I was thinking ... again how I really need to get back at working with Eddie and Princess.
I was reading The Dancing Donkey today and it got me thinkin'. I started with good intentions last May with Princess. But I did stupidly put my finger in her mouth and that ended my good intentions ... for a while.
By then summer was in full swing and Princess was forgotten as preparations for Grandma & Grandpa Camp got under way.
She is a very gentle donkey and not much seems to bother her.
When we got her, it was a daring thing to do to try and pick up her hind legs.
But I worked with her and now she stands quietly and picks up her feet properly for the farrier.
I actually did saddle her and sit on her in the round pen last year with that aching owie finger.
We've even gone on hikes together and she seems willing enough just to follow me down the deer trails and stop to browse when I am trimming the riding trail.
My sister asked me once how on earth do you train a Donkey? She has trained and had her horses trained for show.
I simply said.
It isn't hard, if you make it routine, they are good with that, donkeys love routine.
If you convince the donkey that to ride under saddle, cross streams, logs, and ride down a trail is their idea, then it is a piece of cake.
If I also take her down my riding trail a few times, I won't have to bother with guiding her. She'll know the way out and know the way home.
This spring...this spring....oh please let me get this done this spring!
Princess is a nice polite Donkey. I've had my eye on her for a while wondering how she might be as a riding donkey.
Normally people don't consider donkeys for riding. It is rare to go somewhere and see a person riding one in the United States at least.
I decided to see how Princess would lead away from home and how she would do just walking some trails in the woods. I wanted to see if she'd be patient or herd sour.
She was patient. She was not herd sour. She was polite of my space and learned quite quickly not to walk into me.
Princess of course decided she could help clear up some of the brush that I was cutting.
She was a willing partner and very attentive to everything I was doing.
I like that in any equine.
Gentle, polite, not pushy, and completely relaxed.
Of course this idea of just walking around with a donkey on lead while hiking came from a blogging friend of mine.
Her blog is called The Dancing Donkey.
I want to thank her so much for writing about her adventures with her donks.
After losing Opal and knowing that Fred is pretty aged [a chart on equine shows that 30 yrs old is equivalent to about 90 yrs old in human age. I am not sure that it applies to pony mules though]....
I figured I best get an animal trained for riding that was reliable, quiet, and very dependable.
Princess was one of my first choices.
There is still Eddie of course, but he has more attitude than Princess.
After our hike in the woods, I decided to take Princess up the drive to get mail.
She had no issues with that until she saw some odd creatures whizzing about on bicycles.
She had to think about that for a moment by locking up her legs and watching.
After she decided that the creatures were not going to eat her, we got the mail.
And the creatures decided to introduce themselves.
After much petting and admiration from the neighbor's children, Princess was not sure she really wanted to go back home.
Stay tuned.
Princess will be getting her first saddling pretty soon.
I'm sure that will go as well as our hiking did.
A Donkey may not be the most glamorous animal to ride, but in some ways I think they can be the best mounts.
I have ridden donkeys and contrary to popular belief, they are nice and smooth.
And they make mules look clumsy.
Here's to donkeys and making new friends!
