Donkey fear

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Jaybugg

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Has anyone else had experience of their horse having a fear of donkeys?
I have had my mare all her life and I know she has had no bad experiences of donkeys for her to be so scared of them. Anyone else ?
 
We had donkeys move on and the horses nearly had hysterics, and that was before they brayed! Eventually my horse very bravely stuck her nose over the fence and touched one, so then things went from the sublime to the ridiculous because she was then completely obsessed, wanted to mother them (they were miniatures) because she couldn't resist anything that was small, young or elderly and spent half the day trying to stay as close as possible to them which meant long periods of standing by the fence, or whenever she saw me , begging with a foreleg in the hope I would let her in with them.
 
Yes, horses have two reactions to donkeys - extreme fear or complete adoration. It used to be fun taking our old donkey to christmas shows for the fancy dress (I went as Mary obvs ;) )

Our mule promotes the same reaction, but the horses that fear him are right to do so, he's a menace, and in control of our herd completely!
 
My old horse was the bravest animal I have ever met, completely unflappable, apart from when it came down to donkeys! he would literally run for his life. After we lost him last year I got to fulfill a lifelong dream of donkey ownership and now own a little donk called Timothy who, ridiculously we cannot bring near my other horse as he is obsessed with him and creates merry hell when you take the donkey away!!
 
Yep, my horse is also terrified by them. Was very proud of him when we led the way past them the other week, I washanging onto the neckstrap and just praying they didn't start braying!
 
we had a donkey and all our horses loved him. Then we put him in a field next to the road. That was interesting with the number of ridden horses who daren't go past him.
 
I haven't had a problem with donkeys, but I've seen several horses lose it completely at the sight of a 38" Shetland pony
... including one 3yo 12hh pony, in poor condition, which panicked and jumped a 4'6" post and rail fence.
 
We used to have a donkey who lived in a field next door to our stables, my lot were obsessed with him. We had to stop and greet him every time we rode past or Dandea had a strop, they didn't even mind the braying but boy did we see some performances that other riders had trying to get their horses past him.
 
my boy used to be petrified of donkeys when I first got him- we started at a livery yard that had an ancient donkey that roamed the place. but in time he got very used to her. then it was very useful at the next yard he was at, as there was a hack with donkeys in a field by the path, and all the other horses freaked but he would calmly lead them past. occasionally helped strangers on other horses past too! I've had more issues with pigs! funny how similar donkeys look but clearly horses know they are not the same. mind you i know some horses who are scared of minis!
 
After being chased out of field by the sweetest cutest looking donkey of all time, I am TERRIFIED of them and this one never made a sound, but damn he was good at protecting his herd (all 3 of them) horses :)
 
Jaybugg said:
Has anyone else had experience of their horse having a fear of donkeys?
I have had my mare all her life and I know she has had no bad experiences of donkeys for her to be so scared of them. Anyone else ?
Click to expand...

We have livery horses scared of donkeys, we have a donkey on the yard and they just have to get used to it and get on with it. We lead the donkey round the school which runs along side the field and they don't bother in the end.

I think it is really important to desensitize to things like donkeys and carriages, as they are around us and it could lead to a serious accident if you don't.

We offered for free local yards to bring their horses here to get them used to our carriage as we drive round the area and often see horses spin round and bolt off down he road.

No one took us up despite a paragraph in our local email news letter which goes to all the yards, so on their head be it if they get bolted off with.
 
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We were going past a field with donkeys in , and they started to walk towards us. My pony stopped and grew taller and taller the nearer they came. He was walking on the spot too. I managed to get him to walk on just before they got to the fence. I was praying they would not bray, becasuse he would have gone, very fast. LOL.
 
There are two donkeys very near to the livery yard I am on, and the hacking takes us past these donkeys on a regular basis. For the past couple of years one of my horses has always stopped to say hello to the donkeys, sometimes indulging in a mutual scratch before we continued on our way. That was until fairly recently, when the donkeys got a bit over excited at seeing my lad and came running across their field towards him, braying loudly.(It was the first time he'd heard them bray close up). My poor lad was beside himself, he concertinaed in, grew a couple of hands and did the most impressive Michael Flatley impression before fleeing! Needless to say the grooming sessions have now ceased :)
 
One of our hacking routes takes us past a field with an adorable young donkey in it (when it was tiny it was the cutest thing EVER) and both the boys seem unbothered by it, even when it tries to bray. We do get the odd prancey trot but that's more to do with the donkey and pony belting up to the hedge to say hello than the fact it's a donkey.
 
Yep! Mine is terrified of them - used to spook, spin and then full on leg it past a field with them where we used to hack. This is the same horse who does not bat an eyelid when cows lick his face over the face, a goose hangs from his tail and a pig wanders into his stable. So no idea where the donkey fear comes from!
 
Yes, my first pony was terrified of them. If we went to a show and there was one there we used to ask them to stand near the ring when we went in. She would be so worked up about the donkey she would actually jump a clear round!
 
Many years ago my MIL and I were riding along a lane about a mile from the yard when we came across a field with donkeys in, both horses were a little anxious but when one of the donkeys started braying my MIL's spun around and galloped flat out all the way home. We then moved to our own place and in the field next door were two donkeys only took the mare a couple of hours to be nose to nose with them and would call them every morning when she was turned out,
 
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