Apparently donkeys are very scary!

CatStew

CatStew

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Hello,

I don't post on here very often, so thought I would share my eventful hack! :D

I've recently bought Bentley, a 4 year old section D. I've been lunging him and riding in the school during the week (I work full time and therefore it's dark by the time I get to the yard in the evening) and hack him at the weekends, to help get him thinking forwards. He's not set a foot wrong so far out hacking, he may have the occasional spook at plastic bags etc, but I haven't as yet any any major problems with him. That was until Saturday anyway..

My mum and I had gone out on a hack, she was riding our spooky 12 year old arab cross mare. Bentley often has to act as a lead for her to get her past various things, otherwise she will run backwards, spin and occasionally rear.

Anyway, the hack that we went on involves us riding next to a busy dual carriage way, with cars, lorries etc coming past us at a rate of knotts. Neither horses were remotely bothered by this. We also went through a couple of fields with cattle staring at us and sheep bustling about, running away from us. Bentley was interested in watching said livestock, but continued to listen to me and quite happily went along minding his own business, and we had a few nice, controlled canters. Until we got next to a field with a donkey in it...

Polly, our mare, started to throw a wobbly so I asked B to carry on, but he spun away a few times before planting himself staring at the donkey. He was terrified! He was physically shaking and had a staredown at the donkey. I did get a bit worried because I didn't know what he was likely to do. Eventually, my mum managed to get P to go past, and he started to follow, but something spooked him, I don't know what and he tried to bolt with me. After a few strides he came back to me but was still really wound up. It took me several miles further into the ride to get him to settle down.

It's funny how certain things can upset them isn't it? We've ridden past the heaviest of traffic, had tractors and trailers come past us, motorbikes come past, horses and ponies running round fields when we go past them, and it's not bothered him in the slightest. But one little donkey that didn't move the whole time we were there was just terrifying! :rolleyes:
 
My first pony was pretty much bombproof in just about every situation but he too was absolutely terrified of donkeys. It's fairly common I think, I know several horses who are scared of them. Then on the other hand I have a friend whose horses live with donkeys and they are all great mates.

I've just seen some alpacas have arrived at somewhere we hack past regularly. Wondering what mine are going to think to those.
 
I still to this day remember what my mare done out on a hack and going past a field with a donkey in it and I'm still thankful to the driver that managed to get out the way.
Great hack until we went past the field with the donkey in it and it brayed as we went past, mare FREAKED OUT completley, head horizontal and running blind down the middle of the road with no chance of stopping her, took about 300 yards before I could stop her, some poor driver was coming towards us and managed to get his car onto the pavement to avoid her running into him, she didn't even notice the car, very shakey legs for a while after that.

Took her to a friends yard for a week and she was turned out with the donkey, which did involve 2 days or bursting the gate to get away from the scarey beast, and still not too brilliant with them now!!!
 
We moved to a new yard 2 years ago and there are Llamas up the road and donkeys down the road. The horses were better with llamas than with the donkeys! My friends horse wouldn't even turn left down the road as the scary donkeys live there.

I let Saffy sniff noses with the donkeys and she loves them now, the other day my friend and I were riding past chatting away and a donkey started to eeyore, it made me and my friend jump but the horses took no notice.
 
ISHmad said:
My first pony was pretty much bombproof in just about every situation but he too was absolutely terrified of donkeys. It's fairly common I think, I know several horses who are scared of them. Then on the other hand I have a friend whose horses live with donkeys and they are all great mates.

I've just seen some alpacas have arrived at somewhere we hack past regularly. Wondering what mine are going to think to those.
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There is a nice hack that we've been on once before, but when we get to the end of it before the road again, there is a paddock next to the track with 4 or 5 llamas in it. All the horses at the yard are terrified of them, but as B has been so good so far I was contemplating taking him past them to see how he would react to them. However, now after donkeygate I don't think I will be trying it any time soon!

Naryafluffy said:
I still to this day remember what my mare done out on a hack and going past a field with a donkey in it and I'm still thankful to the driver that managed to get out the way.
Great hack until we went past the field with the donkey in it and it brayed as we went past, mare FREAKED OUT completley, head horizontal and running blind down the middle of the road with no chance of stopping her, took about 300 yards before I could stop her, some poor driver was coming towards us and managed to get his car onto the pavement to avoid her running into him, she didn't even notice the car, very shakey legs for a while after that.

Took her to a friends yard for a week and she was turned out with the donkey, which did involve 2 days or bursting the gate to get away from the scarey beast, and still not too brilliant with them now!!!
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That's really scary! At least we were off the road and the donkey didn't do anything at all, otherwise I'm sure it would have been a completely different story!
 
