Homestead mailing list

["Lynda" <lurine AT softcom.net>]

When we lived down in Wine Country, we had a horse, a burro and a Jeruselum 
ass that would split the smaller pasture (20 acres) between them.  Kinda 
worked the field in triangle formation.  The two donkeys were mean little 
critters when it came to wandering dogs but that old Quarter Horse mare was 
downright evil! <g> We came out one morning to screaming.  Couldn't figure 
out what the heck it was.  Pentequa and Thomasina were standing by the gate 
giving me the "not me mom" looks, so I went looking for Spook.  Sure enough, 
she had something literally treed.  A HOG!  The poor pig was about half-way 
up one of the many forked trees by the creek.  Everytime the poor thing 
tried to get down to run home, she'd nail it again.

When dogs would hit the pature, the mares would form a circle and the sheep 
and goats would haul hiney and stand in the middle and the donkeys would go 
to work.  If there were a lot of dogs, then Spook and Bug (little mustang 
mare) would join the dog hunt.

Always amazed me at the owners of the dogs AND the hog who got upset because 
their wandering critters would getting picked to pieces!  Oh well!  I mean, 
the donkeys and the horses were kind enough to allow the owners to fetch 
their wandering muts if they wanted to. <g>

Lynda
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "SJC" <indexer AT localnet.com>

> Ah, but only initially....almost no vet bills, hoof bills, and much
> easier keep than a horse....
>
> In all the years I had Herman (14, I think) I had zip in the way of
> non-elective expenses, and was able to easily feed him from what we grew
> right here (10 A of marginal Maine, part of which is coppiced).
> Elective expenses amounted to some tack, but even that was cheaper, as I
> managed, with some patience, to buy it pretty cheap after somebody got
> some tack for his horses that was "not right".  Since I grew up around
> mules, I recognized it and took my chance and so ended up paying a total
> of $27 for half a wagon load of messed up mule tack, but I have an old
> industrial sewing machine just for such stressful moments...  :)
>
> Boy, James, you are right about the attack tendencies of the donkey/mule
> bunch.  Herm was death on coyotes, made quick work of one (gory
> business, that) and got another a couple of days later (I didn't see
> that, happened at night) and they went so far away after the second one
> that we didn't even hear them around here until he'd been gone for 2
> years!  Took good care of  "his" goats, loved humans after he was
> introduced but before that not much on them either.  Nothing else went
> anywhere near him, either, except for one of my dogs, which seemed to be
> his 'bud' and would walk right under him when he was up to to barn.  The
> other dogs would head for the house as soon as he came to the barn and I
> never saw them venture to the field when he was there.  Even the cats
> (especially the cats, now that I think of it) didn't stick around where
> he was.  Amazing how fast he was, fascinating to watch, really, for a
> critter that seemed to take time to "consider" everything else he did,
> including eat, he'd go into "instant mode" at the sight of any
> intruder.  Crows used to tease him sometimes, funny to watch.
>
> My first lesson on The Territorial Mule happened at the age of seven.
> I'd always been around mules, but at home.  Visiting some friends, we
> thought to take a shortcut from the house to the river, which happened
> to be through a field where their mules were at the moment.  One arrived
> by my side as soon as we were over the fence, picked me up by the right
> shoulder and flung me back over the fence.  For 40 years I still had the
> tooth marks on my shoulder, front and back, but they have mostly
> disappeared now.....the lesson, however, left a permanent mark, as well
> it should.
>
> Susan Jane, in Maine
> _______________________________________________
> Homestead list and subscription:
> http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/homestead
> Change your homestead list member options:
> http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/options/homestead/lurine%40softcom.net
> View the archives at:
> https://lists.ibiblio.org/sympa/arc/homestead