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Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Moving horses and donkeys

First I want to thank my very good friend Cindy for letting me borrow her horse trailer. Without her the move would still be ongoing!
The first to be loaded up were Houdini and Pewter. Thankfully they just walked right on in to the trailer, unloaded great and as you can see settled in to their new pasture just fine.


The next two to come over were AJ and Doughnut. Much to my surprise Doughnut ( donkey) jumped right into the trailer. AJ took a few minutes but she got in. Yup, they settled in to the pasture as if nothing happened.


The next to come over were Arnold and Cookie. Now Arnold ( red blanket) has always been difficult to load. Before walking to the trailer I asked him to please load up easily as it would make it less stressful for both of us. After a few minutes of coaxing, in he went.

Now Cookie, who I thought would load up quickly, turned out to be a struggle. Finally after 20 or so minutes we got her loaded. They also settled in within minutes.


The distance between the old house and the new house is almost an hour so we were only able to make three trips in one day. The following day it was back to the old house to load up the remaining three. Mike ( pic above) was not having anything to do with loading. It was a flat refusal. Nothing would entice him to walk into the trailer. I tried every trick in the book but alas, nothing was working. My main objective was to make it as less stressful for the animals as possible, but between the driving time from one house to the other, the daylight shorter, well, it came down to pretty much brute force getting him loaded. It actually took four people to basically pick his big donkey butt up and get him in. Talk about exhausted after that.
By the time we arrived here at the new house, poor Mike was sweating and shaking. He was one upset guy! After a few days he finally settled in and was 'talking' to me again.


Cookie ( spotted donkey) happy to be out of the trailer and with her friend Doughnut.


Pearl here was a bit of a challenge, but loaded up fairly nicely.


The last trip of the second day was for Mr. M. Mallow.  Not really knowing how he was at loading, I geared myself up for a good struggle. He was going to have to travel by himself. After putting his halter on, clipping on the lead rope, walking to the trailer and talking with him, there we stood in back of the trailer looking in. I gave him a hug, whispered in his ear, and I walked into the trailer. Him on the outside, me in the inside. Then, he took a step in! Before I knew it both front feet were in! But he backed out quickly. Okay, that's fine. We did it again and again and again. Not wanting to use force, I stepped behind him, cracked the lunge whip behind on the ground towards his back feet and he jumped in! 
Yay, the last of the big animals was loaded! Two days of loading, diving and unloading but it was done. 

Thankfully not one of them got sick or colicked (tummy trouble). Each and every one settled in beautifully.

Tomorrow I will post another chapter of moving animals.

Until next time..................
  


16 comments:

  1. Wow! I'm exhausted after just reading this! I'm wondering if your body is feeling very sore right now - that's a lotta critters to move! Thankfully, they were almost all quite cooperative. It's amazing what a little patience, calmness and kindness will do, isn't it?
    Glad everybody is all together in one spot again! :-)

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  2. Like the new header! It is new....yes?
    I was mesmerized while reading your post. I am amazed the control you have and the control needed to 'house' all these critters. They do (mostly) listen when treated with kindness. They know how good they have it.
    I am exhausted at all the work it takes for such a move. Even moving one's own self and stuff is very stressful for most.
    The new location appears to be ideal for the animals. Any sightings of that Bobcat?
    Jim

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  3. My goodness, you were lucky! That's a lot of loading and unloading to have to do. I'm glad that everyone made it to the new place, and has settled in, all snug and safe.

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  4. Well done ! i`m glad they have settled in and have accepted their new home- a lot of hard work but worth it i`m sure lol x

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  5. Looks like they have some seriously nice pasture! I'm glad 'most' of them were cooperative. Sometimes you just have to do what you gotta do and get it over with. I dread shearing every year because it involves moving (and tricking) the sheep around. I lay awake at night and plot my moves...make diagrams etc. :-) And that is just keeping everyone on the same place... I can't imagine convincing them all to get in a trailer. So glad you are moved and can now work on settling in.
    Tammy

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  6. Oh, you must be exhausted! I'm getting that way just reading about your adventures. The new pastures look large and very nice. I'm so glad they all settled in and hope this move will soon be over. Where is Little Inger?--Big Inger

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  7. Only an hour between houses translates to 6 hours of driving in the first day. Add to that all the time to load and unload. And the shorter days. And to do it for two days. You are my new hero.

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  8. The new pasture is gorgeous! Lucky equines! I'm really glad it went so smoothly, and everybody is adjusting well. Moving is so stressful for everybody. Way to go!

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  9. Wow.
    I cannot believe how many you had to move.
    Love that Pearl;))) too cute:)

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  10. So glad things went well. It takes a lot of work to move them and not stress them.

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  11. How awesome! It seems that everyone had the sense to know that they were on their way to better pastures. Your pasture is beautiful! Hooray for you and all of your critters! I'm so happy to hear that all went well.

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  12. Wow that was a chore for sure! So glad everybody made it and is settling in nicely. Will you get Patti Cake back to live with you or will you leave her placed where you put her?

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  13. Wow, no wonder you were so tired! And that's without the days moving all the other animals, plus your own stuff. Phew, you must be glad every day you wake up and realize it's all done!

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  14. Yeah, horses and donkeys done! Who was next? So much work is involved with a move when you have animals! Good luck with everyone! I'm glad they are all happy with their new "digs"!

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  15. new follower here...Omgoodness you must be exhausted from all that moving! phew

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  16. they sure look happy now! wow, nice pasture. heaven for them! i hope it's heaven for you also or at least close to it.

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