PEPPER, PEPPER, PEPPER

When I went out this morning John said there is something wrong with Pepper.  He was in his pen, with his ears laid back.  Pepper's ears are always in the upright position, checking out what is going on around him.  John said he was acting very aggressive towards the other donkeys.  THIS IS NOT PEPPER AT ALL.  In fact he usually is timid around the other donkeys & makes sure he has an avenue of escape when they get close to him, he seems to know he is fragile.  

I went out to check him over & sure enough the ears were all the way down.  He looked & acted anxious to me.  I checked to make sure he could see (stroke?) & checked for gut sounds.  John said Pepper had lunged at him, when he tried to give him a treat, so John stood on the same side I was on, when I checked for gut sounds in case he tried to bite me.  He had plenty of grumblings, so I told John to put on fly masks & observe him, while I fixed their breakfast.  

John came in & said he was jerking his right rear leg.  That is his broken hip leg.  He was also giving the hair raising sound they make when warning the "herd" of danger.  Willing to take animal crackers & when breakfast was served, he dove into it like he was starved.  

I came in the house, & got on the computer to see if Merck had any ideas. I found Medical Causes of Behavioral Signs.  Sounded like a good place to start.  They had neurological disorders, seizures, sensory dysfunction, all sorts of "heavy" stuff.  I zeroed in on just plain old "pain"....... "Altered response to stimuli (eg. decreased activity, restlessness, vocalization, aggression, irritability"   John said when he was bringing Pepper into his pen, he kept acting like someone was following him & he would turn around & lunge at.........nothing.   Went back out & he's eating breakfast ears  up & he looked like Pepper.  

My WAG (wild ass guess) is, something happened in that broken hip, pinched a nerve or something.  He was walking OK, so it wasn't out of joint or anything.  I have had pinched nerves & believe me it makes you irritable, aggressive & vocal......!!!  I threatened a nurse with death if she didn't get in touch with the doctor for some drugs.  The doctor was on my s--t list too..........!!!! LOL

AREN'T I CUTE.......????

WISTER, 4 MONTHS OLD TODAY (thanks Steffen)

I'm trying to find someone to geld the little "Monster Man", but so far no takers. None of the local vets want to geld him until he's a year old.  Fine..........they can take him home & put up with his antics if they want.....!!!  LOL  He is already obnoxious & doesn't know why.  He's just about given up on being a momma's boy, he'd rather hang out with the guys.  He likes daddy Boaz & also Quilla the best so far. 

Pepper was down again this morning, John found him in the wash over in Burroland.  He popped up, so he hadn't been down for very long.  But he wasn't moving very quickly when he got up.  Of course he was pawing the mat in his pen once he got there, because breakfast wasn't served quick enough........!!! 

The first lost fly mask of the season is still lost as of this morning.  Daisy never loses a mask, but she did yesterday.  It just happens to be a beige color, which will blend right in with dirt & trees.  That's why I put that one on her rather than a colorful one, because she NEVER loses her mask...........!!! SIGH!  We looked all over last night & didn't find it, big surprise.   There is one of the beige ones out there, leftover from last year, we never did find it, maybe they are both in the same place.......what's the chances of that happening? 

FLY MASK DAY..........!!!

CAN'T SEE BOAZ'S MASK, SHOULD BE FUN TO FIND WHEN BLACKJACK TAKES IT OFF PROBABLY TODAY........!!!

We've been putting fly masks on the ones that are fly magnets for a couple of weeks.  The last couple of days EVERYONE has had a fly or two bothering their eyes.  Last night I dragged out my stash of masks and found out I'm shy a couple of mini masks.  Usually we have 4 minis, right now we have not only Wister, but the 2 mini mules, so I need 7 masks, only have 6.  Wister has a hairy little face, so I'll leave him alone until I get some more.  

I was surprised I had enough masks left over from last year to start the season, without having to get into my new ones.  Not taking bets on who will come in tonight sans mask, Boaz is almost a given, BJ really enjoys taking them off.  Unfortunately by the time he & Boaz push, tug & jerk, the mask is usually not useable again.  That is if we even find it. 

