A Week-Long Trip!

Here is Madeline at the Big Caballo Del Sol trail ride, she was the hit of the event with lots of people coming to see her as they'd walk past our campsite. Everyone just loved her and was amased at how well adapted she was to just being there. This was a week long catered trail ride with 160 people from various states and was held in Kirkland Junction at Coopers Ranch an angora goat farm and cattle ranch.

As soon as we got there on the 21st....Joe a friend of ours a.k.a. Joeroadapple on this forum (AzBCR)......took off with Madeline and her halter just as soon as we got her unloaded. We had not even gotten the mules unloaded yet. He walked Madeline all around to the various camp sites of people already there asking "if they liked his backside"......." the doctor told him he had to walk his backside" you fill in the right word, and was gone for a little over an hour while we got the rest of our campsite all set up. He was quite cute out there a walkin with his big tall hat, little belly and boots on with his little backside behind him just a strolling along .....

This is Madeline camped out on a ground stake for part of the afternoon. She would play in her playpen corral with her ball as we'd all ride off for the days ride.


Here is Madeline with her "Auntie" Linda Kay watching the champagne races one afternoon. They held after the half days ride mid week a fun day of events for those whom wanted to participate and those whom wanted to watch as the events unfolded. The best one was of the guy on his horse trying to balance his champagne glass and trot by with others in tow, he gave up, said the hell with it and just drank it !!! They had hot dog races and you name it......


Here is Dad taking Madeline for her first river walk down the river. Oh, it was all pure donkey at first......all four feet balking at getting even a foot in it, but boy, once she got in, she loved it!


Here she is just a walking away, did not care at this point how deep it got as she trolled along.............


Oh boy did she love her Dad as he wet her all down..........just stood there soaking it all in.....


Hope you enjoyed Madeline's little trip........till next time !!!! Her next event will be the Gardner Canyon Trail Ride this next weekend April 4th and 5th. Hope to see you all there ....

David and Linda

First Camping Trip

QUOTING FROM LINDA

Here is Madeline's first camping trip this last week end March 14th and 15th at the Doll Baby Ranch in Payson Arizona. She was so good it was unbelieveable, as if she'd done it before. We usually have someone in our group back in camp so she had plenty of attention while we all trail rode. And never made a peep as we all rode off.......just rolled and played in her portable stall.

Camping out in her portable travel corral while we get the boys ready for their Saturday ride.



Around 1:00pm Saturday we got dumped out with rain, sleet and hail.......and boy did we all get wet!, Not Madeline though....


And once the boys got unsaddled from the ride they got dumped on, they too dressed up just like Madeline.... she felt quite at home with her big brothers.



And, on Sunday after the ride and packing up she's all ready to go back home........ all loaded up with her big brothers and ready to rock and roll.



She did so well on this camp out as her first, that she'll be hittin the road this week end for Kirkland Junction Arizona for a week long catered trail ride....she will be spoiled by many who will be on the ride....usually around 125 people.

David and Linda

A FELLOW AzBCR MEMBER ASKED ABOUT HER OWN SPOT IN THE TRAILER AND LINDA ANSWERED:

Yes, we built her a stud wall in the back bay which was a large bay between her and big brother Earl. David designed it and is portable and work and slides and latches in just perfect, we even rubber matted the stud wall both sides.....and she had her own little portable wall hanging hay bag to munch in as she traveled.

As you can see, she even had her own little 4 panel portable corral of her own tied into one panel of each of her brothers portable corral panels when she camped. We used to set up the big boys portable corrals in a figure eight with the two sharing to panels in the center, now we do a clover leaf.

David and Linda

AND LINDA'S FURTHER COMMENT TO ME:

Susan,

Everyone in the club loved her to death......

Our Mule driving training friends came down from Snow Flake for pot luck and Bernard and his wife Diane just loved her. And Bernard's son B.J. and his wife fell in love with her.......and might be a wanting one for themselves!!

You would have been so proud of her and how well she adapted to camping, like it was nothing !!

Linda

Another E-mail

Wanted to ask you, at what age do you stop feeding Madeline the mare and foal? You might have told me but I don't remember if you did and figured I needed to find out how long she needs to be on it. She is so cute, she knows that when I get home from work she will get her mare and foal pellets, she has a little internal clock. What I've been doing so that I know she gets it all, is when I put the boys out in the pasture she goes in her playpen all by herself and I close the gate on her so she can eat her mare and foal. Then later when she comes out she has her Bermuda Blend pellets in the pasture along side of the goats. It's worked well that way.

This Friday night is her first big camp out trip. We will be heading out to Payson for the Lone Ranger Trail Ride at the Doll Baby Ranch in Payson and Madeline is going. She'll have to tell you all about it when she gets back.

David's mom came up from Queen Creek this last Sunday to see Madeline, she fell in love with her personality and just loved her. Karl Kandell from the Back Country Riders sight was with her and he just fell head over heels for Madeline and said she would love to play with his "kiwi", ..... get your mind out of the gutter......that is his baby donkey's name.

Linda

AND AFTER I RESPONDED SHE WROTE BACK:

Thanks for the info on the mare and foal, we also give her a baby scoop of the Dynamite plus which is vitamins and minerals in pellet form which she likes too. So when she does get weaned off the mare and foal she can still look forward to that.

And I'm sure my mom is excited about John Henry, although she has not told me yet that she bought him, only knew from you that she did.

