GIZMO HAS LEFT FOREVER HOME

We loaded Gizmo and headed to Kris and Jim's place yesterday afternoon.  Gizmo wasn't real thrilled about a trailer ride, but I do think he was a little better about getting in the trailer, than when we picked him up last spring up in Show Low.  He almost took John for a "ski" ride, John was in the trailer and Gizmo didn't want to go in the trailer.  John hung onto the rope, managed to fly out of the trailer, land on his feet and get Gizmo to slow down, before the rope went thru his hand.  And didn't get any rope burns in the process, a good reason to use cotton leads.  You would think by this time, we would have learned to wear gloves when working with ropes, but..........guess not..........!!!  

Kris put him in his stall between PoohBear on the left and Reba on the right.  You can tell how upset he was, Kris only treats in the feed buckets and he was enjoying black sunflower seeds and could have cared less about the girls on either side.  We warned them, that he is mouthy.  Everyone here except me, carries animal crackers in their pockets and Gizmo was well aware of that.  So he would use his mouth to get the point across, not the teeth, he just nibbled with his lips.  And of course was usually rewarded with a cookie.........GRRRRRR........!!!   That is all going to be discontinued, there will be RULES at Kris' barn........LOL

This is Reba, she's about 34 years old, kinda showing her age, but all in all looks pretty good.

This is Pooh, she is a Haflinger mule, really pretty and is the equine in charge, I can't tell you how unimpressed Gizmo was.........LOL

After a meet and great, Kris let them out of their pens.  He was so busy being nosy, he wasn't paying any attention, except when Pooh got closer than he wanted her, then he'd just move a little faster.  She'd gripe and kick up her heels, but seemed to be real careful to not actually make contact.  She was just showing him who's boss.  

Kris sent this picture this morning.  I don't think he's use to having an observer while he's eating, but it doesn't seem to bother him.  Probably not as much as the cat was bothered when it came in from a day of doing cat stuff, and finding "this" in the barn.  

Seemed to go well, they were talking about maybe getting a cart, which would be really good for him.  He needs a job to keep him busy. 

IT MAY BE TIME FOR RUSTY..........!!!

Got a call from Rusty the mule's foster Mom.  Rusty and Reba went out about a year ago to be with Ruth an older mule that had lost her horse friend.  

Kris will be calling the vet today to have an evaluation.  He's lethargic, standing around with his eyes closed on a gorgeous spring day and wants Kris to be with him.  He's had spells in the past where he would go off feed and the vet would come out evaluate him, usually give him a B-12 shot and he'd be good to go for awhile.  Kris seemed to think this is different, he is about 37 years old and we use quality of life as the decision.  If the vet can come out today, we'll let her be the final word.  

Rusty about 10 years

We are all up early to feed.  Today there is an Earth Day Celebration at Kartchner Caverns and we will be taking the 4 little minis for display, like we did last year with Ruger and Wister.  We think everything is ready to go, taking 2 trailers, one for donkeys and one for corral panels to make a pen.  We've talked about putting a frame on the outside of the stock trailer to hang the panels on, but it's one of the "round to it" things.  

Should be fun, people that have never been around equine and never thought about donkeys, usually love the little ones, I guess they are less scary.  Of course they have cute little faces too......!!!

Sounds like Gizmo might have a home, with a mini horse and a small donkey.  We'll do a home study next week and see how it goes.

UPDATE:  Rusty was euthanized this morning.  His gums were purple, his heart was racing and his breathing was hard when the vet got there.  She said she could hydrate him and do whatever she could to get him thru this, BUT chances are he would either not come out of it, or crash soon if he did.

 
Kris said Reba laid down beside him this afternoon for about 2 hours, then got up and went about her business, guess she was saying good-bye.  Kris has also taken in another molly mule, so it will just be the 3 girls now.  I would imagine Rusty was thrilled with another girl, he always thought he was a ladies man.

RIP old man, we have a lot of good memories of you being a mule.......!!!

Time Marches On.........!!

It seems like there is always something going on around here, it certainly helps to stay flexible.  LOL  Every morning when I doctor with my excellent vet tech, John I never know what I'm going to run into.  Right now I have 3 of them with what I assume is bacterial infections on their legs, or shoulders or in Rosie's case, whatever she has had on her belly all summer long.  It seems to less weepy when I use the homemade salve or is it because it is getting cooler?  Who knows.  Quilla's legs absolutely got ahead of me for some reason.  The problem with using a salve is unless you cover it with bandages or something, it ends up with dirt caked on the sores.  This morning I ended up "diapering" both front knees and wrapping the rest of his lower legs separately.  If anyone knows of a workable way to wrap a knee and leg together I'd like to know how..........!!!  

Coquette has it on her legs and shoulders, but she's actually doing pretty good with just socks on her legs.  I tried socks on Quilla, but he has sores on his knees, that stick to the socks, which rips the scabs off when it does try to heal..........SIGH!  So far hers is just on the canon bone "ie" shin bone.  They are all improving, if I can just keep Quilla sores from sticking to something. Next summer I am going to be ready with nitrofurazone at the 1st sign of skin problems.  

Heard from Reba and Rusty's foster mom.  She said they  really enjoy having them with their mule Ruthie.  They make a little herd, although she says the 2 girls won't answer Rusty when he gets lost, but they will answer each other.  Poor Rusty, he thinks he's a ladies man............guess not..........!!!   LOL  She said Rusty has excellent hearing, anytime he hears the barn door, he comes running from wherever he is and does a western type slide stop in his stall, just in case she might have something for him to eat....!!  Her parents live in a little house on the property and the mules all go down to visit every morning at 8am.  Her mother isn't very mobile and really enjoys seeing them.  It sounds like they are enjoying all the extra attention, we didn't have time for here.  Reba still isn't real friendly, but she was never anything but a pack mule to be used.  But Kris said if they are paying attention to Rusty and Ruthie, next thing they know Reba is standing real close, so maybe she will decide that letting people into her space has it's rewards.  

