RAINY DAY.........!!!!

Donkey is clear, not sure about the woman....!!!

Today has been a dreary misty day, rather unusual for this time of year.  I doubt that we got a tenth of an inch of rain, but at least it hasn't been sunny and hot, so I guess I shouldn't complain.  

Peppers sleazy pjs came today, but I can't see if they fit since he is wet.   Maybe tomorrow will be a little drier, certainly hope so, I'm suppose to race tomorrow night for the first time in almost 2 months.  I'm anxious to try out my power steering.  I've had the car out on our dirt road up to speed and it feels pretty good, but won't know for sure, until I'm on the track. 

A woman that has mini horses and drives them is coming out Sunday to see if she would like to add Molly and Jack to her family.  She shows the horses, I think it would be fun to show the mules.  They really have settled down since they've been here, and I think they would make a cute little team.  Actually she turned a yearling molly mule over to us about 6 years ago.  Anita had bought her at auction and found out a few days later that she had infected openings in her belly.  The vet said put her down, but Anita said no.  They did meatball surgery, rigged up a thing on their pick-up so they could get her off the ground and walk her around.  It was over 2 weeks before Molly could actually stand on her own and quite awhile before she healed.  Once she healed she was hell on wheels and Anita was afraid she would hurt her little horses.  Molly was Miss Personality and we found her a wonderful home with a group of people that had a organic farm.   So Anita has some idea of what mules are like, which is a good thing.

Our skin problems are winding down finally.  Everyone seems to be doing pretty good.  Pepper's rubbed places on his shoulder and hip are healing.  I think I actually see a little hair fuzz growing in, so hopefully he's going to have some hair grow back.  He's going thru another "thin" time and looks like a walking skeleton.  I hope no one turns us in for abuse......!!! LOL  He eats good, but it just doesn't turn into fat, muscle or even just flesh I guess.  

Haven't heard anything good or bad from Karla about the 3 "happy wanderers", so I assume they are staying where they belong. 

NEED A LITTLE TRAVELING MUSIC I GUESS..........!!!

I got a call from Karla this morning.  Karla and Rodney have Boaz, Ruthie and Wister for weed control for the next month or so.  It seems they had company last night and when the man left, he didn't close the gate.  I'm sure you know where this little story is going.  

When they went out this morning not a donkey in sight.............PANIC..........!!!  Karla called and about the only suggestion I had besides trying to find tracks to see which way they went, was to put up flyers at the local convenience store and call the sheriff's office.  

John and I were suppose to deliver some brochures to Teresa and Mike in Tombstone.  Tombstone is having a big get together this week-end and they will set up a table to let people know about Mike and Zeke's walk for Wounded Warriors and Zeke's fellow donkeys, starting the 24th of September starting an Ash Fork, AZ ending in Kingman, AZ.  

John said he'd take the trailer and go help them find the donkeys, and I could go to Tombstone, which is what we did.  Went to the bank and the teller ask me if I knew my driver's license expired today?  No actually I didn't, who keeps track of this stuff......!!!!  So that got added to my list of "things to do today".  

I was gone longer than I had planned, cringed when I opened the mailbox and the mail hadn't been picked up, but I perked up a little when I noticed the gate was unlocked.  Came in, asked John if they found them.  He said it took less than an hour.  They found some tracks, so they had a direction to go, but John decided to drive around in ever larger circles and Karla went with him.  They came across a man that asked them if they were looking for 3 donkeys......!!!  What would be the chance of 3 other donkeys being out there roaming around, so they knew they were on the trail.  They headed the direction the man said the donkeys went, and came across Boaz by himself headed back for the house.  They called Rodney, who was keeping the home fires burning, so to speak, he went out to the gate to herd him in, but John said that wasn't necessary, Boaz knew where he was going.

