Tag Archives: donkey
Hunting Season?
Resources to keep you and your horse safe during hunting season
Safety for Horses During Hunting Season | TheHorse.com
Be Safe if You Ride During Hunting Season | Equinews
So Fresh & So Clean Clean
Step 1: Completely empty all shavings from the stall and all buckets, hay, feed, etc.
Step 2: Mix a 1/2 a cup of outdoor bleach with warm water
Step 4: Use a wide broom to scrub the liquid evenly
Step 5: Place fan in stall to dry the mats
Step 6: Once completely dry, add new shavings
Now you have a clean and sanitized stall!
Pump, Pump, Pump It Up!
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The vet came out to give Chance and Lucky their fall shots and do some follow up acupuncture on Chance. The vet said that Chance has increased flexibility especially in his cervical spine and has gained weight and muscle mass!!!!!!
His feeding regiment is as follows:
AM:
- 6 quarts of Nutrina Safe Choice Senior Feed
- 3 quarts hay stretcher
- Alfalfa hay mix (as much as he wants through out the day)
PM:
- 6 quarts of Nutrina Safe Choice Senior Feed
- 3 quarts hay stretcher
- Alfalfa hay mix (as much as he wants through out the day)
- 1 Scoops of DuraLactin (Natural anti-inflammatory and pain supplement)
- 1 SmartPak (Senior Flex, Immune Boost)
He is out all day when it is cool and all night when it is hot during the day. So he has tons of green grass to eat. He walks constantly- up and down the hills- and runs around with Lucky. We also walk ground poles and do stretches and massage every time I come out to the barn.
We still need to continue upping his weight and muscle mass preferably before winter. Fingers crossed.
Green Acres
Today was an absolutely beautiful day. There was a slight breeze and barely any humidity. Needless to say, we took full advantage!
Keep Your Friends Close & Your Enemies Closer…?
Well, after months and months of trying to make Luck and Chance BFFs, they are now inseparable!
The other night Chance and Luck were roaming around the outside of the farm when suddenly I hear Chance running, full spreed, around the barn screaming. I run outside and Chance is visibly upset, searching around frantically for Luck. Suddenly, Luck comes trotting down the hill to Chance. He settles down and I put them into their neighboring stalls for the night. Chance continues to pace in his stall, looking down through the bars at Luck. I decide, after about ten minutes of him circling in his stall, to put Luck into the stall with him. As soon as Luck walked into Chance’s stall, he immediately relaxed and the two of them just stood together eating hay.
Looking outside together…or Chance looking outside and Luck trying to
Kisses!
Oh, Hell NO!
I was so excited to get a “baby pool” for Chance and Luck Luck to play in. I filled it up and went to get Chance and Luck to show them the pool….
Well, it was not a hit…at all!
Well, at least someone enjoyed it!
First Time In Over A Decade….
I was able to throw on a saddle and get on Chance! He is finally strong enough for me to “ride”….and by “ride” I am referring to walking around in a ring. We walked in circles and figure eights and over some ground poles for about 15 minutes. It was absolute bliss!
Sadie followed us around the ring the entire time…
and Lucky stood by and watched!
Shutterfly.
Where is Lucky?
My favorite marking on Chance
Lucky got a bubble bath
Chance is gaining muscle on his hind end!
The Here and Now
“Enjoy The Little Things In Life-
For One Day You Will See They Were In Fact The Big Things.”
This weekend I had the opportunity to admire the night sky full of stars while being able to spend time with my two favorite guys. I did not have anywhere else to be, or anything else to do…I could fully enjoy the “here and now” as Yalom so eloquently coined.
I was able to experience the warm breeze and truly appreciate it. To watch my two guys slowly grazing and hear them taking deep and relaxed breathes, with the moonlight reflecting against their backs. I could smell the scent of hay and fresh grass. I felt my shoulders drop from their semi-permanent place next to my ears and my mind quieted. I was able to sit back in the grass, look at the millions of stars, and 100% appreciate my surroundings- how lucky I am to not only have a place like this to visit, but also have the two beautiful souls (Luck and Chance) in my life.
