**Adopt a Donkey or Horse: The Donkey/Horse Adoption Option In Texas

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Adopt a Donkey or Horse: The Donkey/Horse Adoption Option In Texas
by Robbie Jones

Don’t let preconceived notions of rescue animals keep you from adopting a donkey or horse. A good rescue donkey can provide an equine that suits your needs as well as your means.

If you’d like to have a donkey or horse and also do a good deed for an animal in need, adopt one! The deep need many of these horses have is worth getting involved with. Hundreds of donkeys and horses in rescues need homes and people to love them (Yes, people just like you).

Many people think animals, especially donkeys and horses that are in rescues are old, infirm or second-rate survivors of abuse, but that’s not necessarily true. we have several animals that will dispel that myth.

It’s not unusual today for responsible horse owners to surrender young, sound donkeys and horses to our organization due to catastrophic life changes such as a death in the family, divorce, loss of income or military deployment. These human events affect horses lives everyday and many times for the worse. It is very hard to go out and feed your horses when you are injured yourself. Many folks do not have the ability or fiances to carry on..

They have to give up their animals quickly, but they don’t want their equine friends to go to unsuitable homes or sale barns, or worse.  So they do the right thing and donate them to our horse rescue group to be re-homed.

Some long ears and horses are, indeed, old-timers and survivors of neglect. When these come into our rescue, they receive the medical attention they need to be restored to full health before they’re offered for adoption to new homes.

Others, especially donkey jacks, are sometimes surrendered due to behavior issues. These boys are many times gelded, then kept in knowledgeable foster homes and retrained until they’re deemed fit for adoption.

What Does the Trinity Horse and Donkey Rescue Organization Do?

When Trinity Horse Rescue takes in donkeys (or any type of equine for that matter), each is carefully evaluated for weeks before placement.

They’re feed up, dewormed, their hooves trimmed and dental issues are addressed, if needed. Each is observed closely over a period of time and his behavior patterns, quirks and eccentricities are duly noted and honestly passed on.

The bottom line: By adopting from Trinity Horse Rescue, you’ll eliminate many of the unknowns that would come up if you did this on your own. And, if the donkey or horse you adopt doesn’t work out for any reason at all, we will gladly takes it back.

A rescue is never the place to obtain breeding or show stock. Every responsible rescue gelds jacks and stallions before adoption and females many times are placed under no-breeding contracts. Please ask for details.

Also, paying our adoption fee does mean you own the animal you adopt. Again, here at Trinity Rescue we want you to love and own you rescue and not feel like we are trying to control you.. We are not here to shove red tape down your throat.

If, at any time you choose not to keep a donkey or horse you’ve adopted through our organization, he or she can easily be surrendered back to our organization from which he came and we will do our best to rehome him.

Is Adoption Right for You If:

* You’re unsure of your ability to choose a healthy, well-behaved donkey or horse on your own (Our animals are always vetted prior to placement).

* You want to be assured your donkey or horse will be provided for in the event you can no longer keep him (we always suggest that the animal we place in your care can at any time, re-enter our system if you can no longer care for them.

* You’re seeking a donkey or horse suited for a specific job (herd guardians are pretested; the soundness and training level of donkeys and horses placed as riding or driving animals has been fully evaluated).

* You’re a good-hearted, informed person who wants to give a home to a donkey or horse that needs one  9When you adopt from our organization you are truly helping a donkey or horse in need.

Adopting Donkeys or Horses

It Is Dangerous To Mix Dogs And Donkeys

Every horse organization’s adoption policies may differ somewhat, but these stipulations, adapted from years on the job, are the typical rules we follow at Trinity Horse and Donkey Rescue..

* Applicants are evaluated to make certain the new home meets the minimum standards set forth by the agency. The agency reserves the right to visit the prospective home and to visit placed donkeys or horse on site as often as necessary to ensure their well-being.

The adoption agreement is made based on the location listed in the application; donkeys and horse can be moved to another property just drop us a line and keep us informed with your good progress.

* The agency sometimes retains the title for the life of the donkey or horse. Adopters agree that they will not sell, trade or loan their animal until they have spoken with staff. If the adoption is deemed unsuccessful at any time, the animal must be returned to the rescue.

The adopted donkey can be returned and traded for another if it isn’t fitting in with the adopter’s other animals.

*  No donkey or horse of either sex will be placed in a home where they’ll be used for roping or any other cruel sports.

