The heat is taking it's toll

Donkey and Mini we have for sale (both stallions)

Two Year Old Mares we have for sale

We learned a lesson today regarding heat and bitches that are nursing, they don't mix. Poor Bea gave me a heck of a scare as she stumbled into the kitchen landing in a heap. I had noticed that she was a little down when I let her out of her crate, I've been crating her away from her 6 week old pups in an effort to give her a break, she just is not weaning them on her own. I was preparing her a special breakfast of oatmeal and kibble when she crashed. I gathered her up over the kitchen sink and grabbed the corn syrup, first thought through my head was low blood sugar. I then spooned up some oatmeal put in a bowl and added about a cup of cold water after noting that it was too hot. Bea without hesitation cleaned it all up. The next thing I did was take her pulse, I could not take her temp, my dang thermonitor was not working, dang digital pieces of garbage, checked her gums, pale and dry and called the vet. The vet immediately said overheating and dehydration, give her some of the equine electrolites that we have on hand, get her body temp cooled with cool but not cold water and keep her inside with a fan or airconditioning on her. He said that the demands for milk production will overheat a dog in combination with the high heat and humidity that we are having right now coupled with some work that she volunteered for last evening.


She is lying here next to me now, I keep trying to resist waking her up, I just keep thinking that she's not going to respond even though she has been getting up to follow me each time I go into the kitchen and even was begging for a morsel from the kitchen table, something that is never allowed or seen, but I'll forgive her today. The vet also gave strict orders, pups are to be weaned are not to be allowed to nurse ever again, sorry kids. They are not to pleased.



The heat stopped us in our tracks today, although both Jake and Vicki got to show their stuff for a visitor that came to look at a couple horses, a mini stud and a donkey that we have for sale. As Vicki brought the sheep into the lots he exclaimed, "she sure made that look easy, it don't go that way when we try to get my brothers sheep in". I told him that that was nothing, and before he left I had Jake bring the flock back out of the barn as I stood out by the pasture gate, then I had him take them down in between the apple trees around and back to us. We then fielded the typical questions, how long does it take to train him like that, how long would it take for a dog to do it for me, etc...