Also talked to Sarah about Wister and Ruger.  They have fit in very well, although they still aren't thrilled with the little 4 year old girl.  I guess it's OK if one of the parents are holding her, but when she's on the ground they still aren't sure.  She said Wister is the dominant one, even if he is the youngest, which surprised me.  They went into this home as fosters because the family planned on getting some goats which is going to happen in a couple of weeks.  The donkeys are to be protectors of the goats, which means no chasing, no picking up by the neck and no stomping them.  If any of those things happen, I would imagine they will be coming back real quick.  I have my fingers crossed, because it would be an excellent long term home for them.

My good friend Patti came out this afternoon for a visit.  She makes it out about once a year, but we always have a good time, when she does.  
 

MULES ARE DELIVERED

REBA AND RUSTY IN THE DRY LOT

            

These two are so "been there, done that", loading and hauling was no big deal.  Got to Kris' place in early afternoon and Ruthie started yelling when she saw the trailer.

This was later when Kris put some hay in the mangers so Reba and Rusty would know this is a good place.  Ruthie after the initial nose thru the fence and a squeal or two, was more interested in what Kris put in the manger.  

 Rusty is really interested in the grass around the edge.  Wait till he gets out on 20 acres of the stuff...!!

Rusty and Reba in their stall

Ruthie and Reba in the barn

I'm sure they will all get along just fine once they are out together.  Hopefully Ruthie will get over missing her mustang friend quickly.

This morning Falena, one of the girls that just returned from foster care a few weeks ago, came in limping and laying down.  I checked her feet and they weren't that warm, but she sure is acting like she is foundering.  I gave her some bute and we soaked her feet in IV bags of ice water.  I HATE MESQUITE BEANS......!!!!  And this year we have so many of them.  There aren't enough range cattle in the area to clean Burroland if John opens the gates, but we can't let the donkeys go over there I'm afraid.  It's like playing Russian Roulette, will they or won't they eat enough beans to cause laminitis?  I'm afraid if we continue to let them over there, they will.  So.........Burroland will be closed and most of them will only have access to the 10 acres, which isn't exactly lacking in mesquite beans either.  Noticed I said most..........some of them are already overweight, or have been foundered in the past, or in the case of Falena, might be a good candidate for foundering now.  Those will not be allowed out of the pens for however long it takes to get control of the mesquite problem.  They might all end up in the pens, and we'll be out on the 10 acres with a rake and wagon, raking up beans....which doesn't sound like much fun at all............!!

The donkeys usually aren't interested in the beans once they fall on the ground and lay for awhile.  The beans start turning dark and usually get worm holes in them.  I am really hoping that once we let them over there, if there are old dark wormy beans laying around, they won't bother them.  

We'll probably ice Falena's feet again this evening, hopefully we caught it early.

Penny seems to be back to normal, after her couple of days of acting sick.  

WHO WOULD EVER THINK THIS WOULD HAPPEN.....!!

I got a phone call a couple of days ago from a woman that had to put her horse down the night before and the molly mule they had gotten as a companion for him a few years ago, when they had to put their other horse down, was very upset.  In fact her husband was sitting out in the pen with the mule, so she wouldn't be alone.  We talked for awhile and she sounded like my kind of person.  I told her we don't send donkeys out as companions, and actually donkeys and mules don't naturally bond.  In all the years we've had both, the closest they have come is Reba will sometimes go with the jenny herd for an hour or so.  Other than that, they could be on different planets.  

I half way seriously threw out the fact that I have 2 old mules, but they would have to stay together.  She said no problem, she came out yesterday and  I was even more impressed than I was on the phone.  So Kris is going to foster Rusty and Reba and we will be delivering them today, so her husband can get some rest.  She has 20 acres of grassland and also has a dry lot if the mesquite beans become a problem.  I hope it works out, she wondered if they might team up against Ruthie her mule.  I doubt it, the females usually bond and Rusty thinks of himself as a "lady's man", so it shouldn't be a problem.  Glad he's over whatever was wrong with him the other day.

So wish us luck on this new adventure.  I think it will be a wonderful home, she even has a 4 stall barn.

Of course that isn't the only thing going on.  Yesterday morning I noticed Anubis the dog was having trouble urinating.  She has spaying incontinence and is on medication to help keep her from dribbling.  I was afraid it was working too well and she couldn't go.  Called Adobe Vet Clinic in Tucson and they said bring her in.  I can't keep up with when the local vet is available or not, so am starting to just bypass her altogether.  We've had Anubis at Adobe a couple of times before.  Without an MRI it's hard to tell.  She is very wobbly, and the SWAG (Scientific Wild Ass Guess) is she is having strokes or has a tumor probably at the base of her brain.  The vet seemed to think the problem urinating is caused from the Predizone she is on right now.  She's only got 3 more doses, so hopefully she'll be as well as can be expected after that for awhile.  She is also drinking massive amounts of water which hopefully is because of the Predizone and not kidney problems.

So we get home from that, just in time to feed and find Penny laying down...............again.  She has been laying down more than normal the last 3 or 4 days and getting less and less interested in eating or treats.  Wouldn't even take an animal cracker, which is her absolute favorite.  She will usually run John down for a cracker.  I have thought that her lack of interest in eating is because she is filling up with grass and mesquite beans, which her poo looked like.  Of course it's after hours going into a week-end, typical timing for an emergency.  

At bedtime when John went out to let everyone out, she was still laying down in the same place, but got up when she thought the gate was going to be open.  WHAT TO DO, WHAT TO DO........!!!  I really hate to be in charge of these guys, and not know more than I do.  I keep telling myself that even though vets go to school and have a lot of experience, even with them it's somewhat of a guessing game sometimes.  I finally decided to try to put some Kayo syrup down her in case she wasn't eating and might be going into hyperlipidemia, even if she isn't fat.  John got her in the redneck squeeze and she wasn't having any of that syrup, or anything else I might want to put in her mouth.  John thought her mouth smelled bad.  Of course I couldn't get my fingers in her mouth anymore than I could get the syringe of syrup  She is really adamant about not having her face and mouth touched.  She's had a broken jaw, which probably has something to do with it.  I thought the smell on John's hand smelled like rotten food caught in her teeth, rather than infection or something like that.

