Beginner mini donkey driving tips?

[Libby2563]

Hi all,

I have a mini donkey who is my 2-year-old horse’s babysitter/buddy/boss. I think it would be nice for him to have a job of sorts and for me to have some fun with him, so I would like to train him to drive. I have been riding my whole life and show Grand Prix dressage but I have only driven once and that was with trained horses.

He has his opinions (he is a donkey!) but he’s a lot easier to handle than many and doesn’t give me trouble with hoof cleaning, deworming, etc. He will also load on the trailer if I give him time to think about it. He’s smart so I think with the proper introduction he might enjoy doing something different.

I ordered a book from the National Miniature Donkey Association called “Training Your Miniature Donkey to Drive” and I’m anxiously awaiting its arrival.

Anyone have tips for the newbie donkey driver? Thanks!!

[Texarkana]

I have no helpful advice, but I’ll be following this thread. I have a 3 year old standard donkey who I’d like to drive. I just have no idea where to begin with her!

I think I’m going to look into that book for myself!

[mountainhorse]

I have been working with my mini jennet on learning to lunge and long line, with the goal that I would eventually like to have her driving, or at least able to have a ‘job’ on the farm helping with chores (I see her helping me haul hay nets out to the pastures for example!) Being a DQ myself and using long lining with all my horses and in training work, I transferred it to her thinking I can transfer those commands to driving with a cart.
I think the driving will come easily as she becomes more confident in the long lining work and acclimates to the equipment. They are such smart, wonderful little animals! I am following to get some ideas from more experienced drivers.

[Plainandtall]

I met a lady at the National Drive who has a mini donk and a really cool cart called a hyperbike. It’s a lot like a race sulky in type- but is designed for miniature equines. It looked like a lot of fun and really well built. The seating position very close to the horse is unusual and a bit shocking to see at first- but I think there are many advantages to the way they have it set up. I just thought I’d throw that out there. It’s not a tip about training- I’m just sharing one of the many options out there for what you could drive once you get him going.

http://www.grahamcarriageworks.com/graham_carriage_works_002.htm

[2tempe]

[QUOTE=mountainhorse;8033942]
I have been working with my mini jennet on learning to lunge and long line, with the goal that I would eventually like to have her driving, or at least able to have a ‘job’ on the farm helping with chores (I see her helping me haul hay nets out to the pastures for example!) Being a DQ myself and using long lining with all my horses and in training work, I transferred it to her thinking I can transfer those commands to driving with a cart.
I think the driving will come easily as she becomes more confident in the long lining work and acclimates to the equipment. They are such smart, wonderful little animals! I am following to get some ideas from more experienced drivers. :)[/QUOTE]

OP - THIS^^ is a great way to start the training process. You want to be able to walk behind him/her “driving” with two reins, steering, starting, stopping. Voice commands should be included. Start w/ bridle and surcingle; then add in other parts of the harness. BTW where does one find a harness for these little ones??
Go SLOW.

[Libby2563]

Thanks all! I’m definitely going to start with long lining/ground driving.

Some of the donkey resources highly recommend clicker training, which I have used for dogs before but never equines. Has anyone had success with that with donkeys? It seems like such an interruption to me. How do you even get the treat to them quickly enough when you’re not up near their head?

I have found several online stores that sell mini horse and donkey tack. Some resources I’ve found say mini horse tack is fine if you pay attention to sizing and others say look for tack designed for donkeys, so I don’t know! Without any endorsement since I know nothing, here are a couple I’ve found:

http://www.forminisonly.com/catalog/item/4285439/9618017.htm (love the pic at the bottom of the lady ground driving in flip flops…yikes)

http://www.minitack.com/mw95.htm

http://shop.chimacumtack.com/Traditional-Mini-Single-Donkey-Mule-Buggy-Style-Driving-Harness-MuleSingleDriving.htm

I was actually hoping to start the process before investing in equipment. I don’t know enough yet to know what I want/need plus if Dom hates it I’m not going to force him so I’d rather not sink a ton of money into equipment. Would it be ok to start in just a halter and long lines at first, and see how it goes? Or maybe I could borrow a tiny bit and bridle or find one on consignment. I’m also wondering if there’s a safe way to rig a makeshift surcingle in the meantime, as my warmblood-sized one probably won’t work.

mountainhorse: I love the thought of a chore donkey too! I think he could be a fun tractor or wheelbarrow substitute for certain tasks. Every animal should be given the opportunity to have a sense of purpose!

And wow, those Hyper Bikes are pretty cool! Definitely not in my price range for beginner pleasure driving, but maybe someday I’ll be the crazy lady doing combined driving with my mini donk, ha.

