Jeremiah and I worked on hoof picking again today. He's much spookier than Marty, so he's more reactive to scary, new things. Handing over control of his back hooves is a big deal, but persistence paid off. I used the rope to tell him what I didn't want by holding his foot up, if he kicked, and waiting for him to relax before letting him put it down. In essence, I was answering his questions. I asked him to lift the hoof, he struck out (which is technically lifting it). I told him that he had to be calm before he could put it back down. It took awhile before he understood and could bypass his fear reaction to actually not kick out. Once he seemed to understand, I started getting him used to my hand asking him to pick up his foot. That's the risky part. I did get a few abrasions on my arm, but better that than by going too fast and getting a broken bone. Eventually, he let me pick up his foot and put it down quietly. He was immediately rewarded with a treat. I managed to pick out all four feet and treat them for thrush today. Now, the trick is to do this daily until it's no big deal. I'm guessing we're a week away from his first hoof trimming.
After that difficult lesson, we went for another walk where he was finally formally introduced to the husband. I passed treats over and they bonded quickly. JJ even made faces and lipped him gently for more treats.
Back in the barn, I showed JJ a saddle blanket. I used the approach and retreat method until he was more relaxed, then he was rewarded for touching the blanket. We went so far as to place the blanket lightly on his shoulders before finishing up with a nice grooming.
There is something odd that I've been noticing about burros, vice training horses. With horses, their peripheral vision is not quite connected, so a new scary object seen by the left eye, has not been seen by the right eye. To correct for this, you can make sure both eyes see the object by turning the horse's head, and introduce the object as something new on each side of the horse. So, showing JJ a blanket in front of him, and getting him to touch it with his nose, would adequately allow him to see the object with both eyes (as long as it wasn't in his blind spot). However, when I touched his left shoulder with the object, his right eye would not see that and, theoretically, I would have to do the same on his right shoulder. Even though the eyes have seen it in front, it still looks different on the sides. This is how it is with horses. JJ reacted to the new object touching his left shoulder until he accepted it. However, when I moved over to his right shoulder, he did not react. Are burros and donkeys different in this way? Do they have more visual connections in the their brains? A fun thing to ponder as I keep working with these guys.
I took Marty out and we worked on picking up his poor, overgrown hooves. He allowed me to mostly pick out his front feet and treat them for thrush (he has a worse case than JJ). Duie to his quieter nature, I tried picking up his back feet without using the rope. I ran my hand down his leg over and over again until I thought he was comfortable (he had no reaction). Then, I asked for him to lift it, but let go as soon as he did. He did not kick out, so I rewarded him with a treat immediately. I asked again, and still, no kicking out. More treats were provided. I left it at him allowing one swipe with the hoof pick on each back foot.
As I was contemplating what to teach him next, Marty coughed. I've heard him cough once or twice before in the last two weeks. I wondered if he had some sharp points on his teeth because it happened when he was eating. This time, however, he had a little opaque discharge droplet in his nose. It could be allergies, but it could also be shipping fever. I'll call our vet for a visit tomorrow. I'll also use a syringe filled with applesauce tonight to get him used to receiving meds by mouth, if they are required. I'm not worried about anything more sinister. BLM animals are screened quite well before leaving the West.
The burros are really coming along well. We're very happy with our new additions.
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