They went out again, Boaz had come off of some state trust land with grass about waist high, EVERYWHERE.  John said you couldn't hardly see the ground.  He said he looked way off in the distance & saw some ears.  Unfortunately Ruthie wasn't all that excited to see them, but she finally let John put a halter on her.  Got a halter on Wister and headed back to the trailer.  Ruthie wasn't interested in going in, Wister hopped right in, so then Ruthie thought she better go in too.  Back to the house, and John headed home, said he didn't even get to pet Boaz.  I guess once Boaz went in the yard and Rodney closed the gate he started braying and trying to get Ruthie to come to him.  John said you could hear him real good, but all Ruthie did was raise her head and look that direction.  That's usually what the jennies do when the guys get all excited about something. 

FRIJOLITA HAS A NEW NAME.......!!!

We have been calling her Frijole Grande, "little bean" she isn't right now.  She has always been a food whore, seems like she can reach someone else's hay bunk no matter how far it is away from the corral panels.  She's been known to push on the panels to get to where she thinks she needs to be.......wherever the food is.   She can also open some of the gates, usually quicker than we can stop her.

Actually the beans on the 10 acres are disappearing quickly.  They are still shaking trees and listening for the wind to blow beans down, but judging from their poo the pickin's are getting rather slim.  They are all still on short rations of hay, so far no complaints, so I assume they aren't that hungry.  

The skin problems are getting better thank goodness.  I started giving Jack the mini mule allergy pills, and he's looking much better, although we still grease him up with Thuja Zinc Oxide every morning.  

Poor old Pepper, the last few times he's been down and thrashed around trying to get up have really been hard on his bony old body.  It seems there are 6 prominent bone protrusions on his shoulder, hip and legs and he has all of them raw and hairless.  The one on his shoulder is really sore, poor old guy.  I am putting Underwood Horse Medicine on them twice a day and they are getting better pretty quick.  But if he goes down again, (he was down yesterday) he'll tear up all the healing.

I ordered a Sleazy Stretch Pajama for him yesterday.  Found a cheap one to see if I can rig up something to help protect those areas.  The PJs fit real tight, which in itself might be a problem, then of course there is getting caught on trees and bushes.  But it's bright purple, so hopefully we'll be able to find him easier when he's down.  I've thought of attaching a foam circle on the inside of the PJs, at least on the shoulder, that would go around the sore area.  That way if he goes down there wouldn't be as much pressure on it.  I'll see, when it gets here, if I can come up with something brilliant.......well maybe just effective......!!! LOL

We have discussed Pepper a lot.  We will not let him lose his freedom and his ability to be Pepper.  He has such a strong personality, but I'm afraid his body is going to give out before he's ready to go.  Not something I like to think about, but is the reality of the situation.  In a perfect world, we would go out one morning to find him gone on his own.  He's such an energizer bunny, mentally I doubt that will ever happen.  We will do whatever necessary to allow him to be himself as long as possible.  But we will not torture him to keep him here. 

BLAST FROM THE PAST......!!!

When John and I got married many many years ago, 52 to be exact, I did not know how to cook.  Actually that statement does NOT exactly identify my lack of cooking ability.  I had no idea how to shop for food, prepare it for cooking or whatever was necessary to get it on the table, and certainly wasn't in a position to learn, as I had become corporate.  Well maybe that's a stretch, I started working as a secretary for a real estate company, that built their own subdivision, ran the water company, had the finance and insurance company.  Amazing juggling feat, although in hindsight I see that it was actually while not a scam, probably not on the up and up.  Their own finance company meant the houses were sold on contract for deed, and if the people missed payments it wasn't long before that house was for sale again.  

Enough of that, I was in a learning mode for office work, and cooking was not that important.  John, bless his heart, is not a demanding person when it comes to food, if it's available he'll eat it.  Well, except for bloodwurst, but that's another story.  

I managed to find the canned corn and green beans, probably because they were at close proximity on the shelves, potatoes pretty easy to find, since produce usually takes up one whole wall of a store.  I had never eaten them except at school, but I also managed to find the frozen fish sticks..... Wow, except for having to peel the potatoes, I could throw that stuff on the table without a lot of effort.  So we lived on fish sticks, buttered potatoes, corn and green beans for almost 2 years.  Occasionally I'd really cook using canned beef with cream of mushroom soup over noodles, I think it was some kind of weird beef stroganoff.  Where I got that mess I'll never know, but as I recall it tasted pretty good.  

