Horse afraid of donkey???

[Jo1987]

Hi all, just a moan really, sorry!
A donkey has been put into the field next to my horse's field, and it has turned him into a gibbering wreck.
He lives out, and every time I bring him in to ride/groom/feed he is like an unhandled 3 year old! Won't stand still, pulling tie rings out of the wall, shaking and pooping!
He has been like this since Thursday, is he likely to calm down any time soon?
He is a heavy cob and usually so quiet and laid back, it's actually making me quite nervous to handle and ride him!

Is this a usual reaction? The other horses in the field are upset as well but not to the same extent as mine!

Thanks for reading, off to the yard now to attempt a quick ride in the school, hopefully he will be able to contain himself...

 

[Molasses]

Awh poor you, there's always one isn't there.
To give you hope, I turned a 'mortally terrified of donkeys' horse out next to 2 donkeys a few years back. He spent 1 week cowering in the other side of the field from them. The second week he grazed a little closer. By the 3rd week he'd jumped into the donkeys field and was merrily chasing them around. They spent the rest of the summer inseparable. So there is hope!

 

[Chiffy]

I had a horse that hated donkeys and would you believe I used to meet it pulling a trap when I was out hacking. If I wasn't ready to get out of the way he would just whip round and flee!
Anyway this horse picked up an injury and had to be turned away for a while. He went to a friend's with a huge field and a few companions PLUS a donkey! He completely got used to the donkey AND it cured him for meeting others in the future. Good luck, stick it out, he will accept it.

 

[madlady]

Some horses get used to them others don't.

A couple of years ago a donkey got turned out in one of the fields near to us. A bridlepath ran alongside the field and for the first 2 or 3 weeks the amount of people who came off because their horses freaked out when the donkey brayed was very high. Luckily our yard is at the top of the field so my lot got used to the noise before I rode them past - my big girl loved the donkey and wanted to go to the fence each time we went past so that she could say hello. The pony would scurry past him quickly but was OK.

One of the horses from a neighbouring yard however just would not settle - even months later he woudn't go past the donkey.

 

[wench]

A donkey appeared at my yard. My horse initially didnt like it. Then he realised it was a baby donkey (well it wasnt fully grown), and wanted to snatch it for his very own. (He was a foal snatcher.)

 

[ahorseandadog]

My friend had a similar problem but she turned her horse out with a couple of donkeys. At first, he was terrified but after a week he began to look forward to going to graze with his new 'herd members'.

 

[Jo1987]

Thanks everyone, he wasn't TOO bad today, but still very on edge and jumpy - the extra energy meant he did some very nice work in the school though!
Hopefully he will continue to settle down, he doesn't usually get upset about anything for more than 4 minutes, it's been 4 days now!

 

[fatpiggy]

We had donkeys arrive and all the horses had hysterics every time one brayed. You see cartoons of animals with their eyes out on stalks but it really was like that! Eventually my horse's curiosity got the better of her and she summoned her courage and touched one over the fence with her nose. Of course then she realised they were something (else) she could adopt because they were small and she got totally obsessed with them, constantly begging with a foreleg to be put in their paddock and hanging around the dividing fence wheedling at them to come over. Sometimes they would play-fight quite violently and she got seriously worried by that as she hated any sort of trouble and would always wade in to break up the enemies. But of course she couldn't get to them in their separate paddock!

 

[Jo1987]

Yes I think part of the problem is that they are separated by a 4ft channel so they can see each other but not really meet! I'm sure it would be much less frightening if they could have a good sniff.

A donkey appeared at my yard. My horse initially didnt like it. Then he realised it was a baby donkey (well it wasnt fully grown), and wanted to snatch it for his very own. (He was a foal snatcher.)

Haha this sounds like my old retired tb, we have lots of mini Shetlands on the yard and he loves nothing more than to herd them all together and kiss them all. Big softie.

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

Hi all, just a moan really, sorry!
A donkey has been put into the field next to my horse's field, and it has turned him into a gibbering wreck.
He lives out, and every time I bring him in to ride/groom/feed he is like an unhandled 3 year old! Won't stand still, pulling tie rings out of the wall, shaking and pooping!
He has been like this since Thursday, is he likely to calm down any time soon?
He is a heavy cob and usually so quiet and laid back, it's actually making me quite nervous to handle and ride him!

