www.donkey-mule-trust.org.nz Donkey and Mule Protection Trust N.Z. Newsletter No. 4 July 2009
Winter has really come suddenly! It seems colder than usual and as I edge closer to the fire it reminds me how important it is to make sure our equine friends are also snug and warm, either with a draught proof shed, or a good waterproof cover. It is also important to make sure that the donkeys have hay or straw to munch on to keep their bodies heated through the cold. Having the straw or hay in the paddock in a metal feeder with a lid is ideal, as it means the bulky, dry feed is freely available and dry whatever the weather. Trustees Annual Meeting The Trustees meet face to face only once a year at the same time and venue as the Donkey & Mule Society s AGM. However, they communicate weekly by email about issues for that week. Looking ahead the Trustees discussed ways that they might raise the profile of the Trust. Trustee Nick Page, who is an equine vet in Christchurch, offered to approach the NZ Veterinary Association about giving out the newly produced leaflets to Equine Vets. He also said that the NZ Veterinary Association has connections with the Farrier Association and he will investigate contacting them to try and alter the mindset of farriers towards the trimming of donkey feet which are different from ponies and horses feet. Wendy of the Trust - Progress report. Wendy of the Trust has been in her Whangarei foster home for nearly two years now. Whangarei, like most areas of the country is having some wintry weather so Wendy does look quite fluffy and muddy in her annual photograph. The only problem that Wendy has had this year was a sudden, nasty hoof abscess. It was in the middle of summer when her foster carers were congratulating themselves on the good condition of their donkey s feet when Wendy suddenly became lame. An abscess had erupted through the hoof wall. Wendy was fine one day (or so they thought) and struggling the next. It took a lot of probing by the vet to clean it out and a second visit to cut away as much as possible before they got on top of the problem. 1 Wendy of the Trust
Wendy of the Trust Apart from that Wendy is doing well with regular glucosamine for her arthritis and the equine dentist only had to do a bit of filing at her last visit. Introducing - Reggie of the Trust and Rosie of the Trust Reggie and Rosie (a jack and a jenny aged about 12 years) were taken into Trust care in July 2008. They were owned by an elderly gentleman in Coromandel who was not able to care for them any longer. Rosie was in a rather neglected state. She was underweight, her coat was in poor condition with obvious signs of rain scald. Rosie s feet needed urgent attention from a farrier, particularly her right fore Reggie of the Trust 2
Rosie of the Trust and back feet. Reggie needed his feet attending to as well, but apart from that he was in good condition. Reggie is a jack and as the pair is staying together and Rosie has never had a foal, the Trustees agreed that they would make an exception in this case and not geld Reggie. However, if circumstances change this will be reviewed. A year on, Rosie in particular, is a different picture. She has gained weight with regular hard feed, hay and worming. Her feet (one in particular) are just about back to normal after regular visits from the farrier and constant tubing in Epsom Salts and using Koppertox. Just recently, Rosie has had her teeth done and is a much happier and more affectionate donkey. Rosie was also covered over winter and given feed supplements, which has helped to improve her coat and general appearance. She will always be a slim little donkey as she is very fine boned. Both donkeys have been wormed regularly. Reggie has certainly had no problems with his weight, quite the opposite, his foster carer has to keep an eye on him to make sure he does not get too much, particularly in spring, and this is hard because he LOVES his tucker! Reggie is very verbal and brays whenever he sees his carer, and is not content until he has either had a carrot or a pat. His favourite place for a pat is on the rump, and the first couple of times he presented his hind quarters to his carer she wasn t too sure what she was in for! Both Rosie and Reggie are very friendly, affectionate and sociable little donkeys and are very good with children. The two donkeys fit into their foster carers lifestyle perfectly, and are much admired by their visitors. 3
