The Great Debate

Everytime it gets cold, the Great Blanket Debate begins anew.  There are those who passionately believe that blankets are unnatural, and no horse or donkey ever needs one.  There are those who just as passionately believe that all donkeys and horses do need them.  Like most things, the truth lies somewhere in the quiet middle.

Does your donkey really, truly need a blanket?

• If he is younger than 4 years old or older than 20, he will likely benefit from a blanket when the weather is extreme.
• If he is younger than 1 or older than 25 and facing an unusual cold spell, he needs a blanket.
• If he has other health issues.  Ramsey and Ben are good examples.  Ramsey had a nearly fatal hoof infection when he was 4 months old.  He had surgery at Cornell followed by 6 months of intense follow-up care.  He has arthritis issues stemming from that time.  He had Lyme disease two years ago that exacerbated the arthritis.  He had another tick borne disease last year.  In cold weather, he gets sore and unhappy.  Keeping him warm drastically improves his quality of life.  Ben also had a bad tick borne illness last year that caused major muscle/joint pain and triggered laminitis.  He has also just been diagnosed with Cushing's, which causes immune system depression and interferes with the body's ability to regulate temperature.  Animals like this need all the help they can get.  They will survive without a blanket, but there is difference between surviving and thriving.
• If your critter is shivering he needs a blanket.

All of that should be fairly obvious, but what about healthy, adult donkeys with good shelter and feed?  Do they NEED blankets when we have a horrible cold snap like this?

If they are in good condition and are well acclimated to bad winters, than no they do not NEED blankets.  They will survive and the chubby ones may even shiver some extra weight off and be healthier for it in the long run. 

Do those healthy, adult donkeys WANT blankets in this horrible weather?    

The answer to that mostly depends on the donkey, where he is and how good his shelter is, but many donkeys will be happier with a blanket during prolonged cold. 

Physically, horses are much better able to adapt to sudden changes in temperature than donkeys are.  Donkeys can handle a wide variety of temps, but it takes them longer to adjust.  Horses have extensive vasculature directly under their skin that allows them to either dispel or conserve body heat.  Donkeys do not have this same vasculature.  Their bodies are more adapted to getting rid of excess heat than in conserving it.  They grow very thick coats, but it is a coarser coat that does not hold heat as well as a horse's short, dense coat.  

Will a healthy donkey survive some bad weather?  Yes.  Do they like being cold?  No. 

Some signs or reasons that your donkey may want a blanket:

• Not wanting to be touched in cold weather.
• Irritability
• Muscle tension
• Exercise: This is critical to the health of all equines.  If your donkey will go out with a blanket and brave the elements instead of hiding in the barn, this is a good enough reason to blanket.

Even if they only make it a couple hundred feet before they wimp out and head back to the barn.  Even that little bit of exercise can help keep the bowels moving in the right direction and anyone who owns equines will know how important this is.

• Sleep deprivation.  People tend to look at me funny when I say this, but it is very true.  Equines can doze standing up and it is true that they require less sleep than many other animals.  However, they DO need to be able to lie and go into a deep sleep every day. If horses or donkeys don't feel comfortable lying down, they will become increasingly sleep deprived and will eventually fall down.  The extreme version of sleep deprivation is pretty obvious, but the more subtle signs include irritability and an unbalanced stance when dozing.  

I saw Emma doing this last week.  She was standing in the barn door, hind leg cocked, head down, dozing, but she also had one front leg cocked and she wobbled a bit when her head drooped.  The reason that she was not lying down was because she was cold.  Not long after putting her blanket on, she laid down and slept hard for over an hour.  

Random video of sleep deprived horse from YouTube, this is what Emma was doing: 

So, does Emma, my healthy, adult, fat donkey NEED a blanket? 

No.  I know she will survive without one and may even lose a few pounds doing it.

Does Emma like her blanket?

YES!  She is far more relaxed and happy wearing it.  She does not sweat under it so I know she is not too warm.  

I am well aware that wild horses and donkeys survive just fine (mostly, until they don't) without our help.  However, these are not wild donkeys.  They are not living in a climate that they are suited for.  And, the average lifespan of a wild horse is 12-14 years.  I want mine to live 2-3 times that.  