* Because adopted donkeys require equine companionship, if adopters don’t already own a horse, pony, donkey, mule or some other type of equine, the agency suggests they carefully consider adopting two.

* Adopters must agree to accept full financial responsibility for the animals they adopt through the agency, including damages caused by the animals while in their care.

* To adopt, applicants must agree to provide: a fenced pen; a roofed shelter with a windbreak; grass or hay fed a least once a day (no alfalfa or other high protein feeds for the donkeys); a mineral salt block is suggested; paste deworming every three months is highly suggested; hoof trimming as needed; annual vaccines as deemed necessary for the locale and your good judgement. If you need any help or direction during any phase with your horse we are here to help and guide.

Sound picky? Sometimes we are! We strive to find a decent loving home for a group of animals that already know what it is like to be unloved and forgotten. No animal should face this without a voice. You and I are that last voice for them.

If you are still interested and can provide a loving home, contact the main office at Trinity Horse and Donkey adoption by calling 936-222-8221 or 281-744-2197.

And the cost to adopt? It varies, ranging from $125. (typically a male donkey) to as high $250 (typically for a jenny or adoption horse). Some of the horse adoptions can go as high as 375. (understand some rescues we have to purchase to get them out of the abuse that they are in). We also, from time to time have a female donkey on site that will have a baby on her side. This happens many times to the newer arrivals that were just taken into the program. At this time (April-May 2012) we have several jennies and healthy male donkeys that need homes. please call Robbie Jones 281-744-2197 for more details or to dicuss any of our adoption horses. If your new donkey or horse needs a ride home we can also provide a horse bus to get them on their way.

Foster Care

To foster with Trinity Horse Rescue, you must comply with our standard adoption criteria and agree to provide everyday care and feed at your own expense. In return, we will cover emergency medical expenses and give caregivers first chance to adopt at a reduced rate when possible.

When You Just Want to Help
Another way to help our facility help donkeys and horses in need is to donate money or items on our needed equine “wish list.” Our typical equine rescue wish list might include:

* Feed,of any kind, hay of any kind and bedding

* Dewormers, vaccines and medical supplies

* Blankets, turnout rugs and waterproof sheets

* Halters (in all sizes) and lead ropes

* Larger items like fencing and building materials

* Volunteer labor—always!

About the Author: Robbie Jones and his wife Lisa Rogers operate two equine and donkey facilities in the Houston, Texas area. To see any of the donkeys or horses that may be in their adoption program* please click Here*.

What is a Hinney?

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Hinny

A hinny is a domestic equine hybrid that is the offspring of a regular male horse and a female donkey (called a jenny). It is similar to the more common mule, which is the product of a female horse and a male donkey.

Hinnies are on average slightly smaller than the average mules.. Some mule fanciers feel this size difference is merely physiological, due to the smaller size of the jenny, as compared with a much larger mare. Others claim it is genetic, but the view of the American Donkey and Mule Society is, “The genetic inheritance of the hinny is exactly the same as the mule.”

Hinnies, therefore are smaller because donkeys are smaller than horses, and growth potential of equine offspring is influenced by the size of the dam’s womb. However, like mules, hinnies do come in many different sizes. This is because donkeys come in many sizes, from miniatures, as small as 24 inches at the withers, to Mammoth jacks and jennies that may be over 15 hands (60 inches) at the withers. Thus, a hinny is restricted to being about the size of the largest breed of donkey. Mules, however, have a female horse as a parent, so they can be as large as the size of the tallest breed of horse. There are some very large mules, mostly from work horse breeds such as the Belgian.

Other than size, there are some minor differences that occur often between mules and hinnies. The head of a hinny resembles that of a horse, more so than mule heads. Hinnies often have shorter ears, although they are still longer than those of horses, and more horse-like manes and tails than mules. Certain traits, such as the popular gait that some horses and donkeys possess, seem to pass more readily through the male parent. Therefore, many people have tried to produce gaited hybrids by using gaited male horses with female donkeys, in hopes of creating gaited hinnies. A gaited donkey is a highly prized individual in the donkey circles.

Fertility, Sterility, and Rarity

Hinnies are very difficult to obtain because of the differences in the number of chromosomes of the horse and the donkey. A donkey has 62 chromosomes, whereas a horse has 64. Hinnies, being hybrids of those two species, have 63 chromosomes and are sterile. The uneven number of chromosomes results in an incomplete reproductive system. According to the ADMS, “The equine hybrid is easier to obtain when the lower chromosome count, the donkey, is in the male. Therefore breeding for hinnies is more hit-and-miss than breeding for mules.”

