Foreword

Founded 50 years ago by Dr Elisabeth Svendsen, The Donkey Sanctuary has been at the forefront of improving the welfare of donkeys and mules both in the UK and across the globe.

Dental care of the donkey’s close cousin, the horse, has undergone something of a revolution in the past 25 years. Greater understanding of anatomy, physiology, pathology as well as innovations in equipment have seen significant improvements in standards of dental care available.

During this time, The Donkey Sanctuary and its team of staff, have continued to make sure that donkeys and mules are not left behind, and they too benefit from the healthcare improvements their cousins are receiving. They have helped, as in other fields of veterinary care, educate vets and dental technicians that donkeys are not simply small horses with larger ears, but are a species in their own right. Whilst they share a lot in common with their cousins there are some important differences. This work has been done by an experienced team of vets and dental technicians caring for the sanctuary’s own animals, funding of research into dental care and education of owners, dental technicians and vets on the importance of dental care for donkeys and mules. This is so important for species, which due to their incredibly stoic nature, are very poor at speaking for themselves.

For many years, the go-to guide for veterinary care for donkeys and mules has been the Professional Handbook of the Donkey which received an excellent update with the release of the new Clinical Companion of the Donkey in 2018.

This new text, The Clinical Companion of Donkey Dentistry, compliments the previous book, and makes available to a wider audience the sanctuary’s vast depth of knowledge, expertise and evidence-based medicine in the field of dentistry. It serves as fantastic reference for all professionals regardless of experience and is a must-have clinical book for everyone with an interest in dentistry for equine patients regardless of species. I hope you will enjoy using this book as much as I will, it is a fitting piece to mark half a century of helping donkeys and mules.

Rob Pascoe BVSc F/NCED DipAVDC-Eq MRCVS
American Specialist in Equine Veterinary Dentistry.
RCVS Recognised Specialist in Veterinary Dentistry (Equine).
Fellow of the Nordic College of Equine Dentistry.