Tonight we are having a retro dinner, fish sticks, buttered potatoes, and corn.  Trading watermelon for the green beans.  I told John and he's looking forward to it, I told you he was easy to please.  

It is difficult to find fish sticks these days that aren't made out of minced fish, and when you do, they don't really taste as I remember them, but we'll try it and see what happens.  I think I'll pass on the canned beef.....!!!! LOL

INFO ON T-SHIRTS

 This is the information Teresa has on her Facebook page:

New info on our T's. We have made an arrangement with Outlaw T's and you can order your T right from them. You can contact them at 520-457-2209, and use your credit card right through there store. They are such great people. The store hours are 9-4. The T's will be ready to ship in about a week and a half. The sizes run from Med. to 2x. Can do special orders for 3x, but they cost a little more. The T's are $10.00 + shipping and priority mail is $6. You can also get them through Mike and I. We ordered a bunch today. Outlaw T's is located on 5th St, stop by and say Hi. Thank you all.

Mike and Teresa are such good hearted people, and always wanting to give to others.  At one time Mike wanted to walk with Zeke from Minnesota to Tombstone to help educate people on the plight of the donkey, one of the most misunderstood animals on the planet.  Unfortunately Mike's health isn't the best and this will probably be his last walk for charity and Zeke isn't getting any younger, he's 23 years old.  Mike wants to raise enough money to buy as many all terrain wheelchairs as he can, I hope he can buy a dozen when this is all over.  

Please help pass the word about Mike and Zeke's walk to everyone you know that would like to help Wounded Warriors, and Zeke's fellow donkeys.

DONKEYS HELPING SOLDIERS.........SEPT 24, 2013

  

Got this from Mike's wife Teresa this morning.  This is the logo on shirts they've had made up for the Walk in September.  They are in white only, this will be on the back and Tombstone, AZ will be on the front.  They haven't figured out the postage cost yet, but the shirts will be $10.  I'll put out a link once they get the total cost, in case anyone would like to get one.  The money will go towards buying all terrain wheelchairs for veterans, that want to be able to go out away from the sidewalks and enjoy nature as they did before becoming wheelchair bound.  The chairs cost about $15,000 each, Mike and Zeke would like to raise money for as many chairs as they can, and also a few bucks for Zeke's fellow donkeys.   

Speaking of fellow donkeys, it's amazing how much more interested they are in coming in at feeding time, now that they are "trapped" on the 10 acres.  There are beans here, just not quite as many.  John checked Burroland today and the cattle haven't "discovered" the open gates yet, so he sweetened the deal with piles of salt in the middle of each gate opening.  It shouldn't take them long to find the salt and hopefully all the beans too.  John said you can't imagine how many beans are on the ground over there, not to mention how many are still up in the trees.  This has really been a good year for beans, for some reason.  Last year we didn't have very many at all.  

This afternoon Jack & Molly the mini mules were doing their running thing again.  They sure get those short little legs moving, I don't see how they keep from running into trees or rocks, as fast as they go. 

I HATE TOMATO WORMS.....!!!

A MORNING'S EFFORTS AT ERADICATION

I don't mind picking them off if I can find them, but I refuse to squash them, that is John's job.  He's such a softie he doesn't like to do it either, but he will.  

They are really hard to see.  I usually look for the little black poo pieces on the courtyard under the leaves.  Poop means there is a worm above the area.  Even then they are hard to find.  Someone told me they come in pairs & a couple of days ago I finally figured out what they meant.  

If you figure out where to look there will be a small dot that looks like a dot of "white out" on the stems.  There is always 2 within about 2 or 3 inches of each other.  If you smear them, it's soft and very easy to destroy.  Must easier than when they get 2 or 3 inches long, fat & squirmy...........UGH......!!!

