Will we get the donkeys vaccinated for tetanus this year?

 The question arose when our farrier got seriously ill and I could not find another farrier to do it for me. Every year late winter time we used to get the 2 vaccines from Georges at the chemist and Bernard came around to trim the donkeys’ hooves and do the jabbing  for us which we were very grateful for.

You could do it yourself he used to say to me. Look, it’s got to be done in this area pointing at the triangle in the neck between the jaw and the shoulder blade, it’s not a sensitive area. It is true, to my utter surprise they never seemed to mind.

Yes, of course I could do it, but I don’t like needles.

I rang Mireille. She didn’t get her mares nor her jennies vaccinated for tetanus she said. She gave me her farrier’s name though and I called him. Wasn’t his job. It’s a vet’s job he said.

I know it’s a vet’s job but they charge too much.

I rang Lena who used to breed Arab horses in Spain some 40 years ago. We never vaccinated our horses she said, even though they were worth a fortune. Vaccines weaken the immune system you know.

I rang another bloke from the village who has horses and left a message but he never got back to me. He has become some kind of a recluse and no-one has seen him for a while. My guess is that he doesn’t get his horses vaccinated either.

Was it a sign that maybe I didn’t need to do it? Since Covid I have become a rebel somewhat. I don’t believe in mainstream narratives anymore and I have questioned the truth about vaccines for sure. In fact, I question everything the mainstream media says. I never used to be suspicious like that, but I am now.

There is a French doctor I listen to on line, called Dr Joyeux. Lovely name as it describes him well. He is a great old man full of common sense. He said if you vaccinate your child in the first year of his/her life, because you worry about illnesses, you’ll have to repeat vaccinations for the rest of his/her life regularly. If you don’t vaccinate your child and your child get sick, he/she will recover and will be automatically naturally vaccinated for life, reinforcing his/her immune system.

This got me thinking about my donkeys. Do they need it? We started having them vaccinated 13 years ago as it is a requirement when you have registered equines. I never questioned the need for vaccination then.

My friend Dom had a rescued donkey who was so poorly when it got to her. With a lot of TLC she brought it back to health only for it to die after being vaccinated for tetanus. She was distraught.  What happened then?

When I was a kid we raised calves in boxes for the meat industry. They were 3 days-old on arrival, weighed around 50 kgs and 350kgs on average when they left for the slaughter house 3 months later. An astounding weight gain due to antibiotics and steroids. Our vet had showed my mum how to jab the calves and save a fortune on vet bills. If my mum could do it, surely, I can do it too.

So I jabbed our donkeys. It took me a whole week to talk myself into doing it and like a lot of things, it wasn’t as bad or difficult as I thought. Phew!

I now have a whole year to seriously research about tetanus vaccines and decide if we’ll get it done next year.

The forsythias are in full bloom, and so are the wild plums and the almond trees. The daffodils and rosemary are everywhere showing off. The conker tree and the elm overlooking the balcony are pushing their leaf buds and we have started lunching out again in the sun. Spring brings new blood, new life, new energy….

The garden is being weeded and the potato bed is ready.

I am off planting.