Well since I couldn't get the syrup down her I thought I'd give her a shot of banamine, just for S and G's, she didn't mind that..........!!!!  GRRRR........!!!  Of course I worried most of the night about her.  When I went out this morning I saw her following right in John's hip pocket on their way to her pen.  She hasn't laid down and was eating her breakfast, so I assume she's feeling better.  I'm still not sure it wasn't mesquite beans.  We left quite a few of the fatties in the pens yesterday and she stayed in with Coquette, so didn't have access to beans for the day.  Who knows, I know I sure don't.............LOL

The Adobe Vet Clinic is right up the road from where Ruger and Wister are staying, so of course we drove by.  They were out eating grass and looked good, so I guess everything is OK.  I haven't heard from Sarah in a couple of weeks. 

MONSOON CONTINUES

This is a picture of a grumpy mule named Reba.  The wadded up mess behind her use to be her "temporary" shelter that had been up for a year or so.  A couple of days ago we had a lot of wind, lightening, thunder and rain going sideways right at evening chore time.  This was the result, actually a couple of the other shelters didn't fare much better, but at least they are standing on their own, and John could fix them.  He's already figured out how to put in another wooden shelter in the mule pen.  There is already one shelter in their pen, but it isn't big enough for 2 mules.  We also got 2.5 inches of rain, in about 1/2 an hour.  It's much nicer when the rain is a little less pounding, most of it runs off, when it's that hard.  

I raced again last night.  We only race about once a month, I almost forget what I'm suppose to do between races..........LOL  I finished 5th again.....!!  That's about the best I'm going to do with my car and the competition.  Brought it home in one piece, but it sure looks weird to look out in the driveway Sunday morning and see a clean car sitting on the trailer.  

Amy and Doug fed the donkeys and Doug let them out at bedtime, so we didn't have to when we got home.  It's really nice to have them taken care of, so we don't have to at 1:30 in the morning.   At this track we have to be there before 3:30 in the afternoon, so I guess we'd just double feed them in the morning and leave them in the pens until we got home after midnight.  This is much nicer for them and for us.  At the dirt track we didn't have to be there until 5:30, so we just had to feed them a hour or so early.  Of course they had to stay in the pens until we got home, they would start yelling when I got out to open the gate..........!!! 

Everybody is doing real good right now.  Heard from Ruthie's foster Mom and she is doing just fine.  They have a lot of desert grass on their property, which cuts down on the hay they have to feed.  Hank the horse is still smitten with her, Diane says whenever they are standing in the barn, Hank likes to hang his head over the divider and lay his head on Ruthie's back and she just stands there.  He's never done that with Marci, her other donkey.  Ruthie and Marcy have finally gotten use to each other and bonded, after a pretty rocky start.  Ruthie is a take charge type of gal and her moving into Marcy's space was a little rough, but Diane said they get along fine now.

This is Miss Grumpy Penny

Penny is probably not going to like any of us for awhile.  Between the worming a couple of days ago and Tyler coming this morning to do "pedicures" she is in a real snit.  Her rear feet grow long in the front.  Tyler told me the name of it, the back of the coffin bone is actually lower than the front, he said it's probably genetic, as if the poor girl doesn't have enough problems, with her broken jaw and hunchback.  Tyler said she should be trimmed on a regular schedule, which won't be a problem because Gigi has to be trimmed regularly too.  And since both of them seem determined to keep their independence, especially Penny, I'll have Tyler come out for them.  He always has a helper with him, Courtney is by herself, so she doesn't need the adventure.

He didn't have to reset Gigi's shoe, just had to trim more off on the outside of her front hooves than the inside.  He says she has some nice looking growth coming out, much fuller and "normal" looking.  So hopefully with the passage of time, her feet will get better.  I'm afraid her shoulder will always be "wonky" from walking crippled all those years, but if we can get her feet straight without shoes, that will be one less thing for her to have to put up with. 

She wasn't too bad at all, and little jumpy, but not bad.  Penny on the other hand was a little kicking machine.  She's fast and she fairly accurate, but this isn't Tyler's first "rodeo" and he managed to keep 1/2 step ahead of her, except for one REALLY close call.  

When he was done, we all left the area, so John could take the halter off and let her out with the others.  He tried really hard to get her to take a cookie from him, but she wasn't having any of it, if looks could kill he would have been a goner..........!!!!   LOL 

Finally got the final 3 wormed yesterday morning.  I had 2 leftover biscuits in the freezer and thought that would be really good for the 2 mules.  I lovingly prepared a molasses and biscuit sandwich, with wormer.  Tula had to settle for 1/2 a hot dog bun.  Took it out, Reba and Tula grabbed it and looked for more.  Rusty let us know that he wasn't going to be taken for a fool, as soon as it hit his mouth, he dropped it an accompanying dirty look.  So it was halter and lead time, I told Doug to snub him up, which he seemed to think might not be necessary.  Hmmmmmm Rusty was his usual obnoxious self to try to stick something in his mouth, but John and I got it done.  Doug took his halter off, and Rusty took off with a kick in the air, as he hid behind Reba with a wounded expression on his face.  They can get some of the saddest looks on their faces, considering they don't really have the muscle system for a lot of expression.  He kicked up his heels a couple more times, before he allowed himself to be "caught", petted and loved on.  Brat....!!

Going up to the Phoenix area to pick up Gus and Quilla tomorrow.

