This was unplanned.
We’re lost our BLM boys this past fall and are still reeling a bit from that.
Our vet said our farm was clean back in December, but we were planning to wait.
This morning, I was having a nice trip to the beach with the family. It was a perfectly ass-free day. Someone from church texted me and asked if I could take a donkey. An untrained, spoiled jack with zero manners. I wanted to say “No”, but our child was right there with pleading eyes. I said we’d look at him.
Oh dear.
Seven months old and tethered to a fence because he kept jumping on the family. All stop. I was already calculating how to get the trailer and get him settled before evening chores. The halter he had on was already too tight and the remains of a lead rope were still attached. The other rope, that tethered him to the fence, was attached on the ring at his neck. Lots of bad things were about to happen with this little man. He ha already been found tangled up by a neighbor once in the month they had had him.
The last straw for them was when he played rough with a small goat and broke her neck. He was eating alfalfa and free choice oats, with some sweet feed added in. Way too rich for little man. Feet haven’t been touched (but he’s young, so not too bad). They said several times that he was given to them and they just weren’t farm people. Bless them for figuring out they were in over their heads and asking for help.
He is home. We dewormed him and quarantined him in the round pen. He was given a few lessons already. he loves people, so very easy. I got him to pick up both front feet and stand tied a little. He had a leading lesson in which he was taught that rearing up on people is bad. It was so easy because he’s little. I just put my arm under his legs and made him back up on his hind feet if he jumped up on me. If he wants up, I will say when he can get down. He didn’t like that very much. The behavior has lessened already, lol. Very sweet little man. I gave him a giant jolly ball thing and we played with it in the round pen to show him. He hollered when went inside, but he was playing with the ball an hour later. I gave him only a little of his alfalfa with some grass hay. I’ll bring him down off of the high diet over the next few days.