No Eyore

Sometimes Rosie’s body language can make you think of Eyore. But that isn’t her character at all. She is gentle … with people and the other donkeys alike. She is curious – especially about anything mechanical. Don’t leave tools out when Rosie is around! 😉 She is often the first to the gate to welcome a visitor – the first to walk up to something new in the paddock – the closest to you when you’re working on something. So close, in fact, that she can startle you when you turn around because she is RIGHT THERE … within inches of your back.
She is highly people oriented and will always keep herself standing in such a way that she can watch what I’m up to. If you want her to join you just meet her eyes. The tiniest lift of your eyebrows can motivate her to slowly walk over to see what you have on offer.
She is a strong believer in routine. SHE is the SECOND bowl of carrots EVERY day. (Darby gets the first bowl … reason being she was the young bossy one when we started the carrot bowl routine.) When you’re done with the paddock scooping SHE is the first one you are to spend time with for a good back and butt scratch. Five o’clock is time for her daily BARN SPA TREATMENT. If I forget for some reason she will stand in the barn door and stare daggers into my back. 😉 I sit on my corner perch and she rotates herself around and around showing me exactly where I am to scratch.
Rosie is the epitome of ‘slow and steady wins the race‘. Don’t get me wrong here, she can run with the rest of them. But given the choice, most of the time, she prefers to amble along rather than hurry. She has beautiful big brown eyes and often raises her eyebrows at you when she has a question.
She loves having her neck and chest rubbed. She makes a low rumbling sound in her throat that I think of as a donkey purr when you do that. If you have a brush with you – all the better. Her coat is a lovely mix of browns of all shades. In the winter it is thick and full … except for her shoulders where she likes to rub against the barn door brushes.
Rosie is no pushover. She can assert herself with any of the other three members of her herd. She likes to just stand with Paco. She’ll neck wrestle with Darby over the best feed bin. And lately she’s taken to mutual grooming with Bella. I love when I find her resting her head on Bella’s back. If she deigns to care about Bella’s pushiness around the hay she’ll just use her body to firmly move her away. Rosie is one friendly, easy-going, quiet companion who loves little more than the chance to stand by and listen to whatever you have to say while pressing against your leg for some good petting. Love our Rosie!