Introduction

The Donkey Sanctuary has a mission: ‘To transform the quality of life for donkeys, mules and people worldwide through greater understanding, collaboration and support, and by promoting lasting, mutually lifeenhancing relationships.’

The Clinical Companion for the Donkey follows on from The Professional Handbook of the Donkey, which has been widely used as the definitive text for donkey medicine and surgery for many years. It is an updated and re-designed handbook which has been produced for clinicians and other professionals globally. Its aim is to improve the health, welfare
and treatment of donkeys worldwide by providing easy reference and comprehensive guidance on the clinical care of donkeys. It enables us to share the vast expertise and experience of those working for, or associated with, The Donkey Sanctuary. In sharing this knowledge we believe that we play a part in educating and training those responsible for the management and clinical care of donkeys, therefore improving the quality of life of 
donkeys globally.

This book concentrates on the differences that are specific to donkeys. There are many excellent texts covering all the aspects of health and welfare of horses and ponies and this book has no intention of duplicating other work. Therefore, although the book has been organised in systems, there are some that have no additional donkey specific information and they are not covered. We have only included evidence based information or
that of which we have significant experience at The Donkey Sanctuary. We have tried to cover global issues but it is important to take account of local legislation and regulations as well as available resources when referring to this book.

We have included a chapter on the behaviour of the donkey and feel that these principles explain the specific behaviour unique to this species and that this is a good introduction to understanding best approaches to handling, examining and treating.

There are important messages and points to note when dealing with donkeys specifically, and to make this book a valuable and easy reference we have used highlighted boxes and signposts to draw attention quickly to those points, especially when in the field or faced with an emergency. Images used in this book have been taken from the extensive libraries held at The Donkey Sanctuary, and belonging to contributors to the book. There is limited knowledge of mules and hinnies and we have included what is known in tables at the end of each section.

The contents of this book and additional information are available to download from our website at:

thedonkeysanctuary.org.uk/for-professionals

The appendices are available as easy reference cards.

The website will be updated as and when new information or research becomes available and you are invited to sign up for news feeds of updates.

Lastly we have produced a book that we are proud of, with multiple authors covering a vast area of expertise and experience. We hope that this is a valuable reference tool for all those working with donkeys globally.