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!!

9.19.09 Trim

Daisy was a bit of a butt head a couple times, but we took lots of breaks & got the job done. She's really come a long way already with her hooves. I think they're looking great!!

so here's some pics of her feet after her trim!

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.

How to trim a difficult donkey - Videos

I attended a hoof clinic this past weekend, these are some videos I captured of how to deal with a difficult donkey.

Hoof Trimming Clinic

Yesterday I got to attend a Donkey Hoof Trimming clinic. Its was a great experience, I got to see some difficult donkeys be handled well. A scotch hobble was used on the kickers.

These donkeys originally were great with their feet, but had a experience with a BAD farrier - from what it sounds like the farrier actually hit these donkeys or mistreated them in general. But it made them sour to having their feet to be handled - they went into was defensive mode when it was time to handle their feet. They're proof of rough handling/mistreatment can make an animal 'bad' or act worse - which usually ends up in more abuse if kept with the same trimmer. This is a man made problem. The animal acts up so the farrier gets angry ( which you DO NOT do with donkeys!!) and abuses the animal making things much worse. and it progresses. Many farriers will not deal with donkeys, mostly because they think they're like horses, which they're not. You can't force or scare a donkey into anything.

So I got to see how to help the animal overcome its fear while making sure the human is out of harms way.

I didn't get much pictures of this little gelding, but here he is after his session getting trimmed & standing quietly.






Here the guy isn't making her kick, he's asking her to pick up her foot using the rope as an extension of his hand. This is her kicking out in disagreement. he's not being forceful with her at all. The whole time he worked with her he was very low key, calm, patient & NEVER got upset, angry or agitated. Notice he's using his free hand to help keep the donkey from entering his space & getting close enough to land one of those kicks.





Here's what i call the *rodeo* ( this was a lucky pic btw) Here the Jennet is having a little melt down & trying her hardest to evade the trimmer or possibly kick him. This jennet is known to crowd you & squish you up against anything that she could.


after working the scotch hobble, the trimmer has gotten her to realize that it's ok to have her feet touched.

grooming, saddling, bitting up, walk 7.12.09

Daisy was so much better on Sunday about being groomed, she didn't paw, and wasn't evasive, like she usually is. I think we're making progress in that department. She's starting to realy shed out on her shoulders & rump. Still very fuzzy in the middle. It was nice that she was so good, it really let me work on getting her brushed out well.

She was excellent for saddling & bridling. In this session I bitted her up - I'm not sure if thats the correct term. But i adjusted the reins ( leather with a rubber stopper on the end - ran under the stirrups, and up over the seat of the saddle), so that in her normal relaxed standing position, there is no pressure on the bit. Pressure only engages when she drops her head. the idea is to let her figure out on her own what the pressure on the bit means & how to realease it. I let her walk around & figure it out for about ten minutes. I think she was getting the idea of it by the end, in the beginning there was alot of 'oooooh i wanna eat that, gah!! can't reach!!!' actions going on.

Next session i'll be working on the sides, one rein with pressure to teach her to flex & give to the pressure.

I took the reins off & we went on a walk. I think this may have been our best walk yet. She was so relaxed, and wasn't rushing ahead or veering off towards grass. It was a great walk - very relaxing. I think having her bridle on helped - she was thinking about the bit in her mouth more than other things.

People on my road - some of them - dont really understand that they should wait til I have her off the road before they go by. I even had one lady keep advancing towards me even though I had my hand up trying to signal her to wait. This time I was trying to get Daisy off to the side of the road - and the guy just couldn't wait, so he drove by. So daisy had a car come up from behind & drive around her, while saddled & bridled. She didn't do anything! i was pretty impressed, the last time a car came up from behind her she was like 'whoaa!!! whats that back there!!' and picked up her pace quite a bit. This time it least the guy was driving slow!

then back to the pasture, Daisy was unbridled and allowed to graze with her saddle on. Then it was time to unsaddle & clean her feet. She was really good. I could tell a couple times she got just a bit tense - the dogs were barking at something, so I'm sure she was wanting to see what was going on. But no kicks or nothing - got the feet cleaned & hoof maker applied. I know she needs another trim soon.

I get to attend a hoof clinic in two weeks where I'll get to see a couple different donks get trimmed - most likely with the abrasive method. It ought to be fun. Interested in meeting other donkeys to see how much their personalities differ. I have a feeling that I'm going to appreciate Daisy even more - I'm sure they'll have a 'difficult' to trim donk there. maybe. lol
I will def post pics of that, maybe even some video.

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'