As I always say............WE ARE NEVER BORED.........!!!!   LOL

SOMETHING NEW HAS BEEN ADDED

Yesterday a friend that likes donkeys and was looking for a place to park his RV, pulled in the middle of our circle driveway and is setting up housekeeping.  Well he's trying to, there was no electricity or water there.  Today Doug and John are running electricity.  So far I haven't heard a big bang, so hopefully things are going well.  Last night we went out to dinner with some friends and when we came home, he was using an oil lamp for light.  Hopefully tonight will be "brighter".....!!!

He's learning the feeding drill and today he got to help with worming.  Amy was here cleaning pens, so she got to help too.  Not only that, we had a real nice couple from Alaska visiting for the 2nd time in the last week or so, they got to watch the circus.  You can't say we don't entertain people.....!!!  Amy got more entertainment than she wanted, one of the minis took affront at this mistreatment and tried to rear.  Amy had a hold around the neck, so the rebellion didn't last long, but he tried, maybe it was Justin, not sure.  He's usually a pill, but Cheyenne can be too. 

Doug had to help with Penny.  We have to put her in the redneck squeeze to do almost anything with her.  Even then she can be a handful, throwing her head, which of course is where the wormer is suppose to go.  Doug got a good hold over the top of the corral panel and I got it down her.  If they are really fighting, you don't want your arm thru the panel, or it might get broke.  

Still have 3 to worm, Tula, and the mules Reba and Rusty.  Tula is a given, she isn't going to allow you to stick anything in her mouth, although I must say she actually let Willis the man feed her some animal crackers today.  She's been getting closer and closer to visitors, trying to build up her courage to take something from them and over the years has taken treats from 4 or 5 people.  But it was always on her terms, long neck, stretched to the maximum, grab it and back up quick.  Today there was a certain amount of that, but she took it and came back for more.  

Rusty is an absolute pill about worming, you'd think it was hot acid, Reba not so much, but she isn't really thrilled either, soooooooo,  tomorrow they will all get a bread sandwich, probably with a molasses "filling", hopefully they will eat it without wading thru the filling to see what is in it.....!!

This Wednesday we will head up to Waddell to pick up Gus and Quilla.  Claire got in touch and said the grass is growing fast and green.  Gus just can't be on grass, he's got lousy feet from chronic founder, and it's a real balancing act to keep his feet comfortable.  Fresh grass would send him right over the edge.   Patti's going with us, Doug and Amy will take care of the donkeys, so life is good....!!!  

Except for the fact that we haven't seen Hobo, one of the outdoor cats for 3 days.  It took us 3 years to live trap her for a trip to the vet to be spayed.  For those 3 years she was having 3 litters of kittens a year and the coyotes were getting them.  While we were trying to catch her we did catch 3 tomcats, which went to the vet for "corrective" surgery.  Don't know if they belonged to anyone or not, but if they did, they were walking different when they went home.

The other outdoor cat is Julius from her last litter, we also have Snooky from that litter indoors.  There were 2 females, we had spayed and found homes for.  We also have Sunny in the house, the only survivor from her next to last litter.

We can't imagine what happened to her, she spent most of her time in the back yard, where we feed them on the back porch.  John would occasionally see her going over to the neighbor's, but she had done that for years.  Not sure how old she is, maybe 9 or 10, just guessing which isn't that old for a cat.  We very rarely see coyotes on the property anymore, too many donkey feet stomping around and donkeys really don't like coyotes and aren't afraid to show it. 

IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME SINCE WE DID A HOME STUDY

I always love to go visit with people that are enthralled with donkeys and want to add them to their family.  Bobbie and Jim are those people and are interested in Ruthie, Ruger and Wister as a family group.  They have 10 acres of perfect donkey country, lots of rocky ground and even some "over hill and dale" country" to give them exercise.  BUT.........isn't there always a but?  They spend most of their time in Tucson, although they have a routine of spending time on the acreage on a regular basis.  But, there is the worry of the donkeys getting hurt or maybe getting out.  Without a daily routine of having people around, there is a good chance even though that trio is very people orientated they would learn to rely on themselves rather than people and probably lose some of their friendliness.  

So right now we're on hold, they have been talking about moving to the acreage full time, but don't know when.  We'll see how it goes, I can't imagine anyone else showing up wanting to adopt 3 donkeys, any time soon.  So I think the donkeys are pretty safe for now.  

Bobby and Jim's place is just a "hop, skip and jump", from 2 of our alumni, Nina and Benny.  In January they will have been in their forever home 8 years.  I never thought we'd find a home for Nina.  Her nose had been ripped open and not doctored, so she has an open nostril, which has to have Swat put on it each morning during fly season to keep the little buggers at bay.  When Susan and Tom came out to see if they wanted to adopt these two, I had to show Susan Nina's nose, she didn't even notice it and didn't see it as a problem.  

Since we were in the neighborhood we had to stop by and see how they were doing.  They looked great, a little fat from mesquite bean season, but like we told Susan, we've got 5 or 6 that are in the same situation.  Bennie came over to me and put his head on my shoulder.  I don't know if he remembered me or not.  He was always very friendly and I don't think has ever met a stranger.  Nina is a little more reserve, but more than willing to accept any and all attention.  I didn't have my camera, but have some pictures from when they were here.

NINA

BENNY BEING A HAM, WITH A TOUR

Anubis finished up her antibiotics this morning and seems to be feeling much better.  I didn't realize how lethargic she had been acting recently.  Now she's back to jumping around and wanting attention. Having bad teeth can be bad for people or animals I guess.  She's actually missing some of her side teeth, Dr. Nancy and I decided probably from the raw beef bones I get the dogs occasionally.  To say she has always been an enthusiastic chewer is an understatement....!!!  

Every night when it gets down in the 30's, I expect the flies to take the hint, but so far they are hanging in there.  There are less and less each day I think, but John is still putting on fly masks every morning and I'm sure the donkeys appreciate them.  But doctoring is down to just a quick look before we let them out in the morning.  Coquette is my only patient now, even Cisco is doing well.

