The farrier came out Friday, skated across the ice, and took a look at everybody's feet. No one needed trimming. If my records are correct, the last she was here was late September. That's 5 months! Now Natural's hooves keep growing over the winter. A mystery indeed.
We've gone from a sheet of ice up the driveway and in front of the donkey gate to a few inches of snow. So tired of slogging through the mess. One minute the inside of the shed is part lake and the next it's frozen pockets of uneven dirt. So, so difficult to clean.
Our newest addition to the family, Gunner, is not appreciated by the donkeys. A 3-year old rescue dog (part Rottweiler, part Bermese Mt. dog) he's a little too rambunctious for their taste. However, they've put up with Dudley's shenanigans from the beginning. Although there was a bit of posturing between Luigi and Dudley at one time, it was never serious. Last week Gunner charged the donkeys and they took off down the driveway vocalizing like I've never heard before. I think it was a red flag distress call. I stood there trying to decide what action to take, when Gunner comes high-tailing back down the driveway with the donkeys in hot pursuit. Took a bit of clucking and soothing to get them calmed down. Later, I was able to get Gunner to gently make nose contact with Luigi through the gate. The relationship has smoothed out a bit, thank goodness.
Could have gone badly...our dog has gotten in to the pasture, but luckily the horse got between the dog and donkeys. They did chase him first though. I wish they'd get along but I understand that it is a natural instinct to chase dog like creatures.
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