A Say About Hay

I was so excited when I saw that our land included a 2 1/2 acre fenced grass pasture. I knew that any animal we owned would be in grassland heaven. We would only need hay for the winter time so feeding time would really be headache free. Oh, not so my friend.

It is a really good thing that I live next door to an equine expert that has learned the ropes of these animals. I'm still learning a ton and the first thing I'm realizing is that equine (horses and donkeys) are not the same or even similar to goats and sheep, which is what I raised growing up.

Miniature donkeys originated from the islands of Sicily and Sardinia. The wilderness in these areas are sparse and rocky. Lush is not a word that happens here. This terrain is what these animal's systems are meant to handle, not the green, lush grass that I had growing in my back pasture. Thankfully, I learned my lesson early on.

Winter had ended, the snow melted and spring was in the air. I opened the gate to our back pasture allowing our animals to be free and roam and eat to their heart's content. Not too long after, I realized that one of my girls was hanging back and not eating much- or walking much. When she did walk, she limped. I called my neighbor who is a farrier and does our donkey's hoof trimming. He came over and looked at our troubled donkey. What she had was the beginning stages of founder or laminitis. It is a painful condition that can be caused by several factors including eating lush, spring grass which is loaded with sugar. Somehow this causes the laminae in the hoof to become inflamed and if left unattended can cause hoof wall separation, rotation of the coffin bone, and permanent lameness.

My neighbor did some careful trimming of the hoof and needless to say, I locked the gate to the back pasture and now I regulate the diet of my donkeys much more closely.

These little critters do not do well on a rich diet. It is advised that they should not be given alfalfa hay as it is much too protein rich. Dry, clean, grass hay is the best option. Grain is also not advised on a regular basis as it can just make the animals obese. A mineral salt block is recommended and in areas where selenium is deficient, it must be added to the diet.

Since our pasture could no longer be used for grazing until the fall, we found someone that was willing to come and cut and bale our pasture in order to provide our own hay. This summer we were able to put up seven tons of our own hay to get us through the winter.

My word of advice: Don't give in to your donkey's pleading eyes to let them into the fresh, spring green pasture. It will do them much more harm than good. Donkeys are also easily prone to obesity and it is almost a guarantee if they are left on a pasture unregulated.

Stick with the grass 'til it sticks to you!