CHASITY is a Large Standard, 15 year old spotted jennet that we bought in 2020 to be a companion for our Large Standard gelding donkey, Wrangler, after he lost his mule friend in March of 2020. She came to us with lots of challenging health issues, but we are no strangers to that with our past rescues. When we have a case like this, we like to share our approach and the solutions we discover while consulting with our professional team of experts. We hope these LTR website diaries can help you to find solutions to the problems that you might face with your own Longears!

CHASITY’S CHALLENGES: Chasity’s First Ride: 9-15-20
Chasity has come a long way since the end of March. She has worked hard and is now enjoying true strength in a balanced and correct equine posture. Her health has greatly improved as has her mental attitude. She is happy to be working with her companion Wrangler and they both enjoy being able to share their lessons. Sometimes they are walked together to the Round Pen and sometimes they are taken separately. This promotes independence while preserving their friendships with each ...

CHASITY’S CHALLENGES: Combined Groundwork: 9-1-20
Chasity is in such good condition these days that I felt I could skip a week before engaging in her formal lessons again. She does get manual abdominal flexion exercises daily when she is fed. The beauty of postural core strength exercises is that they stay strong after the initial introductory work. It has been five months of this kind of exercise for Chasity, so if her workouts are only every other week, they are enough to sustain her strong ...

CHASITY’S CHALLENGES: Leading, Lunging & Ground Driving: 8-18-20
After having a week off, Chasity returned to her lessons happy, refreshed and ready to go to work. I decided to go back to the Hourglass Pattern and do more leading exercises followed by lunging on the lunge line and ground driving in the open arena. She had two weeks of lessons in the Round Pen and I was curious to see how she would do on the single line, and then the drive lines, with lots of space around her. This ...

CHASITY’S CHALLENGES: Fun with Friends: 8-4-20
Donkeys love it when you keep things easy, fresh and interesting! Chasity has been doing so well with her lessons with Wrangler lately that I thought we could change things up a bit and add a LITTLE excitement to their routine by adding the mini donkeys, Augie and Spuds! If this is to be a safe endeavor, I will have to break things down into small introductory steps and make frequent evaluations as to what is safe to do and what might not be ...

CHASITY’S CHALLENGES: Lunge Line Training: 7-21-20
Chasity is eager to go to the Round Pen and continue her lessons. Being polite, considerate, respectful and consistent in one’s approach will create a happy and willing partner. Most resistant behaviors arise from anxiety in the animal as a result of an unpredictable approach. Equines love the company of their own kind during training whenever possible. It gives them confidence, and a more experienced animal can show them how things are done with a compliant attitude. Breaking training down into very small steps assures ...

CHASITY’S CHALLENGES: Introduction
CHASITY is a Large Standard, 13 year old spotted jennet that we bought in 2020 to be a companion for our Large Standard gelding donkey, Wrangler, after he lost his mule friend in March of 2020. She came to us with lots of challenging health issues, but we are no strangers to that with our past rescues. When we have a case like this, we like to share our approach and the solutions we discover while consulting with our professional ...

CHASITY’S CHALLENGES: Chasity’s Arrival at LTR 3-30-20
With the empty stall and run next to Wrangler, we now had space to consider getting him a new companion. I checked with a friend in Oklahoma and we found Chasity! What a lovely “Lady!” My friend said she was a really FORWARD moving jennet with a lot of independence and enthusiasm. We thought she would be the perfect companion for Wrangler! Chasity was delivered on 3-30-20 and the introductions began while she was in quarantine in a space where ...

CHASITY’S CHALLENGES: Yearly Baths: 7-14-20
Each year, I try to pick the hottest week in July to do the equine’s yearly baths. The mules and horses have shed out their winter coats, except for a strip of hair on the mules’ bellies, and the donkeys are getting closer to being completely shed out. This makes a difference when you are trying to get them dry after their baths. They all begin to grow their winter coats in September. Their natural hair coats will insulate them from the heat ...

CHASITY’S CHALLENGES: Ground Driving Chasity: 7-7-20
Chasity continues to improve. We have cut the size of her obese, cresty neck by 70%. Her back is finally elevated. The spinal and abdominal muscles are much better conditioned and support her good posture. She has come a long way. She is submissive to the “Elbow Pull” and ready to begin her combination exercises in Lunging and Ground Driving. Chasity is happy that she gets to do these exercises with her “boyfriend,” Wrangler! He is her inspiration. They are so funny together! Chasity ...

CHASITY’S CHALLENGES: Hot to Trot: 6-30-20
It was a rainy day, so I decided to have Chasity and Wrangler’s workout take place in the indoor arena Round Pen. I had not planned to film this workout, but since the Round Pen was a lot further from the Tack Barn than my outdoor Round Pen, I decided to take my chances and try to lead Chasity and Wrangler together! I thought that would be film-worthy for sure. Those of you that have tried to lead ONE donkey around puddles in ...

CHASITY’S CHALLENGES: Learning to Submit to the “Elbow Pull”: 6-23-20
Chasity has made marked improvement in the past two weeks with her work in the Round Pen with Wrangler. They really enjoy working together and always give me their very best effort! Their bodies are really improving with the work even though their lessons are only once a week! Chasity’s infection is completely gone, her Lordosis (sway back) is no longer there and the fat on her neck crest has shrunk significantly. It will still take a very long time to get it ...

CHASITY’S CHALLENGES: Lunging Together: 6-10-20
Chasity had no way of knowing that she was about to graduate from the Hourglass Pattern to the Round Pen today, nor did she really care! She knows that every experience with me is happy and rewarding! So, she was waiting patiently at the stall door for me to come get her after I had already gotten Wrangler, her beau, from his stall! She put on her “happy face” and proceeded to the Tack Barn with a spring in her step!!! She was ...

CHASITY’S CHALLENGES: Perfecting the Moves: 6-2-20
Chasity fully enjoys her lessons these days and waits anxiously at the stall door! She knows when I count my blessings, I count my mules (and donkeys!) TWICE! Chasity has been working in the Hourglass Pattern and through obstacles for two months now. Her posture and core strength continue to improve with her weekly lessons. Now it is time to perfect each movement and make sure they are done correctly and in complete balance. In addition to her weekly stretching exercises, we ...

CHASITY’S CHALLENGES: Chasity Meets the Monster Vac: 6-2-20
6-2-20 Chasity is now regularly coming to her stall door and is always anxious to see what the next challenge will be. The one thing she HAS learned is that she will never be hurt by anyone here. Cleaning her ears was a necessary evil at first, but she now enjoys the gentle cleaning as I wipe the rag with the grain of the hair to get the dirt from her ears. And she loves having clean ears! We are ALWAYS consistent and ...

CHASITY’S CHALLENGES: Chasity’s Farrier Visit: 5-22-20
5-22-20 When Chasity first arrived, her hooves were inordinately long in front with Borium shoes and her back feet were worn unevenly and at the wrong angles. Because her body was in such bad posture and her hooves so out of balance, we knew it would take quite a while and lots of frequent trims to get her hooves balanced and aligned properly. This would have to be done in conjunction with getting her body into good posture with the core strength to support ...