Eeyore, Blue, and Red doing what they do best.
There may be some among you that think the old western movies about a cowboy’s undying love for his horse was junk written for people who would believe anything. I used to think so too. Then we got our first donkey. Now Eeyore probably thinks he is really something for having those three youngsters and I do like him an awful lot. The problem is his cowboy attitude that got him exiled from the farm.
I know that most of the family think of Blue in something similar to the scene in the picture if they think of her at all. Sometimes she gave rides to all the grandchildren. The small ones took their rides with me leading her, but the larger kids just jumped on her back and she would walk. From watching the donkeys live together I always thought of her as “the boss”.
When we think of horses we think of Citation or Man of War I suppose. Possibly we might think of wild horses. Really if you think of zebras you think of something running very fast from lions or whatever.
There are three distinct types of equines and the third one is very different. Donkeys evolved in the deserts and mountains where a cool demeanor and thinking before you committed was the way to survive. When I think of donkeys I think of something walking slowly and watching everything.
The new arrival with (maybe) his grandma in the blue halter, mom in the red collar and his uncle/half brother.
This baby did not belong to Blue. Her younger companion (possibly her daughter or younger sister) was the mom. Obviously this baby was brand new here and is meeting the family.
I have people tell me continually that our donkeys are different from others they meet. Having met each of the adults when they were new to our farm, I agree. Donkeys are like kids (adults too). If you treat them with love and kindness and don’t let yourself be a stranger they become much easier to deal with. The three we got as adults (above) were all a handful when we first got them. After a while they followed us like dogs. It isn’t my intention to give a treatise on training donkeys.
Suffice to say that I do not agree with the scientists who say that animals do not have emotions, do not think (or plan), and that if you say they do it is anthropomorphism and unworthy of debate. I find the attentions of a grandma, a young half brother, and a mom to this young creature to be very humanlike.
This baby did not belong to Blue. Her younger companion (possibly her daughter or younger sister) was the mom. Obviously this baby was brand new here and is meeting the family.
I have people tell me continually that our donkeys are different from others they meet. Having met each of the adults when they were new to our farm, I agree. Donkeys are like kids (adults too). If you treat them with love and kindness and don’t let yourself be a stranger they become much easier to deal with. The three we got as adults (above) were all a handful when we first got them. After a while they followed us like dogs. It isn’t my intention to give a treatise on training donkeys.
Suffice to say that I do not agree with the scientists who say that animals do not have emotions, do not think (or plan), and that if you say they do it is anthropomorphism and unworthy of debate. I find the attentions of a grandma, a young half brother, and a mom to this young creature to be very humanlike.
I suspect this is how I am going to remember Blue. This was her last baby. It was finally a little Jenny. We named her Sunday because of when she was born. In fact she tried chasing the Llamas away from the food. She wasn’t more than a week old when she developed the habit of stamping her feet when she wanted something. It was obvious that she was telling us her name was Princess so we changed it. Princess was almost exactly six months old when her Mom died.
Sally and I were on our way to a meeting in College Station when our neighbor called. He said that one of our donkeys was down and that he thought she was dead. We have a farrier that is just outstanding. I know of nobody else that knows as much about donkeys as Robert (unless he has a DVM after his name) so we called him. Robert said that he thought that Blue had died of colic. He also described a scene that sort of amplifies some of the human thought and emotion traits I was just talking about.
The baby was pawing at her mom when he got there. He ran her off and set about burying Blue. Robert said that the mini donkey (Feathers) that hasn’t been mentioned much was obviously trying to calm her down. He said that before he left, all the donkeys were trying to do that.
The one thing that did surprise me was that her aunt wouldn’t let her nurse. I think there was a reason. Many trainers say that six months is the time to wean a youngster. Others say let the mom do it for you. Red was nursing her youngster and he was still under a year. I think she was about dried out and thought it was time.
Sally and I were on our way to a meeting in College Station when our neighbor called. He said that one of our donkeys was down and that he thought she was dead. We have a farrier that is just outstanding. I know of nobody else that knows as much about donkeys as Robert (unless he has a DVM after his name) so we called him. Robert said that he thought that Blue had died of colic. He also described a scene that sort of amplifies some of the human thought and emotion traits I was just talking about.
The baby was pawing at her mom when he got there. He ran her off and set about burying Blue. Robert said that the mini donkey (Feathers) that hasn’t been mentioned much was obviously trying to calm her down. He said that before he left, all the donkeys were trying to do that.
The one thing that did surprise me was that her aunt wouldn’t let her nurse. I think there was a reason. Many trainers say that six months is the time to wean a youngster. Others say let the mom do it for you. Red was nursing her youngster and he was still under a year. I think she was about dried out and thought it was time.
Donkeys when allowed to herd will tend to follow the lead of the oldest female. That was Blue for the whole time she was here. She may have fooled us about her age but she sure didn’t fool the other donkeys. When the grass grew scarce here, I sent Red and the two youngsters to a friend's house. These three donkeys have had plenty to eat and my grass is recovering. The picture is Red with Blue’s two youngsters. I visit them often enough that they won't forget me and I’ll be bringing them home someday. I have a little surgery planned for the one remaining jack before I do. That is a lesson learned from Eeyore.
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