BLOG HAS BEEN DOWN

Hopefully this will load when I get thru writing.  Since earlier this week, nothing could be saved or published to the blog.  People from all over the world were begging them to fix it.  I usually use Mozilla Firefox, tried Chome, and finally got thru using Internet Exployer, which I don't like at all.  I'll probably pick up some STD using it......!!! (G)

 

Let's see I've about fogotten where I was.  Oh! yes, hauling a new girl for a woman that wanted a friend for her lonely jenny.  We had such a good visit with Win while we traveled to the other side of Tucson.  She's a mature lady that has lived in Tucson or SE Arizona most of her life, and knows about the good old days, so she had lots of stories to tell. 

 

We got to the rescue and the woman wasn't there, so we had to wait awhile.  In the meantime we introduced outselves to the 6 donkeys and 5-6 mini horses.  They were all very friendly,  John zeroed in on a very nice young black gelding and wanted to bring him home.  John said he looked like a young BlackJack.  I have to admit he was very tempting.

 

We had figured out which jenny was the one for us we thought.  She was a very nice friendly girl and when the woman got there she said we were right.

 

Her name is Diane and she actually loaded pretty good, especially when we wave a cookie in front of her nose. 

 

Got to Win's place, let Diane out with Jenny and they immediately started running all over a very large soft field, Jenny in front and Diane trying to catch up.  I was a little worried because Jenny is somewhere on the north side of 40.  Unfortunately she stumbled a little and came up limping and is still limping from what we've heard.  But they are getting along just fine, so hopefully Jenny's limp will go away soon.  They put them in a smaller, area, so she can't move around so much.

 

Jenny and Diane



 Our guys are all doing pretty good right now.  I've already put a fly mask on Rusty the mule.  He's pink skinned & his eyes are always goopy, don't know if he has allergies or what.  But a fly mask cuts down on the sun and hopefully the dust.  His eyes stay cleaner with a mask.  There some flies around, but so far they aren't being obnoxious to the donkeys. 

 

I'm still working on Boaz's knee with Wonder Dust.  I'm afraid it's going to have to be scraped again to get the proud flesh off.  The Wonder Dust is suppose to eat proud flesh, but so far the last little bit is being very stubborn. 

 

Yesterday we took Cheyennne in to the vet for a uterine flush, doesn't that sound like fun.......?????  When we took her to the vet a couple of weeks ago, we thought she had a urinary tract infection or something like that.  Dr. Megan said maybe not, & using a goat speculum (who even knew they had such things) checked her out.  Said she saw inflammaton, so did a swab to send off to the lab.  Finally got the lab report, she has a chronic strep infection of the uterus.  I'm just learning all sorts of fascinating little tidbits......!!! LOL

 

So she got flushed with Naxcel & she will be getting Naxcel shots for the next 10 days.  Hopefully that will take care of it.  If not, she'll get to go back for another flush.  She wasn't too bad, BUT you could tell it wasn't her favorite thing to do.  Can't say I blame her...!!!! 







TODAY'S INVASION.....!!!!

Some people that had been out for the Open House in December, called & wanted to bring a few friends out this morning to meet the donkeys.  

When they got here there were more than just a few......!!! The closest guess we came up with was 26.  It was hard to keep track of them, they kept moving.....!!!

 

They are a group that gets together to play with their off road toys on week-ends.  Today they were going about 15 miles north of us, up a riverbed to see some dinosaur tracks.  Actually they are Woolly Rhinoceros tracks in rock but everyone calls them dinosaur tracks.  The guy that put it together said they had about 6 people signed up until they said they were coming to the donkey rescue....!!!  How neat is that?  They brought apples & carrots, which of course was very much appreciated by the donkeys & mules. 

This is BlackJack entertaining his adoring public.  BlackJack looks so much different than the other donkeys & is such a ham, people always make a fuss over him.  He has learned to work people & they love it.  

He probably has some French Poitou blood in him.  Don't know for sure, but this isn't your typical donkey face. 

I had decided not to change Boaz's knee bandage until tomorrow.  When he came in this morning it was all askew, I don't know how he can mangle a bandage like he does.  I've gotten pretty good at bandaging, but knees seem to be tricky.  

The dry scabby area is where he managed to get the diaper I use for bandaging pushed down.  I've been putting Wonder Dust on it, which has worked well for keeping the area open, to hopefully start filling in with scar tissue.  

