Glad He is in Another State

[bobm]

One of our next door neighbors had a gelded donkey. Another neighbor who lived about a 1/2 mile away had a gelded donkey. One would start braying at 3AM and the other one would answer until about 6AM. This went on non stop for days on end. We as well as the other neighbors in earshot complained to them , but it fell on deaf ears. We all finally filed a complaint to the Sheriff who sent deputies to read the donkey owners the law. Within the week both donkeys were relocated to places unknown. Finally ZZzzzzzzzzzzzz !

 

[seedcorn]

@bobm I get it but it's kind of sad assuming you live in country. Now a subdivision, get them out.

 

[ducks4you]

Shame. He isn't thin, actually at a perfect weight. You should be able to see some rib definition. From that angle you can see that the HQ's are covered and people often overfeed their horses/donkeys/mules. They can develop diabetes from being overweight.
Donkeys eat a very bland diet and can founder on food that is too rich. They practically live on air, and many people feed them straw and keep them on scrub pastures and they do very well, definitely they don't need any grain.
I can't take him. I'm maxed out at 3. Smart to put a price on him. Giving him away for free makes him "worthless" to the person who takes him and he would probably be neglected.

 

[canesisters]

Soooo... when are we going to see pictures of him at your place @journey11?????

Mules usually have a very different bray than a donkey. I like it better, it's funny. Most donkeys bray 'he-HAAAW, he-HAAAW' but mules are usually more "heeEEE-HAawhe-hawhe-hawhe-haw"

 

[seedcorn]

Interesting. Never knew anyone who studied the differences. Very interesting........

 

[thistlebloom]

He isn't thin, actually at a perfect weight. You should be able to see some rib definition. From that angle you can see that the HQ's are covered and people often overfeed their horses/donkeys/mules. They can develop diabetes from being overweight.

I totally agree that many horses are overfed. In fact my Huck (mini mule) is overweight. He's just a very easy keeper on plain grass hay.
I don't worry about it a lot through the winter, but do slim him down and make sure he gets more exercise the other seasons.
But if this little CL mule were my animal I would put more weight on him. The way I interpret Henneke's condition score, ribs should be felt but not seen, and since his spine and the vertebrae over his loins are visible I vote for more groceries.
As well as having his teeth checked and given a good deworming.

There's an interesting article on my favorite vets website, Dr. David Ramey , on the subject of metabolic disorders in equines.

http://www.doctorramey.com/resisting-insulin-resitancemetabolic-syndrome/

..."The key player in IR/MS (the abbreviation helps make it easier to type) is a hormone that pretty much everybody has heard of: insulin. Its most important function is pretty straight-forward – it regulates the amount of sugar (glucose) in the horse’s blood.* A lack of insulin causes diabetes (which is almost unheard of in the horse), but that’s not the problem with IR/MS...."

 

[canesisters]

another bit of my $.02
Mules - being half donkey an half horse - have a WIDE variety of body types. My John Henry was a percheron draft mule (we think) who would have been half dead if his body had looked like this. He was just naturally built to be chunky. However, I've seen a LOT that were hackney, morgan, paso, or arab bred - especially the minis - who's body type was meant to be light and lean.
Mules, in general, have much narrower hips and shoulders than the horses they were bred from. Which is why they sometimes require special tack when ridden)
That being said - yes, this little fella could use a bit more weight but I don't think that he is in bad shape.

 

[Nyboy]

Am I the only one who is Tripping over the hat ? No none of my dogs wear sweaters or coats

 

[canesisters]

What hat? Was there a hat in the picture?

 

[thistlebloom]

another bit of my $.02
Mules - being half donkey an half horse - have a WIDE variety of body types...

That being said - yes, this little fella could use a bit more weight but I don't think that he is in bad shape.

No, I don't either.