When I first started visiting Celestial Farms (a non-profit rescue farm) back in 2014, I fell in love with this dwarf donkey, Don Quixote. But Don Quixote was in need of some healing.
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As far as we know he was surrender by his owners. Unfortunately his hooves were severely overgrown which generally occurs due to neglect. He also shied away from any attention and didn’t enjoy being touched.
Finding a farrier
One of the major challenges facing the farm was finding a farrier that was willing to work on trimming his hooves. Due to the overgrowth it was going to take consistent trims and time to get them to a normal length.
Because the farm is open to the public many people visit and offer treats to all the animals. This constant interaction was helping Don to become more friendly, but he did not like his legs touched at all! You are almost guaranteed to be dodging a kick if you try. After many tries a few farriers finally were able to start trimming his hooves, but imagine how it feels when you cut a toe nail too short, yikes it is tender. After each trim Don Q was experiencing a pain similar to this. To help with this we added MSM (nutritional supplement) to his diet.
Using aromatics
Besides the nutritional supplements I created a blend to massage on his hooves that included the carrier oils; jojoba, tamanu oil and St. John’s wort. I also included the essential oils helichrysum (Helichrysum angustifolium), Roman chamomile (Chamaelum nobile) and ginger (Zingiber officinale).
The carrier oils were used to help with moisturizing the hoof and help protect it from any infections. The essential oils were utilized for their anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties.
The above blend is generally used for a week after a trimming to help reduce soreness.
The other long term effect has been damage to the leg and shoulder muscles and tendons because of his stride being wrong. I spent lots of time supporting him with acupressure, reiki and loving kindness. He will always walk with a limp, but he is much more friendly and always loves it when guests bring treats.
Although Don Quixote will always have issues the farm will continue to work with a farrier to keep his hooves in good shape. He will also have love and affection from the guests that come to learn his story.
2022 Update – Don Quixote passed away after many years of love and affection. He was able to grow old with the kindness that everyone offered him.
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