[Libby2563]

[QUOTE=Texarkana;8033220]
I have no helpful advice, but I’ll be following this thread. I have a 3 year old standard donkey who I’d like to drive. I just have no idea where to begin with her!

I think I’m going to look into that book for myself![/QUOTE]

Following up for Texarkana and anyone else interested:

I received the National Miniature Donkey Association’s “Training Your Miniature Donkey to Drive” a few days ago. It’s somewhere between a pamphlet and a book, soft-cover with 38 pages. It’s a bit dated (20 years old I think?) but I imagine most if not all of the information still applies. It’s more comprehensive than the driving chapter in The Donkey Companion and also discusses equipment, etc. (Finally figured out what sidecheck and overcheck are!) It presents a very methodical course of training starting with handling foals and moving up through leading, longeing, ground driving, etc. It takes a traditional negative reinforcement approach (i.e., to train the donkey to yield to pressure, basically just apply pressure until he yields, release pressure and praise him when he does, and repeat–they note that for some donkeys, you may have to hold pressure in certain exercises for a “VERY LONG” time, lol).

I personally think my donkey might respond better to clicker training or another positive reinforcement method because he can be both timid and stubborn, but I may try a little bit of both.

Even if you want to do clicker training I think the NMDA pamphlet is a really good resource for $12. Or you could look into books/videos on teaching horses to drive and adapt those methods to the donkey learning style.

[mountainhorse]

Thanks Libby. We will have to post pictures of the progress.

[Bif]

Libby, how has driving your donk come along?

I found with my mini donkeys the most important thing to teach them out of harness was to move forward on cue and without being led. They do not move off as easily/rapidly as horses.

I taught mine to ground drive by taking them for led walks and driving them home.

I do have a hyperbike, I think it has been very influential in letting my donkeys like driving.

We want updates

[asb_own_me]

I didn’t see this before but I’m following now. I have two miniature donkeys (Chuck and Larry) and I’ve thought about training them to drive for several years but have never gotten around to it. Now that I’m actually doing the ADS thing with one of the horses, it’s back at the top of the list!

I have to agree, :eek: :eek: :eek: at the price of the Hyperbike! I found my gorgeous, horse size Buckeye gig for that price…

[Libby2563]

Oh boy, sorry to disappoint you guys but the only progress I have to report is that I bought a harness from Chimacum Tack! It is lovely, and it’s been lovely-ly hanging on the wall in my tack room for several months. I did make sure it fit him and attempt to ground drive one time since he already leads quite well and sort of longes. He was not at all happy with the bit.

I thought teaching him might be my summer project but I just haven’t prioritized it. Also, I have a motorcycle I haven’t ridden in two years and I think a driving donkey might end up being similarly underutilized. Meanwhile, he is perfectly happy with his lazy life as a horse buddy, so there’s no huge incentive for me…

That said, I do still want to do it! I keep thinking that if I can just invest 15-20 minutes a couple times a week we can make progress. Right? Of course, now I have an extra horse to ride and take care of for a couple months.

Bif, I think you’re right that the go button will be hard to install. Your idea of heading home is a good one! He is perfectly willing to walk in front of me when I’m juggling a few horses/leads at once, as long as we’re going somewhere he wants to go.

[Texarkana]

Libby, if it makes you feel any better, I have also done zero in donkey driving training!

I’m hoping mine’s “go button” needs installing when we start driving… she’s a pistol on the ground, which is part of the reason I’ve drug my feet on any ground driving training. She’s only 3 and I keep hoping she’ll grow out of the spook and bolt phase. She somehow missed the memo that donkeys are supposed to be stoic…

[SLW]

Donkeys can drive. I am in week 3 of driving my 4 year old standard size Jenny. She arrived a year ago with 0 training, had never worn a halter but had been handled and loved on by her breeders. That handling and trust of humans set her up to be easy to train.

She didn’t understand being ponyed last year, at all. Worked on leading, sending her ahead of me into a stall and pulling her out. The goal- be as SOFT as possible to get a response/movement. Did ground driving with a bridle and makeshift surcingle. That was work to get “whoa” and “walk on” installed but it happened. Bought a harness and continued to ground drive, added dragging noisy things and when it snowed we added a sled and weight.

She had 3 months off before I ordered that cart and she has been driving for 3 weeks. Keeping it quiet with her to add physical strength and mental endurance. We are up to an hour of driving with the time being split between movement and standing still for periods of 3 minutes to 10 minutes.

If anyone is looking for a solid pipe cart I can 100% recommend an Amish business in Ohio. Fairview Country Supply at 330-359-1501. I had lovely wooden carts for my driving mini’s but this time wanted to go with the ease of care a pipe cart provides. I was looking at another companies pipe carts when someone mentioned they had one from that business and then bought one from Fairview. They said hands down the Fairview cart was sturdier and better product so I went with her advice and have not regretted it. They are Amish so no website but if you call them they will send a catalog. They know how to pack/protect the cart when shipping it too.

