Specific features of the donkey’s hooves : how to manage them.

The sole is concave and thicker. The heels are high. The bars are almost « vertical ».

There is very little difference between a front and rear hoof. The rear hoof is only slightly more pointed.

A donkey works at slow paces. The walk and trot are his favored gaits. They have a bouncy gait, as shock absorbtion is not as pronounced as in horses. In fact the heels hardly open up and spread out when the hoof strikes the ground, and therefore do not allow the hoof to spread out with each stride. The frog is rarely in contact with the ground.

There is no need to be an expert to detect over long hoof growth. A donkey’s hooves grow mainly from the toe forwards. The horn does not break, the heel curves round, the whole foot curls and gets deformed.  Donkeys’ feet then look like Turkish slippers, long, pointed and curly, and which are then crippling for the animal.

As a general rule, donkeys are more affected than horses by hoof deformations. This is why they need regular trimming.

One often comes across a donkeys hooves which have been compromised by more or less serious mistakes in trimming, mistakes made by people with little or not enough competency, or by a professional in too much of a hurry or irritated by the animal’s uncooperative behaviour.

Frequency of trimming depends on several factors (type of ground, work done, feed…) but ideally, every three to four months would appear to be a good interval for regular trimming.

Trimming a donkey’s hooves, is no more difficult than a horse’s, all it takes is respect of the specifics of a donkey’s foot, and to take into account any defects of the hoof or limb. Things can become more complicated, when one needs to intervene with « untamed » subjects, who need to be « captured » beforehand, and who have no intention of « cooperating ».

The same tools as those used for horses are used for trimming . The tools for cutting should however be well sharpened, as trimming can be made more difficult by the hardness of the horn.

Trimming starts with a good cleaning out of the sole to make sure it has a concave aspect. It should not remain flat. It is very important that the donkey walk on the wall of the hoof, and not on the sole. Next, the frog should be shaped. Excess horn is removed, and work done on the length of the toe. The quality of the white line should be checked (necrosis) and the foot observed to detect any foot diseases. Then the wall should be dealt with, and any spreading out of the hoof rectified. The height of the heel, specific to donkeys should be respected.

Another cause of worry for the farrier, is when the hoof is long, or even very long… The hoof then needs to be trimmed step by step staring with the wall. There should be no hesitation about cutting the horn. When the foot has been cut back to normal dimensions, one can then proceed as above.
Donkeys can present deviations of the limbs either due to hereditary or acquired reasons. They have a specific form of « straightness », and are often narrow both in the front and rear limbs. A lot of donkeys are toed out.

Donkeys hooves are predisposed to be boxy. The farrier should pay attention to not leave the heels too high when trimming, and to open the shoes out at the heel when the animal is shod.

A donkey does not react to pain in the same way the horse does. The donkey expresses it a lot less, and it is therefore not so noticeable. Regular visits from the farrier will help in detecting any problems. Donkeys’ hooves are exposed to certain diseases which affect the horn. For the main part these are similar to the disorders found in horses and are treated in the same way. This fact sheet will therefore deal with those which are « specific » to the donkey.

A donkey owner should take care of his animal’s hooves in the same way as those of a horse : hoof picking, oiling, taking care of the frog, supplementing with biotin when the horn is of poor quality.

Seedy toe

Donkeys are often subject to seedy toe, or white line disease. The farrier should pay particular attention to detect this problem right from the start.

Abscess

A hoof abscess is the most common cause of acute lameness in donkeys. When the farrier tests for an abscess, he needs to be extra careful. The test is a lot less obvious than in horses as donkeys are less sensitive to pain, and express it less than horses. It is therefore more difficult to detect an abscess.

Laminitis

In the past, laminitis was mostly due to work. Today the cause is more often than not due to feeding.

A lot of cases of laminitis are seen in donkeys, because their diet is far too rich. One should remember that the donkey comes from desert regions. Brambles, thistles, and other plants disdained by other herbivores are a donkey’s staple diet. They are used to a impoverished diet. Generally donkeys appear to be healthy, but are very calm in the field. Weight shifting is a lot less visible than in horses, but there are numerous donkeys with traces of laminitis. They end up having permanent difficulty in walking, become unfit for any work or even for breeding. Donkey owners often need to be told to put their donkeys on a « diet ».

As shown in the photograph, a front donkey shoe has a slightly straighter toe, and the branches are straight. The calkins curve outwards and follow the axis of the animal’s heels. The shoe is narrow. A toe clip is advisable as it can help with the length of the stride due to the roll effect. It gives the animal a certian comfort in the way he moves.

As mentionned previously, it is recommended to leave a bit of trim to the shoe, without it being excessive.