Blankets are an unquestionable hazard, especially if they don’t fit well.  They require daily monitoring and attention.  They need to be taken off and put back on as the weather changes.  They increase the maintenance required for daily donkey care.  If you are OK with all of that and you feel better knowing your beloved friends are warm and toasty, than go ahead and blanket your fat, healthy, adult donkeys.  All of you will enjoy the company and attention blankets require.  As long as a blanket won't cause harm than peace of mind for the owner is a valid reason to blanket.  

Most of us own donkeys because we love them.  We worry about them, we lie awake at night wondering if they are OK.  If putting a blanket on your fat, healthy donkey will make you feel good and make her happy, then do it.  If it helps both of you sleep at night, what is wrong with that?  

Which is why Emma is wearing a brand new blankie tonight even though I should be making her shiver off some of her extra pounds.  

The Blanket Test

"Does my donkey need a blanket?"

This is probably the number one question that I see pop up on Facebook and donkey related conversations, especially with this onset of frigid temperatures.  The answer I have come up with is: maybe.

As Emma and Ramsey have demonstrated for us this year, a baby donkey less than 4 years old will very likely benefit from a blanket if you are in a very cold, windy climate.  A healthy adult donkey in good condition with plenty of roughage to keep the internal fires burning will probably be just fine.

A few signs of a cold donkey are a tightly clamped tail, hunched back, grumpiness and unwillingness to be touched.  Those things are all rather subjective though so it can still be hard to tell.  Fortunately, there is a very simple test that will tell you right off if your particular donkey really, truly needs a blanket (this works for horses too).  All you really need to do is go ask your donkey, here's how:

• Step 1: Go out and put a blanket on your donkey (if you haven't got a proper blanket, an old quilt will do for the moment) and watch him very carefully.
• Step 2: If the animal begins to shiver within a few minutes, than he needs a blanket.
• Step 3: If there is no shivering within ten minutes, than he will continue to be fine (and safer) running around naked.
• If your donkey had been rather grumpy and irritable and cheers up with a blanket on, but does not shiver, than he will likely appreciate having a blanket.  He will get along OK without it if you are opposed to blankets, but he might like one.

The reason this works is that if the animal is really, truly cold, then their shiver mechanism will be triggered as they begin to warm up with the blanket on. They will shiver for a few minutes just at the beginning as they start to get warmer and then quit once they are warm, which is why you have to watch closely, this is a transient thing that usually will only last a few minutes.

The second most frequently asked question is: where can I get a blanket for my donkey and which one should I buy?

After trying on a number of blankets, the one that I find works best for my donkeys is the medium weight Rhino Pony Wug (that really is how they spell it) with a high neck.  Ramsey is modeling his new Wug....

He most definitely wanted a blanket.  He was really rather grumpy in the cold, which is highly unlike him, and when I put a blanket on him, he shivered hard for several minutes until he warmed up.  He is much happier snuggled into his Wug.  Emma, on the other hand, did not show signs of being cold this year and wanted no part of blankets.

If the Rhino is too expensive or you can't find one, look for something with a high neck.  I have found that a lot of blankets do not fit my donkeys well, especially around the shoulders.  Below is the blanket Emma wore last year.  It fit well, but you can see that it puts a lot of pressure on her chest and withers.  It rubbed quite a bit by the end of the season.  It never made her sore, it worked and it was half the price, but I worried about it pinching the nerves in her shoulders and would go with another's Rhino if I had to.

As for where to buy a blanket for a donkey, I have had good luck finding small sizes in two places:

Just For Ponies

Dover Saddlery

The Rhino blankets are not cheap, the one Ramsey is wearing sells for $180 unless you can find a good sale.  They do hold up well though.  I rather wish Rhino was paying me to say all this, but alas, this is all just my opinion on a question I get asked quite frequently.

There is one other one-time-only buying opportunity...You can buy this Rhino Wug that my two have both outgrown....