Introducing Jake of the Trust Jake, the newest Trust donkey was taken into the Protection Trust in February. He is an impressive 12 hh white donkey. The ILPH (International League For The Protection of Horses) contacted us about Jake when he was reported to them because he needed rescuing. Jake had been without company since he was bought at an auction when 6 months old. His feet had not been trimmed for years (if ever); he was unhandled, he had never been wormed, he was a jack, and he needed help! The ILPH asked the Trust to take him into the Trust as they knew it was experienced in handling and rehabilitating donkeys and that we would ensure he went to a suitable adoptive home when he is eventually ready to be rehomed. Jake of the Trust Elton Moore, one of our Trustees who is experienced in rescuing donkeys, went several hundred kilometres to collect Jake and take him to his place. Elton is now working quietly with Jake to rehabilitate and handle him. Jake has now been gelded which has quietened his behaviour to some degree, but he is still jackish in many respects. Elton says that Jake has a lovely nature, and Elton is spending time teaching him to pick up his feet, and he has made a start trimming the donkey s front feet back to normal. He has made good progress with his front feet, but Jake will still not pick up his back feet safely so there is work to be done on them. 4
Elton can now walk up to Jake and catch him in the paddock, and the donkey will now also lead. Elton reports that Jake is now nice to handle and is making good progress. Elton has mouthed Jake and he has long reined him a couple of times. The cold wet weather has interrupted his training but when it improves Elton will continue training Jake to harness. Jake s feet before trimming Jake is responding well to Elton s kind but firm hand. Elton has the patience and experience to turn Jake around and he has already made good progress, although Jake has a long way to go yet. Fred of the Trust Fred has moved to a new Trust home as he became unhappy when a new gelding arrived and he had to share the two jennies with another donkey. Because he was unhappy he became difficult to manage. However, he is now very happy in his new home with another two jennies all to himself. He has calmed down and settled in well and his caregiver says he is a quiet, lovable little chap who is no Fred of the Trust 5
trouble to handle. He was not good about handling his feet, but he has had some remedial training from Nancy Neal and he is now much better with his feet and he will improve further over time. Cordelia of the Trust Progress report Cordelia has been in her foster home for just over a year and her carer reports that she is still a bit of a pudding, but Cordelia has reduced some of her crest and the pockets of fat on her sides and hind quarters. However, she still needs to lose more though. It has taken Cordelia almost a full year to become less defensive in her attitude and more interested in human adults (she prefers small children). Her foster carer had a few intense moments early on when Cordelia thought her carer would like a close up view of the underside of both hind feet at about the level of her head! They had a chat about that and there haven't been any further hairy moments. Cordelia was extremely head shy when she arrived at the Trust and that has taken around 10 months to resolve at her foster home. Cordelia gives me the impression that someone has hit her around the head or pulled her ears. During her dental work it was discovered that she had a tooth that had been broken for some time, so somehow she has suffered a blow or maybe a kick to the head. That could be why she didn't want anything happening close to her face. Cordelia gets on well with Matilda, the badly foundered donkey that has been rehabilitating at her foster home since April last year. Both of them spend some time with the horses which they all really enjoy. Cordelia is a really active donkey, who likes to run around and buck and leap! left Cordelia of the Trust right Matilda 6
Trust Website: The Trust has a website at www.donkey-mule-trust.org.nz. It has information about the trust as well as a list of our: Trust Representatives Northland: Neil & Ann Cook (09) 436 3623 Auckland: Marion van Dijk (09) 238 9350 Trevor Stevens (09) 2947155 South Auckland: Anke van Dijk Ph (09) 2334486 Waikato: Jenny & Bryan Clausen Ph; (07) 824 3735 Elton Moore Ph: (07) 883 7228 Bay of Plenty: Lin Langdon Ph: (07) 573 8502 Rotorua: Jenny Parker Ph: (07) 333 2207 Hawkes Bay: Nancy Neal Ph: (06) 856 6020 Susan Rogerson Ph: (06) 844 9611 Manawatu: Andrea Thomson Ph: (06) 328 9812 Wendy Macpherson Ph: (06) 329 9869 Wairarapa: Jenny Mason Ph: (06) 375 8504 Tasman Nelson: Sharon Parkyn Ph: (03) 542 3096 North Canterbury: Sherryn Green Ph: (03) 313 1666 Coralie & Robin Winter Ph: (03) 312 5216 Canterbury: Diana Humphries Ph: (03) 329 7871 Jan Wright Ph: (03) 329 9272 Margaret Salkeld Ph: (03) 326 5072 South Canterbury: Lea Hullett Ph: (03) 686 0735 North Otago: Marianne Smith Ph: (03) 434 8187 Wendy Greenwood Ph: (03) 439 5970 Jocelyn Gray Ph: (03) 439 5970 Southland: Joan Rabitte Ph: (03) 236 0765 Andrea Thomson Chairperson Pemberley, Kiwitea, RD 7 Feilding 4777 pemberley2113@farmside.co.nz Wendy Macpherson Secretary/Treasurer 183 Highway 56 RD 7 Palmerston North Wendy.neal@xtra.co.nz