Hello, for anyone new to this story my name is Hunter Wood, and my family & myself have a small hobby farm of Andalusian Horses, Boer Goats, Chickens, Rottweilers etc. I have a lifelong passion and experience in animals, and in particular, horses. I am not one to reach out for help, especially with finances, but a recent situation has left me in a difficult spot.

There is an elderly couple just down the road from us with a very large farm which they utilized for years for raising & showing Waterfowls & other rare poultry etc. They also ventured into miniature donkeys, at first for pets & raising them, then took in others here & there that needed sanctuary. Back a few weeks ago I was contacted by their neighbor, a good friend of mine & hay supplier, asking if I could assist in catching and removing 3 larger standard sized donkeys that had been put into her pasture when found roaming the highway. The original owner of these donkeys is unknown to me and from what I have heard, iis not acknowledging ever owning them in the first place now… however, it does seem these donkeys needed to be out of there anyway hearing how other livestock have been handled there. When my friend and I went to get these donkeys we quickly realized how dire this situation was as a whole. She has done her best to keep males & females separated over a very large span of acreage. There were many unintentional breedings and births before that, unfortunately. They are in need of some TLC, hoofcare, and castrating. We have agreed to go back and help with all of these things as we can, and take some of the younger babies needing to be weaned and noticeably pregnant Jennie’s to lighten the load and find proper homes. We already took one miniature Jenny that is very far along and likely due any day now & the three large girls I was initially contacted about, who we can just about be certain are also bred as they were placed into the males’ pasture and running with at least 7 jacks since April. I have my equine vet coming out to assess the girls we already have. We had some unused grassy field we fenced in for these, both for quarantine and for safety reasons considering I have large horses and the miniature donkey newborns will be tiny. I am happy to be entrusted with the call for help in such a situation, and generally wouldn’t seek out any aid, however this comes at a hectic time for me. I am in the middle of a new mortgage renovating my grandparents 40 year old home, finally starting new construction on my horse barn that I had just ordered a week before I got this call, along with a few other projects. I need to fence in another area for however many we get, plus get a small structure built for shelter as I did not account for donkeys when taking down our old barn and planning the new one. Unrelated to the donkeys, but I also just had agreed to take in a stallion closely related to my own herd due to similar circumstances and have to consider the costs he will bring with needing some vetting, castration, and temporary isolation in his own paddock. I am not asking for financial assistance with the stallion, and can’t really share much detail on that situation, just making the point of how quickly things add up. I am not a rescue organization, though I do support and appreciate their works, even more so after the rescue of one of our own foals. I’ve always taken in anything I could if asked and found homes, this is just a bit different. I know this is a large amount but between fencing, shelter(s), feed, hay, vetting etc. I am certain I will spend much more than this. Quite frankly, the ones we have already picked up will cost this by the time I’ve gotten every thing they will need. I hope to pick up a few more next week and will be out there in the meantime continuing to feed & gain their trust. We did so with the others for over a week and after getting stuck in a field until 9PM, another day of a 7 hour failed loading attempt, then the final day 5+ hours it took to load them- somehow we got them home in one piece without throwing the towel in. I have not yet discussed the compensation she may want for any of her minis but will cross that bridge when we get there. Any help will be much appreciated and if by some miracle we have funds leftover, they will be sent to an established equine rescue. I do not seek any profit from this or use for any of my own personal animals- just simply a bit of relief for these donkeys and a very kind person who cannot control the hand life has dealt.

With love,

Hunter