Courtney didn't make it again today.  I e-mailed her, the longer it takes her to get out here, the bigger & stronger Wister will be.  We've worked on picking up feet, halter, touching all over, the basics & he does pretty good.  But he is so independent, I have a feeling it's going to be a rodeo.....!!!  Courtney said she'd eat her Wheaties before she comes.......!!! LOL

RACE NIGHT TONIGHT.....!!!

Not sure why the car looks so red/pink.  It is actually General Motors Engine Orange, which is as close to Hugger Orange, an old muscle car color from the 60's,  as we can get without paying for it.....!!! LOL  Car paint that has red pigment in it, costs a fortune anymore.  John can paint all the orange on the car with 3 or 4 spray cans of paint.

I am going to have my first "ride along" tonight.  A friend of ours asked if the 13 year old son of her boss could ride in the heat race.  His birthday wish was to be able to go into the pits, so her husband upped the ante & asked if he could ride with me.  The last I heard they are talking about his Dad riding in the main event....!!!  I hope they aren't screamers, that would be very distracting I think.  LOL

Molly Brown got to go out last night after being in "prison" for a couple of days.  At afternoon feeding she wasn't favoring her leg, much at all, so we decided to let her out.  She came in this morning walking good, so that crisis is over I guess.   I'm sure there will be another one, just around the corner, they sure like to keep me on my toes.  

I'm still working on Boaz's knee with Wonder Dust.  Might take an update picture when I change the bandage, either tomorrow or Monday.  It's looking pretty good, but don't see a whole lot of healing going on. 

Molly Limping...

When Molly the little mini mule came in this morning she was limping on her right rear.  After everyone was fed, & we got Jack out of the pen, John entertained her & I poked & prodded.  Seems to be in the hock, gaskin area, she wasn't really interested in finding out where it actually was.  It's not swollen, so I assume she turned too quick & maybe pull a muscle .  Gave her some bute & left her in today.  Boy, is that going over big with her & Jack.  He's hanging around the pen & they both let us know when we go outside, that we haven't done our job.  They actually have almost whinnied.  Usually Jack just grunts like a little pig, & Molly doesn't make much sound, guess they figure this is really important......!!!  Jack is so mean to her most of the time, I'm surprised she doesn't appreciate the separation. 

Starting to see more flies although not in large numbers.  We can all live with one or two, but if they start showing up in "family" groups, we'll have to drag out the fly masks.  I've gotten 2 orders of the fly predators so far, they come once a month.  It was still pretty cold when the first ones arrived, not sure they made it thru the night.  And my order of fly trap bags should be here any day.  This year I ordered 36 instead of 24.  Last year I had to reorder before the season was over.  Each bag catches about a pound of flies, between the predators & the bags, we stay pretty fly free. 

Wister has a new way to entertain himself.  When he goes in the pen to eat, usually the first thing he does is lay down.  When I drive in with the golf cart, I've been getting out & "wallowing" him while he's laying on the ground.  A few days ago, I came thru & he was close enough to the golf cart path, I just reached out & petted him a little bit.  Guess it wasn't enough, he now lays right in the path, every morning & evening, so I have to stop & mess with him, until he's had enough & gets up.  Yes, I could make him get up, but what fun would that be?  (G)

Wednesday Update

Courtney was suppose to come out today to trim, but isn't going to make it.   So Wister has a few more days to put off getting his toes trimmed for the first time.  I have a feeling he is going to really be a little pill.  

I just noticed a big piece of one of Rusty rear hooves missing, so he'll have to be looked at when she does get out here.  He usually self trims, in fact I don't think she's ever trimmed him.

We are suppose to haul a donkey from a rescue in Tucson, Monday for a woman that owns a very interesting book stores in the Benson area.  It's called the Singing Winds book store & is known all over the world, which is amazing comsidering it's in what use to be her garage, at least that's what it looks like.

She lost her old horse a few months ago, & has been looking for a donkey friend for her old jenny that is really lonely.  I didn't have anyone for her, but after getting a phone call from her granddaughter, & a friend, I went out & started seriously looking for one.

Put out the word & a woman from D-S Horse Rescue in Tucson got in touch with me.  She has 4 donkeys right now & is over full as most of the rescues are.

