Comments

  1. says

    A bunch of varied characters, all rather cute too. Partner’s been into donkeys for 40 years, sadly her leg’s now so bad she can’t take hers to come out and play with the gang.

  2. kestrel says

    Oh that is just wonderful. But the noise must have been deafening… :-)

    Our donkey is much, much bigger than these, and would definitely do what that last one is doing -- stand next to the jump and look sad so you feel sorry for even asking her to jump. LOL!

  3. Kengi says

    I’ll be perfectly happy to continue as soon as one of you apes opens this gate. I mean, you’re the ones with opposable thumbs and all…

  4. blf says

    And now rats are being used to animate horsepuppets! Is there is no end to this villainy? At this rate. the rats will have taken over the White House by…(stops and thinks a moment)…Hum, perhaps not a bad idea. Please hurry up on the White House is Full of Rats Project, those puppets don’t look much of anything like the Russian ones currently infesting the building.

  5. says

    kestrel

    But the noise must have been deafening… :-)

    Apart from the occasional melodious donkey yodel, the humans present were definitely the noisier party.
    .
    Ice Swimmer

    The last is my fave.

    Which is why that one got included as one out of about 60 photos I took…
    .
    Partner’s white gelding, now 30, worked out years ago that the best way to get out of doing the high jump was to raise his foreleg and knock the rail to the ground. Walking over the fallen bar saved further effort! No flies on him, as it were.

  6. kestrel says

    @Lofty: I think that’s amazing. You can hear ours “singing” 3 miles away. We know someone who lives a little over 3 miles away and sure enough, if she sings while we are at their house, we can hear her just fine. If you’re standing right next to her? Holy cow. It’s like having an airhorn go off. So I was imagining having a bunch together would require earplugs. :-)

  7. says

    Kestrel, on a dark still night a donkey’s voice can indeed carry for miles. However in a show event like this one most of their vocalisations seem to be pretty half hearted at best and there’s lots of competing noise like from the cattle next door. Many years ago we had a fine young yodeller who could just about knock planes out of the sky with his incredibly loud voice, so he got moved on to a desert property where the neighbours were few and far between. The two donkeys that we still own aren’t very noisy at all, although SHE gets a bit squeaky when HE gets taken out for a walk on his own. More pathos that volume, that one.

  8. rq says

    People usually think donkeys are pretty stupid, but I think they’re just up-to-date on their rights. “All that for a stupid carrot? No, thanks!”

    I’ve always been rather partial to heavy horse and thus discovered draft mules. There’s something impressive in the profile and slightly ridiculous in the ears.

  9. says

    People usually think donkeys are pretty stupid

    Donkeys don’t necessarily do what humans want, which is not the same as stupid. People expect donkeys to behave like horses, not taking into account that donkeys and horses developed in very different environments. Horses evolved on the plains where the predators were fast so you need to outrun them. Donkeys evolved in more mountainous areas. If you start running in such a terrain you break your neck. Donkeys are careful. Smart people knew that if their donkey wouldn’t go somewhere they better paid attention

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