Molly & Jack were good to get their masks on.  We never know if they've even see a mask when they come here, so it's always interesting the first time.  Reba has an ear fetish, as in, "don't touch my ears, EVER".  We tried without a halter, but she wasn't having none of it.  Haltered her, and I made the ear opening as wide as I could to "drop" it on her.  After it was on, she was fine, so she's probably had masks on before.  Just have to get by that ear thing first.  

Pepper was down again this morning in the wash, had been for awhile.  He seems to go thru periods of getting down on that side almost daily, and then will go for months without having a problem.  But once he's up & recuperated, he is his old "buzzard" self again, ears up and eyes bright. 

ISN'T SHE CUTE...........???

 

 

 

Here's a picture of cute little Molly that Steffen took when he was out here with friends & family a week or so ago.  She looks a little more "donkey" than Jack does, especially with the light point muzzle.  She also has the "almost" stand up, but not quite, mane of a donkey.  Jack has a pony face & a hanging mane.  In fact you have to look at him twice & people still aren't sure when we say he's a mule.

 

I can't believe how well everyone is doing right now health wise.  The only one I'm doctoring is Boaz with his knee.  I don't know if it will ever actually heal.  It's down to a spot about the size of a postage stamp, it isn't a "sore", it just isn't scar tissue.  I've tried letting it dry out, or keeping it moist & wrapped.  Not sure which one works the best, I'm leaning towards moist & wrapped, of course keeping a wrap on his knee doesn't always work.  I don't know what he does to "waller" his knee area, but he's very good at it, whatever it is......!!!

 

I'm keeping polo wraps on Quilla's bare front legs.  The scarring leaves his front legs very venerable to both sun & flies.  Over the years I've tried lots of different "fixes", & a lot of them work.  But he ends up with either something slathered on as a barrier, which of course makes a dirty mess when he lays down for a satisfying dust bath.  Or something like polo wraps, which I think will be too hot when it gets in the 100's during the summer.  I personally like men's athletic socks with the toe cut out, pull it above the knee & "attach" it with vet wrap.  Since it's open at the bottom, air circulates & if he rolls it doesn't trap dirt & rocks.  Unfortunately he has developed a knack for not only making holes in them, but also losing them all over the property.  So none of the barriers are perfect by any means. 

REDNECK COMPUTING

I guess I "are"  one........!!!!  My computer fan was growling, which I guess originally started my recent computer problems.  OK, you go out and buy one right?  WRONG, this particular fan does not seem to be available right now in the U.S.  I don't know if it is horribly common or horribly uncommon, but not having it is a problem. The fan is vital to cool off that little round thing ie heat sink, which draws heat off the mother board.  It's really amazing the amount of heat a computer generates. 

 

 

I had been limping along, "sneaking" the computer on & hurrying to do what I thought needed to be done.  My sneaky time was getting shorter & shorter before it would really start loudly protesting.  So we came up with this "fix" until a new fan gets here from China.............yes China only place I found one.  Won't be here until after the 25th, that's the earliest date mentioned.......!!!  :-(

 

 

John worked electronics for over 30 years & tells me this will work.  He took the fan completely out, & on the left is a pedestal fan blowing directly on the heat sink from a distance of about 4 inches.  As long as I can touch the heat sink, I figure we're doing OK.
 

Really more involvement that I care for, I like to push a button & things happen......!!! LOL
 

I wish I had a camera at feeding time a couple of days ago.  Actually if we hadn't been so enthralled in watching what was happening I probably had time to come in & get the camera, it went on for that long.
 

The wind was blowing like crazy when John went out to do afternoon round-up.  When I went out he said, "look out here they come".  Jack & Molly the mini mules were running as fast as their little legs would move, cross country.  They would disappear & pretty soon here they would come again.  I told John to stand next to a tree or something, so he wouldn't get ran down in the melee.  They looked like they were just running for the fun of it & it must have gone on for at least 5 minutes or more. 

