Ellsworth had a huge breakthrough moment with the farrier yesterday. We’re so proud of him.

It was the very first time Shorty was able to trim Ellsworth’s back feet.

Ellsworth, we’re so proud of you buddy!

Like I said, this was a huge breakthrough for Ellsworth. Unfortunately, a couple of mishaps at the place he came from really had him freaked out about having his back feet touched. For those of you who initially followed Ellsworth’s story over at The 7MSN Ranch, you’ll remember that Ellsworth was “accident prone.” At one point, according to his previous people, he had a nail stuck in one of his back feet. To remove it, they tied a rope to his leg and let him kick until he got tired so they could take the nail out. At another point, he had barbed wire tangled around one of his ankles. So yes, he really was freaked out when anyone tried to touch his back feet.

We realized some pretty important things yesterday. We were reminded that we have so much to learn from our animals. These donkey boys have taught us more than I could have ever imagined about patience. Shorty has been absolutely wonderful about this too. He coached Don on working with Ellsworth and getting him used to having those back legs and feet touched. I have a lump in my throat right now just thinking about this transformation in Ellsworth.

So, Ellsworth is an old pro at this now.  When it was Bernard’s turn, Ellsworth ran right over to comfort his best friend and to let him know it was alright.