Rugging a donkey....

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KellyJoArnold

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Anybody know anything about rugging donkeys during winter?
Jack came off the new forest about a year ago now, he had lived on the forest his whole life, and obviously he had never been rugged..

Do i rug him now? He's now 6, so is it worth it? he was fine last winter, happy with just a field shelter, even in snow..

what do you guys reckon? Opinions please!! Thanks.
 
Personally I think he should be fine without. I always feel that rugs must be quite uncomfortable and stop the horse/donkey having a really good scratch or an excellent mud bath.

But im no expert.

Paula
 
Reg's donkey chum spent the whole winter unrugged, including in the snow. He's gained lots of weight and looks so well I don't think he's suffered from it at all :D
 
Last winter donkey was a right little chubby! he was fed ad-lib haylage, and had a thick coat, although people/tutors from college were telling me that donkeys MUST be rugged during any amounts of rainfall because their coats are not waterproof, and that it is cruel not to rug him, so wanted some opinions really!
 
So long as the donkey has shelter he should be fine. It needs to be remembered that unlike horses and ponies, donkeys coats are not waterproof, so they may require a rainsheet in wet weather if shelter is not available. From a temperature point of view, unless the donkey is ill or very old no rugging for warmth should be needed.
 
Donkeys are better rugged in the winter.

A their coat is not as waterproof as horses
B because of the length it takes longer to dry



Three different weight of rugs light weigh - medium and heavy

we dont just have neck versions we have classic too and sweat rugs and fly sheets AND a stable too spoilt thing :)
melodyandbicky013.jpg
.:D
 
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You must have a very good source of shelter for donkeys - or rug in bad weather. Just a lightweight no fill would be fine, donkeys are more than capable of withstanding temperature drops, but they just aren't waterproof unfortunately!
 
Donkeys are fine in cold weather, but their coats aren't waterproof so they suffer in wet conditions.

As long as they can have some sort of shelter from the rain they are usually okay. Mine spends virtually the whole winter in the field shelter, and looks utterly miserable if the others are hogging it and won't let him in.
 
Donkeys need shelter in winter but I don't think they'd need to be rugged. They are tough little creatures..just not waterproof.
 
As long as he has a field shelter and is dry then no, I would say do rugs not required. Many donks in their 20' s and 30's live unrugged. Have a look at the Donkey Sanctuary website - http://www.thedonkeysanctuary.org.uk/ If you e-mail them or call them they will send you an info pack that gives fantastic advice on all things donkey - including shelter, feeding etc. Donks are better off fed straw as have a higher fibre requirement that horses/ponies and have a few other little quirks :D so its a great info pack to have and interesting reading :)
 
Might invest in a little lightweight rug then.. think a heavyweight would just suffocate him in my opinion!

Plus like i said, he lived on the forest for 5 years now, so he managed then..
He tends to go in his shelter at night during the winter!

If this is summer, then i dread to think how horrible winter will be!!!
 
My YO breeds donkeys - she currently has 13, including 2 yearlings, 3 pregnant jennies and a young stallion - and she very rarely rugs any of hers. The only time I have ever seen them rugged up is when they're unwell or have just been bathed and are wearing sweat rugs/ fleeces. What she does in winter if it's wet (they go out during the day, in at night) is leave the field gate open so that they can access the shippen where they live. My YO did explain to me that donkeys aren't so great in the wet, but so long as they have shelter they should be okay.
 
Our donkey spent the first 30 years of his life without a rug, but always had access to a good field shelter, which he uses a lot in the winter. The last few years he has worn a rug, as he was obviously feeling the cold. For a couple of years he was just in a medium weight foal rug, but then in the first really cold snap a couple of years ago he was shivering so I bought him a heavyweight with a neck, he is now snug as a bug in the bad weather.
If your donkey has access to a shelter I would leave him unrugged unless he shows signs of being cold.

ETS I wouldn't use just a lightweight no fill as they tend to flatten the coat and reduce the insulating properties.
 
Donkeys do need access to shelter at all times. Far better to have shelter than rug. Donkeys can get all sorts of funny skin conditions if rugged and get too warm and moist under rugs. The only donkeys we rug are the older ones who do feel the cold.
 
Thankyou guys! Massive help!!

Well, Jack comes back from his stud duties in a month or so, so i think judging by our 'summer' i will be strawing out his field shelter ready for when he comes back!

Re: the straw, i did hear that somewhere, do you know what type of straw would be best? I think ours is barley, but can get hold of diffrent... He did seem to enjoy the haylage, but had about 4acres to graze, so it wasn't a massive thing for him to have.. i just felt bad when we were feeding everything else and he was stood at the gate doing the 'I'm such a poor under-fed donkey' face! :') lol!
 
Leviathan. Didn't realise it was a video. Really funny :)
We had a Neddy on the farm and I always used to run to him for hugs when the whole world was conspiring against me. Ours was a working 'ass' so quite tall and very clever and funny.
 
The donkey at my place was bought a foal rug by the owners who put it on him from time to time, I'm sure because they think it looks cute.

Annoys the hell out of me because what they don't see is a miserable donkey the next morning with a fillet string up his backside and an ill-fitting rug hanging round his neck. He has plenty of shelter so doesn't need rugging, donkeys are clever enough to think 'oh, it's raining, I'm off inside' whilst their doofus buddy of a horse stands in the middle f the field taking a soaking... :D

Second donkey sanctuary guide - I think you can download it - very useful!
 
Have to say the foal rug fitted our lad just fine:p You are so right about them tootling inside when the weather is bad. When there is snow on the ground there is quite often only one set of prints coming out of the shelter, the donk just stays in there and demands you take hay and water to him.:D
 
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