10/05/2025
For centuries, the majority of equine studies and medical research have prioritised horses, leaving donkeys largely in the shadows.
This imbalance has resulted in a knowledge gap that forces veterinarians and caretakers to rely heavily on data and treatment protocols designed for horses, with limited validation for donkeys.
The scope of available studies on donkeys is also restricted by frequent use of small sample sizes, single populations, or research limited to particular regions, which means insights may not apply broadly to all donkey populations or management systems.
Comprehensive epidemiological data connecting management practices, nutrition, welfare, and disease in donkeys is also rare; so, there is little context-specific guidance for practitioners.
A recently published paper in the Journal of Equine Veterinary Science found that donkeys have distinct behavioural, anatomical, and physiological characteristics compared to horses, which critically affect their response to drug treatments.
Unlike horses, donkeys are highly efficient at conserving water and metabolising drugs, therefore veterinarians need to take special care when estimating dosages and liveweights.
For example, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and analgesics may clear from a donkey’s system much quicker, so a standard horse dose could be ineffective, leaving pain or disease undertreated.
Donkeys also show far subtler signs of pain or discomfort. This makes pain scale assessment much harder for veterinarians and owners.
Failure to recognise species-specific symptoms of pain can lead to late or missed welfare and medical diagnoses, especially in the case of chronic disease or post-operative pain.
Several validated scales, have been developed to help address the ongoing challenge of effective pain management in donkeys, however not all handlers are trained to use these assessment tools, and more education and field validation are needed before they can be implemented universally.
📑 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jevs.2025.105700.
From Equitation Science International
