My daughter used to ride at a stable in San Antonio. They had 30 horses and one mule. The owner's uncle always picked the mule to ride for the stock show trail rides, because the horses exhausted him. He said the mule had a much smoother ride.

Mules tend to be very smooth gaited.

I am smiling for you! And for them.

Sue

Here are the donkeys. The one wearing the halter is the reddish one. The pregnant jenny is the one in front of him. The baby (he is at least a year old) is the one behind him and the daddy of the baby and the baby to be, is in the foreground.

Bless you Marilyn for your love of animals.

Whew! ! ! I just knew, at the start of your post, that you were going to end up taking all of them! ! ! :^) If I read right, you are getting the jenny and her colt, (and a future foal) and Snoop, right? I'm glad both Amos and Emory are getting companions.

Looking forward to pictures of your new 'family'.

Rusty

You are one amazing person- so much goodness and love to share.

Yes, the pregnant jenny and her last colt and Snoop. I am pretty sure Heather can find homes for the rest of them. She has almost 1200 FB friends. They are all at Heather's. I will go get mine tomorrow.

What about the Coggins?

If I promise not to sneak off with one can I come visit? haha Thank you for saving them. :) Thanks to you I seriously want a donkey lol

Just seeing how my dachshund would react alone is enough to make me want to get one lol

Bless you. Marilyn, for your big caring heart! They are so pretty! Good luck with all your plans. I knew when I started reading you were going to end up with more than one!

Please tell us that, when you get everyone home and settled, you'll get them all together for a big group picture. Including Val and Amos and all the others!

The coggins is for infectious anemia. The vet will be here in a day or two to check Val again, and they will get one then.

I will take some pictures. I hope to bring my horses home tomorrow. I will have to keep the new donkeys away from the others for a little while because my mares are very mean to new comers. I don't want them chased off the bank into the bayou.

Bless you for taking care of all these creatures. We can only rescue cats and wish we could do more. You are amazing.

Heather just updated that the mini stallion has found a home!

Marilyn, you are nuts...but the very best kind of nuts and I love you for it!

Apparently you posted the donkeys' picture while I was typing awhile ago. They look like they've been pretty well cared for, at least. And it's good to know the mini stallion has found a home, too!

Rusty

Marilyn, you have a tender heart. Bless you, is all I can say.

Oh Marilyn, I just love you. Your family is growing by leaps and bounds and I am so happy for you and for all of those animals. I'm losing track of how many animals you have (or will soon have) and their names. Eventually you will need to make a list so we can all keep up with your family.

Marilyn....your post has me in happy tears... You are simply amazing....

Wow! That's a lot of new hoofs around the place Marilyn! Your already busy....but....please post pics of the baby when it's born.

So glad the mini guy found a home. You are an amazing woman, and I respect you so much! And Jody sounds like a wonderful man.

Marilyn, thank you so much for rescuing these wonderful creatures!

I have a question about donkeys though....I just read a ton about donkeys and still am not sure why there are so many for rescue in the US? Are these all pets or are they for working as well? I understand in developing countries they are very important for working but am not sure of their role in the US.

I just added donkeys to my future rescue farm retirement dream. They are super cute!

My heart just turned to mush! ❤

The world is truly a better place with our Marilyn in it!!

Cleo, I am sure part of the reason there are so many donkeys in the US, is because most people don't geld their jacks. They don't want to pay upwards of $200+ for gelding an animal worth about $35. Out here almost every pasture has a donkey in it. Usually as guard animals for cows or goats. It is questionable if that is a good idea or not. Also, I think everyone has a donkey because they are so available. Sort of like everyone has a dog.

Thanks-that makes sense! I am from NJ and have honestly never seen a donkey in a pasture. We have cows and horses in certain counties but that’s it. I didn’t know donkeys were that common anymore. They are awful cute.

Can I squeal with delight from behind a computer screen????? OMG. I can hardly stand it. You are awesome, what a menagerie--I knew you'd get a donkey!!! I love how the sun is shining through to this sweet little corral, and those beautiful creatures, who have been through he**, and have made it.... to Marilyn's little paradise. Congrats to all of you!

Mra. S, that is my friend, Heather's, place. I didn't have time to bring them home today because Jody had a doctor's appointment. I will get them tomorrow.

The reason I took the old horses, I don't expect them to live for a long, long time. They may surprise me, and that is okay.

When my daughter was little, about 5, I got an old horse that I named Old Timer. He showed up at my mother's house one day...legs cut up and skin and bones. I knew all the horses in the area, and didn't recognize him. So I put a found notice on the bulletin board at the feed store. I doctored his cuts, wormed him and started feeding him. In a couple of weeks, he had gained enough weight that he looked presentable.

