What's in a name?

Quite a lot actually.  At least I think so, which is why I am trying to find a new name for my new horse.  He came with the name Diablo but, that name has bad associations for me and I would like to find something different.  I am a firm believer that everybody deserves a good name and I don't like re-using names. The only problem is that I am having trouble coming up with a good name for this fellow.  What's a blogger to do?  Have a contest of course.  So, if anybody sends me a suggestion and I decide to use it, I will send you some of my very special, homemade Christmas fudge. 

Here are a few generalities of names I like...

• I like short names, usually two syllables (ie, Emma, Tessa, Tanner, Tika, Gwenna, Suki, Quinn...all names of animals past and present).
• I don't like names with negative connotations (ie, Diablo, Devil, Satan, Killer, etc)
• I don't like excessively cutesy names whose charm wears off too quickly

The above are just generalities, don't let them limit you!  Send me your suggestions.  I don't have any fancy corporate sponsors to provide prizes but my fudge is a special treat. 

A profusion of Spots

A friend of mine read my post about maybe being ready to add a new riding animal to my herd since Tessa is officially out of commission.  She sent me an email last week asking if I would like to have a big, young gelding that she had raised, sold and bought back because he wasn't being treated right.  I rode this horse in a big group ride a couple of months ago so I knew that he is sweet natured, kind, willing and level-headed.  We talked about it and, well here he is... 

He even came complete with a red ribbon and bows in his mane.  Now that's what I call a Christmas present!

He had to spend his first night in the round pen because I wanted to make sure everybody would be safe and see how they might get along.  (By the way, he may not have the long ears I was thinking of but, he does have these endearingly cute, mismatched ears.  If you look close you can see that the one on the right is short and round while the one on the left has a nicely curved point.  And no, the short ear wasn't damaged or cut off he was born that way.) 

After he had settled in for a while and there were no signs of aggression from either side, I let him and Tessa out together for a while.  I made Emma stay in the round pen during this introduction for her own safety and boy was she MAD about it.  Safe though, so I told her she was just going to have to cope.  He and Tessa ran around like loons for a few minutes but there was no kicking or fighting (and, of course, my camera choose that moment to freeze up!)....

within a few minutes, they had calmed down and started practicing to be bookends.  It's funny that until I bought Tessa, I had never owned a paint.  In fact, I have always preferred solid colored horses and now I find myself with two super flashy paints whose markings are remarkably similar.  Go figure.

Since they all seemed to be happy together, I let the girls hang out with him so they could all get further acquainted...

This morning, after no signs of fighting, squealing, kicking or other obnoxious behavior, I let them all out together.  My biggest concern was for Emma.  Some horses are mean to donkeys but he has been very nice to her and Tessa is very protective of her.  Emma is very intrigued by him but also wants to stay close to Momma Tess.

Within half an hour, they were all sharing the same food and water and getting along amazingly well.  How many noses can fit at one time?  All three actually...

 They spent the rest of the day doing what horses do, peacefully and happily....

My friend Bill (who was visiting for the weekend) and I, spent the day doing what humans who own horses do....

Emma Goes to Work

Emma's been practicing for the road crews.  She doesn't think I have been providing enough carrots so she swears she is going to go get a job at the town barn and buy her own damn carrots.  She says she is perfectly willing to spend the day moving cones....

 acting as a warning barrier...

directing traffic....

 working as the "follow-me" car.....

and providing detour signs.....

 
Maybe I should just go get more carrots.

A missed opportunity????

There is a Mammoth Jackstock jenny for sale about 4 hours from here.  She is 4 1/2 years old, well started under saddle and big enough for me to ride.  It seemed like fate that, just as I am beginning to think about another riding animal, this jenny would show up in place where mammoth donkeys are exceedingly rare and at a price that I could just manage to afford. 

I have never ridden a donkey, but after getting to know Emma, I really like the idea.  I was very excited about this and for a brief time that I thought I would be bringing her home.  But (there is always a "but" isn't there), I have some concerns about her soundness.  There is something not quite right about her knees that I can see in her photos and she is severely cow-hocked.  I know I could probably arrange to have x-rays taken and I might have but....there were just too many red flags.