So we will be the designated hauler to rehome one of the donkeys.  I always say we more than willing to haul.  We get to help rehome, BUT, don't have to bring them home with us...!!! LOL

Heard from Eloise's new mom, & it sounds like she's wiggled right into the herd with Tio & Jackie, already knows the routine, & what buttons to push with Laura to keep things going her way. 

De-worming Day!

Well, we've had a fun filled morning.  Today was worming day..well for everyone except Rusty the white mule, & Tula the Wild Child.  They will be wormed later in their feed, because it's not possible to worm either of them with a tube wormer...trust me.......!!!  

I got on my smock with big pockets, filled the pockets with wormers & away we went.  John follows behind me with cookies, so it's not a big deal.  At least that's what I thought until I got to Gus.......!!!  He smelled that wormer & became a Dr. Jekyll......!!!   Talk about shocked...!!!  Gus is about the most mellow laid back guy you could ever meet, but there was no way he was going to just stand there & be so ABUSED.....!!!!  John got the halter & lead & we finally had to tie him up & even then it was a hassle.  Surprised me, most of the guys just stand there at liberty & it's over in a second.  

Headed on down the line to the minis.........hmm........Pepsi is a good boy the other 3 not so much.  Lysa got here to clean pens just about that time, which was good, because the halter John was carrying was too big for a mini & he's never learned how to make a halter out of a lead.  We got Lynn first, not too bad, Cheyenne was pretty good once we got her, Justin.........not what he had planned today.  Lysa finally got the "lead halter" on him & he took off like a race horse.  Lysa isn't one to give up, she hung on, managed to jump over one of the hay feeders that was in the way, but he finally got away.  She got him again & this time we had him in a corner.  One thing about donkeys they know when the "jig is up", he just stood there like it was his idea........!!!!!!  LOL

We saved the best for last, Jack & Molly the mini mules.  We figured they would be a real rodeo.  I think Lysa was disappointed, I know I was shocked.  She put the lead halter on them & they both were really good.  In fact Jack kept getting in our faces to see if we had more...........well I think he was really after the mandatory follow up cookie. 

Happy St. Paddy's!

Unwrapped Boaz's knee this morning & was met with the sight of proud flesh...!!!  SIGH!  Thought maybe this time would be it, but guess not.  So I covered it liberally with Wonder Dust, which I do NOT like & re-wrapped it.  Hopefully it will control the proud flesh & get some good scar tissue growing.  He's such a good boy to work on, doesn't care what I do as long as there are animal crackers being offered.  

Heard from Laura & Eloise is settling in nicely & Tio is still behaving himself.  I guess seeing Eloise for the 1st time, short circuited his brain at first.  Typical male I guess, even if he has had "brain surgery". 

Everyone seems to be doing pretty good, enjoying the gorgeous weather right now, & running around trying to find poor little green sprigs that attempt to sneak above the ground.  Not much green out there, except for the cactus & even it gets molested quite a bit.  

Courtney is coming Wednesday to trim those that need it.  Gus is walking carefully, like he's tender, so hopefully a little trimming will help.  Now that Jenny is gone, Courtney doesn't have to come so often, but we still have bad feet that need to be trimmed on a regular basis.  And then there is Wister.........it's time for his "first" time.  I'm dreading it, he doesn't mind the halter, doesn't mind being messed with, doesn't mind his feet picked up, if you don't hold them too long.  BUT putting all that together & adding trimming those little feet, is probably going to be "interesting".  He is so independent, in fact Ruthie acts like she is trying to wean him & he won't be 3 months old until the 25th of March.  I guess she's decided if he's not going to listen to her, then he can just feed himself. 

Eloise

This is Eloise looking over her new home yesterday.  It wasn't easy to get her to hold still long enough to get a picture.  She hit the ground almost running, trying to see everything at once.  

We had her on a lead & almost had a wreck with Tio.  He got so excited when he saw her he started acting like a silly little boy.  Laura said he's usually pretty mellow, but he was bound & determined to see her up close.  She pretty much ignored him, but I didn't, since I was the one doing the leading.  The idea of getting caught in the middle of an excited little boy & a girl that was trying to ignore him, & see all the new stuff, really didn't appeal to me at all.  John & Laura were trying to catch up, all in all it was probably one of those "video" moments, but we were all too busy...!!!!  We stuck Tio in a pen, much to his disgust & gave Eloise a chance to investigate.  Laura said after we left she let him out & he behaved himself.  

