Olivia is a quick learner. With those ears, she's a great listener, as well; and that's a good thing, because for now, I'm just doing a lot of talking to her. Today, though, she made great progress. I turned her out in the turnout for a couple of hours this morning, hoping she'd return to her stall voluntarily when she saw me put the feed inside, but she didn't. It took only a moment to usher her in with a driving whip.
For the uninitiated, the driving whip is but an extension of one's hand. It isn't a tool of abuse or striking; it's a way of safely reaching out toward an animal in a non-threatening manner. It is the driving whip that I'll use to teach her to trust me touching her legs; burros are accurate and lightning-fast kickers, and it's far better that they kick at a whip than at me face, hand, or leg.
I slowly worked my way toward Olivia, mindful of that quick back end, and when she retreated to the other corner of the stall, I followed. I extended my hand first, palm up so as not to appear threatening, and she indicated her willingness to continue by reaching out and sniffing my hand. That's a good sign.
I picked up the driving whip and extended it very slowly, letting her sniff it also, and when she reached toward it, I stepped back a little. She eventually let me touch her on the shoulder with it. I used it to touch her neck, side, and belly.
To my surprise, she was fine when it made contact with the underside of her belly. A lot of equines are ticklish there and will react negatively, but Olivia was perfectly happy. I put the whip down and moved closer to her empty handed.
I was astonished at how trusting Olivia was. She didn't even fudge when I reached out and put my hand on her withers. Her ears slightly back with attentive apprehension, she let me pet and scratch her neck, side, and chest, resisting only when I rubbed her eyes (but minutes later accepting that as well). She wasn't ready for me to touch her lower leg, but no matter - I am thrilled at what progress we made. She's coming along far faster than I'd have anticipated.
Many times, the way to an animal's heart is to scratch what itches. Livestock, like cats and dogs, often have favorite scratching spots. I haven't found Olivia's yet but she seemed warily happy to have me try.
Although not emaciated, Olivia is definitely on the lean side. A fat burro isn't a healthy burro, but she'll benefit from gaining some weight; in the top photo, you can see how meager she is above the hips and along the ridge of her back. I have her on timothy hay, bermuda pellets, and just a handful of timothy / alfalfa chop. She wasn't crazy about the Calf Manna I gave her, but when she acquires a taste for it I'll add it to her feed to give her a bit of a vitamin boost. I'll also start her on a small amount of rice bran to help her coat bloom. Of course, she has a mineral salt lick available as well. Below, she's enjoying her bermuda pellets. As a side note, I chose the bermuda pellets because the vendor I visited to pick up some hay for her the other night was out of bermuda - the recent rainfall has ruined many crops - and as she had been on bermuda hay before I adopted her, the best substitute I could find in a pinch was pellets plus a beautiful, clean compressed bale of timothy. I like the timothy so well I will probably leave her on it.
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Wonderful!
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