Fall again and thoughts about donkey "clothing!"

Fall descended upon us so quickly this year!  I love Fall but the rains have begun with intensity already ... and that part, I don't love!  The ground is already soggy and will stay that way until it gets cold enough to freeze.  That doesn't always happen on the west coast.  Some winters just stay wet and soggy.

This can be a real problem for donkey hooves.  While my donkeys have a lovely barn and dry breezeway area, I never lock them in at night.  I do shut the big metal gate to their spacious barn paddock and I do feed indoors on dry footing.  However, it's important for them to move around, so I encourage that.

I'm not big on "clothing" ... rain sheets,blankets, etc.  Healthy donkeys shouldn't need the added protection.  But I do have rain sheets and fleece liners for everybody just in case.  I have found that if it has been raining for a few days and the donkeys are reluctant to leave the barn, a rain sheet offers them a bit more encouragement and they will readily come out for a short walk.

I'm cautious though about not wanting to spread any kind of skin ailment under a rain sheet (the perfect environment!) - rain rot or ringworm will go awol under a raincoat!  And I only put one on if their hair is dry, i.e. not over top of wet bodies.

I'm always concerned about hoof health once the ground becomes saturated.   Frogs, which are supposed to be weight-bearing, wash away and hooves become spongy instead of hard, as they are during summer months.

Out comes my spray bottle of apple cider vinegar and I use this a couple of times per week after cleaning out hooves in the evening.  I also keep a mix of calendula oil + tea tree oil in a bottle.  This is great to apply to keep thrush at bay or for any bruising or abscess.

Over the years I have tried numerous hoof remedies.  Now I only use these, plus my homemade remedy posted on the first page, right side. 

Seems there's one donkey in every group that has softer, more sensitive feet and here, that donkey is Rose.  I've written before about trying boots on her, especially if I take her out on our gravel roads.
The boots I had for her though, were made for big dogs (Neopaws.)  And while there are things I like about them, they didn't fit correctly and kept swiveling around and were fussy to do up with a long strap that had to be wrapped and wrapped and wrapped around her fetlock and then tied.

So ... now she has a pair of EasyCare boots made for miniature horses and these seem to fit better.  You can order them here:  https://www.easycareinc.com/our_boots/easyboot_mini/easyboot_mini.aspx

Horse hooves are not as long and narrow as donkey hooves though, so I have been pondering
how comfortable they actually feel.  I also got another pair that the other donkeys can share if need be and they seem to fit Heather and Siog but not Dorrie.

I don't intend that anyone wear boots full time - they are really for road walking and for sore feet if need be.  I have been putting them on Rose's front feet for short periods of time so she can get used to them!

Outings ....

Finally, after not moving the trailer for a year,  I hitched it up and took both Rose and Heather for a ride to the beach!  Phew!  Big deal for all of us!  They did so well but the roads are bumpy and I felt every one of them - they must have really been bracing.

We didn't go far though - only about a 15 minute drive each way, They were exceptional about loading and waiting to unload.  We have played a lot in the trailer while it has been parked.

We parked on a seldom-used road and walked to the beach and back.  Ran into some donkey-lovin' folks who couldn't believe their good fortune to run into us and I was happy too, cuz the guy helped me turn the trailer in a rather tight spot!

Last night, Dorrie and I went for a fabulous long walk into the setting sun.  Of course, I never remember to take my camera, so sorry there are no pictures. It's lovely to have some time now that the studio tour is over for this year and I am having an official "summer holiday!"

Bomb Proof?

My donkey Rose, now 19 years old, was said to be bomb proof when I got her three and a half years ago.
Meaning that she has a calm temperment and doesn't spook at unfamiliar things.  Of course that's a desirable thing, especially in an animal that you plan to take out hiking or for walks in traffic or to the Fall Fair where there are kids and dogs or any number of scenarios.

But when you think about that expression: "bomb + proof," it seems a rather unfair term to apply to animals, doesn't it?

So how does a donkey become bomb-proof?  Is it just a quality of character (calm, unflappable?) or is training involved?  After all, donkeys are prey animals - it makes sense that if they feel threatened, they will run away.  And you can't train for every occurrence.

I remember the day that five emus walked onto our property - they had escaped their enclosure and set off on a walk-about.  There was no way I could have anticipated that!  Or the time when two donkeys fled their paddock near the road and ran down the meadow to the farthest corner in the woods.  I couldn't imagine what had scared them until I heard the quiet sound of snuffling and caught sight of a wandering piglet in the bushes!

