February 4, 2013
Harriet (a.k.a. Mrs. Worthington J. Worth) got her first Morning Bray Farm pedicure on Saturday morning.
Shorty said she looks great and that he thinks she’ll be just fine as soon as her left front hoof grows out.
Harriet was a very good girl and stood quietly for her trim:
She even got moral support from her Daddy:
Harriet’s well on her way to having the beautiful tootsies she deserves.
♥ ♥ ♥
April 9, 2011
Patrick had his first foot trim ever this morning.
He surprised us all and did exceptionally well.
No sedation necessary.
We could tell Patrick was frightened, but he was a very brave boy.
Understandably, Patrick doesn’t like having his hind quarters or back legs and feet touched, so we were worried about whether Shorty would be able to trim Patrick’s back feet.
Being the excellent and extremely patient farrier that he is though, Shorty charmed Patrick’s back feet right off the ground.
There was a little kicking initially, but trimming Patrick this morning was a breeze for Shorty compared to trimming Ellsworth once upon a time.
As soon as his trim was done, Patrick went right over to his big brother.
We’re so proud of you both. Our sweet, sweet boys. ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
June 30, 2010
After getting a halter on Fergus for the first time three weeks ago, we did the Happy Dance in anticipation of his feet being trimmed at our farrier’s next visit. Fast forward to yesterday evening…
…and a brief quiz for you. Can you tell the difference between this picture:
And this picture? Hint, look at Fergus’s ears and eyes and where Don’s left hand is. Big, big difference.
Let me tell ya a couple of things. First, a lot happened between those first two pictures. (I put the camera down for a bit in between.) Second, a good farrier, a.k.a Shorty, is worth his weight in platinum. Thanks, Carson!
We’ve been picking up Fergus’s feet without incident since the end of April, and he’s been quite fine with it. What we discovered yesterday is that Fergus isn’t comfortable with people he doesn’t know, and that’s understandable.
Each time Shorty initially tried to pick up Fergus’s first front foot, Fergus got up on his hind legs and/or got himself away from Shorty and Don. Fergus had a bit of a wild look in his eyes and seriously wasn’t having any of it. While Bernard and Ellsworth each have had their moments, it has never been like this.
As Don and I were looking at each other in desperation (and I was thinking to myself that this wasn’t going to happen), Shorty was amazing. Patience, soft touches, soothing words.
Then I saw Shorty softly put his hand over Fergus’s eye. Fergus almost immediately calmed down. Shorty asked Don to cover Fergus’s eye on whichever side Shorty was working and…
…success! Fergus just needed a bit of a blinder! Okay, fine, I’ll admit it. I shed a tear or two of happiness.
Meanwhile, I looked over to see that Bernard had untied himself from the fence and was debating whether to take himself for a stroll to avoid his own foot trimming…
…and was happy to see that Nigel was okay with a dust bath as long as Fergus was within sight.
When the fourth foot was done, Fergus seemed to fly away as soon as his halter was removed…
And now seems to be walking with a new spring in his step. ♥
May 3, 2010
We were hoping we might have Fergus in a halter by the time our farrier came around on Saturday.
Not yet, but that’s okay.
Okay because Shorty; our farrier, said the difference in Ellsworth this time versus last was night and day. It was only last time Shorty was here he was able to trim Ellsworth’s back feet.
Don bought a new (smaller) saddle cinch for Ellsworth and we tried it on for size later that afternoon.
Everything looked good, so we gave Ellsworth a test drive. Our gentle boy walked me around the corral several times. I never asked Ellsworth to move, but he did turn and stop when we asked him to. I couldn’t believe I was actually riding Ellsworth! ♥
I finally got pictures of one of the boys with their pink donkey tongue left sticking out as they tend to do after they have their drinks of water. It was Bernard.
Love you, love you, love you, love you Bernard. Okay, so here’s another secret. My nickname for Bernard is Buhbee. I don’t know why.
And then, after the post last week about mutual grooming, guess who I saw grooming each other? Ellsworth and Nigel!
March 7, 2010
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.
Morning Bray Farm 
