Saturday, November 17, 2012

Making Up for Lost Time

You can't tell through all the fuzz, but Ramsey has lost weight in the last couple of weeks.  No surprise considering.  Being a little lean is a good thing for his foot and leg so I am certainly not trying to fatten him up.  For a while though, Ramsey wasn't much interested in food and when a donkey doesn't care about food, you know things are bad.  A good appetite is a good thing.  Today, I tried to have a chat with Ramsey...

"Hey Ramsey, how ya feeling today?"

"UM NOM NOM YUM, good YUM NOM"

"Hmm, do you have anything to say to all the nice people out in blog land?"

"OH SURE, NOM NOM NOM YUM, hi people, NOM NOM."

"I guess maybe we'll just talk about all your hospital adventures later huh?"

"chomp UH HUH, SURE WHATEVER chomp chomp"

"chomp, chomp, GRASS IS SOOO GOOD.  LOVE GRASS.  chomp chomp"

"chomp, chomp, chomp, chomp"
"Double Chomp!"

"AHaaaaa,YUM  YUM YUM. MANNA FROM HEAVEN.  slurp slurp SLURP!"

"Ah well, we'll talk later.  Lets just show the nice folks this picture instead...."

Look close, this is a very, very good picture....

of a lovely donkey baby standing square, solid and straight on all four feet.
 
 THAT is something to be thankful for.



18 comments:

  1. Aah sweet sweet Ramsey, I am so glad to see you home and standing on all four feet!! I hope to see you soon little guy! Diana RR

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  2. I'm so glad you are feeling better Ramsey :-). And your momma looks pretty happy too. You keep on eating and getting big and strong!

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  3. All four feet, that IS a good picture!

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  4. What a pretty day at your farm! Question: can Ramsey wear hoof boots after he heals up more? So he can go out when the weather isn't nice? Would hoof boots prevent abscesses? What are they normally used for??

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    1. I am working on a protective boot for Ramsey. Right now, when he goes out I put an IV bag over his foot and reinforce it with duct tape. Hoof boots are generally used for riding or working. They cannot be left on all the time and I have never yet found any that will stay on in the pasture and I have tried a lot of them. Ramsey can only wear the boot for a short time since anything waterproof enough does not breath, which is bad. Good foot care and husbandry is the only thing you can do to help prevent abscesses. Clearly, it doesn't always work. There is no way to absolutely prevent them. Most of the time they are a minor problem that heals up with no trouble. Less than 1% of abscesses become septic. We just happen to be that "lucky" 1%. The vet told me that they had three other cases of pedal osteitis come in during the time Ramsey was at Cornell. They were all well cared for horses with healthy feet.

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    2. I wondered about the breath ability of them. The learning process never ends, huh? When I have donkeys in my life, I'm going to be rich with information because of your blog. Although a valuable lesson is to expect the unexpected!

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  5. Wow! What a fantastic picture of a healing baby donkey! All 4 feet on the ground, sunshine and, best of all, HOME!!! How is Tessa?

    Nancy in Iowa

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  6. Ahhh wonderful, just wonderful! :)

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  7. Great pictures of snacking with an equine theme :D
    I'm glad your little guy is on the mend. I had a drawn-out (no pun intended) abscess saga over the summer with one of my horses, it went on for three months before he eventually came sound.

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  8. Wow, what great progress! A testament to diligent, timely care and the little guy's will to live because his life there is SO good! Keep those happy pics coming!

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  9. A good sign, Ramsey snacking! Glad he is recovering so well.

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  10. What wonderful photos of your boy -- must make your heart so happy to see him doing so well. Keep up the good work. Well wishes to all!

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  11. Pretty much positive and snacking too :)

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  12. Love that little boy! Such wonderful photos.

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