This weekend's trimming

So the girls got their pedicure this weekend. Daisy was excellent as usual, but this time we didn't separate the girls, or tie them LOL. Just started trimming away, that way Martha could be close to the sight & sound of the grinder. Daisy was done in a flash, so why my trimmer distracted her, her husband & I started on Martha.

We don't tie Martha when we work with her, she seems more relaxed knowing she can move around if she gets scared.  She's so good with her front feet now. I don't even have to remind her anymore, she's getting awesome manners about it.

but the REALLY awesome part is we used the grinder on her for the first time!! before we just rasped, I thought he was going to bring out the nippers, but she handled the noise of the grinder really well when it was Daisy's turn. I think it also helps that she gets to watch Daisy, and Daisy isn't upset or scared with this loud thing being put on her hooves. so she got her first REAL pedicure!!  Its so exciting!

Last month, we managed to pick up both back feet with the aid of a soft cotton rope. She did really well, kicked out a bit, but they were really piddly and with not much intention. So we decided to go and see if she'd let us pick them up by hand. K got back there and was giving her some good scratchings, she seemed to really enjoy it, all those places a  donk can't quite reach.

Then!! YES a back foot in a  human hand, with no resistance!! Of course the whole time I was clicking the crap outta her, and she got a big cookie after each foot. So as far as she's concerned, let the human do what they want, cookies are tasty.

So if that wasn't enough! K decided to go back ( by this point he had picked up both back feet by hand!!) and rasp a little, and she was GREAT!! Each back foot got rasped on & handled, I was sooooo proud of her!!

Later on, I had to go pick up more puppy food. While we were there my BF picked up a toy for the girls that I've been eyeballing for months - it's one of those stall snack balls, with the apple treat holder and the ball hanging off the bottom.  I was very excited & immediately put it up when we got home. Daisy went to town on that thing! OMG, poor Martha couldn't even get close to it!

We had some errands to run, so we went out, we got back, and I was shocked to see that Daisy ate the WHOLE treat!! GAH!! brat! I bet Martha didn't get one lick!! Needless to say I haven't put the second treat in it yet. Hmmm. trying to figure out a way to still put it out there, but make it so Daisy can't eat the whole thing in one sitting. I don't think they test alot of 'equine' toys on donkeys!! LOL donkeys make it happen!! Determined little fuzzbutts!!

So Here's miss D getting her pedicure - untied, just standing there cuz she loves K, and she knows he has cookies.

I gotta get some of Martha uploaded.....

Miss D's 'angry face' lol She tries so hard and all it does is make me laugh!!

doneky butter. LOL

Today I'm so happy with Daisy!! she let me clean all her feet with no trouble!! and clean them good too!!! Tied her to the pine tree in the middle of the pasture since it was gorgeous weather.

Yesterday we had a 'touchy' foot, the right hind, she kicked out after fighting a bit. But I made sure I picked it back up again by the time I was done & she was relaxed, END ON A GOOD NOTE. always. this time we did 3 feet un-haltered, then the last one haltered & tied.

Day before that I got all four cleaned out pretty good ( not as good as today) WITHOUT being haltered or tied.

With the rainy/muddy season here she's getting cleaned everyday!

She's getting trimmed this Saturday, can't wait to get pics & see what the trimmer says. She also finally is ok with her stall, so that way I know shes outta the mud & wetness when she's eating.

ground tying! RAD

yesterday at lunch I went out to give Daisy's feet a quick hoof cleaning & brush down. I didn't really feel like tying her up, so I just 'ground tied' her - I put the halter on, but didn't actually tie the lead rope to anything, I just let it hang to the ground. I cleaned all four feet with NO problem!! she didn't budge an inch!! oh it was amazing! :)

Also noticed that the turn out is helping - she is starting to keep her hoof wall on the front feet, she's not pawing nearly as much as she used to. good news! woo hoo!!

she was good for a quick brush down, but I warn ya! for some reason right now brushing a fuzzy donk creates static electricity!! I shocked her on the nose when I went to kiss her! I felt so bad!!

Progress

I let Daisy out to graze for breakfast, that way when I put her up I could clean her feet without her being anxious about food.

She did pretty good this morning, there was a small rodeo on the front left foot. I've started using an old denture brush ( great for cleaning just about anything!) to help clean her hooves, pick a little, the brush them out. i think I need to invest in one of those hoof picks with the brush built in! Instead of fumbling with multiple tools.

Overall she was good, she got some breaks because the chickens kept coming over thinking I was dishing out something tasty.

she did seem a bit iffy when I started to really get in there, but then I was using the brush & my fingernails. Maybe she just hates the hoof pick LOL

I think it's getting better the more I do it, no more 'non-cleaning' vacations again! No kicking out this morning either, which made me very happy.

Abrasive donkey hoof trimming

Here's the abrasive method of trimming donkeys. I do not recommend going out & doing this yourself with out training with a qualified farrier familiar with abrasive trimming.

This is the way that Daisy gets trimmed.

Hoof Trimming, Session 1

Daisy got trimmed this last Saturday. Overall she did a fantastic job. She only had a little tiff with the trimmer one time, and he was just cleaning her foot, not trimming yet!! LOL.

They did abrasive trimming on her, which is basically like an angle grinder. She was so good about all the noise, she didn't move at all.

her back feet are weird, they showed pink spots very quickly, he had hardly started on them. So we decided to stop & get some more advice on it & just wait for the next trim. She also has some flaring on the back feet, but really only on the inside, which is just weird. We're waiting to find out if maybe she foundered at one time, or is it just because she hadn't been trimmed since last fall. Also you have to add in that in her previous living situation she couldn't move much. Not good for foot health.

I'm hoping its the latter. I'm starting to take her on walks to work down her fat pads, my trimmer said that she does have significant fat pads & it might take 9 months or so to get them worked off. So walks it is, maybe some driving, or obstacle courses around the pasture.

She will definitely need multiple trimmings before her feet are right. She also moves well & doesn't indicate that she's in pain at all, and she doesn't lay down frequently.
They also said her hooves were fairly dry, so i need moisturize them a bit. I hosed her feet down that day, then went and picked up some 'hoofmaker' creme.

Here are some 'after pics'