Sunday, January 23, 2011

Those Silly Donks -- It's Not Myrtle Beach!

We're experiencing a deep cold snap here in SE Michigan and I've been worried about my 26-yr old horse, Natural, and to a lesser extent the donks.  Well, worry no more.  On my way back to the house from the post office today about noon I stopped to throw some extra hay for the donks.  I put it in the shed assuming they'd want to huddle inside while eating.  Ha!

Fran and Gabby went in, broke off a mouthful and went to stand outside in the snow to eat it.  Luigi didn't seem at all interested in this mid-day snack.  He was busy following me to the gate to see if I'd let him out to nibble on bushes.


These Mediterranean beasts don't know they're supposed to be miserable in this weather.

Saturday, January 1, 2011

A Bad Habit

I've developed a bad habit lately of allowing the three donks to leave the gated area and wander the driveway while I clean up their yard at mealtime.  They wander the snow-covered area for a few minutes, checking out the lower branches of the pine trees and making sure there are no tasty plants available through the snow.  Usually all it takes is a couple calls of "come on donkeys" after I've thrown out the hay and Francesca wanders back in  followed by her daughter Gabriella.  Luigi always is last, sometimes having a face off through the fence with the horses next door (what that's about I don't know).

Well, this morning was a little different.  With our 50 degree thaw, there was lots and lots of grass to root around in.  I called and called and no one paid the slightest attention.  I walked out, picked up the whip I had left by a nearby bench and gave Luigi a little smack on the butt and told him to scoot.  He whipped around the horse trailer with Fran by his side and headed for the open gate.  Gabby, startled by the commotion, looked up to see what was going on and decided she'd better follow them in.

An easy fix this morning but I think I've learned my lesson.