I managed to track down her original owner who told me that the current owner is unhappy with her because of problems with her legs and that is why she is for sale.  The current owner tells me that there is no problem, it is just that the joints of mammoth donkeys take longer to develop.  She used the phrases "her knees are still filling in", "they just move some because they aren't closed" and "they just have some fluid on them".  It may be true that mammoths take longer to develop but, at four months shy of her fifth birthday, I think they should be as "filled in" as they are going to get. I already have one young, crippled horse, I can't handle another just now either emotionally or financially.  Are there any Mammoth  Jackstock experts out there who care to weigh in here? 

I also started having doubts that a riding donkey would be the right mount for me.  Most of my riding buddies ride gaited horses who cover a lot of ground.  While none of them are the kind of riders who expect their horses to gait all the time or would leave me behind, I don't want to become an anchor to the whole group.  Sill, this donkey would have been for me, not them.  If it wasn't for the doubts about her knees.... Again, any donkey riders out there have an opinion?

I really liked the sound of this jenny and from her photos and videos I think she is a wonderfully sweet and beautiful animal.  I was halfway in love with her without ever meeting her in person.  There were just too many red flags and obstacles in the way and I decided to pass on her.  If it had only been one thing, I'd have gone to see her but, when I added up the bad vibes I was getting plus the distance, the cost, the worries....

Still, I can't get her out of my mind.  I think I did the right thing but, I think this one is also going to haunt me.  Did I pass up a golden opportunity or spare myself a lot of grief? 

Wordless Wednesday



Tanner's Wintertime Toy

Tanner loves ice.  When he was a puppy and started teething, ice cubes just about saved my sanity.  He would wake, crying in the middle of the night and nothing I did would make him happier until he could go out and eat snow.  This got old very quickly and in a fit of sleep deprived inspiration, I gave him some ice cubes.  After that, every time his teeth started bothering him, I would go down and get him a bowl of ice cubes.  He would happily crunch them up and when he was finished, we could both go back to sleep.  He outgrew the teething but not the love of ice cubes.  Now that the cold weather is here, Tanner is having fun with one of his favorite winter toys - frozen puddles.   

Sharp Dressed Donkey

I generally don't believe in blanketing horses.  Blankets are a hazard no matter how well constructed or how safe the environment  They are expensive, difficult to clean and are the cause of all sorts of skin irritation for the horse.   A healthy, well nourished equine is almost always better off relying on her own winter coat rather than our inferior replicas.  The best way to keep horses warm is to make sure that they have free choice access to grass hay and good shelter.  Digesting the roughage is what generates body heat (which is why older horses, whose aging teeth make eating enough hay difficult, do benefit from blanketing).  All that being said, there are times when some equines need a blanket.

This past weekend, temperatures really plummeted here.  The sky was blue but, it had that harsh,crystal clarity that is more apt to cut then it is to warm and there was a mean, biting wind.  At night, the temperature fell into the single digits.  And Emma was grumpy and plaintive.  My normally cheerful, happy donkey was in a mood.  She didn't want to be petted or scratched, didn't want to play games, and was even a bit irritable and uncooperative when I took her for a walk.  I was concerned that maybe she was in pain or her mysterious fever was coming back.  I examined every bit of her and took her temperature which was low.  Too low, at 96.8.  I finally stood back and just looked at her.  She was standing slightly hunched and had her tail tucked as far between her legs as it would go.  She was cold.

Fortunately, I was prepared.  Being the obsessive-compulsive researcher that I am, I had read every book and website I could find about donkeys after bringing Emma home.  Several of them had mentioned that donkeys do not regulate their body temperature as efficiently as other animals and care must be taken to make sure they don't get too cold.  In a burst of what I thought at the time was just paranoia, I bought Emma a blanket, just in case.  It has been sitting in the house, unopened and , I thought, unnecessary.

I think that the other reason Emma was so grumpy this weekend was simple sleep deprivation.  Don't ever let anyone ever tell you that horses don't suffer from lack of sleep, they do!  Emma normally takes several long naps throughout the day and night.  You can count on her being stretched out flat every morning between 10-11:30. Since it snowed last week, she hasn't been enjoying her normal napping.  Even with her blanket, she doesn't like laying in the snow.  Tessa is, of course, totally unfazed by the weather or the snow.  In fact, she enjoys it.

 I took pains yesterday to give Emma a nice cozy hay-bed in the barn

This morning, my sweet, happy donkey was back.  I guess we will just have to deal with blankets this year.  Hopefully, next winter, Emma will be grown up enough to stay warm on her own. 

It all does make me wonder how she managed to survive last winter, with inadequate shelter and barely enough hay.  I sure am glad all those donkeys have plenty of food and good barns this year.