Full body armor required!

Well sometimes it would be better  if the staff at the DSC would be equipped with full body armors and helmets, and  yesterday it sure would have come in handy. With lots of the big guys injured and/or sick with hoof issues, it was a big kick fest for the donkeys in the early start of the day. Big feet needed to be soaked, wrapped, tapped etc and the big guys were not liking it one bit. I never have seen them kick that much but they were really irritated by their treatments, not knowing that it will only make them better. Poor Indiana is really having a hard time with his feet, it goes from one problem to the next and back to the old one and just add a few new ones and it never ends for him. He is taking it all in strides but sure doesn't like getting his foot soaked. Seems like it's always the same donkeys with the same problems, with a weakened immune system and poor hoof care in their earlier life. And it really shows how important their hoof care is on a regular basis.

I was busy helping Cate with Gordon and getting some of the others that needed to get treaded haltered, I am glad our mammoth donkey Panne was still in a good mood when I haltered him and I had no problem getting it on him, but I guess knowing what was coming up for him next made him really upset and mad and he had his ears pinned against his body like I haven't seen before and poor Poppy got the brunt of his anger, he just grabbed little Poppy by the neck  and lifted that little guy's front  of the ground. Of course as soon as we came up to him he let him go but I think poor Poppy was in a little bit of a shell shock after that and kind of stayed away from the big guy. Thankfully Panne settled down fast too and was back to his gentle self in no time so that Cate could treat his leg.  Jacques has been really good yesterday, so that he could stay out all day during Open Day and I must say he looked better than I have seen him in a long time, his fur all shiny and bright and yes he was biting at his stomach a few times, he did seem to be in very good spirit, and he even came for cuddles and snuggles. Jacques is a very sick little donkey boy and one never knows how he is from one day to the next, but he looked and acted great.
Since it was a rainy day it was really muddy and it was hard to get around in the yard without sinking into mud somewhere. I cleaned the Garden Paddock with Juno and Solo and omg Solo almost gave me a heart attack. As I was cleaning the paddock and was wandering around from one pile to pick up to the next, Solo was standing by the fence eating and Juno was there eating too. I know Solo can be a little bit unpredictable but geez how do you get from here to there in a heartbeat without anybody noticing it? I kept a close eye on them as I went about my business and I swear a second ago Solo was still standing eating at the fence when all of a sudden somebody nudged me in the back. omg, there he was, wanting a belly rub. I honestly don't know how he got there this fast without me seeing him, it just scared the heck out of me. Of course he got his belly rub and followed me from then on from pile to pile the whole time I was in the paddock. Well at least Juno was still were she had been all along.
Due to the weather it was a very slow day and Helia and I "played" most of the afternoon in the mud and puddles building trenches to drain the water out of the yard down the little slope. Not very successful  I might add, it was a losing battle.
Cocoa enjoyed his time in the barn with the visitors again and enjoyed all the loving he got. He made me laugh at one point, all day he was begging for carrots and treats, since he noticed Helia handing out treats to the sick donkeys and he made it very clear he wanted some too, well I offered him some hay from the special needs side as I remembered how much he loved eating at the feeder when he was on the visitor's side a few weeks ago, I handed it to him and he just looked at me and backed up as he was saying "you know that's not what I meant and that I am not suppose to eat this while on this side of the fence ". Well you snooze you loose and Cargo thought well if he doesn't take it, I will and he did. So Cocoa continued his plea for treats and well guess who gave in? lol....He can be such a charmer, I noticed he has been so much calmer since his mommy's visit and it's nice to have Cocoa being a big cuddly donkey.   I definitely have come a long way in being around Cocoa and feeling that relaxed and comfortable around him, I have always been very intimidate by his size, that's for sure, but no more, so now I only have to work on Juliette...lol...Juliette...well that's a whole other story.
Since it was a slow day, I even had time to groom, so I went to get my Buffy from the Darkside and groomed her, picked out her feet  and fed her a treat for being such a good patient donkey.

For the carrot walk I was the "swisher" again and it was like always a lot of fun, even while wading through ankle deep mud.
At the end of the day, after all the visitors had left it was time to let Juno and Solo out of their enclosure, Juno was grassing in the lane way close to the fence when I walked up to her and just stood across from her while talking to her, she slowly came closer, close enough to scratch her forehead and I made my way up to the ear, and started rubbing it, I wanted to do both ears, but Juno decided this would be so much safer with a fence between us, she walked back into the enclosure, came really close to the fence and I could rub both her ears at the same time, what a silly donkey girl, but if that what makes her feel safer and that's what she needs to do. So I rubbed her ears for a while and then was on my way home.