A donkey trapped by water near a motorway has received the care he needs and is looking for his forever home.
The stallion abandoned near the side of a motorway had painfully overgrown hooves when a driver discovered him on their way to work in March 2022.
Donkey Welfare Adviser Emily Collins travelled to where the donkey had been sighted in County Clare to find out more.
Emily says: "I could see the donkey on a muddy patch of council land as I approached the location from the motorway. A water filled drain had created a huge pool of water surrounding the animal, and he was afraid to move from where he was standing.
"Due to the lack of food, several trees around him were stripped of bark, suggesting he had been eating it out of necessity. It was also clear that he was an older donkey, approximately 20 years of age or older.
"Although his feet were buried in the mud, I could see his hooves were extremely overgrown, which would have caused him significant pain."
As Emily approached the stallion, she saw he was very friendly, but it was proving difficult to encourage him over the drain, so she contacted Welfare Assistant Dave Harte for help.
Our welfare team help donkeys and mules across the country, and they often travel long distances depending on where the welfare concern comes from. To ensure we can continue this vital work, it takes a lot of skilful collaboration between our office team and our advisers on the road.
It was arranged that Dave would meet Emily in Co Clare to help with the stallion, and with a long rope and a little encouragement, the donkey finally jumped over the water filled drain.
On the move
Since no microchip was located and no owner came forward to claim him during the five-day mandatory period, he was moved to Hungry Horse Outside.
Emily says: “Thankfully, Hungry Horse Outside were able to take in the stallion, so the next step was to transport him.
"As there was no vehicle access to the patch of land, it was a long walk back to the donkey transporter, but it was clear that the stallion was pleased to be on the move."
Extensive aftercare
After arriving at Hungry Horse Outside, we continued to support the charity with the donkey’s extensive aftercare.
Emily says: "Since the donkey's feet had obviously been overgrown for some time, it was important to x-ray his hooves to ensure there was no permanent damage.
"Thankfully there were no signs of long-lasting damage, but he will require continued farriery care to correct his overgrown hooves."
Since prevention is always better than cure, we encourage donkey owners to contact our welfare team to find out how we can help. Owners can also visit the Farriery Ireland website to find a farrier in your county.
Before this stallion could be rehomed, he also needed treatment for a very high worm burden and was in desperate need of dental care.
Additionally, he needed to be castrated so that he could not breed with mares in the future. It can be higher risk castrating older stallions, so it was important to ensure he did not have any other health issues that would have made the castration too risky.
We will continue to offer our full support for further care and rehoming to Hungry Horse Outside, and we look forward to the day this donkey finds his forever home.
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