Our two lovely girls were estimated to be 7-8 years old when they arrived at Far From together. Their condition wasn’t terrible but was far from good. Both were slightly underweight and had strange skin conditions that no vet had ever been able to identify. One of the donkeys was covered in boils – each one being around 5-10mm. She had hundreds of them all over her body, and her fur went up and down in waves. Luckily, a better diet, clean bedding and fresh air has brought the number down to 5. We’ll call that a success!
Phylis and Flow’s troubles were more to do with human handling than physical health. Donkeys are exceptionally emotionally intelligent animals – their bonds with one another and with people are very different to their fellow equines. Once they’ve paired (the sex of the donkey being irrelevant), they’re paired for life, and can die of heartbreak if separated. It was clear to us that they’d been handled badly, and they were rightly distrustful and nervous to start with.
Working with animals with such a high level of emotional intelligence brings its difficulties as well as its rewards. We noticed straight away that they were open to trusting us just because of the way we approached them. Flow has the wonderful ability to truly see you. One farrier lasted one visit – my girls made their opinion very clear.
Learning to read our girls and watching them read you has been extremely rewarding. We’ve connected with them on a different level – even deeper than with our dogs.
These two girls have made us fall head over heels in love with donkeys – we can’t wait for you to feel the same.
Like most of our wonderful rescue animals, Phylis & Flow require a high level of care – not to mention their appetite! If you’d like to gift our two girls some fruit for snacking, a farrier’s visit or even a rug to help them adjust to different weather, we’d all be so grateful.
We opened the Far From Holiday Retreat in order to provide us with funds to enable us to continue our work with these beautiful animals. All new arrivals must be microchipped and passported (and normally they aren’t), vaccinated three times, rasped, wormed and given a general health check by the vet – with the majority requiring many more visits to ensure that they are happy and healthy.
If you are unable to come and visit us, you can still help us to continue our work by supporting us financially. We have included a couple of options below.
We opened the Far From Holiday Retreat in order to provide us with funds to enable us to continue our work with these beautiful animals. During the Covid crisis alone we have taken in eight horses, five pigs and a feral farm cat! All new arrivals must be microchipped and passported (and normally they aren’t), vaccinated three times, rasped, wormed and given a general health check by the vet – with the majority requiring many more visits to ensure that they are happy and healthy.
If you are unable to come and visit us, you can still help us to continue our work by supporting us financially. We have included a couple of options below.
Donkeys are used to eating small meals throughout the day and breaking up the treats will help maintain their eating schedule. Almost any fruits – and many vegetables – are safe treats for healthy donkeys. Apples and carrots are traditional favourites especially with our donkeys!
NAF Minty Treats contain only natural ingredients with real peppermint that gives them a delicious and powerful flavour loved by our donkeys. These highly palatable treats are ideal as an occasional reward, a training aid or just a snack every now and then.
We feed Phylis and Flow quality barley straw as it is high in fibre and low in sugar, and closely resembles the food that a donkey would eat in the wild. Constant access to straw allows them to eat to their appetite without consuming too many calories
We use fly spray for our donkeys especially in the summer months. Flies are a general nuisance, but for some of our donkeys their bites can lead to reactions and persistent itching and discomfort, so this really is a lifesaver as they are highly effective and long-lasting!
Saracen Donkey Diet is a great feed for managing the nutritional requirements of all donkeys, even those that are older, working, lactating & those that struggle to keep condition. This is a low energy feed high in fibres which provides a slow, steady release meaning no mood swings & a safe source of calories.
Every donkey needs their hooves trimmed every 6 to 10 weeks (depending on the donkey). To have a happy, healthy donkey it is essential to have a fully qualified, caring, reliable farrier to complete this task.
Topspec Donkey Forage Balancer is fed to all of our donkeys and promotes general health, greatly improves hoof quality and produces a supple skin with a strong coat, as well as helping maintain a healthy immune system.
The 100g combo turnout rug is a rug we use across a lot of our animals as we believe they don’t seem to get too hot if the weather warms up – probably the thin layer allows the air to circulate a bit which helps to stop them getting too clammy and in rainy/windy weather stops the coat flattening so much.