Donkey rescue

[Cortez]

It is nice they are kept with their friends/pair bond, but they just stood around with nothing to do for days on end.

Have you ever kept donkeys? They don't do much except stand around most of the time....

 

[rabatsa]

My donkeys stand around no less or more than the ponies. They do rather seem to enjoy a game of tag or trot round holding an end of a stick each. Young boys play hard a lot of the time together. Older ones not so much.

 

[Mrs. Jingle]

My donkeys stand around no less or more than the ponies. They do rather seem to enjoy a game of tag or trot round holding an end of a stick each. Young boys play hard a lot of the time together. Older ones not so much.

Same with mine and they also play much more than any of my horses have ever done. Tug of war with an old mini tyre, chase me with sticks, I can buck higher and fart louder than you when we have a gallop around the field. Plus they aren't youngsters 15 and 25, admittedly the older one's buck and gallop are a little slower these days.

When we had four donkeys it really was very much their playground, and they used the grazing horses as their turn around and race back points to weave around at speed. Horses just ignore them and carry on grazing. Dolly (my old retired mare) on the other hand very often joins in with them or even instigates the playtime herself.

Maybe I just have weird animals - probably!

 

[paddy555]

I had a donkey. Rescued him as a 3 month old foal who would soon have died in the snow. The farmer next to me insisted in getting donkeys to send to market as they made money in those days. Unfortunately his care towards them was minimal or actually non existent. Anyway I found, or at least I couldn't walk out of our gate without seeing, the donkey mare and her foal. Foaled at the end of Sept, she had had no food, it was snowing and she had no milk. Brought them both in and got a farrier to the mare to deal with her curly toes. I suppose I learnt how curly toes were trimmed! Had to put the mare back and had to pay for the foal but he wouldn't have survived going back out.
Had no where to keep him so made a corner in my only stable, used the kitchen scissors to cut off his coat (lice) and sewed him a blanket. We had totally no money in those days.

I kept him as a horse and noticed no difference.
(he was a white/coloured donkey)
He lived out in the fields in the daytime and came in at night. As a younger donkey he ran a lot and screeched a lot. I put him in the field next to the road and that really cheered up the local riders when their horses saw him.

He shared a field with my arab stallion and then we got a nightmare of a Sec d who walked through everything. The sec d had come as his owner was dying of cancer and wanted him rehomed before it was too late. He had previously lived with a small pony and was VERY dependent. He was given the donkey and they lived together for many years. The donkey was in charge and told the horse what to do.

We trimmed his feet in the normal way and never had any problem with them. He moved around the field lots as the horses went for a jolly. Only difference was that when he ran he brayed, a lot.
I didn't find any problems in keeping a donkey with a horse and he seemed perfectly happy.

I'm sure the DS would have found a list of things wrong with him but then I can look at a lot of horses and ponies and equally find lots wrong which, if I was nit picking, I could relate to their earlier abuse. OTOH one could take a more realistic view and realise that equines/donkeys do have scars,bites and nicks from self inflicted injuries. Even if they were abused in the past it doesn't mean that they are currently.

 

[Quigleyandme]

I have two donkeys sort of from the Donkey Sanctuary. They were approached by keepers who were no longer able to adequately care for their donks at the same time I enquired about fostering a pair so a private adoption was brokered by the sanctuary. I kept the horses and donkeys separated for three weeks until they were seen nosing each other over the gate. In the same field horses and donkeys kept their distance from each other but peacefully. That quickly evolved into “waaaagh where’s my horse/donkey pal gone?” every time a horse or donkey was removed from the herd. They can make great little buddies for horses.

 

[MurphysMinder]

I had a donkey for nearly 30 years, when younger he was quite active and loved to carry things round, but as an older boy he spent a lot of time doing Eeyore impressions. For 20 years he lived with my little pony, they were best pals and when I knew I was approaching the day when I would have to have him pts I looked into getting a pair of donkeys from the DS to keep the pony company . Despite having kept my donk for so long, had a paddock with shelter and hardstanding, and had 2 ponies from WHW in the past, as has already been said they wouldn't home to live with a pony, and if I had been prepared to keep them separately, which I wasn't, I would have had to go on a training course.

 

[mcgreggor]

If you think getting a donkey from them is hard, try springing a mule from them.

Does anyone remember Wallace the Dressage mule? He was from the Donkey Sanctuary and after his media hoo-ha I think the donkey sanctuary put the stop on his ridden career.

 

[Cortez]

Does anyone remember Wallace the Dressage mule? He was from the Donkey Sanctuary and after his media hoo-ha I think the donkey sanctuary put the stop on his ridden career.

