Baudet de Poitou Donkey

I've seen a couple of these at "Donkey Day" in Pompadour, France. They are lovely - I had no idea they were so rare.
 
My mum lives in the poitou Charente region of France and there are loads round there. They are really sweet but have tiny feet
 
Very overated.Not good for riding because their conformation is so poor (Just used to be kept in deep litter and used to cover mares to breed mules) been over here for years...prefer Mammoth Jacks and Andulusians but unfortunately the Andulusians don't have the "Aaah" factor so are struggling
Ahd whats unusual about riding donkeys!?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcCkgbLlBAM

Then there's the Brazilian Pega Donkey...check out this eye candy for Pega's and their mule prodgeny!!!!
http://maab.com.br/novo/leilao-maab-leilao-virtual/
 
I have two Poitou donkeys. When my standard, Dave, died on 30 August, 2012, I determined to acquire a couple of Poitous to have as companions for Dave's best friend, Poppy, also a standard (almost 20 years ago, I had wanted to acquire a couple of Poitous, but their rarity precluded that at the time). I purchased my baby Poitou, Champagne (2012 was a C year for all newly registered Poitous), from Hamerton Zoological Park in Cambridgeshire. My 5 year old, Théa, came directly from a breeder in France.

Hamerton has a conservation herd. My baby was available because her sire is the only jack they have, at present. All of their stock comes from France, in the Charente Maritime region of salt marshes on the west coast. My two Poitous are Livre A, meaning they are fully registered with the Haras Nationaux. There are Livre B (livre meaning book) available, which are crossbred donkeys, having one purebred parent. The Baudet du Poitou is very dominant when crossed with other donkey breeds, in terms of phenotype.

Although the breed was used on farms, their main purpose was to produce working mules when the jacks (baudets) were put to a specific breed of heavy horse known as the Trait Poitevin or Cheval Mulassier (mule-maker). These mules were considered the finest working mules in the world. At the height of mule production, the Poitou region produced upwards of 30 thousand mules a year which were sold all over Europe. With the advent of mechanisation on farms and in industry (plus some extremely odd and lethal practices in neonatal husbandry) both the Poitou horse and donkey were slaughtered in their thousands. By 1977, there were only 44 purebred Poitou donkeys left.

The French are VERY serious about saving this precious breed. The National Donkey Stud farm at Dampierre sur Boutonne in the Charente Maritime can be visited. I've yet to make my pilgrimage. There's quite a bit of information regarding the breed and how a group of dedicated breeders committed to the project of saving this national treasure.

Regarding the standard of the breed, the Baudet du Poitou is quite in a league of its own compared to other donkey breeds. Ideally, males are between 14 and 15 hands, with females being 13 and 14.2 hands. Everything about the Poitou is heavy...very large head (my adult Poitou anesse, or jenny, can wear my 18hh Shire's headcollar), enormous leg bone and hooves (they should be comparable to that of a carriage horse's legs and feet), and very deep girth. There's a clunkiness about their appearance, with a very loose gait peculiar to them. As specific as these points are to the breed, it is their coat which truly sets them apart from any other donkey breed. Their coat is very heavy, with some having a very silky texture, others having more curl, and others, still, resembling that of an alpaca. My adult anesse has a very thick undercoat, with a sparser outer coat. My baby's coat is not unlike that of a thick, silky Afghan Hound's coat!! In France, these donkeys' coats are left to mat and become dreadlocks. This is called a cadanette: the longer the better and is very highly prized. This cadanette remains with the animal for it's life and is never groomed. What one can discover within the mats includes manure, sticks, insects, straw, urine...my Poitous are groomed daily. They will not be sporting a cadanette. Their colour can be noir-pangaré, bay brown (bai brun), or, occasionally, fougere, which is a yellowish brown. No other colours are permitted. Under no circumstances does the breed sport a visible cross, typical of other donkey breeds. Their ears are simply ginormous (Thea's are 14" long) and completely covered with long, soft hair. They carry their ears quite alert, but when they are contented and resting, their ears drop so that they are horizontal, another quality the French dearly love.

I find their temperament quite different from the other donkeys I have owned. They are very personable, quite comedic, very inquisitive, and not put off, at all, by other animals. Mine like nothing better than having a good groom with my Shires.