 

 

We had been worried about Molly's feet, she looks like she's been foundered at sometime, then Courtney found a little thrush.  Her "valley's" on the side of her frogs are so deep, she picks up & keeps everything, rocks, sticks, poo it seems just about everything she walks on, hangs around until picked out. 
 

Judging from the races we saw, her feet don't seem to bother her at all, sometimes she was in the lead & then Jack would be.  The donkeys for the most part just stood & watched the show.  They were jumping over bushes & changing leads to go around stuff, really  fun to watch. 

 

 

Yesterday afternoon when John went out everyone came in but old Pepper.  The last few times he's been down he was in the wash, which is an easy find.  This time he was all the way across Burroland (20 acres) almost to the fence, down & had been down for quite awhile.  When John rolled him over he didn't pop right up like he usually does.  John said when he finally did stagger to his feet, John was afraid he was going down again.  But he finally managed to rally, followed John all the way back to the pens.  I had to rinse the mud out of his eye that was full of dirt & put some ointment in it.  Made over him, told him what an old fool he is & by the time I had the buckets ready to feed, he was busy pawing at the rubber mat with impatience.  Sometimes he paws at the mat so hard we can smell the rubber.  The silly old buzzard, he can just barely use those front legs to walk.  He is such a hoot, those ears are always up, the eyes shining brightly & even though the body isn't what it use to be, I don't think the mind has slowed up much at all.........!!!! LOL 

RUSTY HAS A GIRLFRIEND......?????

Well I guess it just took a few days for them to "discover" each other.  Since their pens are side by side they should know by now they are both mules, but here is how I found them this afternoon.  Reba usually hangs out with what we call the "A" team, Tula, Frijolita, Daisy, Quilla, Boaz & BlackJack.  We'll see if this new relationship survives.

 

We found a little lizard in Mother's room this afternoon.  He had gotten trapped in a large pot & couldn't get out.  He'd been there long enough to almost be dessicated & could just barely move, it was hard to tell if he was alive or not.  I took him outside in the sun & put him on some moist ground around my tomato plants.  As scrawny as he was I figured he needed some groceries, ie, bugs.  Today has been cold & windy, not exactly good bug hunting weather, but I headed out for the water buckets, which usually has drowned bugs floating in them.  He wasn't big enough to eat big bugs & I was lucky enough to find a little one.  Brought it back to the courtyard & put it as close to him as I could.  He wasn't up to moving around very much.  I went in the house & when I came back out he had moved & the bug was gone.  Went back out to find another one.  Came back with my prize & he had moved again, so I figured we were making progress.  That one disappeared too, so I figured I was on a roll, with this bug hunting routine.  Found another one, brought it back, but by this time he had recuperated enough that I couldn't get my offering close to him, without him trying to run off.  The last I saw he was headed over the side of the courtyard wall, still pretty scrawny looking, but hopefully has a better chance of surviving than he did. 

 

Our grandson, J.R. finally got his race car together, & we're going with him out to the track tomorrow night for practice.  He doesn't race until in May sometime, but wants to see if he got all the pieces back where they belong, before then.  I race this Saturday night, brought it home last time in one piece, so John didn't have to do anything to it, except wash it.  That makes it really fun, when you don't have to spend a lot of time, "fixing" it.  One of the guys that raced a hornet a couple of years ago, never even took his car home from the track.  Left it parked there, & didn't even wash it.  He actually finished in 1st place that year, which has to be fun, just show up & race. 

 

The mesquite trees are leafing out, so I guess it is officially spring.  Hope it stays "spring" for a long time.  Not looking forward to 100 degree weather. 

GUS AND HIS ADORING PUBLIC...........!!

Thank you Steffen for the wonderful pictures you took...!!!!  (He has a much better camera than I do...!!)

When we have people come out to see the donkeys, and Gus is here, we always let the children go in with him.  He absolutely adores kids & I have no worry with people being up close & personal with him.  He loves it to, these little girls was trying to stuff hay in his mouth & he was more than willing to go along with the "game". 

