Feeding Deenah now ...

Deenah is what is called a "hard keeper" meaning she has trouble keeping weight on, especially through winter.  The minis on the other hand are "easy keepers" - they simply look at food and get fat!  I've always thought those terms should be reversed, but both scenarios can be hard to manage.

Right now, Deenah is way too thin and I'm so worried about her.  It could be her aging process, possibly a disease or maybe she has trouble digesting her feed.  So I've added a few things to help her and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that she might plump up a bit.

I have been working with Marijke van de Water at Riva's Remedies in Armstrong BC.  She is a holistic equine nutritionist.  She has suggested some herbs to aid digestion and her company makes these herb combos.
Deenah is getting 1 Tblsp. of their 5 Herb Digest and 1 tsp. of Happy Horse Senior.
She is also getting a teaspoon of vitamin B12 in powder form.

I have just started adding 2 teaspoons of Brewers Yeast (supposed to be excellent source of B vitamins, especially B3) as well as 1 tablespoon of cold-pressed flax oil.  Normally I wouldn't feed oil but the vet suggested that Deenah needed a fat component to her diet.  She routinely gets  ground flax seeds, 1 teaspoon of un-iodized salt and Pureform vitamin/ mineral supplement.  Phew!  That's a LOT of "stuff!"
And far cry from "keeping it simple!"  But when we confine or contain animals and they don't have a wide range of feed stuff to choose from, we end up managing their situation and sometimes, hay and water simply aren't enough to meet their nutritional needs.

Rather than offering a dish of "powder,"  I give these supplements in soaked soy bean hulls and/or soaked beet pulp.  Deenah has been rejecting her dish lately though, so upon trying to isolate what might be offensive to her, I discovered it was the beet pulp!  It has kind of a rangy smell so I am leaving it out.  She adores soaked Timothy hay cubes though, so between the soy bean hulls and the hay cubes, I can create a nice mash to add the rest into.  These days, I give her a bowl of stuff about 3 times a day, so the additives get included to one serving or another.

The local hay we have here is very low in protein - about 5% on average.  This is actually fine for donkeys, but in Deenah's case, the vet suggested I find a hay with higher protein and more nutrition.  So off I went to the feed store and brought back 1 very large emerald green bale of Washington State Timothy hay.  I started adding it ever so slowly to Deenah's regular hay (I wouldn't dare give it to the minis!)  But Deenah turns her nose up at the Timothy hay - she'll even walk out of her stall rather than try to eat it.  Okay, I thought at first - there's probably a dead snake or mouse in that flake or a cat peed on it - I'll try another flake but alas, Miss Dee has sent it back to the kitchen every time!

I'm so hopeful that Deenah will put on some weight, grow out a beautiful summer coat and feel better.  I'm certainly doing all I can for her but if anyone reading this has other ideas, I'd welcome them!

Bathing donkeys

I have always been reluctant to bathe the donkeys, although I had to do it a few years ago for a ringworm
problem. But generally, donkeys prefer dust to water - this is their normal way to stay "clean" despite the contradiction in terms!

But my vet suggested that I bathe Deenah and get all the crusty stuff off her skin and as it was a rare sunny day, I did just that.  I happened to have Aveeno Colloidal Oatmeal:



For itchy, irritated skin, this soothing bath treatment is made of 100% pure Natural Colloidal Oatmeal - an ingredient long recognized for its ability to relieve itching - that AVEENO^® mills into an ultra-fine powder. When dispersed in water, this powder forms a soothing milky bath that works as a natural cleanser, provides temporary skin protection and relieves irritation and itching due to poison ivy/oak/sumac, rashes, insect bites, and eczema. It also soothes prickly heat, chicken pox, hives or sunburn. And, it's even gentle enough for sensitive skin, being a skin protectant, fragrance free and soap free.


so I mixed up a big bowl with warm water, parked Deenah in the sun and sponged her down.  I was careful not to get anything in her eyes and let her eat some hay while I was working.  She seemed to enjoy the process!  After I was finished, I put two large bath towels over her and attempted to pat her dry - it was really hard to thoroughly dry her though so I would never do this on a day that wasn't warm and sunny, especially with a thin donkey who feels the cold.