Last night, Rose and I headed out into the cool evening air for a walk to the beach.  She was a happy
companion taking in everything along the way and enjoying an occasional stop for some huckleberry twigs.

Suddenly she froze, ears forward, body tense, almost quivering.  I couldn't detect anything but it's not unusual that the donkeys will hear something long before I do.  I always give them the benefit of the doubt and let them assess the situation.  So we stopped along the road and waited.  Sure enough, from a long driveway appeared a dog and its owner, out for a walk.  Phew!  "Just a dog, Rose," and we continued.

But for some reason, that dog set Rose on edge for the rest of the walk.  Later, we were at the path that leads down to the beach.  Rose practically jumped out of her skin and would have bolted towards home had I not asked her to stay with me!  Same dog, not at all interested in us and posing no threat.
Interesting reaction from Rose who was quite familiar with dogs in her previous home.

Every rustle in the bushes last night set Rose to quivering and wanting to flee.  And that's where clicker training is SO useful!  In spite of the night frights, I was able to ask Rose for something simple "touch my hand" and "stay with me" and she was able to refocus. 

Because of the work we have already done, she was also able to trust me and that's HUGE!  I wouldn't want to test this with a cougar at our heels but we will continue to work together, to build trust, to make our relationship rock solid so that we can depend on each other - positive reinforcement training works in many ways!

Rose's Birthday!

Today Rose is 19 years old - the sweetest, kindest soul you'll ever meet!

 

and she got new boots for her front feet!

  and got the whole small paddock in front of the feed room to herself for awhile ...

Her feet are sometimes sore in Spring.  She seemed to enjoy the boots and wore them for a few hours.

They are called NeoPaws, size XL and made for ... dogs!  What I like about them is that they have a thick sole to protect from sharp stones (we have many and the road surface is even worse!) And they come in many sizes so it wasn't hard to find a pair to fit Rose.  I have one smaller pair as well, in case I need them for one of the other donkeys.  I had to fiddle a bit with how to do them up so they weren't too tight but didn't swivel around either.  Sweet Rose was patient through all of my hovering, doing and undoing!

Happy Birthday White Star Red Roses!

Pack-String Lesson #1

For a long time, I have mused about training my donkeys to work in a pack string ... one donkey tied and following behind the other.  When I have tried this with two donkeys, the donkey in the rear wanders over to the side instead of following behind and I haven't spent the time to work out a training plan for how to shape her for following the donkey in front.  A crop would be a useful extension of my arm but even then, I think we'd get in a muddle with just one trainer!

Now I have taught both Dorrie and Siog to follow (me) and have put that on cue!  When my young neighbour Forrest came over last week, I decided to try the pack string idea with Rose, who has been trained to drive, and Heather, who likes to follow Rose!

I suppose I should have tried it with Dorrie and Siog but since there were two humans, I decided to give this a go.

I put a surcingle on Rose and we started with one person leading Rose and one person leading Heather directly behind and reinforcing for just a few steps of what we wanted.  Eventually I tied Heather's lead rope to the surcingle but kept the rope up and off of Rose's back and kept leading Heather even though she was attached to Rose.

Rose felt the pressure of Heather's lead and stopped a few times but was easily encouraged to walk.  We used the fence line to keep us going straight with Forrest leading Rose and me staying right beside Heather's shoulder so she couldn't swing out.  If I moved away, that's what she did.

That's as far as we went on that first session!  The goal is to have one handler leading all four donkeys, one behind the other!

The photos are a bit misleading as this was more successful with 2 trainers and you're only seeing one as the other took a few hasty pictures.  Next time, I'll set up the video on the tripod so that we can both concentrate on donkeys. 

 Heather gets the idea that she is supposed to follow.

Forrest had to step away to take these pictures - two trainers were essential for Lesson #1! 

We reinforced both donkeys for just a few steps at a time.

We are on our way to the straight fence line!  You can see Heather's tendency to swing out to the side.

Heather's blue lead rope tied in a quick release knot to Rose's surcingle.

Video taping your work

It's a quiet Christmas morning ... crisp and chilly outside and the ground has hardened somewhat underfoot - good news from the spongy, soft footing that the many days of rain created.  The day promises to be sunny! 

Two days ago, another sunny day, I got out my video camera with plans to make a little movie about walking out from the property with a donkey.  In everything the donkeys and I do, I try to set the environment for success.  That means that I gather what I need and plan things to minimize stress and confusion.  Going in and out of a gate where there are other loose animals is just one of those situations that can create jostling and where I might be tempted to hurry the donkey along and push the others back, either physically or verbally.  I try to avoid all that!