Jackie has a sore foot, so he just watched for the most part thank goodness, don't think I would have enjoyed trying to foist off another one.  

Today we took little Cheyenne to the local vet clinic.  Her teeth were just floated in February, & already are starting to wear funny again.  Dr. Voss up at Gilbert said she might have some TMJ.  Dr. Megan said she also might have some arthritis in the jaw joint, not a whole lot can be done for either one.   So we will continue to feed her mush & feed her by herself, so she doesn't have to compete with the other minis.  She also probably is not emptying her bladder completely, & ends up dribbling.  Not much to be done for that either, Dr. Megan would also like a urine sample like Dr. Voss asked for.  Probably not going to happen until, pigs fly......!!!!  I have seen her pee once since we brought her home from Gilbert in February, & there was no way to "save" any of it.  John said we could put her in the garage & wait for her to pee on the floor & suck it up in a syringe.  No telling how long that would take, she'd have to get comfortable in the garage, she's never been inside that I know of.  Then she'd have to be comfortable peeing on a concrete floor, that is going to splash on her legs.  All in all I don't think so.......!!!

Took two to tango...

Tyler came out Wednesday afternoon and trimmed Eloise's nasty feet.  To say that wasn't what she had planned for the day is an understatement.  I commented on her temper fit in an earlier blog, we got to see it in action quite a bit, actually.  

It's only her right rear, & she doesn't kick AT you, but it moves like a piston, repeatedly in rapid secession.  Between Tyler & Shawn they managed to get her trimmed.  She's a little ouchy today, I would imagine it's like going barefooted in the spring for the first time........!!!!  Do kids even do that anymore?  That was an important part of getting ready for summer, get those feet toughened up.  I probably didn't have shoes on half a dozen times during the summer.  

Anyway we will be taking her to her new home today, with Jackie & Tio.  Laura wants another jenny, so I've got my eyes & ears open.  

Yesterday the kids from Caring Connections came out again.  They usually come out about once a month, & the kids really enjoy seeing the donkeys.  Sometimes they do some grooming, which of course the donkeys enjoy. 

THE BOYS ARE BACK........!!!!

Gus

Quilla

We got home from picking up the boys yesterday evening just about dark.  Gus got his old pen back, but Quilla had always been in a pen on the east side.  Now they are side by side on the west side.  

It's like they had never been gone, they dropped right into the "drill", in fact we let them out last night before bed & this morning Gus was waiting in his pen.  Guess he wanted to make sure no one else got it.  

We had a couple of tours this morning & they haven't forgotten how to look hungry & pathetic so people will give them pellets.

Since we were late getting in everyone was standing in the driveway.  We had to lead the boys right thru the middle of them.  Wasn't a problem except for Jack the mini mule.   He got all excited & tried to get in the middle of things, running & kicking.  I don't know if he was trying to be friendly or trying to be nasty.

This morning during the tours, Jack was really being ugly to Molly, he didn't want her to get close to the fence, to be petted & get treats.  I finally got in his face & made him back up.  He isn't mean he's just ornery, & seems to think the world revolves around him.  Poor little Molly doesn't even want to go the pen with him, & I can't blame her. 

Hit the road ...

Eloise

Just about ready to hit the road to pick up Gus & Quilla from Claire.  The weather is suppose to be nice today, hope that also includes "NO WIND".  Wind isn't good when pulling a stock trailer.  

Last night Eloise went in her pen like she had been doing it forever.  WOW!  This morning she was the 1st one to follow John, all the way to her pen.  He said they had to thread their way thru the rest of the donkeys that thought they should be first.  

The next one was Jack the little mini mule, into the new pen he's only been going in the last couple of days......!!! Sometimes these animals absolutely amaze me.  

John said after that, no one knew where they belonged or were interested in learning either.  They might amaze me, but they always seem to be able to show me they are also free thinkers. 

Well, she's out & about & moving at a pretty quick step.  She has been very upset that she couldn't go out with the other donkeys.  By the time John let her out this morning, they had all disappeared, so she is running around trying to find them.  John just went out to see if he could find HER.....!!!  LOL  I have a feeling getting her back into her pen this afternoon MIGHT be a little bit of a challenge.  She doesn't take directional signals very well, & moves fast enough that us lowly humans probably won't be able to keep up.

