Our :Lucky Boy: - new arrival!

[Diamond]

My husband and I have gone further into mules and just adopted a beautiful and very sweet Mammoth Jack donkey stud. He had some hard times when his former owners ran out of hay.

We renamed him "Lucky Boy". He's been with us about a week, now. He is so amazingly calm, mild, and sweet. My vet was extremely impressed with his temperament, as he got poked, pried and prodded everywhere and didn't protest at all. His health inspection came back good - he just needs to gain 150 pounds!

We hope to have him breed our Haflinger mares this spring. We already have two large mules, Sally and Lilly, for saddle use, the big girls were from Belgian draft mares. We are hoping for some smaller but still stocky mules with that lovely sweet temperament. And Lucky has lots of work lined up for him once he's in shape for breeding, everyone who has come to meet him has fallen in love with him as much as we did.

He has a very notable bray and it didn't take long for the neighbors to figure out we have a donkey! My big molly mule, Sally, is completely smitten with him. He is in a corral away from the horse barn, but when the horses are turned loose, Sally Mule spends all her time there by the corral flirting with him.

 

[ladysown]

nice that you have a sweet boy, fatten him up now.

query... why does lack of hay affect horse type animals? What does the lack do to them?

 

[Sagebrush]

He looks good, as long as you take into account the weight he needs. such a sweet face! I love mules but my place is way to small to have any. Still I LOVE his face.

When sub par feed is given their bodies start to go after their muscles to get the amount that they need. Not having had any horses myself this is all I have been able to figure out. I am sure others will reply and make better sense.

 

[luvabunny]

If ya don't feed 'em, it makes 'em skinny! That's the long and short of it.

Too many people keep too many animals in too small of an area. Grazers must have sufficient area to graze, or they eat it down to the dirt and it cannot regrow as fast as they can eat it.

It is possible to feed, or supplement hay, to keep such animals in good condition. When owners don't care, can't afford, run out and can't get, feed or hay, then the animal loses it's condition and yes, the body naturally begins to feed itself on the muscle once all the fat is depleted.

It's too bad that people let grazing animals get into such a condition before they find them better homes. I'm glad this boy is now somewhere that he will be properly taken care of.

 

[AmysMacdog]

Oh I just love a donkey! He's beautiful!!! Congratulations!

 

[Ivory]

He's beautiful, Diamond. Thanks for posting about him.

I hope he soon gains weight and gives you many years of pleasure.

 

[Dood]

Holy crud that is a BIG donkey !

He looks over 15 hands ! Maybe as tall as my Warmblood

PS for non horsey folk 1 hand = 4 inches and they are measured at the highest point on the wither (AKA shoulders)

 

[HoppinHalfPints]

Wow, what a sweet face!

One question, I read on wikipedia that some mules can reproduce. Is the molly mule that's flirting with Lucky Boy fertile? Just curious.

 

[Diamond]

Hay = food, no hay = no food, so Lucky Boy was pretty much wasting his own muscle to keep warm and alive. We are investing in a pretty high-dollar fat and vitamin supplement recommended by my vet; donkeys can founder (overdose) on grain and alfalfa extremely easy (their bodies can't process all the sugar and protein, so it causes toxic metabolites that create hoof problems and gut problems), so the best route to go is to give him all the good grass hay he can eat and make up the difference with digestible fats, amino acids, vitamins and minerals that can be absorbed easily.

We will try letting him have a go at flirty Sally Mule, 'just in case', and if not it will satisfy their instincts We need to build a breeding chute so everyone is safe, we do not believe in just turning studs loose in the pasture with mares. What would you call a donkey/ mule hybrid???

He has a lot of potential as a therapy animal due to his extremely sweet disposition. I work at a nursing home and look forward to setting up a visit this summer with the old folks.

He stands about 14.2 to 15 hands, we haven't measured him yet, but he is about as tall as our tallest Haflinger mare, who is 14.2

We have a small acreage but have a good relationship with a local farmer who supplieso ur hay, even if we are tight on cash he will let us come take what we need and pay him later, he also takes tradeout for firewood and carpentry services from my husband. Our livestock are stalled/ corralled and get turned out for limited time; in the summer we lease pasture from a friend.

 

[Sagebrush]

Sounds like he hit the good life. So glad to see a happy ending for him.

 

[TwoAcreDream]

He looks like a easy going animal.
He's found his herd (forever home )

Make sure you update us with pictures