# Donkey as companion?



## ChitChatChet (Sep 9, 2013)

Yes. They do make good companions.

The horse will soon learn that the donkey can sing for their dinner or breakfast! LOL


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## Prairie (May 13, 2016)

I'd be cautious about bringing home an orphan unless your mare is very maternal. All it would take is one misplace kick to kill him. Also an orphan equine can be a PIA since they lose any fear of humans which can be dangerous if he decides to try to play with you like he would another equine. They can be very difficult to train since they haven't had the lessons in horsey manners from the dam. 


How old is the donkey and is still being fed milk replacer or is he on grain, hay and/or pasture?


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## diamondsmequestrian (Sep 26, 2016)

Ok; first of all. Make sure your horse doesn't have a problem with donkeys in general. We brought home 4 donkeys and all five of my horses tried to kill them. No joke. 

Is the foal a miniature donkey or what size?

Second of all; taking in an orphan foal just for a companion is A LOT of work for just a little thing. He may be free now but after all the halters, feed, milk... etc. your going to go through it will be a lot of money adding up. If he is a normal sized donkey or draft you'll have to take into consideration that orphan foals don't have moms to teach them manners so they need x2 the training that a normal foal would need and most of the time end up being 'bad'. You will also have vet costs and gelding if he's a boy... etc.

If it was I who was getting a companion I would get a goat, again make sure your horse is ok with them, or a pony. A non broke pony is pretty cheap, where I live goats and un broke ponies are about the same price. 

If you do end up getting the orphan foal DO YOUR HOMEWORK. orphan foals take loads of work and money. I would also keep them in seperate pens with a same fence line, until he's a bit older and can fend for himself/if you have a barn stalls next to each other or something like that.


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## Golden Horse (Feb 20, 2010)

I've been lucky all my horses took to the donkeys, with a little acclimatisation. They get on very well, my mare and her donkey companion were sweet and inseparable until Donkeys owner wanted him back. I found her another one, but typical of horses, my gelding and the donkey are best buds, and mare is on her own.


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## Dehda01 (Jul 25, 2013)

How old is this orphaned donkey? Is he still on milk? How big is he?

Orphaned animals come with their own separate issues... And they need to learn how to respect human space even though they are adorable and have to use us to get their food. That is difficult for SOME people to do. You have to be firm with corrections to not have them turn into monsters. 

Some adult horses could be trusted with a baby, but many can't. I have two horses on my property that I would trust with a very young foal, all the other animals would/could do damage whether they meant to or not(a few of them would be aggressive and do damage on purpose). 

I don't know which group your mate would fall in, but I wouldn't just assume she would take care of this foal. And this foal needs to be in with animals that will teach him the socialization his mother can't. She wouldn't be my first choice- a group of gentle donkey jennies, gentle mini mares or very gentle donkey geldings would be the group I would be looking to plop him into for the next 6 months or so so he could learn how to be a donkey. 

A full sized horse is just too big for a donkey baby right now. That said. I LOVE my donkey. But not all donkey's are as quiet and gentle as he is. They need slow and methodical training and do not train the same way a horse does.


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## Prairie (May 13, 2016)

This thread is from July so hopefully the donkey issue has been resolved.


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## Joel Reiter (Feb 9, 2015)

Everything is a tradeoff with alternative companion animals. Goats are great for eating things in your pasture that your horse won't touch, but the fence that contains your horses might not be effective for goats. Ponies are prone to obesity and laminitis, which creates extra work if your horse is fine on good pasture.

Donkeys can help teach dogs to stay away from the horses and will eat stuff the horses won't eat. They can be a lot of fun to ride. On the other hand, they can be really noisy and like goats, they hate being out in the rain when your horse would prefer to stay out in the pasture.

I rode my uncle's donkey in our small town parade when I was a kid, and I've had a soft spot for them ever since. Of the three animals, I would choose a donkey, but not an orphaned foal.


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## appaloosa1racehorse2 (Sep 27, 2016)

Yes, they make good companions. I used to have a old donkey named Melvin and him and my 4 horses seemed to get along fine, he was even trained to ride. He was a fun little donkey lol especially for the younger ones in the family.


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