Learning To Dance In The Storm

Howdy,

Life After An Almost Fatal Motor Vehicle Accident is challenging to say the least as chronic pain changes the person we once were, making it difficult to navigate life but not impossible.  Just for a moment think about a movie or book where people have overcome extreme trauma and obstacles?  Please never forget the shoes these people walked in, a road  very few people would choose as “no amount of fame or money can replace the life before trauma.”

Live your life with a grateful attitude and thank GOD for your health, family (two and four-legged) and never forget to thank GOD for those precious special friends (people) GOD has planted in your life. I believe true friends are angels sent by GOD to help us navigate this fallen world we live in I am especially grateful for my husband and best friend Scott.  I’m learning to dance in the storm  (in my mind) Stop Gritting My Teeth And Waiting For The Storm To Pass, Enjoy Every Moment Now as Life Is Precious and Fragile. 

Even for the most determined personality healing from life threatening injuries is never a straight line, set backs are painful, tearful and difficult feels like being knocked down over and over again. Attending physical therapy I see people come in after knee surgery or something else they work hard and graduate from physical therapy.  After almost two years I am still trying to restore my body, such a long, long time and yet I am learning to dance in the storm using my mind. GOD in Jesus Christ precious name is amazing!

I have learned the mind is the battlefield and I must never give up, never stop believing that any moment, hour or day GOD can change everything, remove this pain and suffering, give me peace, health and joy once again. Changing our thought process enables us to heal after trauma. If we can change our thought process, we pay attention to what we are thinking, reading, watching on t.v. and the internet we can not only manage trauma we can dance in our minds.  Never forget  “one step back followed by Three Steps Forward”,  means we are making progress.  Never give up, never stop trying to change and grow no matter what the circumstance. Stay grateful, humble and trust GOD for everything.

I will never give up, curl in a ball and wait for something good to happen. I believe a body in motion stays in motion, a mind in motion stays in motion and we get out of life exactly what we put into it, most importantly I trust GOD in Jesus Christ name to restore everything stolen and give us double for our troubles.

The LORD has declared that he will restore me to health and heal my wounds.  JEREMIAH 17:14 read from The Secret Power Of Speaking GODs word by Joyce Meyer.

GOD bless you and your family two and four-legged!

Melody

http://www.donkeywhisperer.com

 

The Shortest Day Of The Year

Howdy,

December 21st, 2011 is the shortest day of the year, see Komo News for more information.  After December 21st each day will have a few more seconds of light and before we blink it will be spring again in the Pacific Northwest, Washington. 

Since this is the world-wide web I thought it would be interesting to see how these days change all over the world.  Consider leaving a comment with the shortest day of the year where you live.   

GOD bless you and your family two and four-legged!

Melody

http://www.donkeywhisperer.com

 

Time To Laugh

Howdy,

Turn the volume up for this very funny VIDEO, I especially enjoyed the monkeys playing a dentist! 

GOD bless you and your family two and four-legged!

Melody

http://www.donkeywhisperer.com

 

Warning Leaving A Halter On A Horse, Donkey or Mule

Howdy,

WARNING Leaving  A halter On a Horse, Mule or Donkey Can Cause Death or self-mutilation 

My horse and donkeys are very athletic they can take their back hooves and itch their face.  The halter could get stuck on their hooves, fence or other objects.

* Strangulation can occur when they get the halter stuck on something and fight to get it off

* The halter can grow into the head of the equine (horse, donkey, mule) I have personally seen this and it is abuse

* Dirty itchy halter causes the equine to scratch and work to get it off it’s not natural (think  how you would want to be treated)

Learn How To Teach your Equine (horse, donkey or mule) To Catch You!

When interacting with your equine try to make this a time to connect bring a couple of pieces of green apple with you or a carrott  to build a relationship of fair and safe leadership.  Equine work best in training programs that do not require the equine to stay in the prisoner role.  Yes, I said prisoner role, old school training techniques use fear to train equine and this is not a partnership.  Donkeys cannot be trained this way they require natural training with fair, balanced and an honest trainer!  Horses dream of being trained the way donkeys demand to be trained with dignity and respect.

The joy you will receive when changing your training methodology is enormous and your frustration will vanish.  People say “treats make my equine nip” I say “Nope, use this as an opportunity to train” watch your timing let the equine turn their head away and then give them a reward takes just a few training sessions for them to learn how to politely accept a treat.  Creativity is the answer you can do it!

Study Parelli if you don’t know how to play the friendly game and the catching game as they can teach you and membership is free for one month.  On line videos, magazine and Parelli connect, everyone is studying under the Parelli’s very positive equine support and training.  Working with equine is a dangerous sport you must be careful, have a plan, stay safe and not abuse the equine.  

All of my equine come up to us every time we call them just like my dogs.  The key is setting the animal up for success if each time you have time to be with your equine you are doing things to them that are not enjoyable why would they want to come up?  Treat your equine the way you would want to be treated if you were living your life as an equine and watch the blessings start flowing freely.

The first step in training any animal is taming!  The animal must trust that you will NOT abuse them or hurt them so try to think of it from their point of view and remember awareness is the first step in change.  We subscribe to The Brayer a journal of the American Donkey and Mule Society magazine.  Take a look this is a lovely way to learn more about donkeys and mules!

GOD bless you and your family two and four legs

Melody

www.donkeywhisperer.com

 

What To Do When Your Donkey, Horse or Mule Is Sick

Rio (9 months old) playing with Rockt Man (13 years old)

  

Lily quarter horse (21 months old)

Red Flags - Call the VET

Several things could be the cause of the red flags listed below.  Please remember preventive care is a must in optimum health of our beloved equine.