Reba went to her dental appointment and was absolutely the best patient ever.  Dr. Debra said Reba got "best behaved" award for the day.  She had some hooks, but nothing really bad although she did have one tooth that was longer than the others.  Next month we'll take Penny in for a check up after having a tooth pulled last month.   Because she has had a broken jaw, and had a tooth pulled Dr. Debra wants to make sure everything is doing OK. 

BACK IN THE GROOVE

Didn't take Ruthie and the boys long to get back in the routine.  Yesterday morning when everyone came in, I looked out and here came John looking like the Pied Piper, with Ruthie and the boys right in his hip pocket.  I wish I had the camera, but of course as usual when a Kodak moment occurs I wasn't prepared.  

So this morning, I had the camera with me when I went out.  Of course they were over in Burroland rather than dogging John's heels.  They had been ignoring John, but when I came out they thought I might have a goodie, so here they came.  

The cold nights are slowing the flies down, but they certainly aren't gone.  John has been taking the fly masks off at night now and that's working out OK.  The mornings are cold enough the flies don't get moving very early.  

We will be taking Reba the red mule into Benson today to get her teeth checked.  She is about 31 years old and lately has been a little reluctant to take horse treats.  They are hard as concrete, but before she thought they were great.  So we'll take her to Dr. Debra to have a look.  Hope she doesn't have to have any teeth pulled, that's almost as traumatic as gelding for me.  And I'm sure they don't enjoy it either. 

LOOKS LIKE AUTUMN IS FINALLY GETTING HERE

How do I judge that?  That lack of stable flies in my fly trap.  For some reason those particular flies seem to have a season.  I don't know if they need the protein for reproduction or what, but that would be my WAG if I was guessing.  With the reduction of stable flies, I'm starting to remove leg coverings and using Swat or Thuja Zinc Oxide instead.  I think we're all looking to the day when the fly masks get washed and put away and no more doctoring.  Not there yet, though.  

This time of year we have plants that have seed pods we've always called stick tights, probably because they travel around by sticking tight to anything they come in contact with.  We have at least 3 types and each one seems to have their own time to be a nuisance.  Obviously there is something tasty where this type grows, it might be the plant itself, I don't know.  Reba has had her nose buried in them for quite sometime, judging from the vast number of the little monsters on her mask.  The fuzzy material obviously is a great gatherer.  They have to be picked off..........one.....at a time..........SIGH!

This is one of the new masks Michele brought out to see how they will work.  The material is really slick and hopefully not as "friendly" to the stick tights.  So far, so good, she comes in with a few, but nothing like with the other mask.  The mask had ear covers, but I had to cut them off.  Reba has more ear than a horse would.........LOL  Besides she's not a fan of having her ears messed with, I would imagine at some time in her life her ears have been used to control her. Love the design..........thanks Michele.

Have a woman interested in coming out to visit with Pancho and Pepsi.  She recently lost a donkey she had for 15 years and said not only does her family miss him, but the neighbors too.  Keep your fingers crossed.  Right now Ruthie, Ruger and Wister are out on weed control duty, but the way our weeds are drying up, it probably won't be long until they come home.  So if we find a home for the 2 boys, we won't have to put up another pen, right now the pens are full. 

Pancho and Pepsi, dropped right in the herd, like they had never left.  Pepsi actually moved in with the other 3 minis.  They were a herd for years and he remembers.  Pancho hangs with them sometimes, although he also hangs out with some of the jennies.

Speaking of jennies, this morning Pepper was up on Penny trying to figure out what he was doing up there.  How the old buzzard can even get up there is amazing.  I asked John how he got down, we're always afraid he's going to fall and break something.  John said he just sort of slid down and his legs held him up.  He's in a good time right now, eating good, moving good for him, laying down on his left side, so he can get up.  He is such an interesting study, lately he's been coming in almost every time with the "A" team.  That's the fast movers with Tula in the lead.  It's a loose knit group, always Tula, Frijolita, Daisy and usually at least one of the boys, BlackJack, Boaz or Quilla.  It's amazing that Pepper can keep up, he's usually in a rear, but he hangs in there. 

MORE OF THE SAME

 Courtney made it out last night and was amazed at how much hoof wall everybody had grown, in this monsoon.  And frog, lots of frog, some were as much as 1/2 inch longer than the hoof itself.  So this morning I'm dealing with sad looks and "my feet hurt" looks.  

It's been awhile since Pepper got down on his right side, but this morning he was down in the wash and had been for quite sometime.  

Unfortunately there was a pretty good size limb right above him and I was afraid he wouldn't be able to get up with it there.  So John cut it off, had to take it off in pieces because of the weight.  Didn't want it to fall on Pepper's head.  

 This is Pepper after he got up trying to figure out if there are any beans close enough for him to get to them.  He checked out the limb and you can see in the foreground where he laid long enough to dig a hole with his head and legs.  The hole he digs if he's been down for awhile makes it difficult to flip him over.  He got trimmed last night.  By the time Courtney got to him it was dark, she works with a headlamp.  She came in his pen, petted him, picked up a foot and said, "is this Pepper?"  He has put on so much weight this bean season she didn't recognize him until she looked at his foot.  He is looking really good for him, unfortunately everyone else is putting on weight too.  Frijolita is really plumping up nicely, it will probably take all winter to get the weight off all of them, and then we can do it again next bean season.............SIGH

 

Here is a picture of Miss Reba the mule, with one of the masks Michele fixed.  She wanted to try the dangles to see how they worked.  They seem to be working just fine and one good thing about the mules, they don't lose their masks.  

It looks like we'll be racing Sat and Sun this Labor Day week-end.  Weren't suppose to, but the track put out the word to see if the Hornet drivers were interested.  Most of them are, I'm not really, putting us on the program with less than a week of warning is a little much.  Besides one of our driver's that has to work both days can't come, and she's in 4th place.  She suggested having non-point races, which would be fine, then I wouldn't have to go.............BUT..........I don't trust the track not to change their minds about having points once the drivers get there and start complaining because there aren't any points.  I'd hate to not show up and then find out later they decided to make them points races. 