Most of our guys are good with people, but you never know when someone might move quick or kids might squeal & spook a donkey.  I've never seen Gus behave like anything except a perfect gentleman, whatever people want to do is just fine & dandy with him. 

We also went in Quilla's pen, which he allowed, although without Gus' enthusiasm.  When he first came here if he saw kids he would disappear.  He has improved to where the 2 little girls went in his pen & he held still until one of them moved quick.  Then he just moved over to the side of the pen, & looked at me like I was responsible for these little people being in his pen.  I went back later & told him how brave he was. 

Molly & Jack the mini mules are really starting to settle down & are actually quite personable.  I may have to quit telling people how naughty Jack is, if they keep improving.  Molly still snaps those feet to attention when I ask her to pick them up.  Haven't tried it yet, without John standing at her head, although we don't use a halter or lead.  And we are down to only 4 animal crackers, one for each foot.   

WE'RE HAVING FUN NOW.........!!!!

 

 

Well at least I am.  I wrestled my computer all day Thursday, called Eian Friday morning & he came out to help.  I told him, I was ready to jerk the new hard drive out & put the old one back in.  He came out put the old hard drive back in, & it basically threw up.  Would not load at all, he said it had been that close to crashing.  So back in went the new hard drive, & he managed to get my e-mail to go where I wanted it to & load programs I hadn't been able to.  I LOVE it when someone knows what they are doing. 

 

BUT, we did run into a problem, my publishing program disc refused to load even for someone that knows what they are doing.  It's a 2003 model, & I really don't want to learn new skills.  Since it's so old it's relatively cheap on E-bay, so I've already ordered a new disc, hope it works or I'll really be unhappy....!!! 

 

Eian shouldn't have cleaned the fan though.  It was growling, covered with cat hair & other unrecognizable "stuff", it looked like it was about 4 years past due.  Last night it started squealing & slowing down.  Guess we shouldn't have cleaned it.......!!!! LOL  Of course there is no such item in Benson, John is going into Tucson Monday, I spent most of the afternoon calling around & only found one place that said they "probably" had one. 

 

I'm turning the computer off when the fan gets hot & starts squealing, then turning it back on when it cools off.  So far that is working, but it's a real pain, sure hope John finds a fan. 

 

BlackJack destroyed Boaz's fly mask today, tore the Velcro off.  That's seems to be his M.O. jerk Boaz around with the mask until it finally comes apart...................!!!!!  It's going to be a LONG, HOT summer, I'm afraid. 

 

Wister finally learned to bray yesterday.  A couple of weeks ago, he learned to make noise.  I told John they must not be able to make noise for a couple of months after they are born.  In the wild making noise at the wrong time might be dangerous, if not fatal.  I guess by the time they are 2-3 months old, the mother expects obedience.  "Me" thinks Ruthie is lucky not to be in the wild with him, because he hasn't really paid much attention to what she wants since the first couple of weeks after he was born.  A very independent little cuss. 

 

I haven't heard him bray yet, John says it sounds like someone strangling a goat or worse.  So I guess there is a lot of room for improvement.   

MY COMPUTER AND I ARE BACK.....!!

 

Don't expect much from me for a day or two.  The man brought my computer back with a new hard drive installed, plugged it in & left.  I haven't thrown anything yet, but that could definitely be a possibility.  What has really got me going is I can't get my e-mail account to dump my e-mail into Microsoft Live Mail, like it is suppose to do.  Not sure who owns the problem, I can get to my mail, just not with one click.........yet.........!!!

 

One thing about it, the hard drive is nice and clean, almost spotless, which I guess is a good thing.  But I sure do miss all my old one click stops.  OK, enough whining, poor John is going to have to hear enough of that, over the next few days. 

