Maple and Flapjack
Jul 3, 2013 13:14:58 GMT -5
Post by bullseye on Jul 3, 2013 13:14:58 GMT -5
Name: Maple and Flapjack
Age: 21 years and 4 years
Breed: Mammoth and Standard
Height: 14.1 hh and 9 hh
Color: Red Roan and Grey
Eye color: Brown and Brown
Gender: Jenny and John (Gelding)
Markings: None and None
History:
From her youth, Maple's reputation has been that of reliability. While the charge of seeing inexperienced riders safely from point A to point B usually fell to her, she was infamous for wiggling her way into the hearts of old hands as well. Although her original home kept a tight hold on the gentle roan giant for many years, eventually her sale became necessary.
Maple maintained her reliability in her new home, again winning her new owners' love and loyalty. At the age of fifteen, the steady jenny received retirement from her riding career, the very event that lead her to life at Reggie's ranch.
Reggie kept cattle. Not just as a hobby, but as a lifestyle. Although ranching didn't win him much bread, it did indeed keep him happy. The only downside was the coyotes that kept harassing and injuring his cattle. It took one of Reggie's fellow ranchers, a guy by the name of Pete, to convince the stubborn old coot to try a guard donkey.
“Bull nuts!” Reggie said at first. Until the death of three calves.
Maple's sale ad touted her reliability and the owner's desire to send her to a home that would provide her with a comfortable retirement. Reggie had his horses for a reason—he weren't going to be seen riding a donkey to herd his cows. But a donkey in with the cattle? Now that was worth a try.
Cows were nothing new—Maple had seen them time and time again on trail rides. Admittedly, this was her first time up close and personal with the silly critters, but she was virtually unflappable. The jenny ignored the ridiculous creatures as they mooed and shuffled away from her, choosing to munch her grass and enjoy this extended break.
And then it happened: she wiggled her way into the hearts of the cattle, too. Soon, the bovines treated her as one of their own, hiding behind the roan jenny when the coyotes came prowling at night. While Reggie attempted to act nothing but impressed, truth be told, she'd wiggled her way into his old heart, too.
Two years later, Reggie's herd was booming. His losses had been cut to none and by gum, that old mule (Maple forgave the misnomer) was still kickin'. Although the resident coyotes had moved on to other rancher's herds, preferring to edge around his pastures for fear of running into the protective roan donkey, Reggie wasn't one to take things for granted.
Plus, Pete's own jenny had just birthed a colt that he was looking to sell. And the little grey devil was cute as a they came.
Little Flapjack stayed with Pete for his basic handling lessons and introduction to cattle. While Pete respected his elder rancher, he knew old Reggie would be biting off more'n he could chew with the little colt if Pete didn't start him right. Frankly, Pete knew Reggie had struck gold with the unusually sedate mammoth he'd picked up two years back. So, Pete got Flapjack (it seemed fitting: Maple and Flapjack) through his introduction to life and gelding (better a john than a jack, he reasoned) before trailering the young hooligan over to his new home.
At first, Flapjack tested his limits with Maple. He'd tug on her tail, like he had with his momma, nip at her to demand attention, even attempted nursing (Hey, he was taller, she was taller than his dam had been... it just seemed fitting.) The hard kicks and bruising bites quickly delivered the messages Maple intended to send, putting Flapjack in his place. She even rewarded him with the occasional frisk, giving him soft play kicks and bites and allowing him to return the gestures of companionship.
As he grew, Flapjack continued to test Maple, always being sent right back to the bottom of the pecking order with seemingly no effort on Maple's behalf. But despite their quarrels and disputes, the two worked seamlessly as a team, protecting their herd from predators.
Both donkeys loved Reggie, even racing the cattle to the fence upon his arrival to beg little treats off the gruff old feller. He pretended to dislike their pushy noses shoving at his pockets, begging for a tasty morsel, but always produced a treat for each donkey none the less. But despite the mutual affection, Maple and Flapjack were nothing more than barely tame. Tame enough to accept a halter when necessary, sure. Tame enough to stand for the farrier or vet. But really, they survived on their own in the pasture, coats filthy and ragged as any wild burro's. They were donkeys of their own making, their only mission in life to protect the cattle.
And protect the cattle they did, even when the dumb creatures freaked at a thunderstorm. Frankly, it had both the burros baffled—how could the ridiculous animals freak at something they'd seen many a time? But they did, and Maple and Flapjack weren't just going to stand around as their precious charges stampeded out into the world beyond the fences.
It was hard to say how the bovines managed to put the two donkeys in a position where they had to separate or get crushed. It was all a blur, really. Somehow, self preservation, something somewhat foreign to the two donkeys, kicked in last minute, causing Maple and Flapjack to split off from their herd to save themselves.
