Lake Nowhere Eden

Our tallest American Mammoth Jackstock jennet is AMJR Lake Nowhere Dixie. She stands over 16.2hh. For those of you new to the equine world, the "hh" stands for "hands high". The term "hand" is an old one. It refers to the days when a person would use their hand as a rough measurement for a horse when no other method for measurement was available.  A "hand" equals 4 inches. The equine is measured at the withers which is right above the shoulders at the highest point on the back where the neck and back meet. Last year we bred Dixie to Genesis, our stud. The length of gestation for these girls is approximately 12 months. Dixie's due date was November 26th. Four weeks prior to foaling, Miz Dixie pulled a ligament in her front leg. This resulted in her laying around moaning all the time. She would get up to eat her food in the morning, but the rest of the time I would take hay to her and check on her and the unborn baby every few hours. Our veterinarian was out every few days to check on her and other than keeping her warm and comfortable, there was not much we could do to change the situation until she had her baby. At 4:45 am Thanksgiving morning Dixie had a beautiful little baby girl - Lake Nowhere Eden. After the baby was up and nursing, we put Mama and baby up in a stall for some rest. I last checked on them Thanksgiving night at 11:00 pm. Everyone was fine. The following morning I discovered that Dixie had prolapsed! This required immediate attention from our equine surgeon from Paducah, KY, Dr. Tony Hicks. Dr. Hicks made the 67 mile drive down to see Dixie and operated on her. She then was put on stall rest. Well, little Eden found herself with no one to play with - her Mama, other jennets or babies. This forced me and Susan to become surrogate mothers. Every few hours during the day, Susan and I would let Eden out of the stall and have a playdate with her. This resulted in some new games, such as; "Chase the human". This game is deceptively simple. A human runs and Eden runs after the human. Normally we would never let an equine chase us in this manner, but the Vet wanted Eden to get exercise while Mama was laid up and this was a game that Eden herself thought up. We are really looking forward to the other Jackstock foals that are due so that Eden can play with one of her own kind. Susan and I are getting tired!

What is a mule?

This tends to be the biggest question we get on the farm......it's simple really:-) A mule is an equine hybrid that has a horse mare for a mother and a donkey jack for a father. 99.9% of the time a mule is sterile although they still have all the hormones and parts required to procreate, but due to an odd number of chromosomes there is sterility. The ancient Romas had a saying; "When a mule foals" - as in a blue moon. Female mules have been known to get pregnant when running with a jack or a horse stud, but they are very, very few and far between (a molly mule had a baby out of a donkey jack in Colorado last year). Speaking of  a "Blue Moon". We are having a blue moon tonight...let's see, New Year's Eve and a blue moon - oh my, a great night to be out and about! I am just looking forward to the fact that it just might help our two Mammoth jennets foal tonight! AMJR Oklahoma Dusty was due Dec. 5th and is still holding out on me. AMJR Lake Nowhere Delta is due in early January and is as big as a house! Maybe tonight will be the night! Well, Susan, our farm manager has informed me that I must go to Rural King to get red blood cell additive for Dixie, brown sugar and soybean oil for feeding during the holiday. Everyone have a wonderful and safe New Year, and keep an eye on that blue moon!

Newbie

Well, this blogging stuff is new to me, but after e-mailing what is happening on the farm around the world, I have decided to set up a blog...not that I have alot of time to do this! I hope that anyone who reads about the goings on at the farm and in our small town enjoys the blog and the trials, tribulations and joy that come with raising mules and Jackstock!