 

All the "fur" kids seem to be doing just fine.  A few already have their fly masks on.  Even though it's been fairly cool the last few days, the ones that don't have good immune systems attract the more hardy flies, flying around.  Lysa found wigglers in the Rubbermaid 50 gallon water tank yesterday.  I wouldn't think it was mosquitos, but whatever they are, will get dumped just as soon as the kids  drink the water down, probably tomorrow. 

 

Although I usually don't do a name change when new ones come in unless it is something that I just can't live with, Red does have a new more appropriate name.  Nothing wrong with Red, but it just didn't seem to have a lot of thought put into it.  We're calling her Reba now.  If you follow country music you will know why.  If not, that's OK, it's a good name for her anyway. 

SAYING IT IS WINDY TODAY IS AN UNDERSTATEMENT....!!

The weatherman said winds up to 70 mph today, & it feels like it.  I think John's weather station isn't working, it says the peak wind is 25mph.  We lived in Iceland for 2 years, believe me I KNOW wind......!!!! Twenty five mph was a calm day in Keflavik.  There is so much dust in the air you can't see very far.  The birds have given up on trying to use the feeders, & I haven't seen a donkey since this all started.  I would imagine they are hold up somewhere waiting for the onslaught to be over......!!!

 

John went to Tucson today to do "guy" stuff.  At least he didn't take the high profile van, it's always fun to drive in wind.  The pick-up is a little better. 

 

I will probably be gone for a few days, not sure how many, not looking forward to it.  My hard drive has been growling for quite sometime, so I'm getting a new one.  Having to redo my computer is one of the most traumatic things I ever have to do.  But there comes a time when it only makes sense to give up crippling along, bit the bullet & start fresh......!!!!   I know I'll lose something that is absolutely vital to my life.  It will probably be something that has been important, that I haven't used for a long time............BUT....... it's on my old hard drive, if & when I want to use it.  I admire people that can re-format at the drop of a hat & think nothing of it.  I am sooooooooo status quo.....!!!

 

I think Cheyenne missed not getting her shot this morning.  Well, probably missed the cookies that went with it.  She was a little hesitant about going out of her pen.  We didn't clean Molly's feet out, the wind was already trying to send us into the next county.  She's so good about picking her feet up, I don't want to jinx her. 

 

I checked up on the new jenny we hauled a couple of weeks ago who has been named Queen of Sheba.  When we delivered her, they started running around a large field & Jenny the resident donkey hurt her leg.  Win says she is still laying down quite a bit & had some swelling at the pastern, fetlock area right above the hoof.  Said the swelling wasn't hardly noticeable, but I guess it is painful.  Her trimmer came out & trimmed Sheba, which was long overdue.  He said it will probably take quite a while for Jenny to get back to normal.  She is over 40 years old, probably hadn't had a reason to run for years & just strained something.   I asked Win if she would like for us to take Sheba for awhile so Jenny could get all the attention, but she seems to think when we put them back together they'd probably start running again.  She said they are getting along very good, so hopefully everything will work out. 

 

I don't even recognize these people....!!!! Ha!

 

 

 

This picture was taken a "few" years ago, probably in the late 80's.  John & I were on a cruise from Luxor to Cairo up the Nile.  Glad we have our memories, because I wouldn't go back, unless the regime changed.  That goes for other places we lived in or visited over the years.  I feel sorry for the "people" in Egypt.  When we were there tourism was the majority of their economy, even though there were areas where tourists didn't go.  We flew to Luxor rather than take the train, foreigners weren't allowed on the train, because it went thru villages that were hot beds of opposition, ie, criminals.  Of course right after we were there, they blew up a bus with a bunch of German tourists, pretty close to the Museum in Cairo. 

Molly's feet

We're still working on Molly's feet every morning & she's still snapping those feet to attention when asked.  Animal Crackers are the answer to the world's problems I guess, at least she thinks so....!!! 

 

Her feet are all nice & dry, although I have to pick them out every morning, she keeps everything she steps on, it looks like.  One of the rear ones had a flap of frog that was holding in moisture.  I could count the times I've tried to use a hoof knife on one hand.  I don't  have the strength in my wrists to use one effectively & I've also never learned how to sharpen one.  