Studs can be used, or tugnsten cones…. It all depends on the discipline.

Nailing the shoe on should be done carefully. This is made delicate by the fact that the horn is hard, but not very dense, and the verticality of the hoof wall. The difficulty resides in getting the nail to come through. It sometimes requires giving the shank a bit of angle as the beveled head is not enough on its own to orient the nail. The recommended nails are of the solid, slim shank type, with a square head (Swift type, JF0 or E2 will do equally well). Do not use nails that are too large, and do not use too many.

The problems encountered when shoeing, are due to the specific conformation of the donkey’s foot. The orientation of the limb and the curve of the foot must be respected. The main mistake made by a novice farrier, is to shoe a donkey in the same way he would a horse, and to try to give the foot a round shape, when a donkey’s foot is not naturally round, and to adapt the foot to the shoe rather than the other way round !

In some pathological cases, orthopaedic shoes, « identical » to those of horses can be used.

For the farrier or vet to be able to work safely and do their job correctly, a donkey requires educating. He should accept being tied up, and should lift his feet willingly. It is in fact extremely difficult to deal with a donkey who will not be caught, who fidgets all the time, or even worse who kicks.

Unfortunately our « four-legged companion » is not always docile and cooperative ! He is sometimes difficult to handle. Even though donkeys are smaller and not as strong as horses, they should not be underestimated, as they aim and kick in a very rapid and sharp manner. Even if the hoof is only small, it can still cause quite a lot of pain ! A donkey does not usually bite, but caution should be exercised. They can be sensitive, as some are not accustomed to brushes…

A donkey is reactive and wily. He can use his hind leg to aim a kick even while you are trimming a front hoof. Just lifting one leg will not stop him aiming a kick or rearing. One should therefore be cautious at all times.

When one foot is lifted, he will move backwards and forwards rapidly.

Whether you have to catch him in a field or in a stable, again be cautious when approaching. If the donkey shows you his hindquarters in the stable or in the shelter, touch him with a broomstick. He may then lash out, but will end up turning round. He can then be caught and the head collar put on. When there are several donkeys in a field, they should all be caught and tied up while any intervention takes place.

The animal should be tied up short to a wall or a tree  with a heavy-duty headcollar, so that he cannot turn around in all directions.

A donkey generally will not keep his foot on the stand. If you do use a stand to trim his hooves, it needs to be adapted to his size. When rasping the wall without a stand, the hoof is so small that the farrier is likely to rasp his apron. A grinder with a Pferd hoof paring disc can be used, by holding the hoof in one hand and rasping with the other.

Some donkey owners complain that they cannot find a farrier for their donkeys, or that the farrier uses « brute force » or « torture instruments » like a twitch. Where does the fault lie? What is to be done ?  Leave the donkey with no care, or use restraining methods to help us do our jobs ? Below are a few techniques which can be used either alone or with a helper.

The helper to hold the foot

The owner of the donkey can be required to hold the donkey’s hooves. The presence of someone who is used to handling animals (an apprentice for example…) is probably safer, but the farrier then needs to be able to work « à la française ».

The flat rope

This is a rope a few metres long, with a flattened part, or a strip of leather, in the middle, and a gimp at each end. I personally use this slightly differently from its dedicated use, and use it to lift the hind legs. I place the flat rope around the pastern, stand behind the donkey and pull the rope towards me to lift the hind leg. At first the animal will shake his leg, but ceases when he realises there is a resistance. Then I can lift the hoof and trim it.

The ears

A donkey has two magnificent multi function appendages. He has two very practical long ears, and one should not hesitate to use them. Catch them, twist them and maintain a bit of pressure ; the effect is to immobilise the animal with all in all relativly little pain. It is advisable to use the twitch if the donkey is to be used for any form of work, because using the ears as a restraining method could induce the donkey to subsequently refuse the bridle. It could therefore hinder the animal’s use.

A donkey can also be immobilised by catching an ear in one hand and the tail with the other while the farrier is working.

The twitch

The twitch should be used with discernment, but usually gives quite good results. When you are alone, it can be tied to the headcollar, or a piece of plastic like a clamp can be used around the chin.

Calling in the vet

The donkey’s owner can be asked to call in the vet to sedate the animal. This represents an additional cost for the owner, and it is not always easy to coordinate the farrier’s, the vet’s and the customer’s schedules.

Even if a donkey can be annoying, one should remain patient, which is not necessarily the first quality attributed to a farrier. One should be firm when necessary, but gradually, and without anger…

If these restraining methods need to be used, one should then work quickly so as to minimise any physical or psychologial after effects on the donkey, because a donkey is not really very patient either…