donkey odie
donkey odie is a trash donkey who came to the farm on august 1st, 2020. the donkey population in cow country is plentiful and little respected. the only salute of respect they have here is their reputation for guarding cattle herds. they are fierce enough to take on a mountain lion or feral dog pack. as herd guardians, i suspect they are smart enough to know of our plans to use their charges to supply the global demand for hamburgers. whatever their motive for not liking humans, the local assumption is that they are untrainable and unloveable. a herd only needs one guardian. there is currently an over-population of donkeys in this area. free donkeys are easy to come by. odie was approximately two years old when i agreed to take him on in pursuit of my fantasy of a trained donkey to carry me around the farm. odie is, absolutely, my first rodeo and? ? ? somewhere around a year ago, i removed his halter and turned him out to hang with the cattle in the pastures. we have maintained safe social distances ever since. we greet one another when our paths cross, but neither of us goes out of our way to cross those paths.
this year's drought has been intense enough to burn our pastures to a crisp. the man who owns the cattle has been bringing them food for a while now. last week he moved the entire herd to a feedlot where it would be easier to feed and water them. the process of moving a cattle herd is a nervousy affair for all. the herd was bellowing anxiously when i fished odie from the herd and led him to our house enclosure. odie seemed deeply grateful for the rescue. the day after the herd was gone, odie walked with me as i opened the gates from our yard to the pasture. methinks i saw a paradigm shift in odie as he followed me through the three gates i opened and my casual inventory of the damages caused by moving the herd.
since then, odie has been like a new animal in his interactions with the family. 5 days ago, he let the family dog onto his back, followed by big bro and both sisters. big bro is now riding solo with only a training belt to hold on to. he needs a steering wheel and brakes, but for now, me at the halter is a mighty fine start.
hee-haw. . . will donkey odie be tilting windmills soon?
we see what grows.
Replies
I think they're fabulous animals.... I don't know much at all about farm animals I'm afraid... I used to watch Animal Cops and the Ferrier that they used loved donkeys and used to talk about how smart they were... He often adopted them...
I'm so glad that Odie has become a special part of your family.... Big hug Arf.... xo
while i was still admiring them from a safe social distance, my soft spot for donkeys was that i am always rooting for the underdog. or would that be underequine in this case? maybe not, since donkeys are often called, "the dogs of the equine world."
anyhoo, they sure look different, up close and personal. i'm still not confident of his membership in the family. i have zero doubt that if a literal young heifer were to appear in the pasture, the faithless jackass would be off in a flash. he likes cattle well enough that he'd probably dump us just as fast for an old bull.
Oh wow that’s really cool. Lol I bet the kids loved it
Big hug <3
big bro and little sis loved it mightily.
if people who ride horses are "cabelleros," we might could call them, "donkeros."
big sis is more than a bit of a sissy. she was only two when she was seized into protective custody and developed an attachment disorder as a result of the trauma. getting her to let go and take a risk is quite a challenge she got scared and got off before the ride got very far. she and i talk allot about "growing those brave muscles."
that is so cool.I agree donkey's rock! I heard mules are different
i know even less about mules than i know about donkeys. i'm pretty sure mules will never suffer the over-population crisis donkeys are currently suffering because most of them are sterile and cannot reproduce. so i hear. check fact before publication.
It’s true they are sterile! I’ve heard that before.
i bought a second donkey. yes, bought. a donkey you can get for free in these parts. odie was a freebie from a young goat farmer who needed more room for his goats. two years later i have still not made any sustainable progress in training odie. at 4 years old, i feel like i am running out of time.
i have been looking for a trained donkey since long before i took on odie. that would have been my first choice, if such were available at a location i can actually reach. i was shocked to see gary advertised on a horse site and he was only about an hour drive from my farm. the price was steeper than i would have hoped for, but training is valuable and hard to come by in donkeys. donkey trainers are even harder to come by than trained donkeys.
i snatched gary up at a price not too much lower than the owner was asking. i bargained in delivery in that price.
the waiting is the hardest part.
So exciting! Will have to share how Odie adjusts to Gary
so far so good. gary is one smart little donkey. odie has been showing territorial aggression and gary just plants himself in his path, singing pat benetar. hit me with your best shot. . .
the woman who delivered gary shares the same name as the son who died. she was also heavily involved in gary's and has volunteered to continue the training. we have stuttered our way to an agreement to see what we can work out.