 

 I finally managed to get the flap "gnawed" off.  She was such a good little girl, just stood there with her foot in the air.  I finally got the piece off, but not because I knew what I was doing.  Actually that's not true, I knew what I wanted to do, just didn't have the expertise. 

 

My order from Valley Vet came yesterday, so I now have No Thrush powder.  This is the first powder thrush treatment I've seen.  Most thrush medicine is liquid or a gel, which of course adds more moisture to a situation caused by trapped moisture.  Right now Molly's feet are all dry, so I think I'll just continue with my apple cider vinegar, or just pick out her feet once a day.  If they are dry shouldn't even need the vinegar probably. 

 

John had a jeep tour yesterday so I did evening chores by myself.  Not a problem except Red was an unknown entity as far as going back in her pen.  She had only done it once, & that was for John, not me.  She stood around, watched everyone else going in their pens, & when the time came, followed me into her pen, like she had done it for years.  She's really a nice mule, & seems to be settling in just fine. 

 

Tomorrow is the last day for Cheyenne's Naxcel shots.  I'll be glad & I know she will be.  So far there is no new discharge,  hopefully this will take care of the uterine strep infection.  If not, we'll have to do it again.

 

 

Racing tonight, in fact not only am I racing, my son is going to have his Super Stock out & hopefully my grandson J.R. will have his.  Last I heard they were working like ants trying to get it put back together.  He hasn't raced it in about a year, & since his Dad's car takes the same parts, parts had been cannibalized to keep Rod's car on the track.  It's never a good idea to let a race car sit for long, with good useable parts on it, because they will disappear........!!!! LOL

 

 

 

When we first let Red out yesterday

 

More of the parade

 

 

I tried to add these videos to yesterday's blog, BUT, for over a week Blogspot has had a problem, & adding a new post or like yesterday adding a video doesn't always work.  I've had to change from Mozilla Firefox to Internet Exployer to even be able to add a new post.  People all over the world are screaming like banchees, FIX IT...........but so far not much is happening.  Since it doesn't cost anything to use Blogspot, I guess we shouldn't complain.  But once you get use to something being there, it's rather grating not to have it. 

 

 

Red seems to be fitting in nicely, even if Rusty doesn't seem to realize she is here as his new friend.  She hangs out in the middle of the donkey herd & moves when they move.  Last night she came in limping on front let.  I wanted to make sure she didn't have a rock caught or something.  She picked her foot up nicely, no problem.  Her owner said she was OK with her fronts but not with the backs, so I'm glad that's true.....!!! LOL  Didn't find anything. 

 

This morning John wasn't available to help doctor, so Lysa got to help.  We did Cheyenne first, tying her with her butt in the corner worked out much better, although she still didn't give up without a fight.  But Lysa was up to the task.

 

I didn't know how Molly would react to someone other than John giving her cookies in exchange for her picking up her feet.  Not a problem, I don't think she'd care if it was Jack the Ripper, as long as the cookies kept coming.  She sure does pack poo & whatever, in the "caverns" along each side of her frogs, which of course would hold in any moisture.  So I think it will be important to pick her feet out on a regular basis.  Hopefully with regular trimming Courtney can get her feet more "normal".   

 

Got a call yesterday from a man interested in the 2 mini mules.  Said he was in his 70's, liked to train the little ones to pull carts & wagons & give kids rides for free, not as a business.  Hmmmmm, call me cautious, but I didn't get a warm fuzzy feeling talking to him.  I told him we required him to come out for a visit, which he said he lived too far away.  Hmmmmm.........then I told him we did a home study & he said thanks & hung up.  Still don't know, but my antenna was twitching.  Jack needs a job, but not that bad.  

RED IS OUT AND ABOUT..!!

 

This morning after chores we let Red out.  She came out, calmly walked down below the house where the majority of everyone was, & started "hanging out" with them.  Of course when she moves they move, but so far no ear pinning or squealing.  The last I saw of the herd they were headed over to Burroland for a day of fun & frolic I guess.  Rusty was no where to be found, don't know if they are going to become an item or not. 

