Learning from the Animals and Discovering the Power of Gel Nails

Jazmine Cruz
UC Davis undergraduate,  4th year
Major: Animal Science

Before I started my internship at the Green Care Lab, I never would have imagined having this opportunity to work with miniature horses, donkeys, goats and pigs because of how afraid I was of animals larger than your regular cat and dog. I also would have never imagined the opportunity to work in an internship studying their cognition and behavior. Every shift I work, I am greeted by the overwhelming screams of Carebear, Romeo, and Jellybean (the mini pigs), who are excited to get their first feeding of the day. I always greet them with, “Who’s hungry?” and it fills my heart with joy seeing their little teeth and swinging tails. Usually around this time I can hear Mary, the mini donkey, braying while she waits for me to finish mucking both the goats’ and pigs’ pens. After marking their logs, I make my way to the mini horses’ and donkeys’ pen to greet them as they approach the gate. Usually Memphis, Mary’s son, has half his nose poked out the gate as he tries to escape the pen to go to the field. When the other interns and I turn out the mini horses and donkeys, my favorite part is watching Olivia, the mini horse, run into the field and begin to either forage or roll around in the dirt happily. 

I have learned a lot about these animals and their personalities over time. One thing I have taken to my advantage is using my gel nails to give them neck scratches, which they very much enjoy. Sometimes it can be difficult to scratch them since they all surround me at once and become upset as soon as I stop. However, this has helped improve their behavior during certain tasks such as grooming. The other interns and I realized that if we occupy Memphis with my nail neck scratches, he tolerates being curry combed which has been difficult to get him used to. This felt like a major improvement because it has allowed us to brush him with at least one of the brushes. I hope at some point he will be able to tolerate the soft brush, but we will work with what we have for now. Cal, the goat, has also become more tolerant of brushing since he also enjoys being scratched on his forehead with the nails. I have tried to show him that the nails and the brush are similar sensations, which has led to some leniency with being brushed but only on his head.

Randy enjoying neck scratches.

 My role in the internship has also taught me a lot about patience, something I tend to struggle with. Olivia has been the biggest help in improving my skills with being patient. Since she is reserved, it can be difficult to get her halter on and get her ready for walks even though she is eager to go. However, she has made progress every shift, especially with the reliable nail scratches. I hope by the end of my time at the internship I can gain her trust enough that she doesn’t feel the need to take a step back.

Besides patience, I have gained insight on proper livestock welfare and husbandry. Although it can be difficult to not let them graze freely, it is for their health and benefit that we monitor how much grass they intake to prevent them from getting sick. This is where patience continues to be a factor since of course they love to graze and become upset when they aren't able to, so it can be difficult to complete walks. However, trying to find other ways to enrich them becomes more significant knowing this will bring them joy even when they aren’t allowed to graze as much as they'd like. One of their more notable enrichment activities is their wobble teasers (which are food-dispensing balls). It is so funny to me watching them huddle towards the shed where we store their food as I fill the purple wobble teasers. Sometimes, Randy and Olivia will let out a nicker as they wait excitedly.

I hope to continue to gain memorable experiences not only with the animals but the team, as we all share a common goal of enhancing the lives of these animals. Each of the animals in the lab has their own unique personality and this can offer valuable learning experiences when handling them. My own personal goal is to become ever more comfortable with handling these animals and gain a better understanding of their emotions by learning how to interpret their behaviors. I have come far from my first day interviewing at the lab when I was petrified of touching Memphis and Cal to hugging Randy and giving him neck scratches because he enjoys it. Besides my new livestock experience, I hope I can continue to learn other valuable skills like patience and cooperation that I can apply to my own life. I am also excited to see how my relationship will grow with each of the animals in the lab as I continue to gain their trust.