# sucessful stratagies..



## krissy3 (Oct 29, 2008)

I am posting this in hopes that it will help others with donkeys that are agressive. Some of you know that I have a 30 year old donkey living with us, (2 shetland ponys and a AMHA yearling) The donkey was agressive with the new yearling , and I was terrified that he was going to kill her. Willy (donk) would chase her and bite her on the neck. He never did this with the shetlands , but they are 2 times thicker than the AMHA mini and 100 times stronger. I tried separating them leaving willy in a smaller upper pasture, it seemed to work , but I was not happy with separating him , and I could tell it was fueling his fire, and hatred towards his new little sister. With winter comming I knew I couldnt keep this up, the shelter and stalls are located in the upper pasture , and it wasnt fair to make the others huddle under a tree while Willy lounged in the warm stall. So at night the yearling went into the stall with the rest , but has a separate room separated by a little 2 foot door, so she could look out and still be a part of the family. The other 2 and Donkey were all together is one big stall.(30 feet by 15)

In the moring I would feed them in there and when I let them out i would put a grazing muzzle on the donkey when he was with the other 3. He tried to chase the yearling once , but gave up once he figured out he couldnt bite her. Later I would separate him from the others to allow him to eat lunch etc. Every time he was together with the little filly I stuck a grazing muzzle on him. In the morning when I went to the stall I would find Willy standing next to the fillys stall door , sort of protecting her . She had no bite marks , and seemed to be just fine . In fact letting her be with the donkey when he had his mask on allowed her to realize she had the upper hand . She became more confident, then started teasing him and giving him a little butt turn and kick. This morning we were blessed with a huge snow storm, i put the donkeys blanket on , and this kept him in a more submissive mode. I let him out with the rest without his muzzle , and he has been great all day today. The little filly has been sniffing him and trying to play with him , and he doesnt seem to have an intrest. He has been rewarded for his good behavior today , and I hope he will continue to play nicely. So the muzzle seemed to work for us. I couldnt have asked for a nicer morning , having all my kids play nicely together...especially on my wedding day today.


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## Celtic Hill Farm (Oct 29, 2008)

Well is the donkey castrated?


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## krissy3 (Oct 30, 2008)

about 20 years ago he was casterated.


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## Marsha Cassada (Nov 1, 2008)

Glad to hear something is working for you! You've had quite a time with him.


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## Emily's mom (Nov 3, 2008)

Congrats on your wedding!

Glad to hear the "kids" are playing nicely!


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## krissy3 (Nov 10, 2008)

Just when I thought everything was working , Willy grabbed my yearling again, and ran all the shetlands around and around the pasture. That was it .Moms had enough. I haltered him and walked him through town (public humiliation) stoped at the ATM for some cash , and offered him to any takers with 200 CHF. The farmer that had him before took him in for a month or so while we figured out what to do next. I went back the next morning to check on Willy , and all I got from him was his hind end...but the farmer ^did have a long talk (in german) with me about his history. He said "Willy is special ..very special and extreamly smart and stubborn" Willy dislikes all other horses, but he cant terrorize the big ones so he picks on the little ones. Also no one in the region will take in an old donkey with a chip on his shoulder. We talked about fencing , and my alternatives...Today I purchased a 1400. CHF (swiss frank) fence, that will house willy . When the weather is nice I can put willy in the big pasture , but for the most part he will be separated and in his own area. Its about 60 feet by 20 or so with an igloo for shelter , and when the others are in the big pasture he can roam in the entire smaller pasture where his fenced in area is . Its the best I can do for him without putting him down.



How often does a "bad seed " like this one come up in breeding Donkeys? I found out that he has never been abused like I thought, he has always had a good life , and he has done a lot of different things to keep him occupied. He is a dream with kids, he loves them all, just hates other equines.



So anyone thinking my idea worked ..well it didnt, dont try it.


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## Bunnylady (Nov 10, 2008)

Well, rats! Sorry to hear you are pretty much back to square one with this guy! It's so upsetting when the "kids" just can't get along. I'm glad the farmer has been able to give you a little breathing room, but you're so right, something has to be done, or Willy's going to do serious damage to your little filly one of these days. If big horses have bullied Willy in the past, his prejudice against horses would be understandable, but your yearling can't be left on the receiving end for long. I am curious, though, any idea how Willy feels about other donkeys? I don't know if you have space (or the nerve, at the moment) to add yet another animal into the mix, but it's a thought. IF Willy was OK with one of his own kind, he could be separated, yet not alone.


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## krissy3 (Nov 11, 2008)

I believe my husbands exact words were " for every one new horse that comes in 2 must go"



I have put the word out that willy is available for anyone that has a donkey that would like another. But we really dont have the space in our stall/barn for another, and now it looks like maybe my new yearling has a serious conformation issue. I cant seem to post her picture on this site , but I would like some oppinions on this one. I spent a lot of money on her , and if she is lame or has a hip problem ....oh boy...she is walking like she has a full diaper.



but thanks for the check -in on Willy ...we will get through this somehow.


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