Now here they are, wandering the wild, feeling without a purpose for the first time in their lives, seeking a herd of cattle.
Age: 21 years and 4 years
Breed: Mammoth and Standard
Height: 14.1 hh and 9 hh
Color: Red Roan and Grey
Eye color: Brown and Brown
Gender: Jenny and John (Gelding)
Markings: None and None
History:
From her youth, Maple's reputation has been that of reliability. While the charge of seeing inexperienced riders safely from point A to point B usually fell to her, she was infamous for wiggling her way into the hearts of old hands as well. Although her original home kept a tight hold on the gentle roan giant for many years, eventually her sale became necessary.
Maple maintained her reliability in her new home, again winning her new owners' love and loyalty. At the age of fifteen, the steady jenny received retirement from her riding career, the very event that lead her to life at Reggie's ranch.
Reggie kept cattle. Not just as a hobby, but as a lifestyle. Although ranching didn't win him much bread, it did indeed keep him happy. The only downside was the coyotes that kept harassing and injuring his cattle. It took one of Reggie's fellow ranchers, a guy by the name of Pete, to convince the stubborn old coot to try a guard donkey.
“Bull nuts!” Reggie said at first. Until the death of three calves.
Maple's sale ad touted her reliability and the owner's desire to send her to a home that would provide her with a comfortable retirement. Reggie had his horses for a reason—he weren't going to be seen riding a donkey to herd his cows. But a donkey in with the cattle? Now that was worth a try.
Cows were nothing new—Maple had seen them time and time again on trail rides. Admittedly, this was her first time up close and personal with the silly critters, but she was virtually unflappable. The jenny ignored the ridiculous creatures as they mooed and shuffled away from her, choosing to munch her grass and enjoy this extended break.
And then it happened: she wiggled her way into the hearts of the cattle, too. Soon, the bovines treated her as one of their own, hiding behind the roan jenny when the coyotes came prowling at night. While Reggie attempted to act nothing but impressed, truth be told, she'd wiggled her way into his old heart, too.
Two years later, Reggie's herd was booming. His losses had been cut to none and by gum, that old mule (Maple forgave the misnomer) was still kickin'. Although the resident coyotes had moved on to other rancher's herds, preferring to edge around his pastures for fear of running into the protective roan donkey, Reggie wasn't one to take things for granted.
Plus, Pete's own jenny had just birthed a colt that he was looking to sell. And the little grey devil was cute as a they came.
Little Flapjack stayed with Pete for his basic handling lessons and introduction to cattle. While Pete respected his elder rancher, he knew old Reggie would be biting off more'n he could chew with the little colt if Pete didn't start him right. Frankly, Pete knew Reggie had struck gold with the unusually sedate mammoth he'd picked up two years back. So, Pete got Flapjack (it seemed fitting: Maple and Flapjack) through his introduction to life and gelding (better a john than a jack, he reasoned) before trailering the young hooligan over to his new home.
At first, Flapjack tested his limits with Maple. He'd tug on her tail, like he had with his momma, nip at her to demand attention, even attempted nursing (Hey, he was taller, she was taller than his dam had been... it just seemed fitting.) The hard kicks and bruising bites quickly delivered the messages Maple intended to send, putting Flapjack in his place. She even rewarded him with the occasional frisk, giving him soft play kicks and bites and allowing him to return the gestures of companionship.
As he grew, Flapjack continued to test Maple, always being sent right back to the bottom of the pecking order with seemingly no effort on Maple's behalf. But despite their quarrels and disputes, the two worked seamlessly as a team, protecting their herd from predators.
Both donkeys loved Reggie, even racing the cattle to the fence upon his arrival to beg little treats off the gruff old feller. He pretended to dislike their pushy noses shoving at his pockets, begging for a tasty morsel, but always produced a treat for each donkey none the less. But despite the mutual affection, Maple and Flapjack were nothing more than barely tame. Tame enough to accept a halter when necessary, sure. Tame enough to stand for the farrier or vet. But really, they survived on their own in the pasture, coats filthy and ragged as any wild burro's. They were donkeys of their own making, their only mission in life to protect the cattle.
And protect the cattle they did, even when the dumb creatures freaked at a thunderstorm. Frankly, it had both the burros baffled—how could the ridiculous animals freak at something they'd seen many a time? But they did, and Maple and Flapjack weren't just going to stand around as their precious charges stampeded out into the world beyond the fences.
It was hard to say how the bovines managed to put the two donkeys in a position where they had to separate or get crushed. It was all a blur, really. Somehow, self preservation, something somewhat foreign to the two donkeys, kicked in last minute, causing Maple and Flapjack to split off from their herd to save themselves.
Now here they are, wandering the wild, feeling without a purpose for the first time in their lives, seeking a herd of cattle.