SNOOKY IS OUT AND ABOUT

The house cats (4) are always trying to figure out how to get out in the big world.  Night before last one of them managed to knock one of the screens out and when John got up in the morning, the 3 boys were out and Moogee was sitting by the opening probably thinking, "you guys are going to get it".......!!! 

Nigel wasn't too difficult, lately if he gets out he will actually let us pick him up.  We locked him and Moogee up, opened the back door and Sunny made a tactical error and came in.  Snookey has always had a wild streak, we saw him a couple of times yesterday, but haven't seen him yet today.  Last time he got out he was out for 3 days before we suckered him in.  I've made up my mind I won't worry about him, we all make decisions and sometimes they work out, sometimes they don't.  We don't have a lot of coyotes around here anymore, so hopefully he's just out enjoying his freedom.  

I had some boring things to do in Benson yesterday, John decided to stay home and try to catch up on some of the little piddlely things that always need to be done, and seem to multiply at a rapid rate.  I went in, did all my stops and everything was really going smoothly.......!!  

Headed for home and it started raining, turned  the windshield wipers on one click and immediately had to go to full on.........!!!  Couldn't see past the hood hardly, but I know the road and there wasn't any other idiots out there.........LOL  By the time I got to our little dirt/mud road it had quit raining, but everything was flooded.  I had driven thru the washes that cross over the main road and hoped the last big wash would be OK...............NOT..........!!!!  It was running about running board high on the van.  The van weighs 3 tons, so it's not going to float away like a little car.  But the weight will drag it down if the ground underneath isn't stable.  Tried to call John, (I was almost close enough to yell), but was in a dead zone for a signal.  Backed up and finally got it to ring, had to leave a message..........!!  He called me back in about 5 minutes, said he had gotten caught in the garage and had to wait it out.  

I told him I'd just sit there and wait for it to go down, but he fired up the Bronco and came to rescue me, any excuse to play with the 4 wheel drive.  He went out about an hour later and drove the van home.  

I think the donkeys are getting as tired of the rain as we are.  Although they are still enjoying all the green stuff and of course the mesquite beans.  Right now we have 6 fatties staying in the pens.  Buddy Brat is the last addition........!!!  This isn't his first "rodeo" he has to go in just about every year, until the majority of the beans are gone.  He knows when he is being mistreated and lets us know every time he sees us, by screaming and running to the gate. 

 JOHN AND BUDDY BRAT

Rosie went in a few days ago, because she was laying around and acting very ouchy on her feet, although they weren't warm.  She's walking much better, we even dragged out one of the slow feeder nets to put her hay in.  Didn't take her long to figure it out, she even knows how to shake it to get the hay to fall out, so she doesn't have to pull it out.  

They haven't even been on Burroland the last few days, if we go to town or it rains and the wash runs, they don't get over there for their 2 or 3 hours in the afternoon, much to their disgust.  Reba and Rusty the mules are particularly upset and will stand and stare at the gate for hours.  Oh! well as long as they are standing, they aren't eating....!!!   LOL

RUSTY GOES TO THE DOCTOR..........!!!

A

Sunday Rusty started doing his mouth thing again.  He will go along for months and then stop eating, and spend lots of time "adjusting" his mouth from side to side.  I think he's even been to the vet for it before, well now he's been again.  He didn't eat Sunday, Monday or yesterday until suppertime, when he did eat some of his hay.  Also this morning.

I had already made an appointment for today and we decided it wouldn't hurt to have him looked over.  At age 35, he could have teeth falling out, turning sideways, who knows what.  He's really good about letting me prowl around in his mouth, but since I don't know what I'm looking for, I'd rather someone that knows what they are doing look.  

Nancy checked him over, he didn't seem to mind her manipulating his jaw, but she did find a few sharp points on his molars.  She said for his age his teeth are really in pretty good shape.  He's still got all of them and has an inch or so of teeth left so he's luckier than a lot of equine.  

So she ground off the sharp places and we called it done.  When we got home and he got out of the trailer yelling for Reba, and Ruger and Wister were trying their best to get "in" the trailer.  They think it's a big toy to jump in and out of I guess.   

QUITE A FEW HAPPY DONKEYS TODAY

Today was grooming day for about half the donkeys and Rusty the mule.  Janice said she had never groomed donkeys before, but she seemed to have a good time and of course the donkeys thought it was great.  I think Quilla wins the prize for the most hair brushed off.  The ground in his pen almost looked like it was covered with snow.  Rusty the mule, is shedding quite a bit too.  Must have something to do with being white, since both of them are mostly white.  She said she would be back, I'm sure the donkeys are hoping she makes it...........!!!! 

I've been trying to get Daisy's annual  body clipping done for the last week, but it hadn't happened.  I figured if Janice could brush I should be able to clip, so I got out my toys, dragged Daisy out of her pen, to the feed room, and went to work.  

This is before I started.  Because of her Cushings disease she does not shed at all.  If I didn't clip her, she would go thru the hot summer with all this hair.  

 ONE SIDE DONE

 BOTH SIDES DONE

FINISHED.............LOTS OF HAIR ON THE GROUND 

I know one of the 1st things you are suppose to do when clipping is make sure your victim is clean.  Most donkeys, I would say all of ours do NOT like water to touch their bodies, so I just grit my teeth and clip whatever is there.  When I got done I came in and ordered a new set of blades...........!!! LOL  I brushed some of the rocks, gravel and dirt out, but there was still quite a bit.  Now I will have 2 sets of blades, once I get the old ones sharpened again.  I had them sharpened last year, but they don't stay sharp long if you don't take care of them.  