1.  Colic or founder.  Symptoms may not show up the same as in the horse so it is imperative you pay attention to your donkey or mule’s daily habits, anything out of the ordinary should be checked out by your vet.  Be sure you can take the temperate of your equine in the rectum without any problems and learn how to take their digital pulse.

2. All equine should have a temperature of 99.9 anything above 100 is a fever, call the vet.  Here is video clip of a vet taking a horses temperature.  Donkeys should be treated the same way and I highly suggest training before sickness occurs to alleviate stress for the equine and you.  One more tip ”keep your thermometer in your emergency medical kit ready to go as it is really hard to remove the horse poop taste if you need to use it due to personal sickness”.  Smile.

3.  Your equine (horse, donkey or mule) is lame can’t stand on one leg.  If a nail or any other object is stuck in the hoof your vet needs to remove it do not remove without the vet.  Sometimes x-rays are needed and a plan for the best care to get your beloved equine back to health.

4.  Eye is oozing stuff or has an injury on any place of the body requiring stitches.

5.  Gums bright red, extreme pale, blue - Article by Dr. Dechant, DVM

Do you have some articles to share?  Please leave a comment with the link to the article to help keep our domesticated equine in optimum health.

GOD bless you and your family two and four-legged!

Melody

http://www.donkeywhisperer.com

 

How To Take Your Donkey, Horse or Mule’s temperature

 

All equine (donkeys, horses and mules) should be 99.9 anything above 100 is a fever you need to call the Vet.  How to Video clip by DVM.

 

Laughter Is The Best Medicine

Howdy,

What are the benefits of smiling?  Smiling takes a moment of our time and is certainly a huge ice breaker for meeting new people and re-connecting with our friends and family.  Smiling releases endorphins in our brain the animals can tell when we are happy or sad. Just think about it would you like to connect with a frown on a person or a smile?

GOD bless you and your family two and four-legged!

Melody

http://www.donkeywhisperer.com

 

Let’s Use Social Media To Stop Equine (horse, donkey and mule) Slaughter In America

Howdy,

A friend just forwarded me this plea for help to stop horse Slaughter in America just takes a few seconds to help.  Select STOP HORSE SLAUGHTER IN America.  Please forward this link to everyone you know to stop horse slaughter in America.

Here’s what you can say:

Taxpayers should not pay millions of dollars in subsidies for this cruel industry.  Thank you.

Please leave a comment sharing what you did to help!  Each of us can make a difference just takes a few seconds of our time via the wonderful social media of the internet.

GOD bless you and your family two and four-legged!

Melody

http://www.donkeywhisperer.com

 

Here Comes The Rain Again

Howdy,

Fall has officially arrived in the Pacific Northwest and with fall comes rain.  Excellent drainage is a must for equine living in the rain and please don’t forget the much-needed necessity shelter.  For heavy traffic areas we lay 3/4 clean gravel to prevent mud as mud causes serious health issues for equine.  Fighting thrush is a constant battle for our mammoth donkey Rio I just started using No Thursh  seems to be working the best. My horse and mini donkey have no problem with thrush and they all live in the same environment, interesting how each equine is unique. Picking up the poop at least once a day will help in more ways than one.  Smile. 

Are you wondering how to prevent mud? Here is an interesting site from WSU explaining how to prevent mud and keep your pastures growing.

GOD bless you and your family two and four legged!

Melody

http://www.donkeywhisperer.com

 

Tips For Winter Preparation On The Farm

Howdy,

2009 photo of Melody loving on the donkey girls (Jennies) before the car accident at Mas Ass Acres, truly a fantastic memory.

The weather is changing fall is in the air and soon it will be winter, preparation is the key to optimum health for domesticated equine (horse, donkey or mule) as they depend on their human partner to care for them.  Owning a horse, donkey or mule is a huge responsibility and should never be taken lightly even when we don’t feel good (exhausted, tired, or sick) we must take care of our equine or get help to care for them as they depend on us and cannot do it for themselves.

Blanket Or Not To Blanket? This is another personal decision in keeping our equine in optimum health.  Equine can grow beautiful thick fur coats if they are healthy and are not blanketed.  Sadly when they are sick and not being fed correctly it is extremely hard for them to grow a healthy fur coat as all of the nutrients are working to keep them alive.  

All domesticated equine must have shelter to get out of the cold and wet elements.   If you blanket please remember this is a huge responsibility the blanket must be checked daily for sores, wet, sweat, rubbing, moving entanglement.  A wet, dirty and frozen blanket can contribute to a serious illnesses and even death in our beloved equine at the minimum colic.  An electric water bucket screwed tightly against the barn so they cannot bite it and get electrocuted will help keep your equine drinking water with a bonus you do not have to break ice.  All of our equine drink more warm water than cold water in the very cold winter days we always have two buckets one heated and one not.  Did you know? Clean no mold hay and fresh water are the most important  nutrients we can provide our beloved equine.  Do you have your buckets ready for winter? 

Please remember if your equine is old, sick or recovering from surgery a clean blanket is a must.  The absolute best coat is usually not always but usually their fur coat as it drys quickly and is less maintenance for us humans.  Since winter is coming make sure all your blankets are cleaned and fit your equine. 

GOD bless you and your family two and four-legged!

Melody

http://www.donkeywhisperer.com