[Libby2563]

SLW: Cool!!! You are an inspiration. Also, thanks for the cart recommendation. How do those compare to CTM carts, which I found recommended on another COTH thread?

[asb_own_me]

[QUOTE=Libby2563;8275345]
Oh boy, sorry to disappoint you guys but the only progress I have to report is that I bought a harness from Chimacum Tack! [/QUOTE]

How big is your donkey - and did you purchase their mini donkey size?

[Libby2563]

[QUOTE=asb_own_me;8275740]
How big is your donkey - and did you purchase their mini donkey size?[/QUOTE]

He is about 36" at the shoulder. I did get the miniature donkey harness (this one), but I sent his measurements to them so they may have made some adjustments. For some reason the bridle was way huge on him despite me sending the measurements, but they sent a replacement promptly and at no charge. I must admit I love the feel of the betathane, and the fact that the harness has been hanging in my tack room all summer with zero maintenance needed.

[SLW]

[QUOTE=Libby2563;8275729]
SLW: Cool!!! You are an inspiration. Also, thanks for the cart recommendation. How do those compare to CTM carts, which I found recommended on another COTH thread?[/QUOTE]

That web link did not work and doing a google search I could not find another source for CTM. My pipe cart has elliptical springs and also coils under the seat so the ride is very smooth over grass, gravel and dirt- at least in 3 weeks of driving. The welds are smooth, the metal gauge is 11 and we assembled it inside of 45 minutes using common tools. I will have to remove the shafts for transport; to do that will require one tool and about 7 minutes of time. The alternative for me is to purchase a larger horse trailer so I think I’ll stick with removing the shafts for transport for now.

I am not showing so I went with a heavy duty wire (aluminum) wheels with flat free tires. These are working out perfectly for me yet I’m sure in time I’ll order wooden wheels to put to the cart because there will be a parade or show I"ll want to do and those will be required.

I bought the harness for this donkey from Chimacum tack and it mostly fits. I will be upgrading the saddle with one that has a tree in it from IowaValleycarriage. Also, Sandee spent some time with me last week measuring her pony size bits so I could get the perfect fit in width and purchase for my donkey. The Chimacum bridle left me very little wiggle room for adjustment so the bit required very specific specs. Sandee had it and 3 days later it was in my donkeys mouth.

[TheJenners]

Oh lordy the thought of teaching Evil Burrito to drive has crossed my mind more than once. I should inquire with the vet about it…he said he’ll never be a Grand Prix horse “again” (“lol” love my vet). But at six, and full of the hate, not sure. I’ve seen those carts before though, they look awesome :yes:.

[Doctracy]

[QUOTE=Libby2563;8050696]
Following up for Texarkana and anyone else interested:

I received the National Miniature Donkey Association’s “Training Your Miniature Donkey to Drive” a few days ago. It’s somewhere between a pamphlet and a book, soft-cover with 38 pages. It’s a bit dated (20 years old I think?) but I imagine most if not all of the information still applies. It’s more comprehensive than the driving chapter in The Donkey Companion and also discusses equipment, etc. (Finally figured out what sidecheck and overcheck are!) It presents a very methodical course of training starting with handling foals and moving up through leading, longeing, ground driving, etc. It takes a traditional negative reinforcement approach (i.e., to train the donkey to yield to pressure, basically just apply pressure until he yields, release pressure and praise him when he does, and repeat–they note that for some donkeys, you may have to hold pressure in certain exercises for a “VERY LONG” time, lol).

I personally think my donkey might respond better to clicker training or another positive reinforcement method because he can be both timid and stubborn, but I may try a little bit of both.

Even if you want to do clicker training I think the NMDA pamphlet is a really good resource for $12. Or you could look into books/videos on teaching horses to drive and adapt those methods to the donkey learning style.[/QUOTE]
I only have a small amount of donkey and mule experience, as a very young girl when I used to drive my neighbors donkey and mule,when I was about 5-6 years of age. However,from my clicker experience I would say donkeys would be a very good fit with the clicker. You can use the clicker to provide any reward so once you get in the cart you can use praise or whatever else small reward,keeping in,one the high value treats/rewards should always be used for new and scary things.
I have used it on my large pony,not so much for driving but for trailer loading,coming when I call,etc. I am pretty experienced from training my agility dog so that helps. I am also using the clicker concept to teach one of our cats to ring a cowbell to get out. Today is the second day and he’s whacking it with his paw already! If you can train cats with this concept ( his only reward has been getting the door opened), I have no doubt you can do a donkey. I’m using the bell as the clicker for this cat,than walking over and letting him out.