Buster!

We have a new friend.

Isn't he just downright adorable?

Buster is a 10 year old mammoth jackstock donkey gelding.  Now don't be calling him a mule, he's a whole ass, not a half ass. He has extensive packing experience, has gone on overnight trips in the backcountry, and as you can see, he's seen some interesting places.  He hasn't been ridden other than to be sat on and led around, but he knows how to sidepass and he has an understanding of lateral flexion, he lunges, and he basically has a really good training foundation.

He and Juniper weren't too sure about each other at first, but they were polite.

He's so fluffy!

This is my favorite picture in a long time.

Doesn't he look like a thinker?

Buster leans on his halter in the trailer, which made his nose sore, so his previous owner hauled him in a collar, and to simplify things he just rigged up this setup for a halter. It works just fine but I ordered him something prettier.

The Ez Fit treeless saddle ought to work just fine for him.  (Have I written about how much I love it?) I didn't have a pad handy, but really it's all padding anyway.  I may have to play with whether to put 2 cinches on it or leave it rigged as is.  I should also dig out my britchen and fit it to him.

He lived on a quiet hillside with an older gentleman and no other animals, and the ducks and dogs and traffic are new to him.  He thinks they're pretty interesting.

He is so happy to have a friend.  That was why he was for sale.  His owner loved him very much and couldn't have two donkeys, so decided to find him a donkey experienced home.  He was so particular about Buster's care I was afraid he'd get here and say this isn't good enough - there's too much green grass, it's too wet, too messy (this guy was very neat) or something.  But we passed the test.

This will be my excellent view one day when we ride.  I am going to get John's help with our first rides so we can get forward motion without too much confusion and make sure he understands the basics.  First I have to get his wolf teeth pulled and sharp points taken care of, and then introduce the bit.

Meeting the neighbors.

Trying out his new halter from Outfitter's Supply.  I've since oiled the leather nosepiece and tried to shape it a bit so it will conform to his nose. It looked a little uncomfortable.  The sizing isn't perfect, but I don't think I could have gone down a size and had it fit his nose.  It's a mule halter.  I guess mule proportions must be different.

They even eat together peacefully.  You couldn't take 2 horses and just throw them together like this.  Of course there was some donkey drama.  Juniper wanted the upper hand.  But it wasn't violent.  She didn't really get him moving like she wanted to, either.

I went ahead and let Sawyer and Halla mingle with them today (day 3 - they know each other over the fence now) and it was a non-event.  The only real problem horse is going to be Scout.  He's a bit of a butthead.

It's interesting re-integrating an animal who has been without his own kind for a long time.  We did the same with Sawyer.  They are so happy to have friends again.  I think it makes me want to take it slower with them, in some ways, because I want them to know they have a stable family now, and every time we walk away it's not forever.  So we go away and come back, go away a little farther and eat grass, then come back, go meet some cows down the road and the neighbor horses and then come back, etc.  (I tried taking both donkeys for a walk and that was a bad idea - one was slow and the other was fast and I just ended up frustrated.)

I'm excited to see what the future holds with our new buddy.