Tag Archives: donkey

Lucky’s Teeth

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Luck had his first ever dental floating today! It was quite the ordeal for the poor little man but, according to the vet, Luck was in desperate need of some work due to the sharp points of some of his teeth.

Thankfully he did great and was pretty laid back despite the contraption he had to wear and the big file in his mouth. But, to be on the safe side the vet gave him a little sedative.

The vet explained that an animal who receives a sedative should have all their hay and feed removed because the drugs usually make them hungry, but due to their drowsiness they are likely to choke!

Luck drugged up

 

Luck also got his sheath cleaned for the first time. Apparently, stallions or Jacks normally keep themselves very clean and do not require much sheath maintainace.

Now Luck is up to date on all of his vaccinations, hoof trimming, and dental care!

Lucky & The Goats

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This week Luck is staying with the goats due to there being a house guest staying at the barn and his early morning brayfests.

Even though he used to live with the goats at his previous home, Luck is less than enthuised to be with little guys this time around. He is so angry with me that he won’t even greet me when I come to see him or groom him.

Thankfully he only has until Tuesday until he can come back into the barn. This weekend I’ll be preparing a new stall for him so that he will be next to Chance. I’m hoping being closer they will get used to each other faster. And now that Lucky isn’t new to the farm and Chance doesn’t want to trample him any longer, I figured now would be the time.

It Just Keeps Getting Better & Better

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Two days ago Chance’s vet came out to do a follow up and to give him and Luck their Spring shots.

Chance got some chiropractic adjustments and acupuncture as well. The vet stated that Chance was showing improvements in his Cervical (neck) flexibility and still had some tightness on his hind-end. She did one new stretch with him which entailed her lifting his front leg while her assistant had him bend his neck to the opposite side. He was able to do it on both sides while remaining balanced!!!! Where as before he could barely do cervical stretch with all four legs on the ground!

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The vet said that Chance has gained weight and could use another 50-75lbs. She asked if he is finishing his dinner (4q twice a day) to which I answered yes. She suggested upping his feed to another quart twice a day totaling 5 quarts twice a day.

Chance’s feed schedule now includes the following:

AM: 5 q of Safe Choice Senior Feed by Nutrina, Transfer Factor (immune system booster), MicroLactin (for pain and inflammation). Hay Alfalfa mix, and 2q of Hay Stretcher

PM: 5 q of SCSF, SmartPak (Senior Flex supplement, immune system enhancer),  Hay/alfalfa mix, and 2 q of Hay Stretcher.

Lucky got his first round of shots today and he was so well behaved! He stood there calmly and put his head under my arm while he got his shots.

The vet also took a look at Luck’s teeth.

There are four ways to age an equine by his teeth:

  • Occurrence of permanent teeth
  • Disappearance of cups
  • Angle of incidence
  • Shape of the surface of the teeth

Well, Luck still has two baby teeth which do not seem to have adult teeth behind them that would ordinarily push out the baby teeth. So there goes option 1. 

His teeth no longer have cups on them and are completely smooth which indicates he is around age 10/11. 

I, along with Luck’s most recent owner, thought he was about 5 years old. However, his teeth seem to tell a different story. I’m wondering if the fact that Luck still has two of his baby teeth could be the reason for the cups prematurely disappearing? Or if he really is 10/11 years old….guess it’s time for a dental appointment. 

“I think I’ll go for a walk outside now- the summer sun is calling my name…”

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Sunshine, melting ice and snow, AND 50 degree weather at last! Chance was able to finally enjoy an entire day outside walking around without slipping and sliding ( and without me holding my breath for fear he would fall.)

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Usually, when I arrive at the barn, I will go and see Chance before Lucky to keep him from getting upset.  But today when I got there I didn’t see Chance right away so I decided to bring Lucky in from the paddock.  The next thing I know Chance is standing at the top of the hill staring at me.  I tried to play it cool 🙂 by talking to Chance and continuing to walk Lucky up towards the barn.  That did not work.  Chance freaked out!  He began huffing, Lucky bolted, and Chance refused to walk forward because that would mean Lucky would be out of his range of vision (apparently he thinks this donkey who is maybe up to Chance’s knees in height will attack him).

I finally got Chance to the barn when ice fell off the roof right next to him.  He jolted forward into his stall and all I heard was a bang- Chance hit some part of his body against the stall entrance. I didn’t see any evidence of an injury so I let him calm down for a bit before I began to groom him.  Well, that did not happen….he was pacing and huffing…so I decided to give him some Quietex to help him to calm down and prevent him from hurting himself.  20 minutes later Chance was much calmer.  Although, if you look at the photo, he looks a little drugged.:)

Chance has put on a bit of weight and even though he still needs to gain more, I think he is looking much better.  I began 1 cup of Rice Bran on his food once a day for a week and will up it to 2 cups after.  I am hoping that plus the alfalfa and hay mix, Chance will get some meat on his bones in no time!

The next task, aside from putting on weight and engaging in rehabilitation exercises, is to enhance Chance’s immune system.  Due to his age, medical history, the rehabilitation to help rebuild his neck and hind muscles, and the medications that he has been receiving for EPM, I was advised to add a probiotic to his diet.  The stomach accounts for 60% of a horse’s immune system.  Basically, if the gut is off the chances of a horse contracting a virus, disease, or even injuring himself are much higher.  Not only does the immune system help to fight off illnesses, cancers, etc, it also helps with weight, stress responses, and the effectiveness of treatments.

So, I began to do some research and found some really incredible information which I will talk about in the next post!

A Lucky Chance

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Lucky just arriving at his new forever home

 While Chance is recuperating, and due to being at a new home where most of the horses go out all day and night, I thought that he could use a friend.  Chance has always loved miniature horses; he is sweet and gentle with them.  Which is pretty funny considering he is 17.1 hands.:)  However, the farm already had a miniature horse, who was kind of the “ruler” of the barn, so getting another one would probably not work.  I did some research and read some information on donkeys.  Every article I read said that they were great companions for horses.  I looked to see the care they required and finally found one who was available to a good home- he was a miniature donkey!

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The day we brought him home he was understandably nervous and did not engage much with anyone.  But when I walked him by Chance’s stall, Chance began to freak out!  He was pacing and snorting.  I quickly took the new donkey (renamed Lucky) to his stall.  I went to calm Chance down and noticed he was dripping with sweat.  I felt horrible!  It was freezing out, I quickly changed his blankets and put the wet one in the dryer to dry and warm it for him. I walked him for a good 30 minutes to cool and calm him down.  Once inside I put his warm blanket on and put him back in his stall.  So far- NOT good.

Sleepy Lucky

Sleepy Lucky

Over the following weeks, Lucky and Chance were not keen on one another.   I tried walking Lucky while Chance was outside, putting them next to each other outside…nothing seemed to make Chance want to befriend this sweet little guy.

Luck has settled in and allows me to groom him (which he did not like before). He brays every morning at 6:30 am when he is ready for breakfast, and is waiting at the paddock gate every night at 5:30 pm when he is ready to come in and eat.  He does not even need to be lead to and from the paddock to the stall anymore.

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Thankfully, Lucky has befriended a goat that was being bullied by the other goats and is currently his stall mate.  I am confident that Lucky and Chance will become friends once Chance is feeling better and the weather warms up.I hope!

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Lucky with his very first blanket and his new friend, the goat!