So I bring my donkey into a small separate paddock where the others can't try to follow and then lead her down a narrow walkway/ corridor and off we go.  But I have to go back and close the gate to the corridor,
which means teaching the donkey to stand and wait for me in an environment where she is free to head off into the big world on her own!

Many small steps involved, built on Alexandra Kurland's foundation lessons and I set up my video camera to capture this with Rose.  But I'm not going to post the video yet because I learned SO much from watching the short clip, that I want to redo it! 

Mostly I observed my own body language - we give off numerous cues to our animals all the time, and they should be intentional!  I saw where my food delivery (reinforcement) was not as precise as it should be  - Rose's head was turned or she was stretching her neck, putting her off balance.  Sounds like no big deal perhaps, but my goal is for clean, clear communication and a beautiful balanced partnership with my donkeys!

Video-taping yourself at work with your animal is SO incredibly valuable (I should do it more often)

And I will ... watch for it soon!  

In the meantime, happy holidays, peace and happiness to you and all your animals!

Labour Day Portraits

Siog

Heather

Rose

Dorrie

Alice!

Lovely unexpected visit ...

We had some special visitors today!  They were interested in everything "donkey," full of questions and delighted with the motley crew ...

It's beautiful outside, but ...

Where, oh where are the donkeys?  Expecting to see my little herd basking in Spring's first warmth,
I found them instead way back in the barn!  Huh?  Out they came when I called and then I realized ... MIDGE ATTACK!  Oh, poor donkeys, they were getting eaten alive.

So out came the fly masks with ear protectors and my home-made fly spray (thank you Avon Lady!)
See my recipe to the right of this post.  It works great, although you do have to reapply every few hours for best results.  (I usually give them a spritz about twice a day.)

I use these fly masks during midge season which lasts a few weeks, they look completely ridiculous (imagine a herd of, say 200 donkeys all wearing them!?)  But ears are favorite biting places for midges and they can cause a lot of discomfort and scabs, so I love these masks. 

Before I got them, I tried gently rubbing a few products in donkey ears, but most made their ears too sticky or matted down the hair - I now prefer the masks.

Fooling around with some cardboard!

Rose, you should see yourself - ha!

Proud of those ear extensions - even longer - yay!

Spring Romp!

Each time that Spring rolls around, I can hardly believe that "we made it" through winter!  It feels like such a relief.

Waking up to birds chirping puts an instant smile on my face.  Here is another of my favorite things:  (my version of "reality TV!)  Rose and Siog really have a "thing" going (someone was in heat,) while Dorrie rushes around daintily and Heather just keeps on grazing.

Enjoy!

Rose's Tail

Rose, October 2012

When I first met Rose, I was told that she had been in a fight with a horse years ago and her tail had been bitten.  The tail hairs never grew back and this puzzled me, as I couldn't feel any damage to cartilage. But now, one year and 4 months later, I think maybe her tail has grown some! 

Here are two photos of Rose (above and below) when she first arrived in October, 2012, followed by some I just took. See what you think!

Rose, October 2012

and Rose's tail yesterday, February 2, 2014 - #1

#2

and #3 - hilarious- she knew I was photographing her tail so she held it out!

To the mail box, hey ho, hey ho!

When you're smiling ....

Notes on Rose's hoof

Well, following on my post from last night,  I unwrapped the poultice from Rose's hoof and watched her move around ... not bad!  Still a bit of favoring that foot but less so.  Any heat in her foot?  No - yay!

So I decided to not soak her hoof and leave it unwrapped and assess the situation in the morning.  This morning, she was completely weight bearing on that foot!  Phew!

Crisis averted? ... who can say, it could still flare up.  I applied some Calendula + Tea tree oil and kept her out of the "bush" paddock again.

This evening ... still good!

Rose has a new day pack!

I bought this inexpensive little day pack a few years ago for Dorica but it just didn't fit her right.  Had always meant to make adjustments but it turns out, it's a pretty good fit for Rose!

This isn't a great picture, but it has a crupper and breast collar attached to a surcingle.  The only bit I don't like is the strap that goes between her front legs - it just kind of hangs there and I can't really see what it's supposed to be doing!

We got it all adjusted and then just let her walk around the paddocks for awhile to get used to the feel.

I don't want to put a halter on her right now though, as she has this big lump on her nose right under where the nose band goes!  The vet has had a look and thinks it's a cyst - Rose came with a small bump and it has at least doubled in size!  I'm putting Panalog ointment on it twice a day in the hope that it will shrink, but I think it may have to be surgically removed ... argh!

Anyway, here she is with Forrest and Dorrie!

