JOE Collins and Laurence O’Sullivan of The Irish Donkey Sanctuary gave an informative presentation on donkeys and their healthcare at the 2018 Irish equine veterinary conference. The Donkey Sanctuary’s mission is to protect donkeys and promote their welfare.

“I do a lot of work for the global organisation and working equids in the developing world. I’ve been an equine vet for over 30 years. Only in last few years, have I really appreciated the difference between donkeys and horses. They are NOT small horses with big ears. They are entirely different. Donkeys are much slower creatures; descended from the African wild ass. Donkeys have only been in Ireland for a maximum of 500 years. They are a desert-dwelling animal, browsers and grazers, entirely unsuited to living in this country. They have a fight over flight reaction as they are slow,” said Collins.

Dullness in donkeys is a clinical emergency as they mask clinical signs. They don’t show weakness due to their stoic nature.

Donkeys being off colour; exhibiting dullness and inappetance are really the main signs of serious clinical disease.

Laurence O’Sullivan said that donkeys do a lot of rolling and playing in a herd. Their usual body temperature of 37.1 is slightly lower than a horse while breath rate is 20 breaths per minute and heart rate 41 beats per minute.

Rectal examinations in donkeys can be difficult but fecal assessment can give clues about hydration levels. Donkeys have slower gut time than horses in order to get as much energy out of food as possible.

BODY CONDITION

A body condition scoring grid is used to palpate fat over the neck; ribs, flank and rump of donkeys being examined. O’Sullivan advised that donkeys in show condition score about 4. Donkeys can hold fat in their neck for years but may actually be starving or emaciated.One of the key signs of a sick donkey or a donkey in pain is the ears pointing backwards.

Donkeys will keep eating even with a large impaction present in their system. The average red blood cell count is lower in donkeys than horses.

Diseases that affect donkeys badly include ragwort poisoning and dental disease. Laminitis is very common and foot abscesses as they have more upright, boxy hooves than horses and need farrier care to prevent seedy toe and sole abscesses.

Poignantly, a short video clip showing a very distressed donkey when his companion animal died was shown. “As you can see, donkeys do show emotion,” said O’Sullivan.