Melody, how can I teach my donkey to walk on the halter, lead, and not pull back or refuse to move his feet? I am frustrated. Sherry, AL

Hi Sherry,

Donkeys are not horses with long ears. Donkeys are not flight equine; donkeys have personalities just like people. Extroverts more go than whoa, and introverts more whoa the go. Donkeys need to see a reason for everything they do, and their safety and self-preservation are number one. Learning to tame and train a donkey is vital to your success, as traditional old cowboy horse training will not work on a donkey. Donkeys will lie down when overwhelmed and not get up, or they can fight back, but they can stop walking when scared or not understanding what we want them to do.

Why is the donkey refusing to walk on the halter and lead line pulling back? Taking a donkey out for a walk without doing basic training foundation work in Donkey 101 Video On Demand https://donkeywhisperer.com/product/donkey-training-101/ is like driving a motor vehicle with no breaks, steering, or acceleration control.  Please do not feel like you are the only person who has encountered this issue with donkeys. This is a common issue and is easy to fix if you are willing to learn using proven short exercises that work. I train the owner or caretaker how to tame and train donkeys worldwide.

Sadly, people get into a hurry when trying to teach anything new to a donkey. Some people think quick tricks are the best, like placing a rope around the butt or another person pushing while the person with the lead line is pulling and adding a chain to the flat halter.  This exercise creates a memory of pain and distrust as there is no relationship. It’s simply being a bully while adding pain. In fact, it makes teaching the donkey to lead more difficult as donkeys store everything positive and negative in their memories for life. The next time the person takes the donkey out, they will have difficulty catching it as the memory is painful. The donkey does not want to feel this pain again. Never use pain or force to teach a donkey as the donkey is one of the most intelligent animals God created, the donkey will never forget you betrayed him or her. Learn to be a fair leader with a plan, and remember you own a donkey.

Donkeys are born with the gift of self-preservation. Horses are flight equine, meaning if I am afraid, I had better fart, poop, and run to not be killed or hurt. The mule (mom is a horse, and dad is a donkey) is used in the Grand Canyon as the mule will not spook and jump off the wall. Self-preservation from the donkey. The donkey will always check anything new at least three times or more to ensure it is safe before moving a step forward.

The relationship is number one between donkeys and humans. If we do not take the time to build a foundation built on trust, timing, and words (walk-on, whoa, over, back-up, foot) along with good experiences, the donkey will keep the memory of refusing to follow you as a fair leader. I highly recommend printing E-book courses Donkey 101 & 102 Video On Demand.

Stay On Donkey Time ®

Melody Johnson

Donkey Whisperer Farm ®