The Donkey Breed Society

Laminitis Warning!

The Donkey Breed Society wishes to remind all donkey owners about the danger of laminitis. Laminitis is a very painful and stressful condition, causing increased strength in the digital pulse as a result of which the donkey will tend to stand on its heels for relief. The condition can lead to death, so if you suspect laminitis, call your vet immediately.

More information is available from the Laminitis Clinic.

Do not overfeed your donkey

• Feed little and often and be consistent
• Feed according to workload
• Adjust feed gradually where workload changes
• Feed a high fibre diet rather than a high calorie one,  look for the Laminitis Trust Horse Feed Approval Mark on feed bags
• Divide large fields into smaller paddocks to reduce grass intake or fit a grazing muzzle
• Check your donkey's weight regularly, and make adjustments to food availability if needed
• Don't intentionally fatten your donkey for showing

Grass Cuttings Warning!

Grass cuttings are a volatile and rapidly fermenting mass not a feedstuff. They will kill your donkey if eaten in any quantity So if your donkey could access grass cuttings from the misguided actions of neighbours putting them over boundary fences, in the belief that they are doing your pet a favour by supplementing its diet, take very quick and active tracks to stop them, before they stop your donkey in its tracks.

Obesity Warning!

The donkey is a browsing animal, that has evolved over time to live in areas devoid of lush vegetation, where a long walk has to be endured between mouthfuls of coarse herbage. We do them no favours by feeding them on a diet over rich in carbohydrates, which whilst it might add flesh and an aura of maturity to a juvenile animal does nothing to prolong an active life. A donkey is quick to add pounds to its bodyweight but just like us humans not so quick to shed them.

Ragwort Warning

Ragwort is one of the most frequent causes of plant poisoning in livestock in Britain, being toxic in all stages of its development and after cutting and subsequent drying, when present in fodder.

The characteristic leaf rosettes can be found growing in any grassland from early Spring onwards, but is more often associated with areas of pasture in poor condition, as it seems less able to colonize pasture with a vigorously growing sward. The plant starts into growth with a small circular cluster of leaves, which have a ragged outline and are often darker than the surrounding grass; having a dark green top side and a downy underside. As the plant grows the stem and leaf stalks have a purplish hue and the flower head which will mature between May and October and is born on a plant that can be anything from 6cms to 2 metres in height at flowering, is of a bright yellow multi-headed daisy like appearance. The parent plant will die back after flowering and its space will then become colonized by myriads of seedlings.

If you don't think you know what this injurious weed looks like in all its stages of growth and need advice on that and its eradication then please contact secretary@donkeybreedsociety for a Ragwort Control leaflet.

Boredom Warning!!

The donkey is by its very nature a gentle and amenable animal, but it is also very intelligent and relishes the challenge of new tasks. Boredom leads to the enhancement of undesirable traits that for the sake of time and training could be avoided. To help build a relationship based on mutual respect and understanding the Donkey Breed Society has put together a series of proficiency tests that when put into practice can form the basis of a good working relationship. Whilst these were initially developed for the junior section they can form the basis of a training programme for any donkey owner.

First Aid for Donkeys

If you donkey sustains an injury or appears unwell the correct course of action will always be to call your veterinary surgeon.

However some prompt action by yourself will not only help the donkey but it will also serve to occupy both you hands and mind whilst waiting for assistance.

A First Aid Cabinet in your tack room, high up on the wall of stable or shelter or kept in the boot of the car if you are not fortunate enough to keep your donkey at home, and stocked with the following suggested items is a sensible and worthwhile investment.

First Aid Cabinet Essentials

Your veterinary surgeon?s telephone number written in large print under the lid or inside the door, and a torch attached or inside in such a position that you will be able to locate it even if in the dark and in a panic!

• Clinical Thermometer
• Round ended curved blade scissors (for cutting hair away from a wound)
• Kitchen scissors (for cutting dressings)
• Metal tray for preparing dressings
• A set of stable bandages and bandage pads or a roll of gamgee
• Crepe bandage
• Vetwrap bandage
• Adhesive tape for securing bandages
• Surgical cotton wool
• Non stick dressing such as Jelonet or Melalin
• Antiseptic cream
• Wound powder
• Vaseline
• Surgical spirit
• Antiseptic/anti bacterial wash such as Savlon Salt (one tablespoonful to one pint of water makes good disinfectant)
• Plastic measuring jug
• Bucket (kept and marked for ?Veterinary Use only)
• Hoof Pick
• Wire cutters
• A copy of Keeping Your Donkey Healthy (available from the DBS on-line shop)