Is this a usual reaction? The other horses in the field are upset as well but not to the same extent as mine!

Thanks for reading, off to the yard now to attempt a quick ride in the school, hopefully he will be able to contain himself...

It is totally normal don't worry he will get used to it. Maybe in the future be more interested in it than scared of it.

I own my yard and own my donkey and see many many many new livery horses scared of the donkey, the look - the smell - the sound.

This is normal, you could try speak to the owner and see if you could desensitize it under supervision. This in turn would make it safer for you and your horse should you ever meet one on your ride. We drive here and have many livery horses who used to bolt when they saw a trap or carriage including mine. We desensitize them and the livery's even hack out with the carriage to get them used to it, again would get them used to it if they meet another out on the roads.


We offered it here to let owners bring their horses here while the pony and trap was in use, slowly slowly one step at a time. One took it up but failed to show up so on their heads be it if we meet them out on the roads and their horses bolt, as we have seen many do.



Surely getting your horse used to carriage/donkeys in controlled environment would make it safer for you both in the long term

 

[happyclappy]

They will get used to the donkey. In my experience they usually do so very quickly.

 

[Equi]

I don't blame it. Donkeys scare me too!

 

[Jericho]

We hack past two donkeys and every new horse just stops and stares - they just can't work them out! One started to bray and our pony nearly keeled over in surprise. They do get used to them though

 

[pennyturner]

Ours ignore donkeys, and pigs too, but I do have a stallion who has a fixation with little Galloway cows. If he weren't well behaved, I'd never get him past. As it is he calls out to them like a love-struck teenager.

I have seen a horse fall over with fright at the sight of my Shetland. I thinks it's a 'bit like a horse, but not a horse' problem.
There are often problems at driving events (where there are donkey classes), with horses taking a strong dislike to donkeys. If you take the opportunity to desensitise, you're doing your horse a favour.

 

[Jo1987]

Yes initially I thought it would be a good thing and he would get used to it and be desensitised.
However it seems to have just completely traumatised him, he's afraid of everything at the moment and I fear that when we meet one on a ride now, rather than being curious as he usually is with things he hasn't seen before, he'll recognise it as something scary and have a complete meltdown.

I'm sure he will get over it but at the same time I'm concerned it will remain a big issue for him as I've never seen him so upset!

 

[YorksG]

My Old Appy hated them! When we were on a livery yard one passed the field (which was bellow the road level) and had she been able to get to it she would have attacked it! She never did get used to them, but was ok if her ridden ccompanion was between them and her.

 

[Sparkeyboy]

I sympathise with OP! We had a donkey for several years and he was fantastic, he was a retired beach donkey and we found other equines either loved him or hated him!!!! He was turned out in a field next to a bridlepath and we were always being told he frightened some poor horses to death (He was deaf and over 30 years old and probably never noticed the other horses)

We wanted to take him to our christmas local show in fancy dress so the committee debated and finally agreed. The moment he arrived there were scattering hooves and a lot of dragon snorting, but once they had been up to him and said hello they quite liked him.

It is funny how some don't like them, thankfully mine are used to them because they lived with one but same goes for pigs in my opinion, mine are frightened of those! Hope he overcomes his fear, donkeys aren't so bad !

 

[pennyturner]

We have pigs, and sometimes tie the ponies right by them. They reach over, sniff noses, and are generally very friendly towards each other. It's all down to familiarity.

 

[Jo1987]

He is very slowly getting better, however I am still unable to tie him up as I usually do and am afraid to feed him his usual feed (I have dropped him down to just a small amount of chaff instead of a big scoop of chaff and half scoop of speedi beet) as he gets so worked up being away from his field mates to eat it that I'm worried he'll give himself colic! I miss my quiet, laid back boy, feels like he will be like this forever - and he is only 6!

 

[ChesnutsRoasting]

Are donkeys ever afraid of horses? I think not. That, in itself is proof to me that donkeys are the more intelligent equine!😀

 

[Jo1987]

^ agreed! It's just a grey pony with long ears! Bl***y idiot.

