A Donkey, Football and Sumo Wrestling

As I have mentioned in previous posts, I love my animals. I (we) have two dogs, two cats, a horse and now a donkey.

Hunnybun laughed at my expense when I was dragged around our yard by the Donkey. I wanted to include the aforementioned statement. Yes, I could have let go of the halter but I was really hoping he would settle down before my arm came off. Eventually I did let go and immediately glared at Hunnybun. Hunnybun said he would have come to help but his laughter was impeding any chivalrous acts.

Moving on…

I have been searching for a buddy for my horse. Prior to recent events Miles, my horse, has not been lonely as my neighbors fostered horses from time to time and they could visit across the fence. However, about two weeks ago they moved their horses leaving Miles by himself.

Hmmm, what to do, what to do??? I really did not want a second horse because I am the only one that rides. I have had two horses before but it is such a handful and stresses me out because I feel guilty if I do not take both of them out to ride. It is similar feeling resulting from taking one child to the part and leaving one at home; not a good situation…

So, I tried a goat, but goats are heck to keep in. Either they jump the fence or go under it. The one I had did both – I returned him to his previous home. 

I have thought about this situation many times before the foster horses were moved so the prospect of getting a donkey was not foreign. I conceded, Hunnybun and I discussed the donkey, and I made some calls. Sure enough, I made contact with a woman that had a six month old male donkey. She wanted to give him away. BONUS! I have learned there are some things one should not pay for, donkeys being one of them. While nothing in life is ‘free’ not having to pay a purchase price for the donkey was a bonus thus leaving me the extra funds to cover the vet bill.

The Donkey

Yesterday afternoon, I made the drive to Forestburg, TX to pick up my ass, err donkey. He is a cute little bugger and has a pleasant personality. The issue is he has not had any hands on work and is jumpy. We coaxed him into the loading chute, closed the gate, put the pony halter on him (which is a bit big), and gently shoved him into my trailer. Whew!

Here he is:

Jesse the Donkey

Once home, we let him out of the trailer into a smaller area of our back yard. After thirty minutes of cornering and my getting my right arm nearly jerked off, we succeeded in attaching the lead rope to the halter. (Note the lead rope in the above photo.)



He began to lead, somewhat, and would let us pet him as long as we held the rope and did not move suddenly. Doodlebug, our daughter, and he seemed to be bonding.



Doodlebug and Jesse

Then, like an idiot, I removed the lead rope and let him out in the large area with Miles. (By the way he and Miles get along nicely.) Consequently, getting closer to Jesse than an arm’s length proved to be an issue today so I decided we should move him in to the back yard in an effort to have him in a smaller space.

Doodlebug came out to assist and opened the gate. I jogged out to the middle of the pasture and divided Miles and Jesse. Miles was disinterested and continued to eat while I began rounding up Jesse. I was please to discover throughout this ordeal that I still have the ability to break into a sprint from a dead stop!

I zig left, Jesse zags right, I sprint around him and he cuts back to the open gate. As he approaches the gate I notice he sees Miles and begins to turn left towards his buddy. I kicked my run into high gear and cut him off. Landing in a wide horse stance (no pun intended) I slide to a stop, cut to the right and woolah, Jesse is in the back yard.

We made great progress with Jesse this evening. We were finally able to touch him while standing right next to him. Tomorrow, we will begin again. Oh, and no, I did not get the lead rope back on the halter.



Football & Sumo Wrestling

This evening, I was sitting on the loveseat reading my forensic psychology assignment, Doodlebug was on the large sofa and Hunnybun was dozing in the recliner. Doodlebug began talking to me (she loves to talk) and brings up the donkey round-up escapade. She said, “Mom you were really fast. You reminded me of a football player crossed with a sumo wrestler!” I am surprised at her description of my round up style and ask her if she cares to continue digging the hole. She replies, “No Mom! I am not saying you are fat like a sumo wrestler, you are NOT FAT, but you had an extreme look of determination on your face and you stayed down low with your arms out, that’s what I mean!” Uh huh, and then I began laughing - laughing so hard I had to blow my nose. Then, of course, I had to come and write about the incident in my blog.



I hope you enjoyed this story, I am sure there will be more to come...