You can see the pack better in this pic!

OCBA Course Ends, Dorica eats a mushroom and has a birthday + planning for England!

Phew ! It's been a busy time!  So a quick blog post to check in ... the course I have been taking (very intense) in Operant Conditioning Behaviour Analysis is coming to an end this week.  We had submit our final video a few days ago - training a complex chain behaviour.

Rose can now go to the fence, pull a tea towel off, proceed to a set of bells and ring them and come back to me - all on ONE cue.  She's still a bit hesitant and it's my fault for rushing her through a bit.  I'll back up though and make everything fluent again.  Rose has been a joy to work with, although a very different personality from the others.  She is a thoughtful, calm girl and a delightful student!

Needless to say "when it rains it pours!" and that has been truly the case in all ways!  I had work in a 3-day multi-media performance, company for the weekend (clean house, buy food, cook meals, sightseeing) and it has literally been pouring, making it harder to train Rose and video our progress!

Because of the copious amounts of rain, mushrooms have popped up (who would think to look for mushrooms in almost-July?) and while I was chatting with a neighbour, Dorica snatched the cap off one that I didn't see and ate it .... yikes!

Dorrie has been a known gourmet, sometimes to her detriment - I decided to "dilute" any ill-effects of said mushroom and gave her some hay and then a walk around the neighbourhood for some huckleberry shrubs, Oregon grape, etc.  At last check, some 5 hours after consuming the mushroom cap, she seems fine.

Meanwhile, she had her 15th birthday on the summer solstice and I didn't even have time to take her picture.  Must do that though before she gets much older!

With everything else going on,  planning for our 2-week holiday to Britain in September is taking shape!
So many bits and pieces to research but it's all very exciting!

Operant Conditioning Behaviour Analysis

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I am taking an intensive on-line course in the above named subject through Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia.  I thought I would be able to post progress reports etc. but mostly I'm too busy to write about it at the moment!  Sheesh - it's a lot of work but I love the rigor, the learning and the discipline.

Here's a brief synopsis of what we're doing so far.  Each Sunday, we are assigned a lesson for the week.  This includes reading, watching some video examples of the subject for the week, posting answers to questions on the group forum, doing a weekly quiz on theory and of course daily training with our chosen animal.  I'm working with Rose.

The training part includes writing shaping plans and training charts for everything we do.  I'm finally getting used to this!  This is important as it tracks progress and helps the trainer know when to raise criteria, back-up or move on.  We are training in small steps towards a goal (successive approximation)
and we're constantly evaluating the animal's response about what he/she has learned so far.  We are setting the animal up for success as this is the key to learning!

Then we video ourselves working on the week's assignment (with the animal of course) and submit the video, shaping plan and training chart.  These will be downloaded by the instructors and graded.Video taping your work is fabulous!  You learn so much by watching yourself!  Last week I made about 6 videos and found mistakes in each one!  Either I was clicking a bit late or saying the cue too early and I was able to notice my own body posture and perhaps unintentional cues.  You really learn to hone your skills by watching what you do on video - I highly recommend it!

We're in week 6 of 12.  So far the weekly lessons have covered theory, terminology and the four training techniques associated with operant conditioning. We had to choose four behaviors to train, each using the different approaches: molding, luring, capturing and shaping.  We learn when and how to add a cue.

We were asked to choose and train 3 basic care behaviors.  I chose handling Rose's mouth, putting her foot in a soaking boot and trailer loading.

We moved on to a variable schedule of reinforcement - that's when you don't click and treat for every behavior - rather you might choose to reward the 1st, 3rd and 5th try.  Think of being in a casino - if every time you pulled the handle on the slot machine you got a nickle, it would become boring and eventually you'd quit!  Same thing with training animals!  You want them to try and try again - but that's only once the behavior has become fluent (or really well understood.)

Now we are proofing two behaviors- so that means: will the animal do such and such anywhere, anytime?  In a snowstorm, in the dark, on the road, etc. etc.  To proof a behavior (one the animal already knows) you change the criteria - you can change the environment, or the duration of the behaviour, or some other factor to see how well the animal responds ... will she do such and such under this condition?

It's really fun - there's tons to read and understand - Rose is fantastic to work with but then, I think any animal would be really because this technique is tailor-made for each individual.  You work with a particular animal at their level of understanding!

I should be spending more time in my studio however - I have a show coming up fast - and the garden is full of weeds!

Roses' Birthday!

Today is dear Rosie's birthday - White Star Red Roses.  She is 16 years young!

It's also my mother's birthday - she would have been 103!