My old Section D would pass any form of traffic but was terrified of yellow daffodils and ducks! Remember riding past a crackling fire, tractors coming other way didn't bat an eyelid. Got to the village pond a duck approached him, Star stopped they had an eyeball moment and the duck gave his loudest quack. I nearly ended up in the village pub on said horse! Genuinely scared and shaking (both of us at that point ;-))

Think Section D's have interesting brains!
 
For a few months we kept our boy Kali (who isn't a Sec D!) on a yard with three resident donkeys . . . they lived in a paddock he HAD to walk past to get either to his turnout or his stable and he was absolutely petrified of them . . . they, in turn, were fascinated by him and would always come to the fence to investigate him when I walked him past . . . he never did get over it and to this day considers donkeys to be truly dangerous and possibly fire breathing.

P
 
This happens to any new livery that comes the horses stare at the donkey and think what the ******* is that ??? so funny to watch them ( not so funny out riding )
 
Years ago I saw someone dragged face down through the mud when her horse took fright at another livery's companion donkey (which her horse wouldn't be parted from) as she was putting it out.
A couple of years ago we had a new horse arrive at the yard and she took one look at the donkeys in the next field and jumped out - don't think she'd ever jumped more than 18 inches before in her life. She has calmed down about them now but still snorts when coming past them. She's also scared of cows and sheep, despite having previously been kept on a yard looking out on to a barn of cattle and having not been bothered.
I guess if we understood everything that goes on in their heads, they wouldn't be nearly as much of a challenge!
 
We have a donkey in the village, we have to hack passed it for some of our hacks. Never had a problem with it until it was put in the same headcollar my welsh D had! After that we would have a showdown with snorting, blowing- puffing out, trotting sideways and head tossing! It was very funny!

We rode passed it this saturday and the donkey was hidden behind a hedge and started to bray very loudly for a good minute! The boys just walked passed it! But the Lammas they are turned out next to (and have been for 9 years, and 3 years respectively) cause freezing and refusal to move when we got back!!
 
Big Pony has explained to me in no uncertain terms that miniature donkeys are evil, he believes they are plotting to take over the world and make all the horses that are bigger than them do their bidding.
I would sympathise but he's 18.2 and it's bl00dy hilarious seeing him snort and bounce at something that doesn't come up to his hocks!
 
Maybe its a Sec d thing! we ride through a farm that has loads of donkeys and my boy is terrified-he goes rigid & shakes & hides behind his friend-and he s been going through for 6 years!! Said pony lives on a working farm with cattle on the yard(Literally)-and gets turned out with cows sometimes BUT if we see them out hacking he thinks they re horse -eating beasties :-(.He s also very particular about stock being moved round-sheep in a certain field are OK,but if farmer moves them to the other side of the lane they become TERRIFYING-i deffo think sec D s have a bit of the wiring wrong upstairs lol xx
 
have had donkey issues too! one of the few times i've had to get off and lead as spinnig/dopping shoulder etc was going to end in tears especially when donkey was rolling :rolleyes:

another animal that made my mare petrified - she was shakey and i could feel her heart racing - was a pig... a friendly one at that :p
 
At night our ponies are stabled in the barn - with a donkey!! They walk past her and as the walls are quite low in the pony boxes anyone in the boxes next to her can sniff her and touch noses and no-one is bothered by her at all. But when she is in the field next to them she becomes some sort of creature from hell (especially when she is lurking by the gate) and cannot possibly be walked past without planting or rushing and snorting and generally being terrified by her.

I was once told that donkeys have a different smell to horses and thats why they are bothered by them.

Our donk does have a sense of humour though, a public footpath runs outside her paddock. It is slightly lower than the paddock and is screened by a thick holly hedge. I have seen her lurking in the corner, hidden by the hedge from the unsupecting footpath walkers and just as they go past her she lets out the most ear-splitting bray! The walkers either leap skywards or break into a run, which is quite amusing as it is a very steep hill!
 
I'm glad I'm not the only one then!

I wondered if it was because it obviously looks slightly different to a horse/pony and he couldn't quite fathom what it was and what was going on! He isn't the brightest light in the street. I'm relieved the donkey didn't bray or anything though, and we could laugh about it afterwards.

He normally is a really good boy though, he gets a little unsure of some things, one of the hacks we go on we cross over a bridge that is only just a bit wider then him, and as it's wooden its quite loud when the heavy footed oaf stepped on it. He wasn't very sure about it at first, but with a bit of encouragement he crossed it without too much bother.

The only other thing I've had a few little spins with is his own shadow when I've ridden in the school with the floodlights on. He's a bit of a pillock really! :D
 
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