Simple First Aid

First Aid for Wounds

• Assess the situation, do not panic
• Get the donkey restrained and reassure it
• Do not put anyone in danger
• Prevent further damage
• Stop bleeding, if bleeding is profuse, once you are certain that there is no foreign body in the wound, hold a pad firmly over the wound.
• If there is anything in the wound do not try to remove it as this could cause worse damage.
• Clean wound, do not use undiluted disinfectant such as TCP or Dettol, it can burn
• Bandage

When to Call a Vet

• If no tetanus protection has been given within the last six months
• If the wound is near to a joint
• If the donkey is lame If bleeding is severe
•  If wound need suturing If wound has a foreign body in it
• If there is excessive swelling or infection
• If in any DOUBT

 Signs of Ill Health in the Donkey

• You should know your animal and its normal behaviour pattern so that any abnormal behaviour for that donkey can be detected
• Donkey may look depressed, head down, quiet and standing alone, abnormal for that particular donkey
• Eyes dull, discharge, change of colour in gums or under eyelids
• Nasal discharge and/or cough
• Skin taught and non elastic; coat staring and of poor quality
• Gait abnormality; lame, shifting weight or pointing a toe
• Weight loss
• Heat, pain or swelling in one or more limbs
•  Donkey not eating or drinking or doing so excessively
• Temperature, pulse respiratory rate elevated or depressed
• Abnormal urination or defaecation
• Donkey may be recumbent and refuse to rise
• Sweating which is not induced by exercise or extremely hot and humid weather

Signs of Good Health in a Donkey

• Donkey should be bright and alert
• Eyes should be bright, gums and inside the eyelids should be pink
• There should be no discharge from eyes or nose Skin should be supple and loose; the coat should be bright and lie flat
• The donkey should have normal posture, not shifting weight from one foot to another
• The donkey should be in an appropriate bodily condition
• Limbs should feel cool with no unusual swellings Normal appetite and water intake
• Normal behaviour
• Normal urine and faecal output
• Normal temperature 37.1degreesC (98.0degreesF)
• Normal pulse: 40/min
• Normal respitory rate: 22/min

Feet

The old saying 'No Foot - No Horse' is just as true of the donkey

Most donkeys in the United Kingdom have little or no exercise, unrestricted access to grazing and rather too long a gap in between visits from the Farrier.   These should ideally be arranged at six weekly intervals.

The Farrier

A very important person and one with whom the right business like relationship is established for the wellbeing of your donkey. As the owner it is your responsibility to train your donkey to lift its feet in rotation without a fuss and on good management grounds you should clean and check all four feet daily so that such an expectation is not unrealistic. Your status as a good client can be enhanced by:

• Not waiting until the farrier's van arrives on the drive before catching you donkey, as in all probability you won't! so their journey will have been wasted 
• Make sure your donkey is wearing a well fitting head collar and a rope with functional clip is attached.
• Bring the donkey into a clean well lit area with a hard surface. No farrier wants to be swishing around in the mud.
• Clean out all four feet and brush or wash any mud from the outside wall and the legs. No farrier can do their job well if they are having to do yours at the same time.
• Be on hand to talk to your donkey and to listen to your farrier's observations, hopefully about your donkey's feet rather than the state of the government!
• Pay your bill promptly - it is surprising how often one hears that farriers are unreliable only to find that the client has failed to pay their last two accounts!!  Sainsburys won't serve you in that situation so don't expect your farrier to.

A list of farriers working in your area can be obtained from:

The Farriers Registration Council - telephone 01733 319911   or email: frc@farrier-reg.gov.uk

Daily Hoof Care

Daily removal of mud and grit with a hoof pick, followed up by a quick brush with a dry nail brush, paying special attention to the sole and white line areas, will largely prevent bruising or penetration of the sole by grit or any other foreign body and subsequent risk of an abscess.

Lameness

Can manifest itself in many ways and be caused by many things but all require the attention of a veterinarian for an accurate diagnosis, and in the event of it being an abscess or other problem involving the foot, also a farrier.

The donkey should be stabled with a deep clean bed of shavings rather than straw, which tends to wind itself around the legs exacerbating the situation, and with forage and water within reach, until diagnosis and subsequent treatment are in place.

In cases of foot abscess it has to be drained, and all infected material removed so that healing can take place.

Where a donkey is unvaccinated it should be given a preventative dose of Tetanus Antiserum.

The role of the owner as nurse practitioner is mandatory and some bandaging and practical dressing application experience is valuable!!

The logistics of keeping a sterile dressing on the underside of a hoof are worth considering in advance and have been known to involve, small size disposeable nappies, which have the benefit of offering both padding and a waterproof exterior, hessian sacking, freezer bags, old socks, sticky tape and that modern day phenomena 'vetwrap'

The actual poultice element used to draw out infection can be home made from an infusion of bran, bread or kaolin or purpose made wadding known as Animalintex, which has to be cut to size and soaked in hot water prior to application to the affected area.