Poor Daisy, by the time I got done, all her buddies like Tula and Frijolita had disappeared.  First she had to scratch and bite all over her body.  I guess getting the hair off made it easier to scratch itchy places.  Then she started yelling to find her friends.  The problem is, when the donkeys yell to find the others, the missing ones never answer them, same with the mules.  Jack the mule use to yell for Rusty and I don't think Rusty ever answered him.  Now if Rusty loses Reba he yells for her, same deal. 

GROOMING DAY..........YEA........!!!

Grooming is one thing that gets neglected around here, we just run out of time doing other stuff that seems more important.  Some of them shed out pretty good on their own, or they rub it off, which makes them end up looking rather flea bitten.  

Amy and Morgan and one of Morgan's friend's is out there, even as I type, making a lot of donkeys and mules happy.  Amy and her family have 2 of our donkeys along with 6 horses, so needless to say they get to do a lot of grooming with their own animals.  But they love to groom and decided to come out for awhile.  

They have had Big Gus and Rambo aka Bo for years.  Big Gus was going to be a "hard sell", he had one of those personalities, that takes a special person to appreciate.  When they come out to see if he would fit into their family, I ask them if there was anything in the back of their pickup that he could destroy.  They didn't think so, until we came back from seeing some of the other donkeys, and the  50 foot hose they had was in pieces.  They laughed and thought it was funny, and I knew this was Gus' forever home..........!!!  

Bo was a couple of years later, I asked them to foster him, because he couldn't think of anything except girls and since he was a gelding he kept everyone stirred up, until I could find a home for him.  Without jennets around I guess he is a good boy, so they decided to keep him.  We named him Rambo and Amy said he was too sweet to be called Rambo, hence the name change to Bo. 

John wants to see if they can groom on Rosie and Gigi.  They will of course have to be tied, unlike most of the others, hopefully it will go well.  Last night John took Gigi's fly mask off with her not in "her" safe corner, so maybe a little grooming will feel good enough for her to relax.  Reba had to be tied too, she likes to be groomed, but unless it's "official" she wanders off and you have to keep up.  They tied her and she almost fell over she was so relaxed.  But no "tie" no "stand still".  Sometimes they can be so funny. 

Rusty, the white mule has no problem, he has never seen a grooming tool he didn't like.  You could groom on him until there was no hair and he'd think it was just great......!!!! 

The penicillin wash seems to be working on the eyes.  They are clearer, dry, not goopy and not as swollen.  But we are still ready to haul them to Tucson if the swelling doesn't go down pretty quick.

Have some people coming out today to maybe adopt a donkey.  They lost their jennet on Easter Sunday and their gelding is very lonely.  Hopefully we will have someone that will work for them.  

WORMING DAY........!!!

 

Not exactly the type of face that presented itself for worming this morning.  Although Rosie and Gigi surprised me.  I figured they had never been wormed, but judging by the way they grabbed the wormer tube and hung on, I think they knew what was going on.  Thank goodness they were getting the apple flavored instead of the "ugh" flavored cheap stuff.  When our Tractor Supply opened a few months ago, they had a lot of specials.  One was good tasting wormer at more than half price off, so I got all they would let me buy.  Unfortunately their limit didn't cover the amount of animals and mules we have.  So I had to pick and choose who got the good stuff.  The others got double cookies afterwards.  

I have heard that mules are a conflicted animal from birth, they aren't horses and they aren't donkeys, so they have an internal battle all their lives.  We knew Rusty was going to be a pain, he always is, but when we walked in the mule pen, Reba almost knocked John down getting out.  Unfortunately for her, she only ended up in Tula's pen next door.  John really needs to stay light on his feet and pay attention to his surroundings or he's going to look like road kill one of these days.  Reba's big enough to make a dent......!!! LOL 

Justin is always a little pain in the butt, we have to chase him around the pen about 5 or 6 times, then he hides his head in the corner and I put the halter on him. 

Penny had to go into the squeeze, and while she was there I had to adjust her legging.  It is almost impossible to wrap a leg above and below the knee with a polo wrap effectively and she has fly damage above the knee unfortunately.  She doesn't mind the polo wraps thank goodness, putting them on with her on one side of a corral panel and me on the other, is a good way to break a hand or wrist if she decides to freak out and act stupid.  But she stood still, although afterwards refused to take an animal cracker from me.  Guess she wants to keep her independence.  No problem with Coquette, we couldn't hardly work with Penny in the squeeze, because of Coquette outside the squeeze.  I ask her if she was a nurse.  She had already had her wormer and really thought she should continue getting cookies.......!!

Starting tonight Ruthie is going to be eating with her boys, Ruger and Wister.  She is not holding her weight being with Frijolita at feeding time.  I thought they both ate at about the same speed, but guess not.  Frijolita is a real "Hoover" when it comes to food. 

REBA IS NOSY........

I guess Reba, the mule thinks there might be something going on in the back yard, she needs to know about.  She usually is with Rusty and they don't hang out around the house.   I was at the computer when I saw her, picked up the camera and as soon as she saw me, she took off, like she shouldn't be there, so all I got was this one picture.  

The nosiness of donkeys is why we put a wall around the back yard, with a strong gate.  They spent a lot of time, standing on the back porch and looking in the windows to see what we were doing.  When we were building the addition, BlackJack lived in the area once the walls were up.  There was always a breeze coming thru the window and door openings and it didn't take him very long to figure that out.  I think he was disappointed when John put the windows and doors in.  

We went to the first race of the season last night.  It was a World of Outlaws show and the hornets weren't invited to run, our first race is the 22nd of March.  But we heard about some changes this year that doesn't bode well for building up a car count.  By the end of last year none of the classes had an over abundance of cars.  So the word on the street is, this year, they are raising the price of getting into the pits and also will double the amount we pay to draw a number for our starting position in the heat race.  John and I ran a small track on Spangdalem AFB, in Germany in the late 70's.  Granted, trees have died since then, and being on the base there wasn't a profit motive built into the program.............BUT.  We always said you don't raise your prices unless the bleachers are full.  That goes for both the front gate and the back gate.  This track doesn't have fannies in the bleachers or cars in the pits and they are raising prices.....????  Most of us don't think they will survive the year.  I guess the owner wasn't willing to lease to the association that ran the Winter Extreme in January.  They did such a good job of putting on a program and were very generous with their payout, so the drivers were all excited and looking forward to them being in charge.  