Tyler is going to try to come out Tuesday afternoon to trim her feet before she goes to her new home, Thursday.  Yesterday I haltered her & tied her up to see how she is with her feet.  Not too good, in fact I was trying to pick up a front foot & she is kicking backwards with a hind foot, basically having a temper fit.  I let her know that I really didn't appreciate this behavior, & we came to an agreement, that she would let me hold up a front foot for a second or two.  

I decided I wasn't that interested in picking up a back foot, but would like to see how sensitive she was to being touched.  I got a stick about 4 feet long, put a glove on it & touched her everywhere, she didn't even cringe or move.  So I guess everything is OK, except picking up feet.

Last night when John shut her pen off from the other 5 pens she had access to all day, she spent quite sometime banging the gate hard, & kicking out that hind foot.  I guess that's her temper foot........!!!

The people said she's been eating bermuda hay, but so far she isn't much interested in it, although she is eating the Lakin Lite & beet pulp mush.  I even tried her on a little alfalfa this morning, which she picked out of the bermuda.  We've had a couple of incidents of hyperlipidemia over the years, & Louise died unfortunately.   It isn't normal for an equine not to eat if food is available, so I hope she eats tonight after being able to run around all day.

This morning John played "musical pens", much to the confusion of Frijolita, Daisy, Jack & Molly.  Gus & Quilla are coming back tomorrow after being up in Phoenix since last fall.  Gus likes structure in his life, which equates to having a shelter.  We decided to put Gus & Quilla in Frijolita & Daisy's pens, where there are permanent shelters.  The 2 mules went to a pen John & Steve built last week out of half of Buddy's pen.  Frijolita & Daisy, went into the 2 pens the mules had been using.

Needless to say they were all confused, since they had done their part, by being in their pens when John went out this morning, waiting for treats & breakfast.  It went OK, but I'm sure they thought he'd lost his mind.  Probably won't go any smoother tonight, & then we'll have the added fun of getting Eloise back in her pen.......!!  I think we'll start early.....!!! LOL

Her name is Eloise instead of Heloise

I don't hear that well I guess, sure sounded like Heloise to me.....!!! LOL  Anyway she got here about dark, hopped out of the trailer & went with her Dad to her pen, "ie" BlackJack's pen.  

I asked them if she led, they said yes & she certainly does..... she "led" him all the way to the pen, at a pretty good pace...!!!  (G)

She's a little "short for her weight", but not bad.  I always prepare for the worst & hope for the best.   I had been told she was a little bit overweight, didn't know what to expect, so was pleasantly surprised. 

But these feet weren't as pleasant a surprise.  

Granted, they aren't the extremely long "elf" shoes that a lot of untrimmed donkeys have.  The woman said her feet eventually break off.........but that doesn't do anything for the frogs, that you might notice are peeking out from under both the front & back feet.  Or the ligaments & tendons running up the legs. 

I have a call in for Tyler to see if he's feeling brave.  She's very friendly & loves attention.........BUT..........if she hasn't had her feet worked on, it's probably not going to be her favorite thing.......!!!   

She goes to her new home Thursday, so hopefully we can get them done before then.  

Monday we are going up to the Phoenix area to bring Gus & Quilla back for the summer. 

LITTLE WISTER THIS MORNING, HE IS GROWING LIKE A WEED

Yesterday morning old Pepper, choked on hay.  I would imagine his molars are getting worn down close to the gums & no longer grind the hay.  I tried to clear him for a couple of hours, before we hauled him to the vet.  As he did the last time he cleared by the time we got there, but he got tubed anyway, just to make sure.  Dr. Megan said there was a little bit of resistance at the top of the stomach, so it's probably a good thing we went ahead & tubed him.  Otherwise he might have choked again at suppertime.  

We had to go down to Sierra Vista yesterday afternoon to say good-bye to an old friend from Saudi that stopped in the area on his way to California.  While we were there we stopped at Lowe's to see if they had a shredder/mulcher thingie.  

I read about using them to chop up hay to feed those that can't eat regular hay.  We thought about getting hay cubes, but most of them are alfalfa.  