Heard from Josie that got the 7 wild donkeys from the state auction a few weeks ago.  Unfortunately one of the jenny's died from internal infection, but the other 6 are doing well.  Josie called a couple of nights ago, to tell me one of the jennies had gotten out of the fenced area and they hadn't been able to find her.  My brilliant idea was to put up flyers, it's not easy to come up with a good idea, when the animal is wild and probably doesn't want to be caught.  The only saving grace was the fact that her family including a half grown son were still inside the fence.  

Sure enough Josie called this morning to tell me when they went out yesterday morning she was beside the fence & was nursing her little boy thru the fence.  They used hay and an open gate to get her where she needed to be.  

Looks like we might be going on another adventure to set her up with a corral panel squeeze like we did with Julianne and her 2 girls.  Trying to tame 6 animals at one time in one place is impossible & a squeeze will make it much easier on them and on Josie. 

Julianne has been keeping us up to date on how the girls are doing.  It sounds like they are really coming around, fly masks on and off, wiping eyes, worming, brushing, taking treats and braying at "hay" time.  Well that braying thing wasn't a real big hit with one of Julianne's horses, I guess the first time she brayed he came out of the barn terror strickened.  From what Julianne says, Consuelo has a rather robust bray, which he wasn't ready for. 

Our fur kids are all doing pretty good right now, although they aren't the least bit happy with the gate to Burroland being closed.  Yesterday Reba the big red mule, instead of going into her pen as she usually does, took John on a walk about over to the gate.  She looked over her shoulder at John as if to say, "hey stupid, does this look right to you?  FIX IT..........."  Which of course he didn't do, much to her disgust.  They've all been over there at one time or another usually yelling to let us know it isn't right.  

John opened the gates, but so far the range cattle haven't figured it out.  One of the neighbor's called yesterday because they saw the gate open.  It's a good thing when you have observant neighbors like that. 

BURROLAND IS OFFICIALLY CLOSED........!!!

 

This is how the gate looked last night after I closed it.  We had a big wind storm yesterday afternoon and below is how it looked under just one tree.  Unfortunately this tree is on the house/pen side, but the good news is, these beans are inside a fence.  

 

 

All of them have gained weight and there is very little interest in hay or feed.  Sometimes John closes up the pens and the hay they left is there for the next feeding.  They don't even care.

This morning Reba the big red mule was standing out by the pens.  Rather than head for her pen like she usually does, she took a round about way, via across the wash and towards the Burroland gate.  John said she got over there, walked up to the gate, looked over her shoulder at John, as if to tell him, "the stupid gate got shut............FIX IT........!!!   He said she turned around and went to her pen, but I guess she wanted him to know someone forgot to open the gate.  

This morning John went over and said the cows have been walking along the fence line, so it shouldn't take them too long to figure out they have access to new territory.  We'll give them a couple of days to find the gates open on their own.  If they don't we'll put a pile of salt in the opening, that usually does it.  

I don't know how long it will take to get rid of the beans, but I do know they aren't going to be happy about the situation.  Who knows, they might even take an interest in their hay, before this is over. 

BODY CLIPPING BJ.......!!!

have 

THANKS JAMIE

This is BlackJack & I when Jamie Williams was out and took a lot of pictures last month.  Let me just say this morning our relationship wasn't quite so "touchy feely".

I prefer not to clip BJ if I can help it.   Although we don't know for sure, he looks a lot like a French Poitou donkey.  Drafty built, with a hairy body and long ears.  Unfortunately this year not only does he have mats, he also has some of the still un-named skin crud on his legs.  

I was just going to use scissors and hack out mats, but when I discovered crud in 5 or 6 different places, I decided to go ahead and clip. 

He was all cooperative until the clippers touched his belly.  He wasn't really difficult, but he wasn't going to stand still either.  I tried to explain to him how silly he looked, jumping around like a grasshopper, with me trying to stay in contact with my clippers......!!! SIGH!  

