Tuesday, June 21, 2016

A little background on the one small ass.

Our Farm started out with just my horses, then added chickens, and goats, and our mascot Marco the mini donkey.
Marco was originally given to me by my father-in-law Oscar as a joke to irritate my husband. Oscar had a habit of going to horse auctions and buying things he never really needed. Just to get a rise out of my husband, I'd always tell him "be sure to keep an eye out for a mini donkey!".
Wouldn't you know, on my birthday in 2009, Oscar shows up with the stock trailer & unloads an intact, practically feral, 4 year old miniature donkey. Poor little guy was scared to death of humans and had obviously never has his feet touched as they were so long that trying to curl.
At this time, I was scheduled for back surgery in two weeks. With no time to start desensitizing (and the inability to bend over) the vet and farrier were scheduled for a joint appointment to castrate and trim hooves while fully sedated. Worked like a charm! While recovering from surgery, I decided on a name. Marco, a good Sicilian name for what I was hoping would become a good Sicilian donkey.
Took over a year to get him comfortable with me, and he became an excellent guard dog for our two goats. Several more years went by, slowly earning trust, learning to be a functioning member of society. Seven years later, he no longer try to kill the farrier, stands to be bathed and body clipped (doesn't shed until July), and is beginning his journey as a driving donkey!
Marco gets put on the back burner most of the time (other than treats and butt scratches) thanks to training horses, chasing tiny humans, a brief stint as a goat breeder, etc. Even this blog will probably focus more on my own riding and my mare Lily.





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