This is Jake, the donkey. He lives at the Critter Barn, where I work, and he is a pure sweet heart. In the summer we let kids ride him. We have a little saddle and everything. Of course he loves it, because he gets to chomp on nice green and lush grass between kids turns.
We actually have two donkey's on our farm. The one with the red halter is Honey, and the one with the black is, of course, Jake. Jake is the sweetie, but Honey can be a little butt sometimes. She likes to nip you when you are not looking, and she is known for escaping.
One time she actually escaped into the parking lot during an animal adventures class. Those kids are all 5 to 12 years old, but they are normally nearer to the lower age. Two of the kids had yellow shirts on, and so we think she thought they looked like corn and went after them. That sounds more awful than it really was, but to a 5 year old a donkey out of its pen can be scary. So Nate (who was teaching the class) got all the kids to go into a nearby horse trailer and stand in there while he caught Honey. Those kids will never forget that day, that's for sure.
But besides that, she is not really All that bad. She is just a very energetic women. Now the two donkeys are just friends. Jake is a lot older than Honey is, so she is more like a daughter to him. Honey actually had a husband who passed away. He was a beautiful spotted donkey (that's not a type of donkey, it's just how he looked), and we even had a little donkey wedding for them. We wanted a baby donkey... but that didn't work out.
Our donkeys are both Jerusalem donkey's. You can tell this by the cross on their back. I don't have a picture on it, but you can look it up, or even better visit the farm or another donkey in your area. Donkey's can carry twice their body weight. They each weight about 600 pounds, so they can carry up to 1,200 pounds! That is as much as a horse can carry. Donkey's are most commonly found in the middle east, because they can carry so much. Plus, since they are smaller than a horse, they are easier to take care of and feed.
Another thing about donkeys is that they are very cautious about where they walk. Horses will just go anywhere, but donkeys will Not step on anything unless they are sure it is safe. So when we put a towel down on the ground in front of Jake and make him walk forward, he will either go around or step over it. He will never step on it. That's why people ride donkeys in the Grand Cannon, verses horses, because they have better footing. That's how donkeys got the reputation of being stubborn.
That's just a few facts about our donkeys, and donkeys in general. I do hope you learned something new, or at least found something fascinating. Also if you are confused about the title, donkeys are also known as ass's :P Tricky play on words.
No comments:
Post a Comment