| JR was turned out with the 4 jennets who promptly learned him about being a gentleman. Everytime he thought he was feeling frisky they wholloped him right back into line until he became a little gentleman with the ladies and a kind and gentle father to his foals. JR was here for the 4 years my park was open and exposed to 80,000 people. People meant pets and scratches and a palm full of corn from the corn machines. JR thrived on it all! He was also a modest little fellow and I never in those 4 years saw him make advances to any of the jennets during the day light hours in front of the tourists. How polite of him. Yes at that time I used the Merry Christmas approach to breeding. In the mean time I was falling pray to the potato chip syndrome and adding donkeys on a regular basis. When the farm park closed I went donkey crazy. JR needed something else to do so I began to teach him to drive, mainly because I did some trading and got a real snazzy cart and harness from John Stolfetz an Amish man up in Lancaster PA in trade for a starter herd of pygmy goats, of which I had maybe 100 head at the time. He paid me to deliver them so I got a free trip up to see my girlfriends, unloaded 7 goats which didn't cost me a thing and came home with another project. JR took to the cart well and we brought it to the Braxton County Fair that year where I had done the petting zoo for the previous 4 years and we had a ball giving kids rides in the cart. That led to a few requests to do birthday parties. I would take JR the cart a few tame goats and maybe a lamb and give cart rides for a few hours. This turned out to be a very lucrative little business until the insurance got too high. Things really changed for JR when Montana arrived. I started phasing out the miniature donkeys, getting bigger jennets and through a strange quirk of fate got into the shipped semen business, another long story and not what I had planned for Montana at all. Most of my time was now taken up with the fatboy and his business. |
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| The "Plan" ...... |
| I feel that because Stormy has finally found stablization in her life, that any further change to her home life should be done gradually. Sue needs to set up her pasture and shelter, so this gives Stormy and Sue a chance to get to know each other and "bond" at my barn. I will continue to supervise Stormy's training. The other part of the plan will be to find a donkey buddy for Stormy. I chose a donkey because Stormy is most comfortable around them. Sue was very receptive to this arrangement. It was wonderful the first day that Stormy meets Sue. They got along beautifully. Sue drove Stormy up and down my street, while I drove my other mini, Painted Angel. We had a good time and Stormy was a very good girl. Then Sue decides to let Stormy meet the other members of her family. Stormy doesn't know it, but she is in for a big treat! A human child of her own. Look at the expression of this mini? Can you tell she is happy? |
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| This particular day (shown above) Stormy and Sue drove their first cones course. They both did splendid! The cute little girl got a chance to ride in the cart with her mom as well as sit on Stormy's back. Stormy loves her new roll in life! On May 22nd, Emily drives Stormy in the Back to Basics Horse Show and gets a second and 2 third place ribbons out of 6 entries. The next day, Sue drives Stormy in the games (yup - a galloping grandma!) - wins a Reserve Champion! THEN - Enters JR!!!! |
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| The Tale of JR by Leslie Heulitt JR is 14 years old and came here in 1991 to keep company with 4 jennets I inherited when my friend Barbara died of cancer. I had just opened my farm to the public as a little farm park and JR completed the miniature donkey "exhibit". I can clearly remember saying 5 little donkeys is all I'll ever need, I could actually show you exactly where I was standing when I said those words! Well I lied. Who would have thought 14 years ago that a little herd of 5 donkeys would change my life and me into a person obsessed and possessed by ears. |