Gentling Donkey: When The Majic Happens

On this particular afternoon, I wanted to spend time with the donks, cleaning feet and getting some fly goop (SWAT)  around the eyes.  One donk will let me do this, the other donk is better when she’s tied on a lead so I can approach with the fly goop without her bolting….I don’t think she likes the smell.  And don’t even come near them with a spray bottle…otherwise they’re gone.  So the donks were excited by me coming over to give them attention…and on this day I brought my red treat bucket and my red bag of trimming tools, just to set outside the pens to let them get used to the bag.   [A note on my bag.  Micki, my teenage donkey grew up getting treats out of a red bucket and now associates my red bucket with treats.  So when I was thinking through what I wanted to do with my farrier tools, I decided to get a red zippable soft tool bag.  I’m not sure she associates the tool bag with treats, but it can’t hurt.]

I was able to get Micki tied up, with Buttercup just coming in to check things out.  She will accept the SWAT without a lead but Micki isn’t too hot on it.  After I got the goop on Buttercup, I was able to get it under Micki’s eyes and then get a brush on her…..she’s afraid of brushes but when tied up, I can brush her.  After brushing, I was able to quickly clean all four of her feet and inspect my trim job from last week.  I also grabbed her other front foot and tried to trim that one, but she wasn’t having it.  

With Micki still tied, I took the chance that Buttercup might stand still for hoof cleaning and she did.  But more than that, she allowed me to grab my trimming tools and get some trimming done on her both of her front hooves.  I even was able to get the rasp going on the hoof a few times before she decided it was enough.  This is HUGE for me.  The donkey was wild a year ago when I adopted her allowed me to trim her feet without being restrained in any way, she was loose and just standing there!  Now, this wasn’t a complete trim…but it was a start.   

My girls are definitely desert donkeys, so there’s not much easy trimming with a hoof knife…everything is tough and leathery so it seems to take longer and involves more cutting rather than slicing. 

I’m writing for anyone else out there who is trying to gentle a donkey or mule and finding out how much time and patience this process actually takes.  The gentling process isn’t like breaking a horse.  Skip this process on a donkey and they’ll be pets out in a pen but they may not be safely handled without further work.  A donkey might also value your attention more than treats, as I’m finding with our donkey’s.  I’m limiting the treats we randomly give the donks so that we can use other rewards (like attention) to get things done when we need to.

After finishing the basic natural hoof trimming course that Holistic Hooves offers, I’m contemplating barefoot trimming professionally, specializing in donkeys and mules.  This will require me to continue to study donkey trimming with experts that Megan Hensley has recommended and I would enroll in her 1:1 coaching program so that I have a mentor for more complicated trims.  But, barefoot trimming for donkeys and mules will give me flexibility and allow trimming for an underserved population + I like donkeys. 

Are you in Southern California and need your donkeys or mules trimmed?  As I continue to develop my own skills, perhaps you would consider letting me trim your donkey’s.