Such Good Donkeys

I was so proud of the donkeys when the farrier came to trim their hooves.  Especially Rufus, who stood quietly while the farrier trimmed all four hooves and I hugged his face and petted his forehead.  No kicking!  And, it was only his second hoof trimming.  He's such a good boy.  

Hattie is still a baby, and it was her first time, so she's excused for kicking up a little fuss. She was curious while Rufus had his hooves trimmed, and kept sticking her face in the way.  When it was her turn, she didn't like it much.  I held her as tight as I could, and even had to twist her poor ears to get her to hold still.  The farrier said I was doing a good thing to get her trimmed when she was so young, so she will get used to it before she's a crabby old girl.  

The farrier said their feet were in good shape.  I told him that I don't use a pick to get the dirt out of their hooves every week, like the book says to do.  He said that it's important to do that if they stand around in mud all day, or if they are locked in a stall and can't get their feet cleaned out by roaming around, because they could get thrush in their feet.

In the days leading up to the farrier visit, Hattie got to practice with the halter going on and coming off, and she even got to try having her head tied to a post.  She was not a huge fan, and pulled on the post so hard that it's a little loose in the ground now.  But, even though she didn't care for being tied up, she and Rufus both enjoy the attention of the halter and lead rope.  They stand still and let me buckle them up, and try to stick their noses in my pockets where I keep the sunflower seeds.  I tried leading them both with ropes while we took a walk around the pasture, and it was a fiasco.  They are pretty good at taking a walk with Rufus behind me and Hattie bringing up the rear, but that's hard to manage with leashes.  We need to practice!