I Got Another Donkey!

Ha!  I bet that got your attention didn't it?  I really did get another donkey though, see...

I found him in my mailbox this afternoon.  One of my very excellent readers sent this little guy to me.  This blogging thing sure does have some advantages.  Mainly, the incredible people I have come to know as a result.  It is a tremendous gift.

I believe that this particular little brown donkey is made out of felted wool, although my knowledge of such things is near to non-existent.  Beautiful isn't he?  So much like another little brown donkey we all know and love so well.

And I don't even have to buy more hay for him.  Thank you Bow Street Flowers for this wonderful addition to my donkey family.

Wardrobe Malfunction

"Gosh Em, what's happened here?"

"Don't ask.  Just put that darned thing away and get me out of here!"

"Hey, wait up! Don't you want me to fix that?"

"Hmmph, I know you, you're gonna put this on the blog.  How embarrassing.  I'm out'a here!"

"Aw, c'mon Em, everybody has a rough morning now and then, we all understand.  Hold up and I'll make it better."

"It's a rare, beautiful day after all.  Time to let your real wardrobe shine."

A Foot Update

It feels like progress has slowed a bit with Ramsey's foot.  The hoof wall is still growing fast, but the sole has a long way to go yet.  I think there is still a lot of dead tissue that needs out grow out before we get healthier hoof.  The back of the hoof wall keeps curving in toward the frog more and more as well.  I don't know if that is caused by the internal damage to the foot or the constant bandaging.  Since it has not happened on the other side of the hoof, I suspect the former with the latter possibly being a contributing factor.  I will share these photos with the vet, see what he says.

Right after I took these photos, I massaged some of my ointment into the foot and all of that scaly stuff on the side finally came off.

To me, it looks like the coronet band has become oddly stretched and elongated.  I have not ever seen anything like this before.  I really think it is the result of 3 months of constant bandaging and I have been trying to think of different ways to wrap the foot that would allow more air circulation, but I haven't come up with anything yet.  It has to be foolproof so I haven't dared experiment much.

In spite of how odd everything looks, Ramsey seems very sound on the foot.  He moves easily and freely with no limp and no sign of pain so I am not terribly worried.  I have been trimming the foot just a little bit each week, hoping to maintain it in tiny steps rather than trim it all at once weeks from now.  I think we will see much healthier growth once he can go without a bandage.

Speaking of bandages, I had been trying to stretch out the bandage changes to every 3-4 days, but I think I am going to have to go back to doing it every other day.  The back of his heels get so dry that the bandage rubs and chafes, making it sore.  I am still using my beeswax salve on it, which has really helped, but it needs to be reapplied more often.  I don't want him to get sore and I certainly don't want it to get infected again.  His heels were looking really good, but we seem to be losing ground so, back to every other day.  Not only is this time consuming, but between bandage materials and medicine, it costs about $10 every time I change it.  Oh well.  I have been trying to make the bandage lighter, but....

When I did this bandage change, I noticed that Ramsey now has a tiny white spot.  I don't think it is genetic though, it certainly wasn't there before.  It looks to me like a tiny scar, which often grow back in white.  It makes me wonder if this could have been the original injury that caused all of this.  I always assumed that it was a stone bruise that started everything, but it is possible that a puncture wound in the leg could have been the route in for bacteria. 

Both of the donkeys love to scrounge and nibble in whatever brush they can find, Ramsey could easily have punctured his leg on a twig or thorn.  Given how tiny this spot is and how thick and dark Ramsey's fur is, I doubt I would ever have seen it.  The actual scar under that white fur is about the size of a sesame seed.  

Ah well, now Ramsey can boast of a light point after all.

Crazy Wind

This insane weather has everybody a little nuts.  We had arctic freeze last week then the temps shot up into the fifties long enough to have everything melt and get several inches of torrential rain.  Now we're headed, at warp speed, back into the deep freeze.  The horses and donkeys were just plain nutty this morning.  The horses didn't want to run around in the God-awful semi-frozen mud, but they couldn't contain themselves either.  They were bucking, kicking, farting, rearing, all within little ten-foot circles. 

I just barley managed to pry the donkeys out of the barn for a brief time, but the killer wind had them racing back in no time, also bucking, kicking, rearing and zooming .  I wish I had gotten the camera out faster, it's hard to describe what's its like to have two crazy donkeys zooming around the interior of my little barn like a pinball machine gone berserk.  This little video is after the worst of the chaos...

Sorry I had to cut it off, but I still need that glove!

One boy...

Thanks for all the comments and suggestions about Gabe.  Some of the suggestions, such as working them together, are great ideas and are things I have been wanting to do anyway.  I have hopes that I will be able to take both Emma and Ramsey out riding with us at some point and they all need to be able to work together to do that.