I did what I could with the clippers, and finished up with scissors and a wire slicker brush.  Gooped up his scaly places, thank goodness they aren't wet or raw.  

Now he has bare spots with no hair here and there, one on a front leg, is about the size of my hand.  He's black, and his skin is black, so it's not that noticable, except it's surrounded by lots of hair.  He looks rather moth eaten, so I might go ahead and clip his legs.  We'll see how it goes.  

Went to the meeting yesterday in Phoenix.  I actually got there early, easy to find which is good.  I usually don't have much trouble finding places, but usually I'm navigating and John is driving.  Being by myself adds another level of "where am I and where am I going" to the adventure.  

Had a good representation of Arizona rescues, although there were a lot of them that didn't come.  My thought on dealing with government bureaucracies is, the more warm bodies in their space, the more attention they hopefully will pay to your "concerns".  I will always go to any meeting, so there is a good head count even if I don't know what's going on.  LOL   They had questions submitted in advance, so they could have answers ready.  I can't say we came out of the meeting with a lot of accomplishment, it was disappointing to hear their position on getting involved in ongoing starvation and/or cruelty situations.  Like most bureaucracies if confronted with, "why don't you do this, or how come this isn't done", their first line of defense is............."we don't have the money, or resources".   And as usual the animals don't have a voice. 

On the way up to Phoenix I stopped at my latest favorite fast food place.  I have to say first I have not eaten hamburgers in probably 30-40 years.  When they stopped making patties by hand, throwing a paper thin piece of tomato, 2 pickles and a wilted piece of lettuce in the general vicinity of the meat and bun, I decided it wasn't really worth the effort.  A few months ago John went to Tucson by himself and tried one of the new chains that has come into Tucson the last couple of years, In 'n Out Burger.  Came home raving about it, hmmm I will be the judge of that.....!!!  Next time we went to Tucson we ate lunch at one.  It's not a hand made patty, but it is a very tasty hamburger, has a great big piece of sweet onion on it, thick slice of tomato, and a chunk of lettuce.  Even has a little grease on the bun.....!!  I wouldn't even need the meat.....!!! LOL  Very limited menu, hamburger, cheeseburger, doubles, french fries, and that's just about it..........!!!  Fast service, good prices, and tastes good, couldn't ask for more for a quick lunch. 

STATE VET MEETING

Going up to Phoenix today for the meeting with the State Vet.  All the equine rescues & sanctuaries in Arizona were invited, I hope they take this opportunity to see what the state's position is on laws & rules pertaining to rescue & animal abuse.   

Took Boaz, Ruthie and Wister to their weed control "gig" yesterday afternoon.  They hopped out of the trailer & went to work.  Well, we had Boaz on a lead until we explained his skin conditions that will need to be monitored & doctored.  Karla & Rodney doctored his knee last year, so know what to do with that.  But he has some of the "unnamed hair removing crud" on his legs.  So we handed them a bottle of Listerine, as per vet instructions after showing them what it looks like, and turned him loose.  It didn't take him long to catch up with the "family".  

Karla said if she gets a chance she will do a little training with Wister.  I must admit I have been lax with "manners" training lately.  It's been so hot and icky it's been too easy to say I'll do it tomorrow.  I did write it on the board in the feed room..........."train Wister", but that didn't seem to get the job done.  

We left him at liberty to follow Ruthie into the trailer, which didn't work.  He stood outside the trailer like, "what are you doing in there Mom?"  Put a halter on him, no big deal.......lead.......hmmmmm "have I ever done this before?"  Well it HAS been awhile.  And he seems to be in the "terrible 2's" part of his growing up right now.  That means a definite lack of cooperation.  He's not bad or mean about it, just doesn't want to do it.  So if Karla does a little work with him, it shouldn't take long for him to remember, that he has in fact done this before and it was no big deal. 

UPDATE ON THE GIRLS.....!!

Yes it is, 103.5 on my back porch..........!!!