 

[ChesnutsRoasting]

We have pigs, and sometimes tie the ponies right by them. They reach over, sniff noses, and are generally very friendly towards each other. It's all down to familiarity.

My mare hated pigs. Even when the rest of the herd moved to the boundary separating them from the pigs enclosure she remained an acre away. Imagine my concern, when I was informed that a neighbours porcine escapee had been stabled next to her. Apparently, she didn't bat an eyelid. I then knew how men felt regarding women!!!

 

[Dizzydancer]

Oh no, my old boy was petrified of donkeys, once when hacking to new yard we had to do a 2hour de tour as a donkey brayed at him from behind a tree!!
He got turned out next to them in his summer field and unfortunately he never got over his fear, he would only ever go 2/3s of way up towards the donkeys and turning out he was a nightmare. However my pony also had the same fear but then lived with donkeys and was fine. So I thinkits every horse to themselves.
Good luck hope yours settles! You just never know when you will meet one so if you can work on it at home that would be a good thing

 

[Jo1987]

Good luck hope yours settles! You just never know when you will meet one so if you can work on it at home that would be a good thing

My friend reminded me this evening that we passed a field full of donkeys without event a few weeks ago on a fun ride. Damn thing needs to buck his ideas up. I didn't buy a cob for this sort of nonsense!

ETA - I love him really, too much!

 

[Cobbytype]

My friend reminded me this evening that we passed a field full of donkeys without event a few weeks ago on a fun ride. Damn thing needs to buck his ideas up. I didn't buy a cob for this sort of nonsense!

ETA - I love him really, too much!

My laid back cob was terrified of sheep, but he went away to be broken in and the yard was next to a field full of em. He got used to them, but it took a while. Seem to think it took a few weeks.

Conversely, the yard was a competition yard, full of warmbloods and thoroughbreds and the first time my boy went on the horse walker with his new friends, the walker nearly took off. All the yard's horses were frightened of my fully feathered, long maned, heavyweight, coloured lad and the horse walker looked a little lively, with lots of bucking and spinning ans snorting Within a week he'd got them eating out of his hand though - he'd sussed how to stop the walker and had a 'secret poker school' in operation in the centre of the walker. All the horses would gather towards the middle of the walker and have a secret 'fuddle'.

 

[Rivendell]

The best way to teach horses to get over things is to basically throw them into the deep end. Maybe contact the donkey owner and see if you can arrange for your horse to officially meet him? It may take a while to get him near it, but take it quietly and eventually (hopefully!) he will pluck up the courage to investigate this strange creature further. Plus if he has you there being all brave with the scary Donkey he will be more confident to approach it. Relying on him to get used to it on his own could take forever! And he could still get spooked if he encountered one out riding. It's much safer to put him through a few moments of sheer terror for a lifetime of contentment.

I acquired a Donkey and, without thinking, turned him out with my horses. It didn't take long at all for them to add him to the herd.

 

[Jo1987]

Thanks Rivendell, if he has not calmed down in the next few days I will try to arrange a 'play date' for them!

 

[Suelin]

Not uncommon op. I've had horses that love them and horses that are terrified.

 

[sarcasm_queen]

We used to live right opposite the main bit of the Donkey Sanctuary, and had some lovely bridle paths that went around the fields where the retired ones were kept.
All our horses were petrified, and wouldn't go anywhere near. I tried for 5 years to get my very confident hacker to go past them, and only managed it a handful of times.
So, best of luck to you!

 

[Jo1987]

So nearly 2 weeks since arrival of donkey and I no longer want to ride.
Horse is still nervous wreck, won't hack in front let alone on his own and has started whipping round and running off at any opportunity. I've lost the will to do anything at all with him. Have had to cancel fun ride we were supposed to be going to on Sunday as I'm afraid of what he will do.
I'm going to try to speak to donkeys owner when I see her but feel as though damage is done and my lovely quiet cob will never be the same!
How can one little donkey cause so much upset??
Sorry to moan but feeling very despondent and not sure what to do for the best.