New Years day began with heavy rain and wind. A tree came down in the wood paddock and hit the barn roof, but luckily just the gutter was damaged. Then the skies cleared, a rainbow appeared and the donkeys left the shelter of the barn and headed out to investigate what the storm might have delivered.
Fresh fir branches! Donkeys adore poking around to see what new things have blown into their paddocks - maple leaves and branches are favorites!
Ringo was acting a bit odd by mid-afternoon ... too many fir branches? I noticed him after delivering an
extra handful of hay (3 donkeys, 4 piles) - he took a mouthful, decided not to eat the rest, then rolled! Yikes! The dreaded "c" word (colic, that is?)
So I haltered him up for a stroll around the paddock and also to see whether or not he would respond to treats during a short clicker training session. He took the treats all right, but was he ever in a strange mood - tossing his head and pawing. This is familiar to me - I try hard to "understand" what he is trying to tell me.
We roamed around for a bit and I turned him loose. Later on, I was making soup when I hear that familiar loud bray. If it has a Doppler effect attached, I know he is galloping and braying as he goes. Sure enough, he was racing around, all by himself - the jennys weren't interested in joining him. Seeing him at full tilt restored my confidence that he is indeed feeling fine.
My new year's resolution: patience and perseverance and consistent training sessions!
I followed your link from the clicker training group. Welcome to blogdom. I look forward to reading about your training progress with your herd.
ReplyDeleteMy blog started out as a way to keep track of my trip down the rabbit hole of burrodom - there's no crawling back out!
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