# Donkey Care



## Trailtraveler6 (Dec 9, 2020)

I have recently come upon an interest in Donkeys. I’ve always kind of liked them, but never considered having one as a pet. Of course, with my new interest I had to start trying to learn what I could about them. As useful as Google is, it never seems to answer the more gritty information I’m looking for. So I am here to see if there are any people with Donkey experience on this forum with any information they may have to share about their care, temperament, special needs, interesting facts, etc. 

Would love to see pictures of your own donkeys if you’d like to share too .


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## ACinATX (Sep 12, 2018)

Donkeys, even more so than ponies, are prone to laminitis, which is potentially fatal. You don't want to leave a donkey turned out in a lush field all the time -- they can't handle it.

You want to get two donkeys, not one.

Mini donkeys are super cute.

Donkeys have a reputation among some people for being difficult, personality wise, and difficult to train. I didn't find this to be the case in my limited experience. I halter broke the two donkeys that live where my horses live, and I had no prior experience with halter breaking and very little experience with donkeys. They just needed things explained to them, and they needed motivation, and after that they picked it up super quickly.


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## wvfarrier (Sep 13, 2021)

We love our mini donkeys and the above posts are VERY accurate. They do not do well alone, they NEED a playmate or you will be the recipient of their "playfulness". We keep ours in a 1/3 acre dry lot with hay for feed and they do very well.


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## Old_Man_Doc (Jan 10, 2022)

Trailtraveler6 said:


> I have recently come upon an interest in Donkeys. I’ve always kind of liked them, but never considered having one as a pet. Of course, with my new interest I had to start trying to learn what I could about them. As useful as Google is, it never seems to answer the more gritty information I’m looking for. So I am here to see if there are any people with Donkey experience on this forum with any information they may have to share about their care, temperament, special needs, interesting facts, etc.
> 
> Would love to see pictures of your own donkeys if you’d like to share too .


The Donkey Sanctuary's _Donkey Care Handbook _is an excellent reference guide to all things Donkey-related. It's one of the more extensive "How to..." care guide books that I've ever read! 

Here it is: https://www.thedonkeysanctuary.org.uk/sites/uk/files/2018-06/donkey-care-handbook-5th-edition.pdf 

Now granted, the Donkey Sanctuary *is *located in the UK (And I see that you're in the US) so some of the terminology and units of measurement might be unfamiliar. But that's no reason to disregard the information presented within, good care is applicable all over the world. Just use it as a starting point and tweak things as needed for your specific situation. 

But if you would prefer an American source, here's the BLM's (Bureau of Land Management) Mustang and Burro care guide. https://www.blm.gov/sites/blm.gov/files/wildhorse_CareandFeedGuide_Jan2020.pdf 

It's fairly basic and obviously geared towards returning feral horses and burros (Which are just Donkeys that roam free on America's public lands) to domestication, but it *does *make note of the fact that donkeys require different care than horses and includes some specifics relating to that. It's another useful starting point.


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## walkinthewalk (Jul 23, 2008)

Donkeys are far from stupid - only people inept at managing think they are stupid. They are, however, smart to their own undoing and I like a horse, if they don’t like you, you may very well end up paying the price - I. The doctor’s office, lollol

I don’t know that personally but it is what I’ve been told by trail riding friends who rode Mules

I was raised with horses, had I been raised with mules, I would have a lot more input.

The donkey care guidebook link, posted by @Old_Man_Docmay be a good investment of your reading time

P.S. The first mule I was ever on a trail ride with, was named “Maybe”. He belonged to the wife - it was her husband who said “Maybe he’d let that mule live another day and maybe he wouldn’t “, lollol.

Gaited mules are extremely popular in the SE. They are so highly regarded they rarely come up for sale and when they do, one almost needs a second mortgage on their home to buy one🥰

Gaited mules are born thru a crossing of a donkey and a Gaited horse (generally a Tennessee Walker) with the Get (foal) being sterile.


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## Trailtraveler6 (Dec 9, 2020)

Wow was not aware they were so prone to Laminitis. In that case would a grazing muzzle allow them to be out in pasture longer or would that still be too much for them?

@Old_Man_Doc ; thank you for the resources! I look forward to reading them. I have taken a look at the BLM’s care sheet for Burros before, but I think I’ll take a more in-depth look as that was a while ago. 

@walkinthewalk ; I have never heard of a gaited mule before. That sounds like a very interesting cross. How would that affect the diet with the difference between a horse and a donkey?


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## walkinthewalk (Jul 23, 2008)

Trailtraveler6 said:


> @walkinthewalk ; I have never heard of a gaited mule before. That sounds like a very interesting cross. How would that affect the diet with the difference between a horse and a donkey?
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Wellll —- since Tennesse Walkers are at the top of the list for metabolic issues, they wouldn’t be doing a mule any favors in that regard, lollol

Grazing muzzles help a lot BUT they are not intended to be left on 24/7. They should be on the horse during the day, off at night. The owner also has to be sure the horse or mule is drinking water thru the muzzle and actually eating.

I am pretty sure my metabolic horse has the record for holding out and refusing to eat or drink thru a muzzle. He held out for three WEEKS. I had to go find him every afternoon and put him in his stall to eat hay, drink water, eat salt. With him wearing the muzzle was a life or death issue because he had already foundered and severely rotated.

He wore the muzzle seasonally, during the day for 2-1/2 years; he comes in the barn at night and eats orchard hay that I’ve had tested for NSC value. He will be 27 this year, has been in IR remission since early 2015, has a strict diet, limited grazing and hasn‘t worn a muzzle since 2015.

It has been a lot of intense work, micro managing his diet, and very costly — he has given me a large amount of gray hair😘

I said all that ^^^^ because founder is a very serious issue that some folks tend to shrug their shoulders about, until one day the horse needs put down.


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## Trailtraveler6 (Dec 9, 2020)

@walkinthewalk ; wow that is one stubborn horse. Never thought of that as a possibility, so something good to keep in mind. 

Yeah I’ve read about metabolic issues and many other diseases/issues on this forum. Seems very difficult to deal with although it’s good to know they’re manageable. 


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