Whispering to Donkeys

I picked them up - the donkey feet, all eight of them!  Brandon was watching me move from foot to foot with the hoof pick as he filled the garden cart with donkey droppings, and when I was finished he said it was amazing, like I was a donkey whisperer.  Whoa.  

The farrier was supposed to come last Friday to trim all the donkey feet, but it was raining so hard that morning we postponed until this Friday.  I was glad to have some extra time to practice with the donkeys, and last night, we had a break through.  Brandon and I worked together to put their halters on, practice walking on the leashes, and tying them to fence posts.  I tied the ropes near the bottom of the posts, so the donkeys have to stand with their heads hanging down a little.  

I used those cubes of compressed hay to reward the donkeys for each step, and when I was finished with a foot I gave them another hay cube.  They seemed happy for the attention and the treats, so I have my fingers crossed we can perfect our foot lifting before the farrier takes his turn.  

Rufus, who usually kicks his back legs like a jack rabbit, was the one who showed me how to do it.  I ran my hand along his back to his back thigh and gave him a gentle tap, and I noticed that his entire leg responded to the tap by going completely loose, like someone snipped a rubber band.  I tapped and jiggled his leg to keep it loose and slowly, while feeling for tension in his muscles, raised his back leg, stretched it out, and rested it on my thigh.  Then I held his foot by the hoof only, so that when he tried to push against my hand his ankle would bend but there was no resistance from me for him to push against.  

 

It was so easy!  And once I could do it with Rufus's crazy back legs, I could gently tap and jiggle all the donkey legs until they were in position, and support only the hoof with my hand while I scraped off all the mud.  I made sure to stop before they asked me to, so we ended on a good note, and I rewarded them with extra hay cubes.  It was awesome, and I did feel like a donkey whisperer!  

For the first time I felt like I could really look at their feet and work with my tool instead of struggling against them and I've had such a sense of relief ever since.  This means I can be a good donkey owner, who keeps up with hoof maintenance!  I want to show the farrier my technique, so he can see that it can be done without a rodeo, and maybe give me some pointers.  I also think I need to introduce the donkeys to his tools, by letting them sniff them and touch them with their noses, and give them a treat when they accept them so they aren't frightened by the strange objects.  I plan to give the farrier a handful of treats and ask him to make friends before we get started.  I wonder if I need to instruct him on how to whisper sweet nothings in baby talk while he works, so he can be a donkey whisperer like me?