 

She went in Rusty's pen this morning when we came thru with the hay cart & sorta challenged me when I told her to get back where she belonged.  Nothing mean, just "I don't think I have to do that".  Mules seem to have attitude when they get moved.  When Jack the mule that died in November came, we thought about calling his former owner to see if he had a special friend he was missing or something.  He was ALL attitude.  The mini mules are just now settling down, in fact this morning after I cleaned Molly's feet out, she & I visited on the feed room porch for quite awhile, just hanging out together.  I might add, I cleaned & sprayed all 4 of her feet at liberty this morning.  John stands by the head with cookies & a lifted foot gets a cookie.  You better be ready, because those feet fly up in the air.....!!!  Didn't take her very long to equate lift foot with getting cookies. 

 

John remembered to not let Cheyenne out this morning before she got her shot, which worked out MUCH better.....!!! (G)  Not that she cooperated anymore, but at least we could cram her up to a corral panel.  Unfortunately she might be little, but she is stronger than John and more determined.  We got it done, but I think next time instead of tying her with her head in the corner, so she can back up, we'll tie her with her butt in the corner.  Should cut down on having to contend with a moving target.  At least in theory......!!!

 

 

HERE'S RED THIS MORNING......!!

RED

 

 Red has settled in nicely, although she has already figured out, everyone else is going out and she isn't.  We'll give her a couple of days in before letting her out to roam.  She's pretty bomb proof, so it probably wouldn't be necessary, but this way she gets a chance to look around without "eyes" & "nosies" everywhere......!!!

 

WHERE'S BREAKFAST AROUND THIS PLACE?

FOUND IT.....!!!

HAD TO HAVE A PICTURE OF THOSE PRETTY FEET...!!

 

She's a lucky girl to get to 28-30 with such pretty feet, judging from the feet we usually get in. 

Well as they say "one door closes, another door opens"  or something like that.  Red puts us up to our self imposed limit of 20.  Got a call this morning, looks like we'll be taking in at least one & possibly 4 donkeys........!!!! Don't know all the particulars yet.  John's already been out trying to figure out pens.

 

Poor Buddy Brat, his pen already got halved so the mini mules would have a pen.  Now John is talking about taking another half of what he has left to make a pen.  At least he still has a shelter, which is important to him.  He seems to think he will melt if he gets wet.....!!!

 

Still giving Cheyenne a shot every morning.  This morning John forgot & let her out before her shot.  We went out & found the herd, got a halter & lead on her & she preceeded to pitch a "mini" fit.  The thing about a mini fit is, they are about as hard to control as a "big" fit...........!!  Didn't have anyplace to push her up against, so had to lead her all the way back to the pens where there are convenient corral panels.  Even then she was a little pill. 

 

Molly's thrushy feet seem to be doing good.  I didn't even soak any of them this morning, I dug around & couldn't find any nasty smelly stuff, so I crammed Banixx soaked cotton into the nooks & crannies & turned her loose.  Last night I picked her feet up to make sure they didn't have any manure embedded in the frogs, & the cotton I had put in that morning was still there.  Now that is some deep crevices.......!!!!  If they look good in the morning I might just wet all 4 feet down with apple cider vinegar.  I think it will be important to check her feet every day in the future & make sure she doesn't have manure or dirt packed in her frogs to hold in moisture.  Most of the donkeys don't have the problem of deep crevices if anything just the opposite, flat feet. 

RED IS HERE.......!!!!

Not a very exciting name, but it suits her, she is RED...........!!!!  She got here right before dark, so I didn't get a chance to take a picture, maybe tomorrow morning.  

She's just about the same size as Rusty, BUT, she is much larger boned, & has gorgeous feet.  Considering most of the ones we get  have lousy feet, it's exciting to see good looking ones.  It doesn't take much to entertain me I guess.......!!! 