It is worthwhile assembling an emergency'Abscess Treatment Kit' so that everything is to hand somewhere you can go to instantly rather than as a result of a scrummage round the kitchen cupboard:

• A washing up bowl for soaking the effected foot.
• A nailbrush or toothbrush
• An old towel to dry the leg
• A supply of small freezer bags
• A supply of old socks
• A pack of animalintex
• A flat foil tray for soaking the animalintex
• A thermos of hot water
• A pair of round ended scissors
• A roll of cotton wool
• A roll of Vetwrap self adhesive bandage.
• A torch - these things seldom happen in daylight

Veterinary directions should be followed carefully, and care taken not to enclose the whole foot in poultice as it will do mare harm to otherwise good horn by making it waterlogged.

Teeth

Ideally all donkeys should have their teeth checked annually.

Elderly donkeys and those with any abnormailites in their jaw conformation will benefit from checks at three and six month intervals depending on their condition and certainly a dental examination is required if any of the following are observed:

• Quidding - when partially chewed food is dropped from the mouth
• Eating becomes an abnormally slow process.
• Unfamilar jaw movements are seen.
• Unpleasant mouth odour.
•  Any facial swelling or apparent abscess.
• Poor body condition.
• Abnormal headshaking when being ridden or driven.

Choosing A Professional Equine Dental Technician

By Michelle Hughes, Equine Dentist

Choosing your professional Equine Dental Technician is one of the most important choices you will make for your donkey and should be given as much care as you would give to choosing your vet or farrier.

There are many people travelling around today claiming to know what to do to maintain your donkey's teeth. Sadly this is not always the case, and so for your own peace of mind and the well-being of your donkey you should choose a member of The World Wide Association of Equine Dentists whose members practice the highest standard of Equine Dentistry. (Or has qualified in the British Equine Veterinary Association's (BEVA) dentistry exam.)

An investigation of your potential Equine Dental Technician's background e.g. educational qualifications, experience, professional association, personal attitudes and ethics will help you make the right decision. Ignoring the state of your donkey's teeth is dangerous to you, painful to your donkey and will cost a lot more money in the long run.

A donkey whose teeth have been neglected or incorrectly maintained will be unable to break down and grind its feed thus causing a feed value loss of up to 80% of all food eaten. That's a lot of lost food and money.

How many of you are aware of the pain and suffering caused by neglected teeth? As an Equine Dental Technician visiting equines around the country and abroad, I see inside hundreds of mouths and what I see would shock and upset most caring owners.

Unlike human teeth equines' teeth grow continually which cause no problems if the molar tables meet together all the way along the arcades. However, if there is even a slight misalignment it is possible for hooks to develop. These hooks, left unattended cause the most horrific pain and can grow into the upper and lower jaw. I have an Equine Dental Technician friend who had to cut two inch hooks in an 11 year old animal and then extract them from the upper jaw bone where they had become deeply embedded. The pain this animal suffered must have been terrible.

Wolf teeth are another commonly misunderstood tooth problem of the donkey. These teeth come in many shapes and sizes. It was once the 1stt premolar in the equine but now is of no use at all and is best removed at the earliest time possible if it likely to cause a problem, especially if the donkey is to be used for riding or driving.

Your Equine Dental Technician should be able to access your donkey's mouth in a calm and confident way. He or she should be able to balance the mouth, rasp incisors, remove retained caps, remove wolf teeth, age donkeys, pickup injuries, advise on bitting, and know when a dental problem should be referred to a Master Dentist or Veterinary Surgeon. Whilst doing all this he or she should instill confidence in both you and your donkey, leaving your donkey pain free and happy.

I hope this article has given you a small insight into what is a vastly neglected area of equine care. Should you choose correctly in picking your Equine Dental Technician they will be only too happy to offer advise and help whenever your donkey has a mouth problem. Please do not hesitate to call them for advice. We are all dedicated to helping the equines in our care. Good Luck! .

For more information go to the British Association of Equine Dental Tecnicians web site: http://equinedentistry.org.uk

Skin Care and Grooming

All donkeys enjoy and benefit from daily grooming.

The grooming experience should be pleasurable for both the donkey and the human, thereby helping to create a relationship based on mutual trust and respect, at the same time allowing for recognition of any changes in the skin or sensitive areas that might indicate a clinical problem.

Grooming is more than just applying a brush to the coat, it should extend to cleaning the eyes, nostrils, dock and sheath.

