Children being weighed before donkey rides

He was a nice man.
Then he met a (hopefully) nice woman, and that was the end of our friendship, sadly.

That’s nice.

That's what my friend did; bought an elderly donkey to keep his late mum's elderly pony company

Two horses and a pony live together seemingly very contentedly in the fields behind us. Their owner lives next door so they have plenty of human contact too. I love that if one decides to lie down another will stand nearby until he gets up again. One equine on its own would I think be lonely.

All equines are “herd” animals and don’t like being alone, they will readily pair up with a goat or a cow for company, if you have just one horse he will see you as his partner, so treat him well he will treat you well.

Problem horses are a product of being treated badly and don’t trust you.

MayBee70

Donkeys do live for over thirty years and it wouldn’t be good for them physically or mentally to just stand in a field all day. Imo the worst thing you could do to a donkey is make it live on its own ( never got over reading Ned the Lonely Donkey….then again never got over Gingers death in Black Beauty either)

After reading that, I found an evidently well used copy of Ned The Lonely Donkey online and ordered it! £7 odd. But Gdcs are coming to stay for a few days in the holidays and I thought it’d be a nice bedtime story for the youngest, who’s 4.

We still have a lot of the old Ladybirds, but somehow never had that one.

For those who think donkeys on the beach are being cruelly treated. I don't know about donkeys, but I do know my pony when he was in work at a riding stable, hated standing in a field all day. When it was his day for rest, he was up at the gate with the others wanting to be tacked up. Hacks out were his high point and he loved his 'work'. He was easily bored. I understand most donkeys are quite intelligent too and being imprisoned in the same field wouldn't be their idea of bliss. Also, donkeys do well in heat and hate the cold. Horses are the opposite.

I applaud the Donkey Man for his actions and making people consider the animals as well as themselves. For many children, a donkey ride is the nearest they'll ever get to a big animal. Not being able to ride may be just the thing to make parents - and children - consider the animal and realise they are sentient being's not just fairground rides.

Lankyladman

Wouldn't it be just the same if the child was going Pony Trekking. 'Shetland miniature' or a big Dartmoor. Donkeys can vary in size too.
It all depends on the size of TWO things:-
The weight of the load.
The maximum weight the animal is safely able to carry, as agreed with - maybe a 3rd party eg the RSPCA (?)

Pony trekking stables do match ponies to the weight and ability of the rider, there is a maximum weight, many will not seat a rider over 13 stone.
They have the same welfare regulations as a riding school, as does anyone charging to put another on a pony, even pony rides at a local fete.

Good point.
A quick Google showed the following frm 2017, but it may be updated now.

Donkeys used on Blackpool beach have been seized by the RSPCA amid concerns about their treatment.

RSPCA inspectors served a warrant to the owners of Fir Tree Farm, in the village of Salwick near Blackpool, to seize donkeys and dogs.

The BBC has contacted the farm but nobody was available for comment.

Lancashire Police said its officers supported the RSPCA attending an address on Harbour Lane, Salwick at about 07:20 BST on Monday.

In a statement the force said: "They received some animals from the address. Three people were seen by RSPCA inspectors".

Donkey charter
A spokeswoman for Blackpool Council said she was aware of an ongoing RSPCA investigation.

The council organises a veterinary inspection of beach donkeys each year and said it had issued licences for 79 donkeys in total for 2017-18.

It has also issued 25 donkey proprietor licences that are renewable on 1 June.

The beach is split into patches so that an individual can hold more than one licence.

The council's donkey charter, external, which dates back to 1942, stipulates that donkeys are allowed to work from 10:00 to 13:00 and 14:00 to 19:00 each day with an hour's break for lunch.

Seaside donkeys also have a day off on Fridays.

Nobody over the age of 16 or eight stone (50kg) can ride on the donkeys.

The RSPCA said it could not comment on individual cases but added: "We are so grateful to people who report suspected animal suffering to us and we would like to reassure people we will always look into and, if necessary, investigate any complaints."