It is a size 51, is three years old and still in excellent condition.  The only damage it has is that one of the little metal rings that attatches the butt strap is gone.  I have contrapted a repair that works just fine, but the little ring is missing.

If anyone is interested or in dire need, get in touch....aerissana@gmail dot com

Tail Tales

Donkey tails are good indicators of temperature, the colder it gets the tighter they tuck.  We're in for some really brutal cold this week.  Tomorrow's high is forecast at 9 degrees and we'll be lucky to see that I think.

I was unfamiliar with the tail clamp when I got Emma, but I learned fairly quickly that it is a good indicator of a cold donkey.  Especially if it is combined with a hunched back and an unhappy mood.  This si Emma demonstrating last year....

Emma is particularly good at making her opinion of the weather clear.  She gets downright grumpy if she is cold and the change in her demeanor and attitude is almost immediate once I get her blanket on her.  Ramsey's tail tucks in so tight, I can hardly even find it.  I wonder if that's where pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey came from?

I hate using blankets, but I hate having unhappy donkeys even more.  I got an awful lot of this last year until I broke down and got Emma a blanket...

"I'm COLD mom!  How long till Spring?  Can we move?  What are you gonna do about this?"

Blankets are a pure nuisance, but if that's what it take to keep everybody warm and happy and the tails hanging straight, so be it.

Now, if I could just convince both of them to stop growing for a while so I don't have to buy more this year...Emma is already oozing out of hers and Ramsey is on the last hole...Maybe we'll make it till Spring.

Keeping Warm

It was 8 degrees when I got home last night and it looks like its gonna go down hill from here.  Good thing Ramsey has friends who know how to sew and made some blanket liners for him.  The seamstresses (that would be Riding Buddy and her mother, NobleWoman) did a much better job then my feeble attempts for Emma last winter.  Ramsey has two of these nicely tailored little blanket liners made of wool that can be layered on top of each other for extra warmth. 

"It's good to have friends who know how to sew isn't it Ramsey?"

"Umm hmm, yeah sure.  Thanks.   ALMOST OUT OF FOOD HERE MA..."

Ah well, you know how it is with growing boys and food...

And Evemarie, the food dish on the bucket  is my "trick" for getting a six month old donkey to stand quietly and patiently for bandage changing and foot photographing.  As long as the food holds out, I can do just about anything, up to and including minor surgery, with no donkey wiggling or squirming.  It makes such jobs much easier and pleasant for both of us. 

Indecent Exposure

We have been enjoying a very rare, mild winter here.  The temperatures have been relatively balmy, it was actually in in the forties last week.  Much to my relief and the dismay of the crazies, er,um people who actually like the stuff, we have had almost no snow.  But, all good things must end.  Today's high temperature has only been about 12 degrees and the wind is howling.  Luckily, we didn't get all the snow that was being forecast.  Instead of the 12 inches we were being warned of, we only got about an inch (insert heavy sigh of relief here, sorry crazy people).  The low temps did have me concerned for Emma though as she does not like the cold.  Her blanket is not up to the job of keeping her warm enough on days like this.  Needing a way to keep her warm, I did what I always do, I improvised. 

I had an old wool cooler that I had bought at an auction about fifteen years ago and have had sitting around getting musty ever since.  After I bought it, I found out that it must have been made for something like a 22 hand tall Shire/elephant cross.  It proved to be fairy useless but, every time I thought about tossing it, I kept thinking it had to be good for something.  It is a nice heavy, wool blanket after all.  Well, it's time has come.  Cut in half and folded over on itself, it has become a toasty warm blanket liner.  I did have to make some modifications, I added some leg straps and a chest band to help hold it on.  In spite of my feeble sewing skills, it seems to be working.....

 

Emma: "MUST you take pictures of me in my underwear?  And you know, the green checkered dish towel/breast-band clashes horribly.  Don't you any fashion sense??"

Me: "Ummm no, I don't.  But, you'll be warm and the dish towel will hold everything in place."
 
Emma: "I think I better just eat more hay and try not to think about having embarrassing pictures plastered all over the internet.....Sheesh,, she even left my butt hanging out...

are you at least going to remember to give me another cookie?"....