Below is the sunrise the next morning….
The guys waiting to come in for their breakfast
Summer Breeze
Apparently, Chance & Lucky decided to take full advantage of the beautiful weather after almost a week’s worth of rain, and go gallivanting around the farm.
They began their jaunt by galloping up the driveway towards the house, stopping to graze for a second, continuing to walk in front of a workman’s truck (who was trying to leave the house), and finally running full force back down towards the barn.
However, as you can see, Chance was not as prepared for the difficulty that comes with galloping downhill after 7 days of rain….but he held his own and continued to run despite the potential set back.
Play With Me
Lucky Lucky?
Well, I hate to say it but Lucky had to get castrated….after trying to keep him from relentlessly mounting the miniature pony, there was no other choice.
He he was a trooper through the entire ordeal. He was given the standard doses of antastesia medication and was walked outside to a soft and grassy area to lay down. He wobbled a bit and was guided down gently to avoid additional stress or injury.
Once he was laying down his face was covered and one leg was tied with a rope and someone held the rope to ensure the vet was not kicked. The castration procedure began and lasted about 20-30 minutes from start to clean up.
Once the procedure was completed the vet continued to try to keep Luck laying down and calm to aid in minimizing the bleeding. However, Lucky was ready to get up even before he was completely awake. He was hand walked until stable enough to walk around alone. The vet explained that it was better for him to walk around instead of standing in a stall.
I brought him in once to clean him up a bit more and add SWAT around the wound to keep the flies off. This was only accomplished by me leading him in while begging for him to “just come inside for a minute” and promising he “could go right back outside.” While I was pathetically negotiating with Lucky, Chance came up behind him and kept nudging him lightly in his hind end! It was the cutest thing I have ever seen! After I got him inside and cleaned him up and applied more ointment I let him back out.
However, later around dinner time, when I tried to get Lucky to come inside again to eat he decided to get sneaky. He decided to go into stealth mode and “hide” from me so that I wouldn’t try and bring him in. (Pictured below). He actually went into a random paddock that he isn’t familiar with and stood there quietly and barely moving. Just watching me out of the corner of his eye while I called for him.
Luck stayed out until about 10pm and when he came inside for the night SWAT was reapplied and a dose of Bute was given. He refused to eat his dinner but gladly inhaled carrots and drank some water.
This morning his feed was all gone and there was no apparent swelling or increased discharge thankfully. According to the vet it takes about a month for the testosterone to be depleted after castration. I’ll be interested to see the changes, if any, that occur as a result.
Luck following Chance in their new matching halters
Just Keep Getting Closer Everyday…
Luck and Chance are finally happy neighbors! The first time they met, Lucky had to be moved to the other side of the barn because Chance was so upset by Lucky’s presence. After months of slowly getting them aquainted, the two are now able to not only be neighbors but they’re also able to go outside together without too much drama. 
Why Can’t We Be Friends?!
A handful of months ago I decided to get my horse, Chance, a companion. He has always loved miniature horses but we already had one at the farm (with a very strong personality) so I decided on a miniature donkey. That is when I found Lucky.
Well, Chance did NOT like Lucky from the moment he saw me leading Luck off the trailer. Chance paced and neighed incessantly until he actually broke into a sweat!
I have tried everything- putting them in neighboring stalls, putting them in neighboring paddocks, walking one outside while the other one is grazing, putting something of Lucky’s near Chance’s stall so he could get familiar with the smell, etc.
Today Lucky decided to escape out of his stall and run out to where Chance was. At first Chance just stared, then he went after Luck but he stopped once Luck moved a few feet away. Slowly, Luck inched his way closer and closer until he was a handful of feet away from where Chance was grazing. Chance didn’t seem to even care.
Fingers crossed this is the beginning of a forced, we-will-put-up-with-each-other friendship.
The Chances We Take 