There is so much more I could relate about this very special breed. Instead, I'll show you a few photos...

Théa on her arrival from France

Showing off those giant ears

Settling in after a good groom this photo appears to be missing, I think

Champagne leaving Hamerton for our farm

Champagne newly arrived

Champagne's first snow

The gleesome threesome last autumn
 
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Thanks for the extra info
MASSIVE heads!!! And loving the snow photo ... I can sort of see where the "mammoth" analogy comes from ... I imagine them brown and hairy like that :)

As for the Fail Article ... Some choice quotes as usual.
16hh being taller than MOST riders like ...

But my favourite
The biggest donkey in the UK is thought to be at a farm in Lincolnshire, standing at 8ft tall when measured from the ground to the tip of its ears.
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Great standard equid measurement there!
 
Rutland, I love your donks, I've only got a couple of small grey standards but they are such characters and really good company for my QH who would be lost without them. I want woolly donks too!
 
TTK said:
Rutland, I love your donks, I've only got a couple of small grey standards but they are such characters and really good company for my QH who would be lost without them. I want woolly donks too!
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Thank you, TTK. My late Clyde loved my standards, but they wanted nothing to do with him.
My Shire mares think all donks are revolting and won't even so much as look at them. Their rising 4 year old sons groom the Poitous over the fence and it is happily reciprocated.



When I first brought the Poitous down to the field, I thought, certainly, the horses would freak out. They all looked, and then carried on grazing.

jinglejoys: The Poitous are NOT for riding. It's not poor conformation, it's their conformation. The standard calls for a thick, strong neck and a long, flat, straight back, which was believed to produce the best mules. The croup is short and steep. When looking at them in the flesh, any idea of riding them goes out the window. I have found that they are not agile or sure-footed. We have a very steep, cut out bank behind our pole barn with a 15 feet wide grassy area at the top. We used to let the standards graze that bit of land. I wouldn't dream of allowing the Poitous back there, especially if it the ground were wet. Despite this, the hooves are key to distinguishing animals of the best quality, so say French breeders. It is felt that one of the ways of telling a purebred from a cross-bred is to look at the foot. Apparently, foot size can not be over-stressed. Correct baudets (jacks) must have very large, open feet that are considerably larger than other breeds of donkey of the same size. As much as the coat is of great importance to the breed, many old French breeders put a higher premium on foot size.

Another interesting aspect of the Poitou is their mane and forelock, which is unique in donkeys.
 
Rutland H20... I've said it before on a previous post but I love your donkeys.... And Champagne is such a cutie. A very interesting and informative post into your breed. I'm pleased they are taking the concerns of this wonderful breed seriously in France. So endearing !
 
cambrica said:
Rutland H20... I've said it before on a previous post but I love your donkeys.... And Champagne is such a cutie. A very interesting and informative post into your breed. I'm pleased they are taking the concerns of this wonderful breed seriously in France. So endearing !
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Cambrica, thank you so much for your very kind words. I really put my interest in the Poitous on the back burner when I got so involved with my Shires and standard donkeys. Losing Dave the donkey last August was the catalyst that re-ignited my quiet enthusiasm for the breed when I knew I had to find a companion(s) for my other standard, Poppy.

Champagne is such a sweetie. She makes me laugh everyday, and she's wheedled herself into Théa and Poppy's collective psyches with great aplomb. She's grown so much in the past six months. The thought of two monster-sized donks in the not-too-distant future boggles the mind!
 
Fabulous write up Rutland, really enjoyed reading and learning., as had seen the DM article .
Will certainly take more interest as the Home isnt so far away.
Wishing you well with your equines.
JC
 
JCWHITE said:
Fabulous write up Rutland, really enjoyed reading and learning., as had seen the DM article .
Will certainly take more interest as the Home isnt so far away.
Wishing you well with your equines.
JC
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Thank you, JCWHITE. Annie Pollock, the lady with the Poitou in the DM article, is a retired vet, and is the liaison between the UK and France when registering a Poitou here. I found her very helpful.

When you say "Home isn't so far away," are you located in France?
 
Yes, in a neighbouring department, albeit the south of it.
In a theatrical production, we saw a Baudet performing,I would think they are highly trainable.
Yours look in super condition, and I have learnt a lot both with the article and your story. Good luck!
 
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