His owner finally saw the notice and came to get him. Turns out the old horse had been a champion roping horse in his day, but he was old now, and his owner died, so the heirs sent him to auction. The guy.....who I knew because he lived down the road from me....bought him, thinking he might make a good roping horse for a kid to learn on. I talked him into selling him to me. I would have been afraid to have a kid gallop that horse. Anyway, I had grown fond of him and I didn't want him to work hard any more. He had paid $135 for him, and I gave him $100 and a sack of oysters.

He was the best old horse. So honest. A baby could have ridden him. I rode him a few times because Erin could sit in front of me in the saddle. I took him to school and gave the children rides on Western Day.

I guess I had him a year...maybe two. One evening he came in the barn to be fed. After he ate, I turned him out and the last time I saw him alive, he was walking back to the pasture. I came out an hour later, and saw him dead. I think he just had a heart attack. He showed no sign of being sick or in pain or anything. So these two old horses may not live a lot longer. I am going to do everything I can to take care of them and hopefully get them to gain some weight. I worry that Emory may be too far gone. I understand he was been skinny for years.

Val is old too but he looks good. Gypsy is close to 20 herself. So I may not have them a long time but that's okay.

A bunch of lucky animals now have a good home with Marilyn.Such good news.

What a wonderful animal story! Such a nice way to start my day. So happy for you and your very lucky animals.

We need to name your place "Marilyn's Happy Retirement Home for Animals".

A better name might be Jody Can Never Retire Ranch. ;)

Jody is one in a million also isn't he? It is so nice that he supports you in what you love to do.

Jody has always been very supportive of everything I do, and he is a very giving person. He has no interest in horses...has been on a horse twice in the 52 years we've been married. The Christmas before we got married in January, he gave me a half Arabian gelding. Sort of better than an engagement ring....altho he gave me one of those also.

I brought Snoop and the donkeys home. The two donkeys I wanted....not all four of them. I got the mama donkey and her last colt. One of the other jacks bit a hunk out of his neck. Jacks can be so mean. I need to figure out some way to doctor it, because he isn't halter broken. I will post some pictures of them later.

Marilyn, have you ever tried clicker training? It could be a great way to halter train your new project, and get him to accept the doctoring. Are donkeys very food-motivated?

Yes, I have clicker trained horses, dogs and donkeys. When I went to school to be a vet tech, we had to teach a conditioned response to an animal, and I chose a cat, I have always enjoyed training animals. I house sat for five months for a friend....every night I stayed there...came home during the day....and I clicker trained her dog. It was a catahoula and I taught him four tricks in about as many days. I was really impressed with him because we have always had catahoulas....have one now too....and they can be very stubborn dogs. I taught him to touch the target, sit, lie down, and roll over.

When I first got my three donkeys, I clicker trained them to back up, to keep them from crowding me when I went in their pasture to feed them. Donkeys are very food oriented and they are extremely easy to train. You can't make a donkey do anything....well, you can try, but they will resist.

I offered Mama donkey and her son some peppermint treats. She took them but spit them out. Son...I think I am going to name him Willie....and if the new baby is a male, I will name him Waylon...wouldn't come close enough to take one from my hand. I should have put it in his feed bucket.

Snoop loved them. He is extremely food oriented and would probably be easy to train. Poor Emory. I gave him a couple but they fell out of his mouth because he couldn't bite them. I don't believe he is as old as Snoop but his teeth are a whole lot worse. I will take some pics of them tomorrow. My phone needed charging and my digital camera went under water during the flood.

You are right, Justlinda. Somehow they do know. Animals appreciate kindness just as much as people. I like to spend time just watching them and you can tell a lot by the individual animal by the way it looks at you. I wanted Snoop for Emory because he spent years by himself....living in woods mostly and no other horses nearby. It was very touching....his reaction to Snoop. He was like a shy kid that hangs back, but you could tell he wanted to get close to him. Meanwhile, Snoop, who probably spent his whole life around other horses, was less than impressed and was more interested in eating and backing his ears if Emory got close. Eventually though, they were standing side by side, looking over the fence at me. It would have made a good picture but my phone was dead. I was happy to see Snoop let Emory stand next to him. I think they will work it out and be friends. Snoop didn't try to hurt him....just let him know not to get very near "his" hay...which was really Emory's hay, but I gave him some more, a little distance away. I hope Emory will do better with company. I'm not worried about Snoop but I am worried about Emory.