I really hope it doesn't close down.  I'm too old to sit around waiting for it to reopen.......LOL

I did see some of the big boys in sprint car racing, like Steve Kinser and Sammy Swindell.  I don't care for Sprint cars anything with 800hp and weighing less than 1500 pounds goes so fast it's hard for my little brain to react to what I'm watching.  LOL  And to put it politely, they are prima donnas in the pits, none of the rules like 5mph apply to them.  They bring car haulers that are as long as any over the road truck, with complete garages in them.  "Park in one parking place".........not for them, talk about sprawl........!!!! They can take up 2 parking places and then manage to park their race car sticking out in the driveway thru the pits, so it's hard to drive around them.  I won't even mention the 10-15 people that are sprawling around in their pits with their -bq pits, tables etc.  During the Winter Extreme, we had to pit out in the parking lot, because the Late Models do the same thing and were sprawled all over the place.  But if they bring in enough money and fans to keep our track operating, I guess I'll put up with them.......!!! LOL

OPEN HOUSE UPDATE

SOME GUESTS MAKING RUTHIE AND WISTER HAPPY

 Saturday was a beautiful day and we had a steady stream of people coming to see the donkeys for most of the day.  Mike and Teresa came up from Tombstone and presented us a nice check from Mike and Zeke's walk-a-thon in September.  They say this is the last walk, but Mike was talking about what a wonderful time he had, meeting so many people and said he'd never laughed so much.  So I'm not sure that is his last walk.  We'll see.....!!! 

Sunday was cold and windy.  We almost had more volunteers to show people around than we had guests to visit with the donkeys.  Since there weren't many people to show around, we all came in the house, ate chili and vegetable soup and had a great visit.

BOAZ TRYING TO GET PEOPLE'S ATTENTION

Unfortunately while we were inside having fun, the donkeys weren't appreciating being in their pens with nothing going on.  

We didn't realize how unhappy they were, until this morning when John went out to round them up.  Some of them were within sight and weren't the least bit interested in coming in, others weren't even around. 

We think that 2 days of being "confined" with the 2nd day being rather "slow" was too much, they decided that if that was how it was going to be, they'd just as soon not cooperate.  They got out today, so hopefully tomorrow morning they will be more cooperative. 

Reba the big red mule, figured out the game really quick.  John put Coquette and Penny's bunk close to the fence, so people could put pellets in there.  Coquette gets a little excited sometimes and fingers have been known to suffer.  Penny because of her missing teeth and her distrust of people, has a hard time picking pellets out of a hand.  She does much better with an animal cracker held by thumb and finger.  But they both did great, Coquette didn't eat any fingers and somewhere along the way Penny figured out how to take pellets out of a hand.  They also thought it was a fun game and made sure they were standing by the fence when the people came by.  

Jack, the mini mule was obnoxious as usual.  He wants all the attention, all the treats, all the "oxygen" and Molly can just stand over there someplace out of the way.  We've seen her double barrel kick him, but unfortunately she doesn't do it often enough from my point of view.  He loves to put those short little ears back and act silly.  What's funny is, if I yell at him, the ears come up and he looks like a perfect little angel............brat......!!!!

AMAZING

After all these years John still amazes me sometimes.  My cripples get Cosquin ASU as a supplement to help with their arthritis and joint problems.  Reba the big mule is pretty gimpy on her right front probably just from being 30 years old.  Cisco was a roping donkey at a roping school where they taught people how to rope.  Cisco was a "loaner", so when the students didn't have anything at home to practice on and torture, they could borrow Cisco.  Needless to say his back legs are pretty well shot.  And of course there is always "Pepper", the old Lounge Lizard with his broken hip and blown knee.  

Last week I emptied my Cosequin and put the container in the golf cart for disposal and forgot to take the spoon out.  Well actually I didn't forget it, I figured I'd use the spoon out of the new container.  I had forgotten that they only get a half dose, so went thru all my spoons, of which I have many, and could not find one of the right size.  Dang, now what?  Went out to find the spoon and John hadn't gotten to the trash yet, so I took off to "save my spoon".  The next morning when it was time to measure out meds, I can't find my spoon.  I back tracked, went every place I could think of and no spoon.  So I've been using the spoon that came with the Cosequin half full.  It's much easier to just fill up the spoon and call it done, so John has had to listen to me whine for about a week.  This morning I was particularly whiney I guess cause John got involved and started asking me questions.  I could answer them all except for what jacket I was wearing that morning, couldn't remember.  Guess it was a cold morning, because when I checked my Dickie hoodie, there was my precious spoon......!!! Yippee!  Life is good and all is right in the world today........!!!! LOL  

I don't know if the difference in thinking is male/female logic or what.  I am reactive, can't do what I want or in this case find something, I explode, which of course accomplishes nothing except waste time and effort.  But John is methodical and logical to the point of zeroing in on the problem, usually pretty quick.  Thank goodness. 

Still having to put on fly masks, although it's been really cold in the morning in the upper 20's.  You'd think that would get rid of them, but if anything I think it makes them worse, at least the ones that survive.  

I'm down to just doctoring Boaz's knee and Jack's face, certainly much easier and less time consuming than it is during the summer skin problem time.  

I've found a new toy, although it's not very durable, gallon milk jugs with rocks in them, seem to be a lot of fun.  They can be picked up by the handle and shook.  I tried leaving the cap on, but they come off too easy and might get swallowed.  So I keep adding rocks as they get shook out.  They last pretty good, unless someone paws at them.  There's one in Wister's pen that is pretty flat, but he still plays with it.