Close Encounters of the Jackass Kind

Saturday May 19 2012

I touched the horny jackass!

Remember the incidents with the Jackass last year?

He's a semi-wild brash donkey who hooked up with two wild horses out in the Brown's Creek drainage.

A few horseback riders have had unfortunate encounters with him (see the above link). The virile donkey appears to prefer geldings to mares in his amorous advances. Rushcreek Mac and John were disconcerted by him enough during our September Owyhee Canyonlands ride that they missed a turn on the trail for trying to outdistance the 4-legged Lothario.

Last year I encountered him on foot while hanging ribbons for an endurance ride, but he didn't want anything to do with me.

Today I was out on foot again, marking the trail past the rock corral in Buckaroo crick and up onto the flats, when I spied the two wild horses. 

"Hey guys!" I yelled. Their heads snapped up over the sagebrush and they stared at me. Shortly another shorter head appeared - the horny jackass. I kept talking to them, and the jackass started moving toward me, rather nonchalantly - almost friendly-like, as if he were happy to finally see a human after a long winter of 4-legged companionship.

Last year when I saw him, he gave me a wide berth in the trail; I couldn't have gotten closer than 50 yards if I'd tried. As for the mustangs, they were now 50 yards away which is closer than I've ever gotten to them, but they started - rather animatedly - following the donkey toward me. 

I kept talking to the donkey, and he kept coming closer, unafraid, and he stopped two feet away from me. 

I lifted up my hand and stuck my finger out. He stretched out his neck… further… and I touched the jackass!

He then took two steps toward me, into my space, and I suddenly remembered he is a horny jackass, towards some horses anyway, and, while he was the size of a pony, he still had 4 feet that could kick, some teeth that could bite, a big honking head he could swing like a club, and the body strength of a mule. Just in case, I swung my backpack off my shoulder onto my arm… and he took a step back. In this country I always carry a plastic garbage bag - something I can open up to flap around and make a lot of scary noise - and I put it in my hand… just in case.

The two wild horses were on high alert and were now within 30 yards of me. Fine looking pair they are.

The donkey just stood and looked at me, and I stuck out my finger again, and he sniffed it and touched it, then I stepped back, and turned and headed on my way.

They watched me, and the donkey followed a ways behind, almost as if he didn't want me to go. It must have been a boring winter out there, no other horses to harass, and no humans to listen to.

Some local cowboys have talked of going out there and catching him and those horses, but I kind of like seeing them out there. It's as if I know a special secret - a couple of special friends out in those canyons and washes.

The Owyhee Parade: Coming to You

Monday July 4 2011

"People in Owyhee don't go to Parades; here the Parades come to them!" said neighbor Linda, who brought the Owyhee Menagerie Parade to visit the homesteads on the crick for the Fourth of July.


Here comes Goat Dog and Edna!


Holler is all dressed up.


Our horses are not used to Fourth of July Parades!


They are especially not used to a flag waving hairy donkey and her Goat Dog pal!


On to the next house.


Goat Dog and Edna leave the Parade Route.


Everybody loves a Parade, even the animals putting it on!


Off the Owyhee Menagerie Parade goes, to spread Fourth of July spirit at the next house on the crick.

Owyhee Menagerie I

Wednesday June 29 2011

Some people take their dog for a walk every day. How boring.

Neighbor Linda takes her whole Menagerie for a walk (and she only needs one halter!): Mama the miniature horse, Holler her baby mini-mule, Bee the Border collie, Goat Dog the dog, and Edna the donkey.


Edna loves Goat Dog and she follows him everywhere. They roam Linda's property... and sometimes beyond... and Edna won't come back unless Goat Dog does.


Sometimes the gang comes over for a visit, stays a while, startles the neighbors ("what the hell is that!?"),

and then they head home.


It may seem odd to some people, but Linda and her Menagerie fit right in with us folks on the crick.

Horny Jackass!

Tuesday May 24 2011

You have to keep your eyes peeled out on the trails here whether you're on foot or on horseback: rattlesnakes, bulls, cougars, and... Jackasses?

Steph and I were headed out to mark trail for the Owyhee Fandango on foot and by ATV (we were pulling the horse trailer with the ATV inside) when we were flagged down on a dirt road by 2 gals running up to us from their parked horse trailers.

Turned out to be our riding friends Karen and Leah, a bit frazzled. "We were attacked by a donkey!"

Steph and I started to laugh... but it really wasn't funny.

"He was with those two wild horses that are back there. The two horses left when they saw us, but the donkey came running at us!"

Karen and Leah had hopped off their horses, but their other friend Linda was not so quick, because she suffers from osteoporosis. The donkey made a beeline for Linda's gelding, and after sniffing noses, the donkey tried to mount the gelding, with Linda still on him.

Linda was terrified and unable to dismount; Leah and Karen yelled at the donkey and threw rocks at him, but nothing would deter him from mounting Linda's gelding. He ignored Karen's gelding and Leah's mare - nothing but that bay mustang gelding of Linda's would do.

Linda finally was able to dismount, and they got the donkey away from her gelding; they started walking on foot, with the donkey following for three miles despite the yelling and the hail of rocks being launched by Karen and Leah.

They arrived at a gate and got their horses through and the gate closed, leaving the donkey braying on the other side; they mounted up to ride off, but within 2 minutes the donkey was behind them, having gone through the fence or gate.

Once they got up onto the flats, Karen took off at a canter for the trailers so she could come pick Leah and Linda and their horses up, as Linda was worn out.

Steph and I were still rather wide-eyed listening to this bizarre tale. Linda was now resting in a chair by the horses. Karen and Leah had come to warn us, since I was headed to flag that trail.

"Horny Jackass!" Leah says disgustedly. Luckily nobody had gotten hurt.

Indeed, as Steph and I pulled onto the road from where I would start hiking, there was a cream-colored donkey hanging with a herd of black cows. We passed him and he looked at us, same as the cows, unconcerned, and rather innocent looking.


Steph dropped me off and I started hiking, marking a couple miles of trail, keeping my eyes peeled for rattlesnakes and cougars and bulls. I flagged past a red-tailed hawk, circling and screeching above me, warning me not to go to her nest with two babies up the creek.

I passed the old rock corral;



I hiked beneath turkey vultures looking for anything that's been eaten by a rattlesnake or cougar or bull.


When I was headed back retracing my steps, who did I run into, but the Jackass! (Which means he went through the fence again.)


He appeared on the trail in front of me, walking my way. I saw him first. When he saw me, he didn't spook, didn't hesitate, just kept walking toward me. "Well, hello," I said, and he just kept his eye on me, and as he came closer, he detoured off the trail.


He wasn't in the least interested in me; he wasn't afraid, but he didn't want to get any closer. When he was parallel with me, about 20 yards away, he stopped and looked at me. I took a few steps toward him, and he started trotting on.

Once he was a safe distance away from me, he turned to look at me one more time,

then he moseyed onward.


Probably headed back to his mustang 'herd' since the gelding of his dreams was gone.

I'm not sure what to say about the second loop of Day 1 of the Owyhee Fandango... carry donkey repellent?

There Should Be a Law

Thursday May 5 2011

There should be a law against this ridiculous, insane cuteness.

Neighbor Linda's miniature horse had a mini mule (she was bred to a miniature donkey). He's named Holler. Mom is, of course, Hoot.

Just! Too! Cute!

The world's smallest endurance mule perhaps?

[Slide show here:]