Male hinnies and mules are usually castrated to help control their behavior by eliminating their interest in females. The male hinny or mule can and will mate, but the emission is not fertile. There are no recorded cases of fertile male hinnies or male mules.

Female hinnies and mules are not customarily spayed, and may or may not go through estrus. Female mules have been known to produce offspring when mated to a horse or donkey, though this is extremely uncommon. Since 1527 there have been more than sixty documented cases of foals born to female mules around the world. In contrast, according to the ADMS, there is only one known case of a female hinny doing so.

In China in 1981, a hinny mare proved fertile with a donkey stallion. When the Chinese hinny was bred to a donkey jack, she produced “Dragon Foal,” who resembled a donkey with mule-like features. Dragon Foal’s genes that she was a previously undocumented combination. These are truly rarities in nature.

In Morocco in 2003, a mule mare bred to a donkey stallion produced a male foal that DNA testing revealed the Moroccan foal has a mixed karyotype hybrid like the Chinese hinny offspring, Dragon Foal.

There are several outstanding reasons for the rarity of hinnies. Typically female donkeys, jennies, and male horses, stallions, are choosier about their mates than horse mares and donkey jacks. Thus, the two parties involved may not care to mate. Even if they do cooperate, female donkeys are less likely to conceive when bred to a horse than horse mares are when bred to a donkey. Breeding large hinnies is an even bigger challenge, as it requires stock from a jenny of Mammoth donkey or American Mammoth Jack. Mammoth donkey stock is becoming increasingly rare and has been declared an endangered domestic breed. Fanciers are unlikely to devote a Mammoth jenny’s valuable breeding time to producing sterile hinny hybrids when Mammoth females are in high demand to produce fertile pure-bred Mammoth foal.

Everyday information about horses and donkeys. We operate a donkey adoption facility, trinityhorse.info and try our best to collect information about mules and donkeys and horses. To check out our donkey adoption program or any of our horses for sale please click here! You may also call the main barn at 281-744-2197

The Gene Behind White Horses

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Lets Look Close At White Horses

We recently have had several palominos and white horses come to the facility. I was very interested in the variation of the color from white to Dunn. I took a close look at what was going with the genes and found some deep reading waiting on me. I have been told many different stories about “albino horse” and the information below is the reason the colors act like they do.

The cream gene is responsible for a number of horse coat colors in nature. Horses that have the cream gene in addition to a base coat color that is chestnut, will become palomino if they are heterozygous, having one copy of the cream gene, or cremello, if they are homozygous. Similarly, horses with a bay base coat and the cream gene will be buckskin or perlino. Lets Look further.

Cream horses, even those with blue eyes, are not true white horses. Dilution coloring is also not related to any of the white spotting patterns.
The cream gene is one of several hypomelanism or dilution genes identified in horses. Therefore, it is not always possible to tell by color alone whether the gene is present without a DNA test. Horses with the dun gene also may mimic a single copy of the cream gene.

The discovery of the cream gene had a significant effect on breeding in horses, allowing homozygous blue-eyed creams to be recognized by many breed official registries that had previously registered palominos but banned cremellos for years, under the mistaken notion that homozygous cream was a form of Albinism. Many registers have looked closely at this new information and many have changed their rules for this color..

Cream coat colors are described by their relationship to the three main “base” coat colors: chestnut, bay, and black. Horses with 2 copies of the cream gene also exhibit specific traits: cream-colored coats, pale blue eyes, and rosy-pink skin. These horses are usually called cremello, perlino, or smoky cream.

Horses that are heterozygous creams, that is, have only one copy of the cream gene, have a lightened hair coat. The precise cream dilute coat color produced depends on the underlying base coat color. Unless also affected by other, unrelated genes, they maintain dark skin and brown eyes, though some heterozygous dilutes may be born with pink skin that darkens with age. Some have slightly lighter, amber eyes.
The palomino has a golden coat with a cream or white mane and tail.

Palomino is the best known cream-based coat color, and is produced by the action of one cream allele on a chestnut coat. It is characterized by a cream or white mane and tail and yellow or gold coat. The classic golden shade akin to that of a newly minted gold coin is common, but there are other variations: the darkest shades are called sooty palominos, unusual but most often seen in Morgans, can include a mane and tail with darker hairs and heavy dappling in the coat. The palest varieties can be nearly white, retaining darker skin and eyes, are sometimes mistakenly confused with cremello, and are called isabellas in some places.