I've heard from Julianne a couple of times, and she says things are really going well.  It sounds like the girls are going into the squeeze without a lot of fight and enjoying the attention they are getting.  That's half the battle to work with them, have them accept it and look forward to you coming out to "play". 

Not much going on around here we're feeding mules and donkeys that could care less.  They much prefer spending their day and night looking for fallen mesquite beans and tiny little green things trying to grow up.  Most green stuff doesn't make it past an inch or so before a sharp eyed donkey finds them.  

The doctoring is going well, no one has any open sores, which is great.  A few scabs here and there, but for the most part, doctoring is getting much, much easier.  Whatever is making the welts on Jack's chest and shoulders is still making welts.  We are keeping thuja zinc oxide on him, but we'd have to completely cover him, the welts show up just outside the zinc oxide covered places.....!!! GRRRRR...!!

Tomorrow we will deliver Ruthie, Wister and Boaz to their new job.  Some of you might remember last year, BlackJack and Boaz went out for weed control, for some friend's that have 5 acres, they don't want to mow.  They called to see if we had someone they could borrow again this year.  Nothing wrong with BlackJack going, but this way they will have 3 mouths "mowing" instead of 2, and Wister will get a chance to impress a new audience, with how cute he is.  I think he is becoming a teenager, I wouldn't say he is a brat, but he is getting very opinionated about how things should work.  The other day he was laying down when we came thru with the hay cart.  I've always "wallered" him when he was down like that....................NOPE...........I want to get up, right NOW....!!!!  He's big & strong enough now, that I couldn't keep him down without sitting down on his neck, which would have been a little bit harsh I think.  Maybe a few weeks in a different setting will make him easier to get along with, although I doubt it.  

I thought Ruthie was about done with him, but a few days ago she "lost" him.  John said she went absolutely crazy, yelling and running around.  He's almost 8 months old, you would think she'd really be tired of him by now.  Anyway John said all of a sudden here comes Wister flying low, guess he finally missed momma.  When that happens the first thing he does is try to nurse, although Ruthie has pretty much closed down the snack bar. 

PRETTY GIRLS.......!!!

Rosarita and Consuela

This is the 2 girls we went to play with yesterday.  A month or so ago, they were feral and were captured by the state of Arizona.  Julianne ended up with these two , which were part of the 17 total, Equine Voices raised money to "get out of jail" so to speak.  At the time we hauled 7 to a foster home, and someone else hauled these 2 for Julianne.

She had been having trouble working with them and asked if we could help.  So we loaded up our "toys", Patti met us by the highway and off we went for an adventure.  

Got to Julianne's scoped out the layout and decided we wouldn't need all the corral panels John had taken down and hauled in the stock trailer.  We did need one to make the squeeze, but the others just came along for the ride.  Poor John, he's so good to do what I ask, even if it makes more work for him. 

We set up the squeeze, and started working them to see which one we could get into the squeeze.  Rosarita has learned to hide behind Conseula, like she is in the picture above, but she actually went in first.  

Other than being so scared she couldn't hardly stand she did just fine.  We rubbed on her and told her what a good girl she was and she finally relaxed a little.  

This wasn't all for play we had a purpose, to worm them and get a fly mask on them.

  First time Julianne had touched Rosarita

DONE

Sorry, not what I had planned today...!!!

Consuela was a little more difficult, she went in the squeeze pretty good.  But we found out real quick she is a biter, she lunged at John's arm mouth wide open, which really got his attention..........and ours too.  YIKES......!!!  I think she will be OK, when she settles down and figures out no one is going to hurt her.  Rosarita is a fear kicker, somewhat like Penny was.  Penny settled down and hasn't kicked since the 1st week she was here, and I think Rosarita will too.  

