The Outside World

 We missed our morning session because the rain came down in heavy spurts.  As I looked out the window at poor, soaking JJ, I planned a way to move him from his pen into the barn so he could have better shelter.  The tree in his current paddock provides great shade, but it can't stop these soaking rains.

The solution was to get him ready to lead outside the pen.  His pen is next to the horse paddocks, which are adjacent to the barn.  It's actually set up in a small pasture that has a gate leading into the paddocks.  JJ's future home is easily accessible, but it does require him to walk through the small pasture on the lead. 

He allowed me to halter him easily again and I started with leading him a few steps at a time around his paddock.  Then. my son opened the gate and, after several minutes, JJ mustered up the courage to step outside.  We slowly made our way along the outside of his pen.  I gave him an occasional carrot treat.  He is beginning to show more personality as he wiggled his lips towards me hoping for more carrots.  At some point, he will probably nip and I will probably scare him a little to make sure he knows he can't do that.  It's perfectly normal behavior in a herd of burros, but human skin is more fragile.  

He also reached down for a few swipes at the tall grass as we walked.  I didn't discourage it, nor encourage it, but quietly urged him on.  About halfway to our destination, the sky poured down again.  He looked at me a little apprehensively the further we moved from his sanctuary.  I sensed that he had enough for the day, so we gradually worked our way back towards his pen.  I was really hoping to move him tonight, but it's more important to move at the appropriate pace.

We made some great progress, but JJ also demonstrated his intelligence.  A few days ago, I led both my horse and the pony individually into the same area to show JJ.  I let both graze a bit before taking them back to their stalls.  My motive was to let JJ see halters and lead ropes on others before I asked to put one on him.  Donkeys can learn by example.  One of the first things JJ tried to do when we moved outside of his pen was to graze.  Hand grazing is very useful for equines to know, so we will take a little side trip and learn this while getting him more comfortable with leading and moving him towards his new home in the barn.  I teach the horses a visual cue to tell them when it's okay to graze and I say "heads up", when we're done.  It's important to control the start and stop to keep your horse focused.  We'll start on that tomorrow.

My birthday is coming up.  My present is a burro sized, neoprene, pack saddle.  It's actually a burro racing saddle for competitions out West (indigenous sport in the Colorado mountains).  We won't be heading out there to race, but they make lightweight, comfy pack saddles specifically for donkeys.  It will come in handy for taking JJ on our family hikes and camping trips.