Good heavens; why?

 

[mcgreggor]

Good heavens; why?

I can't say with 100% certainty but he was on loan to his guardian, who put him under a local competition rider at her own expense. Then he blew up in the media, did an intro and a badminton appearance, I don't think the DS approved and was quite promptly removed from the riders yard and I think his career move was to some horse agility out of the limelight.

 

[Cortez]

I can't say with 100% certainty but he was on loan to his guardian, who put him under a local competition rider at her own expense. Then he blew up in the media, did an intro and a badminton appearance, I don't think the DS approved and was quite promptly removed from the riders yard and I think his career move was to some horse agility out of the limelight.

That's such a shame, he looked to be having so much fun and was rather wonderful.

 

[SantaVera]

Years ago I kept two donkeys with my ponies they all shared a field shelter and hay no problems.

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

I've been considering moving my EMS horse home and getting him a mini Sh*tland for company.....perhaps I should find a donkey instead (the neighbours are keen on the donkey idea but I'm not sure how my horse would feel!)

Neighbours might not be so keen after a few weeks! Donkeys are noisy beggars. One of our neighbours has DS donkeys.

 

[cauda equina]

It's a nice noise though!
And if you have horses having donkeys next door gets them thoroughly donkey-desensitised

 

[rabatsa]

My donkeys only bray for a reason (unless running aroung playing then they bray and crank themselves up with their tails). Mealtimes one brays while the pony also shouts. In the past a donkey has warned us of nocturnal intruders, you could see the footprints where they had turned and legged it before getting into any buildings.

 

[Mrs. Jingle]

None of mine have ever wasted too much time braying. They will bray when strange dogs are in their field as they chase them out. They bray when the hay or available grass has run out (fair enough I get a bit noisy as well when I'm hungry ) The old boy in particular will sometimes shout at you if he spots you further away in the fields, he only wants you to come and give him a scratch and say a proper hello.

When playing chase me they do tend to bray I must admit. But I truly cannot see why anyone can object to the sound of a donkey? I'd far rather hear that than a few jugganauts thundering along a road, or even just constant traffic and general town noise.

Oh and a chain saw - Bertie does like to do a double serenade if he hears one of them working in the fields or farm somewhere.

 

[Tiddlypom]

I like the sound of an attack donkey, or better still a pair of attack donkeys!

 

[rabatsa]

Oh I forgot that recorders set off most donkeys braying. I went to a palm sunday show and the local school recorder group played for the service, I think that all 60+ donkeys joined in.

 

[suestowford]

There's a small zoo near us and I thought they had got donkeys as I could hear a noise that sounded like braying. It wasn't donkeys, it was randy penguins

 

[paddy555]

It's a nice noise though!

it's a noise that goes on forever just when you think it is stopping they carry on and on and on.

 

[Mrs. Jingle]

it's a noise that goes on forever just when you think it is stopping they carry on and on and on.

Well I have to agree that if I don't shift their electric strip grazing fence further on or get down that yard and throw them some hay (or more that my sons does these days! ) then yes, it is pretty relentless!

 

[southerncomfort]

All this talk of donkeys and not a single pic!!

 

[suestowford]

Here's one. It's actually at the Donkey Sanctuary, and this donkey was fast asleep and snoring

 

[Mrs. Jingle]

 

[rabatsa]

A few.

 

[malwhit]

I am amazed at how many donkeys DS has on one site.

I wouldn't have thought there would be much demand for donkeys in the UK. Are many rescue donkeys from the UK or are they from abroad?

 

[rabatsa]

There are a lot of donkeys here. I once did a count up and there were 35 in a five mile radius of where I live. Some of them are now no more but no doubt others will have taken their places.

 

[Mrs. Jingle]

I'm in Ireland, still loads of them here, unfortunately a lot of them are not in the best of care either.

 

[cauda equina]

Looking at DD there seems to be a reasonable trade from Ireland to the UK which is no doubt boosted by it being so difficult to rehome from the DS

 

[maisie06]

They certainly make it nigh on impossible to adopt them. You don't even get considered if you'd be keeping them with other animals (including other equines). Whatever your qualifications or experience, you need to take their own course in donkey care before even starting the process. Sounds reasonable enough --but there are no courses available, haven't been for years!

If I ever get my cottage with a few acres I shall aquire my Donkeys from the sales!

 

[thefarsideofthefield]

If I ever get my cottage with a few acres I shall aquire my Donkeys from the sales!

They will be expensive - you will be bidding against the DS !