The action of brushing removes dead hair from the coat, dirt from the skin and stimulates the blood vessels under the skin.  Brushes for equines come in various types from inexpensive plastic to expensive leather backed pure bristle, with plent of gimics designed for easy hair removal in between the two; to these you can add plastic combs for tails, and round ended scissors for trimming, and cotton wool balls for those delicate little areas!!

The rule of thumb being that plastic bristles are great for removing mud, plastic teeth are great for removing hair, but pure soft bristle encourages a shine. Whilst they may provide an easy answer to efficient dead hair removal, the wire toothed dog brush can be cruel and damaging when it is allowed to scrape the skin, so are best avoided. Metal curry combs intended for cleaning the hair from between the bristles of a brush rather than the animal, could at a pinch be used over well fleshed areas of the donkey's body but certainly not down legs or over bony areas.

Cotton wool soaked in clear warm water should be used to cleanse eyes and nostrils, discarding each piece after a single use so as not to transfer any potential infection from one to another. Cotton wool or a sponge kept for the purpose can be used similarly to wash the intimate areas under the tail and around the genital regions.

A working grooming kit could comprise the following items and if kept in a lidded plastic bucket or box is easily carried from place to place:

• A Plastic Curry Comb - fits over the hand and has rows of fine teeth that are great for hair removal
• A Dandy Brush - a stiff bristled brush for removing mud and dust.
• A Body Brush - a soft short bristled brush for smoothing and polishing the coat.
• A Metal Curry Comb on a wooden handle for cleaning hair from brushes.
• A Plastic comb - for separating the tail hairs carefully
• A pair of round ended scissors for trimming and removing knots.
• A hoof pick - for cleaning feet.
• Cotton wool balls
• A sponge
• A container for warm water

Brushes should be cleaned regularly in water and mild disinfectant and left to dry before use.

Bathing

Bathing is not essential but some donkeys do find it an enjoyable experience, and one on warm day in Spring and Autumn will cleanse the coat of dirt and dead hair and make it less attractive to insects. Although if you do decide that it is something you are going to do, bear in mind it will also be a mutual experience as large volumes of warm water will need to be carried and applied to the donkey, and inevitably some or all will transferred to yourself.

Be cautious when using shampoo and cleansing preparations, every trace will need to be rinsed from the coat and not all are compatible with the equine skin any more than all are with your own.

Skin Diseases

The most common skin diseases tend to be seasonal and most can be avoided with a little care.

Winter - In the United Kingdom we are well used to rain and mud, sadly these bring with them:

• Liceseeking board and lodging in moist thick furry coats, turn it into a dull scaly desert with bald patches. There are various pour on preparations available over the counter, but where donkeys live in groups it will be necessary to treat all members of the group, and for grooming brushes and tools to be disinfected to avoid cross contamination.
• Mud Fever which manifests itself on the lower leg, where the skin does not get the opportunity to dry out beneath a heavy fur covering, causes the skin to crack and the hair to drop out allowing other bacteria to enter and cause infections.  Donkeys should be prevented from standing in muddy areas, either by fencing these off or by offering an alternative hard standing. Legs should be allowed to dry and brushed clean of mud, and could be dressed with baby oil or vaseline prior to going out, as preventative measure.
• Rain Scald is found in donkeys who have no shelter from the elements; the hair becomes waterlogged and falls out leaving behind a lumpy, moist and inflamed skin open to fungal attack. Veterinary attention should be sought.

Summer - probably destined to have even more impact in the future.

• Flies are worrying to donkeys and their bites are not only distressing and painful but can lead to inflamation and sores around the sensitive membranes of the eyes and nostrils. Prevention being better than cure, a fly fringe or fly screen worn with headcollar is an effective deterrant.
• Sweetitch is a skin condition caused by the donkeys hypersenitivity to the bite of the Culicoid Midge. The donkey seeks to elleviate the irritation by rubbing and scratching the affected areas on anything that comes to hand, be it hay rack, gate catch, tree, door frame, even another donkey, this in turn causes the skin to break and bleed, attracting more insects, so a circle of recurring infection evolves.The donkey should be stabled during early morning and evening when midge activity is at its greatest and the stable sprayed with a safe insecticide. Trials have been carried out using a vaccine to combat the effects of the biting, and this is continuing during 2006. A lightweight rug/body covering which can extend over the head, neck and abdomen is available and has been used with success.& No one measure will provide the perfect 'cure all' but a combination will allow the donkey to live a more peaceful life.

For more information on the Sweetitch Vaccine Trials and details and order forms for Boet Rugs go to:

www.sweet-itch.co.ukor contact the Sweetitch Helpline email horses@sweetitch.com