BlackJack got thrown out of his pen, so she would have access to a shelter, and she is sharing a fence with Rusty.  He seemed quite interested in her, so hopefully they will bond.  We'll keep her in for a few days, until everyone gets a chance to gawk at her. and she can gawk back.

We found out she doesn't like her ears messed with, or her hind legs.  Fair enough, hopefully she'll self trim her feet, so it won't be a problem....!!!!

 

Pictures tomorrow.

MOLLY'S NOT HAPPY.....!!!

As you can tell from the set of the ears, feet, eyes, not to mention the set of the tail, she is NOT happy. 

Courtney got out to trim last night.  We started with Wister, figured to get him out of the way while Courtney was strong....!!!! LOL

 

I think she is the first person to yell at him...........well let me tell you he was NOT impressed.  John had him tied & I thought he was going to climb out of the pen, he got those front feet off the ground & was trying to plant them somewhere to get away from that person......!!!  He really is a smart little guy, one big blow up & he decided if cookies were involved maybe it wasn't so bad after all.  He wasn't perfect, but he never tried to kick and was pretty good for the first time,  she even used power tools.  He actually didn't seem to mind the tools as much as he did being "restrained", that was the horrible part. 

 

When Courtney was out last time & trimmed the mini mules for the first time, she found a little bit of thrush in a couple of Molly's feet.  With a good trim she thought it would probably heal itself out here running around in the rough dry ground.  Didn't work, if anything it was worse. 

 

Courtney trimmed off a bunch of frog to open up the area & left me with instructions.  Both front feet are pretty nasty, the backs not so much. 

 

This morning I mixed up some White Lightening for the worst of the fronts.  Got one of my IV bags, tied her up, put on the bag, poured in the White Lightening, & we had a rodeo.  I don't know if it was the "wet" being poured on her leg or what, but she wasn't having any of it, thank you very much....!!!  Mixed up some more White Lightening, while John explained to her, we were going to do this.  I wasn't really sure we were going to "git er done", but we did..........this time.  I don't think she actually cooperated, I think she spent her time thinking of how to win next time.......!!!!  

 

Once it had soaked, & we told her what a good girl she was, it was time to address the other 3 feet.  The back feet that aren't so bad, I just cleaned out & sprayed with cider vinegar.  The other front foot, I put a piece of cotton on a hoof pick, and used that to stuffed as much Banixx into the nooks & crannies as I could.  Her hooves are so contracted with deep concavity I could leave the cotton in there, which I did.  Figured it would help to hold the Banixx in longer & also help to keep dirt & whatever from packing in. 

 

Can't wait for tomorrow morning.......!!!! LOL

THIS IS NOT GOING WELL......!!!!

 

 

Looks like we might be getting in a new molly mule tomorrow morning.  John had to get a tire fixed last week, & the owner of the place asked if we knew anyone that would take his 28 year old molly that couldn't keep up as a pack mule anymore.  John remembered Rusty & said we "might" take her........!!!  You know how that goes. 

 

I think it is sad that people see nothing wrong with rehoming their animals when they no longer can keep up.  Of course they do the same thing with Grandma & Grandpa, putting them in nursing homes, so I guess it shouldn't be a big shock.  Most of them have probably been good "soldiers" doing what was asked of them.  We don't mind being their retirement home, but it would be nice if they were appreciated enough by their owner to keep them in their familiar surroundings for the rest of their lives. 
 

I sure hope Rusty likes her, the main reason we agreed to take Jack & Molly the mini mules, was so Rusty could have friends.  Unfortunately he doesn't like Jack & neither does anyone else.  I might add none of this bothers Jack one little bit, he just presses on with being his obnoxious little self.  We haven't really been able to figure out exactly what he does that irritates everyone.  Cisco won't even go in his gate that is closest to Jack's if Jack is in the pen.  John has to take Cisco all the way around thru the mini donkeys pen.  

 

Courtney is suppose to come this afternoon, I have my fingers crossed.  Gus needs a trim pretty bad, & of course Wister isn't getting any smaller or weaker, so it should be interesting.