Biting is not fun, they are so quick, so you have to really be alert.  The jennies aren't as vicious as the jacks are, but they could certainly hurt you bad if they got hold of you.  That behavior is not allowed without repercussions, so John and I yelled and acted like we were going to kill her for 2 or 3 seconds and then continued to scratch and rub on her.  They understand being fair and know the difference between right and wrong, it shouldn't take long for her to realize no one is going to hurt her

WE WON......THANK GOODNESS FOR THE SQUEEZE

We also managed to worm both of them.  Sneaked up on them, next time might not be so easy.....!!! LOL

We had Julianne and her friend Isabel, put Rosarita back in the squeeze and they did just fine.  The donkeys are usually very good about going in the squeeze, I have no idea why.  They are basically trapped, but for some reason they don't panic or try to escape.  Sure makes life a lot easier when you have to work with one that would rather be doing something else, and wouldn't mind if you completely disappeared off the face of the earth and are willing to help you on your way if kicking and biting will help. 

IT REALLY MESSES THINGS UP WHEN THEY BOTH TRY TO GO IN THE SQUEEZE

 

 NEXT TIME I WILL WEAR A HEADBAND, I COULDN'T KEEP THE SWEAT OUT OF MY EYES, WHICH MEANS I COULDN'T SEE MOST OF THE TIME. 

 

JULIANNE SERVED LEMON/ICE TEA, WHICH WAS REALLY APPRECIATED. 

THANKS FOR THE PICTURES PATTI...!!!

STINKY THE DONKEY......!!!

Obviously these guys have WAY too much time on their hands to think up new ways to entertain themselves......!!!!  And one of them isn't very bright....!!!  Guess which one........???  I wonder if he ever had children.........????

Wister has a new name as of this morning.  He obviously had a close encounter with a skunk last night.  His momma still loves him, John and I not so much, at least until the smell wears off. 

Tomorrow morning after chores we're going into Tucson to help a woman that got a couple of the burros the state auctioned off a few weeks ago.  It sounds like one of them has a bad infestation of habronema larvae on her face and she is not the least bit interested in having it treated or wearing a fly mask.  So we're going in to see if we can help.  Patti, is going with us, so we'll have a good pair of extra hands if needed.

I'm finally getting a handle on the skin issues.  Not sure if it's my "wonderful" nursing ability, or if the problems have just ran their course..!!!! LOL  Who knows, maybe Listerine does work.   

AND THE DIAGNOSIS IS.................

 THIS IS CHARLIE AT TMR RESCUE IN TEXAS.  HE WAS FOUND IN A PUDDLE OF WATER AFTER BEING BORN, AND REJECTED BY HIS EMACIATED MOTHER.  HE'S HAD A ROUGH TIME, WAS A PREEMIE AND ALL THAT ENTAILS, AND HAS HAD TO WEAR CASTS ON HIS KNEES TO HELP THEM STRENGTHEN.  HIS MOM, DAD AND 2 OTHER JENNIES HAVE SINCE JOINED HIM AT THIS RESCUE, ALTHOUGH HE IS STILL LIVING IN THE OFFICE AND RIDING AROUND IN THE GOLF CART.....!!

Scratches..........!!!!  They did a scraping, actually more like a gouging out with a scapel, which Gus really didn't appreciate.  He is such a mellow, laid back fellow, but he did protest after about the 3rd "gouge".  No mites or other critters showed up, which is good. 

The vets said rather than start out with all the fancy stuff, to try Listerine first and see if it helps.  We actually seem to be on the downward side of the problem, I've managed to keep everyone dry and hair is growing back recently.  So I'm actually continuing with the Underwood Horse Medicine on most of them, & trying Listerine in a couple of areas.  

Dr. Megan said she thinks Jack the mule's little circles are some type of bug bite, we just don't know what kind.  We haven't had a problem with mosquitoes yet, don't have chiggers, not ticks, so I don't know what it might be.  I'm still slathering his spots with thuja zinc oxide.  The bright pink goes well with his black hair and he really stands still and lets me massage it in.  At first I had a hard time catching him in a little pen, just to put a halter on him.  Me thinks, he likes massages and animal crackers. 