I think Dee's coat feels much better since her bath so I would like to do it again when the weather improves.
That one sunny day was an anomaly - it's pouring again!

My old donkey

Deenah is old - I just have to face it!  I've had her since 2006 - found her in a muddy field and she 's been a wonderful, sweet soul - an auntie to Dorica and a friend to me.  I love Deenah with all my heart.  This winter has been hard on her and I've had to take a hard look at the possibility that she won't be around forever.  It's not her time yet - that I know. But she is aging and I'm seeing things change. 

The minis are not very nice to her - even Dorica, her buddy will sometimes, and with increasing frequency, turn on Dee and try to bite her in the butt.  Siog does this all the time!  While the minis will play together, Dee remains aloof and alone.  My heart goes out to her!

Dee seeks any ray of sunshine to warm her bones.  She has really felt the cold this winter.  I have a blanket for her and have, on occasion, warmed a bath towel in the dryer and put it on her also.  She needs frequent meals and has lost weight during winter. 

Sometimes I notice her standing with her neck kind of stretched out and low, as if she hasn't the strength to hold her head up.  But so far, she has always rallied.  She nickers whenever I appear (usually) and I take this as a good sign.  Donkeys are very quiet if they are not feeling well.  Her appetite is great, manure consistent
and once in awhile, she'll trot instead of her usual shamble.

I remain watchful and vigilant to her needs.  I have tried some homeopathic remedies and some herbs (after all she's a herbivore) I tend to her skin ailments which seems to plague her in wintertime.  Tomorrow the vet will come for a check-up.

My sweet Dee ....

Stormy weather

We have been having some incredibly stormy weather this month - wind, snow, rain, power outages - very chilly indeed!

The donkeys hate it and choose the safety of the barn, especially Deenah who really feels the cold.  She is so thin even though she gets lots of extra hay.  I have her on some homeopathic remedies to aid her digestion as well as lemon juice ( 2 tsp. daily) herbs for her stomach and vitamin B12.  I'm hoping this regime will help her.  This is all on the advice of Marijke at Riva's Remedies in Armstrong. BC.  They are holistic equine specialists and I turned to them for some alternative therapy specific problems.

The donkeys are also battling itchiness which has resulted in bald patches that I have been treating with tea tree oil + calendula + golden seal.  The problem causing the itchiness has not been determined but I suspect lice which are common at this time of year, especially in animals with thick winter coats.

Tomorrow I will buy a "nit" comb and see if I can actually find anything crawling - so far I can't identify a louse but I bet they're there!  Awful!  And it's too cold for shampooing.  There's a  lice powder that many people use liberally but I am resisting as it's toxic stuff.

Luckily there are a few breaks in the weather now and then and I have been able to get everybody out and trotting around to exercise their limbs.  Siog gets particularly squirrley if she's cooped up in the barn for too long.

Thoughts about Clicker training

I read these words by Alexandra Kurland on a blog and thought I'd copy and post (I have condensed from the complete posting) - in typical "Alex"  fashion, this is so interesting and I have gained this insight from her.  That's what propels me to investigate the science behind positive reinforcement training and delve deeper than just teaching "behaviours!"

And when you fall through this rabbit hole - it seems there is no bottom - so much to learn, the levels become more layered as you become involved and the rewards for both you and your animals increase also!  It's a joyful and stimulating holistic approach to training and relationship building.  A true marriage of art and science with the continual challenge of invention, since each animal is a unique individual.

here's Alex:

"Lots of people use clicker training.  They use it now and then as a problem solving tool, but that doesn´t make them a clicker trainer.  Being a clicker trainer means so much more.

It means someone who understands the core training principles that are at the heart of clicker training.  And it means someone who knows how to use those principles to give horses a voice in the training.

Lots of people use the clicker to reinforce behavior they like, but they still want to punish unwanted behavior.  Being a clicker trainer means you know how to stay focused on what you want your horse to do.  You don´t get sucked into the drama of the unwanted behavior.  And you know not one or two strategies for getting good behavior, you know dozens.  You don´t need to be a punisher, because you have learned how to break training down into small manageable steps."

Alexandra Kurland