I want to introduce you to Lewis, and Clark. These are the "Miniature Donkeys" I mentioned in my story about "Lightening My Load".

We've been together now for about two weeks and I can tell you that these little guys are all they were talked up to be. They're lovable, ornery, smart, tough, mean, and friendly. These two were named by my good friend Jay. There were lot's of names offered for the pair, but Jay's just seemed to fit them perfectly since I expect Lewis and Clark will be exploring with us for a very long time.

After getting them home the first day it was already late and I really just wanted to get them settled down and comfortable. I'd have to wait a day to train them by leading them around our few acres and spend some time getting them used to me, and each other. I figured this would take at least a week or so. That was my first mistake.

Lewis is almost two years old and Clark is only about seven months, but they catch on a lot quicker than I thought they would. I walked them around our back yard, which is around 3-4 acres, for the first few days and everything was going great. But on the fourth day Lewis decided he was bored with me leading him around in a big circle and he let me know this, in no uncertain terms, because he just quit following me. I mean , he just stopped, and refused to go any further. I'm not going to get in a pulling contest with a donkey, so I bribed him with some treats instead and got him to follow me up to the gate leading out into our front yard. As soon as Lewis figured out that we were going someplace new he was more than ready to follow me again. So we taught each other a few things right off. Lewis is a born "Adventurer" and he wants to explore new places too. You got to like that.

Clark follows Lewis. He's Lewis' half brother and he's never too far behind his older sibling. Clark is really mild mannered, gentle, and kind. He'll go anywhere Lewis will go, and right now, he doesn't want to go anywhere without him. I think he has "Separation Anxiety", but we'll work on that later. He's still a little guy.

In the hollow below our place is a creek bed that runs into Bull Shoals Lake. It's public land and it's a great place to get out and bushwhack around. I figured that if Lewis and Clark could follow me down to the creek they could follow me anywhere. Not only did they make the bushwhack down to the creek, they loved it. Once we were down there I let them roam around and munch whatever interested them. Before we made it back up to our place I knew they were ready to start training to carry a pack and I started thinking about how I'd make one before we got back to the barn.

See you on the trails,

--
Bill Stephenson