Wouldn't it be just the same if the child was going Pony Trekking. 'Shetland miniature' or a big Dartmoor. Donkeys can vary in size too.
It all depends on the size of TWO things:-
The weight of the load.
The maximum weight the animal is safely able to carry, as agreed with - maybe a 3rd party eg the RSPCA (?)

That would be the most sensible, not to mention compassionate thing to do for your child, (and the donkey)

Perhaps parents should weigh the children at home to avoid embarrassing rejection on the beach.
I absolutely condone limits on weight for these animals. Their wellbeing is paramount and overrides any other factors.

It's a brilliant idea. It's not to ''fat shame'' the poor kids who are overweight, it's to help protect the donkeys, who can only take a certain amount of weight, the same with horses.

Good on him for putting the donkeys first and profits second!

Well done to the donkey ride owners!!! Why should these poor animals have fat kids on their backs! Blooming fat lumps should be fat shamed and the parents should be brought to task. These are beautiful animals. I had an ex seaside donkey when I was a child. My dad took pity on it and it lived for another year before it died but it had a fantastic last year! Anyone who protests against this is an idiot! It makes me mad.

I know this is slightly off-topic, but for anyone with young GC, The Wonky Donkey is a very entertaining read!

BlueBelle

Donkeys shouldn’t be out in the hot sun walking all day with
6 st on their back It should be banned completely

To be entirely fair, it’s not very often that the sun in typical U.K. seaside resorts is hot.

I used to have a donkey ride when I was little - under 4 - occasionally on the beach but thankfully there are not so many beach donkeys around now.
There are donkeys at Carisbrooke Castle on the Isle of Wight who take turns in entering the wheel to bring up the bucket from the well. They are not in the wheel for long and seem in good shape - better than having children on their backs

I’ve just found my copy. I was sure I’d been able to find one through a book search but didn’t know where it had gone. Of course it was with the rest of my Ladybird books. I’ve only recently realised how beautiful the drawings are in Ladybird books. I’ve never read The Discontented Pony.

@Maybee70, Ned, The Lonely Donkey was my favourite of that series of Ladybird books. I still have a copy of it. My daughter's favourite was The Discontented Pony. I can still picture her eyes welling up, but we had to read it again and again.

Seems reasonable for the protection of the donkey. I can’t imagine being upset at this ?!

Surely a decent pet donkey owner would have researched ideal living conditions before getting any pet, let alone a donkey?

I was friends with a man who owned a donkey, and he said the donkey loved the school children who passed it's field 3 or four times a day, and would come running up to the fence to greet them and have a fuss made of it.

Incidentally, the donkey was bought as a companion for an elderly pony, and they lived happily together.

Donkeys do live for over thirty years and it wouldn’t be good for them physically or mentally to just stand in a field all day. Imo the worst thing you could do to a donkey is make it live on its own ( never got over reading Ned the Lonely Donkey….then again never got over Gingers death in Black Beauty either)

I don’t like the idea of fat shaming - I have struggled with my weight for much of my life - but I think he is completely right to do this. Donkeys are not big animals and their welfare is very important. It shows that this man wants to look after his donkeys and put them before the feelings of overweight children. I don’t really know what the causes behind the explosion of children with problems with their weight are, but I suspect that a lot of it is because they don’t get enough exercise. I was, by nature, a bookish child and spent a lot of time at the piano, recorder and, later, the violin. However, in common with most children of our generations, l also spent a lot of time outside with friends. I was 9 1/2 lb at birth, but not very long, so a short, chubby baby. I grew into a short, stocky child. I was conscious of this from an early age and was, indeed, slightly plumper than many of my friends. However, I was not overweight or obese and did not reach the six stones upper limit until the age of eleven or twelve.

I'm wondering how half of you would have survived when horses, donkeys and mules were the only form of motive power we had for transport and for the carriage of goods.

Moonwatcher1904

We have a donkey charter here in Blackpool.

I remember seeing adults riding donkeys when I was a child in Blackpool in the 50s. I always felt sorry for them especially when the rider tried to race them. I always hoped the donkey would toss them off.