & hang around waiting for donkeys to be put up for bid.
So off we went, got over there & these 2 girls were in a pen. They are about 8 or 9 years old & really nice girls although obviously neglected lately.
So off we went, got over there & these 2 girls were in a pen. They are about 8 or 9 years old & really nice girls although obviously neglected lately.
Kathy let Georgette & I name them on the way home. We ran thru quite a few names before coming up with names Kathy hadn't already used. She's had over 600 donkeys thru her rescue, so all the the easy ones are gone. We would have named Misty Casper, but she wasn't a boy...........!!!! Georgette was go excited, she has decided to become a sponsor for Georgia. She wanted to also sponsor Misty, but Kathy said only one to a family. Anybody interested in sponsoring a real nice pretty donkey girl?
The next morning we helped sign them into the rescue. They had to have a collar put on, so the volunteers can identify them. Every donkey has their own halter, so had to find halters to fit. Kathy gave me a weight tape to use. They have a scale, but we didn't know at the time if they would lead or not. After we left they did weigh them on the scale & my weight tape numbers were off by 75-100 pounds.......!!! They just don't work on donkeys, they carry too much weight behind the girth area.
Needed to get those nasty feet trimmed, so Kathy went out & did "despooking 101", which the girls found rather boring. So they have probably had good homes in the past, but for some reason they ended up at the end of the line.........almost...!!!!
I should have taken an after picture of Misty's rear feet, Kathy got all that excess growth chopped off, & they looked pretty good. She was a little tender but not bad.
I'm so glad these girls weren't lost.
This is an interesting read:
http://www.windwildhorse.com/windblog/2012/08/06/no-more-wild-horses-soon-blm-is-scheduling-capture-of-all-of-them-asap/
It's sad to see what our government does in the name of the American people.
The next morning we helped sign them into the rescue. They had to have a collar put on, so the volunteers can identify them. Every donkey has their own halter, so had to find halters to fit. Kathy gave me a weight tape to use. They have a scale, but we didn't know at the time if they would lead or not. After we left they did weigh them on the scale & my weight tape numbers were off by 75-100 pounds.......!!! They just don't work on donkeys, they carry too much weight behind the girth area.
Needed to get those nasty feet trimmed, so Kathy went out & did "despooking 101", which the girls found rather boring. So they have probably had good homes in the past, but for some reason they ended up at the end of the line.........almost...!!!!
I should have taken an after picture of Misty's rear feet, Kathy got all that excess growth chopped off, & they looked pretty good. She was a little tender but not bad.
I'm so glad these girls weren't lost.
This is an interesting read:
http://www.windwildhorse.com/windblog/2012/08/06/no-more-wild-horses-soon-blm-is-scheduling-capture-of-all-of-them-asap/
It's sad to see what our government does in the name of the American people.
1 comment:
I found your blog after reading the Longhopes winter newsletter. In the middle of reading about your visit to Colorado, I realized that you guys were the ones who went to get Georgia and Misty with Kathy! I did some training with Misty a few weeks after she arrived, and fell in love with her. I adopted her about a month ago, and she now lives with her buddy "Titus" at our home in the mountains. She is truly a special girl, and it still almost brings tears to my eyes to think that someone would just discard her. Anyway, I am happy to say that Misty is doing great, and her feet are looking a lot better. She started lessons under saddle in August, but is taking a break right now, as we found out that she is expecting a baby in the next few weeks! I just wanted to share my story with you, and thank you for all the great things you do. Ps. Georgia is also doing well in her new home, and is expecting a baby too!
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