They had this one, so we brought it home & it is simple enough.......well except for the learning curve of NOT trying to chop it in an 18 gallon open bucket.  John said there is a reason the chopped hay, leaves or whatever goes into a closed zipped bag.  It is also a good idea to wait until the motor COMPLETELY stops before opening the bag......!!!  But other than a few slight problems like that, John said it works very good, cuts all the hay about 2 inches long.  

He's even decided to chop hay for Cisco & Cheyenne, since they both have trouble chewing up the longer hay.  

Heloise is suppose to get here in about an hour or so.  The weather is blustery & chilly today.  We were going to put her into an overflow pen, but it has no shelter.  Since she will be staying in for a couple of days to get use to us, I decided to throw BlackJack out of his pen & into the overflow pen.  He doesn't care, in fact he stayed in that pen for a few months not long ago.  As long as he gets fed he could care less where he is. 

I'll try to get pictures of Heloise when she gets here, it will be just about feeding time & John is on a jeep tour.  Depends on if the herd is more interested in seeing the new girl, or more interested in eating....!!!

This is what Boaz's knee looked like after 2 days of not putting Thuja Zinc Oxide on it to keep it soft....!!

Dr.Nancy making it bleed.......!!!

I let it dry out, so she could see what it does if I don't "doctor" it.  She actually thought it had come a long way, but did find a little bit of proud flesh to cut off. Said I should keep it bandaged.........Sigh......!!  He is very good at either tearing them completely off or wearing holes in them.  She said rather than changing bandages every day or so, to leave them on until they wear out or fall off.  So I guess I'll see how long I can keep one on there.  She thinks it will eventually heal over, I hope so.  Fly season is coming & it's bad enough without having open sores to deal with.  

Looks like Heloise might be coming to visit us this Friday.  For right now I wouldn't feel comfortable for Frijolita & Daisy to go down into "vet deprived" country, which the Elfrida & Gleeson area is.  They just have too many health issues to not have a convenient vet.  I told Laura maybe in the future, but in the meantime I would keep my ears open for a couple of jennies that were healthy & having a vet in the neighborhood wouldn't be quite so important.  This morning I heard about a family moving out of state that can't take Heloise with them.  Haven't heard back from Laura if she is interested, but it sounds like it would be a good "fix" for everyone.  

We have 4 of these feline types in the house, 3 boys & one nasty little girl.  Moogee should actually be an only cat.  Not only does she pick fights with the boys, she's sneaky about it.  Unless you see what is happening, you can't rely on the screeching & yowling to tell you, who's doing what to whom.  Lately I just blame her, since I'm pretty sure she usually starts it.  If she starts it with Nigel, he will finish it, no matter what "treasure" of mine is in the way.  Doesn't do any good to yell at him either, he is totally focused on catching her & making her pay.  

I actually think the donkeys are easier to take care of, maybe that's because they aren't in the house........!!!!  Ha!

Tomorrow we're taking Boaz in to have his knee looked at again.  I haven't doctored it for a couple of days, so they can see how it looks without doctoring.

The rest of the week has filled in nicely, John has a couple of jeep tours & Thursday we're visiting with a good friend from Saudi.  He & his son live in Texas, & are on the road in their RV for awhile.  They came by this afternoon for a visit.  Norb's son Dan went for a ride in the race car.  It's always amazing to me that people want to go for rides in the car.  I guess I'm a control freak, because the idea of riding in a race car with someone else driving doesn't sound that exciting, or maybe too exciting......!!!!  I have ridden "shotgun" in a couple of races, but that's different than running around on a dirt road.  

Our son might go up to Central Arizona Raceway to race Saturday.  If he does, we'll go up too.  It's 120 miles from our gate to the track, the reason I know this is because we raced up there, every week-end a few years ago.  Sure makes for a long night.......!!!   They don't race the Hornets up there, thank goodness.......LOL

Next week we're going up to pick Gus & Quilla up from Claire.  Her grass is starting to green up.  Need to keep Gus away from grass, so he doesn't founder.

I raced last night, did pretty good, finished 3rd in the heat race & 5th in the main event.  Surprised I'm not black & blue today, got up close & personal with most of the cars on the track it seems, judging from the unmatching paint on the car & assorted scrapes & dents.  Don't race again for 3 weeks, don't know who makes up the schedule, but it doesn't make much sense.