No kidding on the Ms. Popular thing, Madeline surely is. She gets lots of neighbors stopping by to see her. And, some of the neighbors thought the mules had a baby....HA, not bad for a couple of Johns. We'll get lots of pictures of her first camp out.

Linda

Madeline's New Home

QUOTING LINDA FROM THE AzBCR THREAD:

Most of you whom know us, and know Susan "Paintedpromise", know we purchased a little mini donkey from Susan's herd of babies.

We figured you'd like to see her in her new home, and see some of her new adventures she is getting to do as a new member of our little crew.

This is Madeline taking a stroll in her pasture after getting her first face trim with the clippers. She's working her way to the (3) pygmy goats she shares the pasture with. Also notice the horse tie in the back ground, yep, everything is big and tall......was quite the site to watch me clip Madeline. She was rather good about her ears and face front, but when you got to under the chin, she said she was outta here and shot right under the horse tie......that was till mom gave her a cookie and she thought then she'd just stand there and get finished off.



This is Madeline the same day helping Dad put up her play pen. She has a 12'x12' playpen in the corner of the pasture that we put her in for about 2 hours every late afternoon so her big brother John mules can come out and wrestle. Keeps her safe and out of their way as they romp and just be boys. She has the pasture all the rest of the time day and night that she shares with the goats so she really does not mind for a couple of hours.



This is Madeline with mom. When she first got to meet big brother mule Gus, he was not too sure about her. As he plastered his ears back as she got up close to him.........she turn and ran to mom. Yep, me !! David laughed his you know what off, because if was obvious since she no longer had her mom, I was it. He swore since it was so close to Easter he was going to buy one of those Easter Bonnets, you know, one with big floppy ears sticking out of the top!! Stop laughing. Needless to say, a few days later when Gus was out in the pasture and checking out Madeline in her playpen, Mattie decided to turn her butt to him while he watched her from the outside, and she kicked out at him......as if to say, SEE this, SEE what I can do !!! Another time early one morning, she was out in the pasture and the sprinklers to the pasture came on..... She ran like the dickens up and into the breeze way of the barn and through big brother Mule Earl's stall rails and stood with him. He towered ever so large over her, watching the sprinklers go and nuzzled the top of her head......for a big ole boy, he was really sweet with her. Then later Susan told me, yes, little donkey's do not like getting wet !!! I can imagine why, she already is small..........



That is the end for now, there will be more to follow of Madeline's adventures in her new home of travel for you all to follow. This Friday night is her big first camp out trail ride as she hitches a ride in the horse trailer with her two big John mule brothers, and heads to Payson for the Lone Ranger weekend campout ride at the Doll Baby Ranch . Life of the little mini donkey !! We'll be sure to get some pictures of her first camp out.


Hope you all enjoyed,

David and Linda

AND LATER THAT DAY IN ANSWER TO SOME QUESTIONS...

When Susan delivered her to us, it was a Friday late afternoon when I got home from work on Feb. 27th. She had spent the whole day with Susan at a petting zoo, so she was pretty tired. When Susan pulled out with Madeline's mom in the trailer and other young ones Madeline cried for her mom. Pretty much most that first night, just about every hour she cried for mom, as did her mom for her from what Susan told me.

However, come Saturday morning, David and I pretty much spent the whole day outside with her, working on the trailer, setting up her playpen and etc.......she did not cry for her mom anymore and even got to visit with the 12 little mini horses that live right across the street from us ... they run and kick up their heels in their front pasture and Madeline does the same from hers.

The playpen we had here. I had it in the back behind the barn stored. It used to be my schipperke's playpen in the dog back yard when she was a pup. We had bought it from Dottie at the Western Ranchman, and always knew it would come in handy. It's perfect for her and has a walk through gate that we keep latched open so she can go in and out during the day time on her own. She really seems to like it a lot, and the goats since we put in up camp out in there on their own with her.

Madeline today has fully adjusted to her own schedule, she comes running to the gate when you get home from work, plays ball with you in the pasture. And also pretends she is "racing stripes" from the movie of the little zebra thinking he's a race horse......as she loves to race with David across the pasture and pass him up as she hits the breezeway first .... needless to say our neighbors around us probably think were idiots as we race around the turn out with her running along in tow just a kicking up her heels to pass us up.

She lays with the goats and lays right side by side with our dogs as they kiss her face. She has really adapted very well to her new home.

At the moment, John Henry is being weaned at Susan's, and is for my mom who is buying him from Susan. I know my mom is all excited and has not seen him in person but can't wait to get him home with her. So John Henry will get to come visit Madeline, at our place up north when we go up there while my mom brings John Henry and her Mule for camping for when we finish off her mule's driving lessons this summer.

Linda

Sprinkler!

David just called and said this morning when the sprinklers came on in the pasture....Madeline shot like a rabbit into Earl's stall.... and stayed with him. Earl is a sweetie, he really likes her....so David opened Earl's gate when he was feeding so she could come out....then she rolled in the breezeway...her favorite pass time.

Linda

First E-mail Report

JUST A TASTE OF THE FUN STORIES TO COME :)

Madeline thinks she is racing stripes....like the movie about the little zebra that thinks he's a race horse....she is so funny!! She does this when you get home and wants you to play race with her, we do and boy does she love it, tail just goes a wagging. We probably look like idiots running in the pasture together with her just having a ball, but who cares.

It was funny though when she beat the pants in running off David!!! Laughed my ass off.

Linda