Wister is becoming a big boy

Wister is becoming a big boy....!!!  Thanks Jamie for the picture

I think we got 3 or 4 sprinkles this morning about daybreak, so now we have humidity.  That seems to be all we get.  All of our friends in different areas have gotten inches of rain, we barely have 1/2 inch total.............!!!!  When it's humid for days at a time, the pens start smelling like an outhouse.  Although the pens are picked up daily, & we cover the "pee ponds" with dirt, the humidity lets us know the pee is still there right under the surface.  If it gets really bad, John will use the back hoe & dig out the pond, sometimes he has to go 2 or 3 foot deep to get it all, & bring in fresh dirt/gravel.  

I seem to be getting a handle on the skin problems for the most part.  We're still taking Gus in tomorrow for a scraping, even though I'm managing to keep his legs dry using Columbia Vet Powder, which is powdered zinc oxide.  

This is Jack the mini mule's shoulder, both sides & his belly looks like this.  Never has been wet or gooey, he had raised welts about the size of a pea & the hair sloughed off to this.  He's the only one that has this condition, all the rest are legs, except for the dry flakes, some of them have on their necks & backs.  

Still fighting the battle of the mesquite beans, no one is interested in coming in to eat, & more than likely will leave hay.  John has cut what he's feeding them at least in half, some of them even more than half.  So if they usually get 5 pounds of hay a day they are getting 2 1/2 pounds or less.  They don't seem to care at all..........brats......!!!  

Buddy was looking so svelte, at least for him.  It will probably take all winter to get the weight he's put on off again.  

BlackJack & Frijolita both have crests normally & they are getting bigger.  I'd really hate to have to pen them, but it might come to that if the beans last much longer.  Makes me wish we had a dry lot. 

NO, I HAVEN'T DISAPPEARED OFF THE FACE OF THE PLANET........!!!

Good grief, talk about camera hogs.....!!!!

I was shocked to go in and find out I haven't updated since Sunday.  I guess time flies when you're having fun, or in my case up to my eye-balls in "skin" conditions.

The last few days I've spent a lot of time washing and doctoring assorted legs and in Jack the mini mule's case shoulders chest and belly, plus legs.  I think I am dealing with 7 animals total, let's see, Reba left front knee, Gus, both rear legs, Quilla all 4 legs, Boaz 2 legs and his knee that never has healed.  Coquette, legs and mane area, little Jack's assorted areas, and Cisco, 4 legs, mane and back area.  Of course I have to keep an eye out on the others, because whatever is on their mane/neck area seems to move around.  Never had anything like that before Coquette came here.  It's not sores, some itching, but not really scratch until it bleeds itchy, lots of dry flaky material, you can comb out with a flea comb.  I've been putting Avon Skin so Soft on those areas and it seems to take care of it.  

Back to the leg problems.  I spent most of yesterday afternoon on the internet, prowling around.  I talked to a friend and she mentioned something about equine keratosis............hmmmm........never heard of it.  I know about keratosis on people, which is a type of precancerous scabby sore a lot of people get on their forearms.  Never heard of it in conjunction with equine. 

After wading thru lots of information, I'm beginning to think I have maligned flies all these years.  I have blamed flies for the damage to Quilla's legs and some of the others also have leg damage.  If they in fact have keratosis the flies are drawn to the damaged skin rather than causing the damage.  

One thing I found and haven't been able to find it again which is what usually happens unless I book mark or print out information is............ equine keratosis might be a result of a poor immune system and/or fatty liver disease.........BINGO..........!!!  Quilla has been diagnosed with fatty liver disease, the others haven't been diagnosed, but I'd bet money there are some more fatty livers in the bunch.  Cisco's immune system is a mess always has been, and I wouldn't be surprised if Gus doesn't have immune problems.  Last year he had a nasty sore on the front of one of his hocks, that was scraped.  Came up as staph, strep and something else.  I asked the vet where he could get all of that and she said it's everywhere in the dirt & the air, but usually isn't a problem.  Monday we're taking him into the vet for another scraping.  I'd like to think they all have the same thing and one diagnosis will cure everyone, but I doubt it.