I may try to start taking Gabe and Tessa on some of our short hand-walking sessions.  For now, I think it is the best I can do, at least until Ramsey's foot no longer needs to be bandaged and he and Emma are no longer confined to the barn most of the time. 

Ramsey's care still takes up nearly all of my time and energy.  The little bit left over goes into keeping everybody fed, watered, and healthy.  There are just not enough hours....The horses have certainly been a bit neglected over the last few months as a result.   I devoutly hope that it won't go on like this for too much longer, but I can't back off of Ramsey's medical care now.  The vets at Cornell told me when I agreed to the surgery that his aftercare and recovery would be prolonged and extensive.  They were so very right.  

I think what Gabe needs more than anything is a steady job.  He is just a couple of months shy of his 6th birthday.  He's a young, energetic, healthy boy in his prime, suffering from the boredom of winter and lack of exercise.  If he had steady employment, the thrill of donkey chasing might not be so alluring.  Unfortunately, I am just spread too thin right now to give him the work he needs. 

Every time I look at Gabe I am reminded of an old farmers saying, do any of you remember this:

One boy is a whole boy

Two boys are half a boy 

and

Three boys are no boy at all. 

What to do?

I mentioned that I bought more firewood over the weekend, the pile seemed to be disappearing at an alarming rate so I decided to take advantage of the frozen solid ground and get some more.  The only way to get a truck near my woodshed is for the truck to drive across the pasture, which can only happen when the ground is dry or frozen.  In order for the truck to get into the pasture, it has to get through the fence.  I usually just push the wire down to the ground and drive over it.  Simple, easy.

The firewood guy brought two loads and the second load arrived early Sunday morning while I was still asleep.  No problem, the guy just pushed the fence down, did his thing and left.  Later, when I went out, I checked to make sure the fence was up, it looked OK.  However, I failed to notice that a little farther down the fence-line, the wire had been cut.  I have no idea why.  Perhaps firewood guy was afraid he would get zapped.

I did not notice that the fence was down, but several hours later, when I had gone into the house for a breif break, the donkeys did.  Normally, it would be no problem, they were just out in the pasture after all.  Out in the pasture with Gabe though, that was the problem.  I glanced out the window to see Gabe chasing Ramsey, Emma franctically and futilely trying to intervene and Tessa just plain confussed. 

I ran out to rescue Ramsey and, eventually, I did just that.  He is unhurt and is OK.  However, I didn't make it there before Gabe had knocked Ramsey right off his feet and was pawing at him.  It was Tessa who saved the day by getting between them long enough for Ramsey to get up.  When Gabe tried to chase him again, Ramsey ran through the fence to escape.  (Here is one of the benefits of poly fencing, the fence got knocked down, but Ramsey was unscathed by running through it.) 

I rescued Ramsey and Emma, captured Gabe, fixed the fence, the chaos stopped and everyone is OK.  But what the hell do I do about this?  This is the second time something like this has happened and I think it is a miracle that Ramsey is unhurt.  I am very careful to keep Gabe separated from the donkeys, but obviously, not careful enough.  The reality is that, no matter how careful I am, stuff happens.  Fences break, gates get left open, animals panic.  Stuff happens.

I have to say that Gabe did not do any of this out of meanness or with the intent to harm.  He sees donkey chasing as a fun and wonderful game.  He grew up with several other rough and rowdy geldings who used to play hard and often.  He signals Ramsey out because he is the only other boy to play with.  Yes, some of it is a dominance issue, Gabe could be a bully if allowed.  Mostly it is fun, fun, fun.

Most horses and donkeys do play well together, Emma and Tessa are a perfect example of this.  Gabe just can't understand that body-slamming someone who weighs 1000 pounds less than he does is not acceptable.  I have no idea how to change this behavior, especially as it is normal horse behavior for a young gelding.     

Gabe is a good horse.  He is a solid and reliable trail horse who will go anywhere and through anything.  He is 100% traffic safe, even around motorcycles and atvs.  He is steady in parades, he'll happily jump on any trailer you point him at.  He is athletic, sound and has a charming and sweet personality.  He loves everybody.  He is that rare horse that everyone seems to be looking for and can't find.....and if he hurts one of my donkeys, I will never forgive him or myself. 

I like to think that they will both grow out of this.  That Ramsey will get bigger and tougher.  That Gabe will mature and be gentler, but I don't see it happening.  Yes, Ramsey will grow, a lot, but not enough to hold his own with Gabe, Emma certainly can't.  Gabe will mature, but I don't see him losing the desire to dominate and roughhouse.  It is not his nature.

What to do?

   

Sunday Stills - The Letter F

The letter F was an apt choice, it sure seems to sum up the whole week. 
Frozen, Frigid, Freezing, Frustrating, Fury, Firewood, Fur, Frisbee and a few other F words that aren't Fit to print.

I had more Firewood delivered over the weekend, much to the donkey's delight.  They soo love firewood.