At this time we have several palominos and other variations of white available for inspection. Most of these horses are primarily used for riding and are suited for beginners. Robbie Jones writes for horse Articles as well as Texas Horse report.org and has been writing for Horse Business Press Release for the last 3 years. Questions about any horses on the website can be answered at 281-744-2197.

All the Fuss About Horse Adoption

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All the Fuss About Horse Adoption

Take A Close Look At Horse Adoption

You find that you are in the market for a good, inexpensive riding horse. In today’s world, due to the mass media and the Internet, you have so many options to look at you may wonder where to start your search. Perhaps you are looking for your first horse, or perhaps you have ridden in the past and finally ready to get back to it with a horse you can ride and trust. Or you may need a calm settled family style horse, a kind eyed soul who will take care of you as you and your family learn to ride and learn how to care for your horses. Or You may need to add a new trail horse or work horse to your small horse heard. Maybe you need a companion horse to keep another horse company that needs a long term pasture mate. You tell your co workers and friends that you want to buy a horse, and someone tells you that you need to look into adopting a horse from a rescue group. You might ask yourself what is a horse adoption and in my case, would an adopt horse be right for me.

Even just a few years back, horse adoption was almost unheard of in the horse industry. In Texas for many years any horse in this condition could and likely would end up at the horse slaughter house in Kaufman or Forth Worth, Texas. Also several years back few people knew that they could go to a rescue organization to adopt a good usable horse and the needs have been growing. Since the number of equine rescues across the country continues to rise and horses are still being abandoned in the surrounding National Forest areas north of Houston. Once a horse is abandoned he will needlessly suffer from lack of feed, water and shelter.

Although more horse people are discovering the possibilities of horse adoption every day, there are still many who do not understand the horse adoption process. Too often potential adopters do not investigate adopting from a rescue because they believe those horses who come into rescue organizations are cast-off, crippled and unsuitable for their chosen field. In many cases this is simply not always true. Trinity Horse And Donkey Rescue has adopted out several horses that have gone on to be very successful with their families in various equine fields. Theses are typically not worthless horses but friendly animals needing another chance.

Black Jack, an older Tennessee Walker gelding who was recently donated to Trinity Horse Rescue because her owner lost her job and could no longer afford their board and feed. Black Jack soon found a home with a local family as their young daughters riding horse to learn on. Not only did the horse end up being a wonder little pleasure riding horse, the gelding went on to win several little local horse events in open show. This is just one example of what can happen when a horse in need is adopted by a family as a first horse. We also had a horse named Leave it to Beaver, who ended up being adopted for a young boy to ride around the family farm. Beaver came to us after being found wandering loose in a park just North of Huntsville. He was adopted shortly after arriving and after a few weeks of rehab has been with his family ever since. At last update the adoption was right on track with big plans for Beaver in the future.

Other recent adopted horses have gone forward to be trail and competitive horses with very little work. Ranger was abandoned in a local pasture for 6 months before coming to Trinity Horse Rescue. He was a cute little solid bay who loved to be handled and ridden and was adopted out for a teenage girl for beginning riding and beginner jumping lessons. There are plans in the works to start showing the horse next season. This is just a small example of what some of our future horses could achieve with you leading the way.

Trinity Horse Rescue has adopted out over 103 horses since we started the program in New Caney. Many of the horse adoptions went on to wonderful homes where they became much more than just pets, they became members of a loving family situation. Once they have been introduced and accepted into a caring families life, the love is limitless. Kelly Frady of Forth Worth whose family adopted Black Jack says that her family will never regret bringing this wonderful horse into their country life. Regardless of what you may need your next horse for, please consider adopting a horse from a horse rescue facility.  Due to the drought and economy in many southern states, horse rescue facilities have many horses right now needing good homes and may have the perfect horse for your needs. While many rescues do place restrictions on what you can do with the horse you adopt from them (many have no-breeding and no-resale clauses in their adoption contracts) they often keep their adoption fees very low considering the same horse for sale. Additionally the rescue facility should have done a complete evaluation on how the horse handles on the ground and the possibilities of him under saddle. The rescue facility could also give you more insight into the horses personality , possible abilities and training.

Trinity Horse Rescue always has a small group of horses in need of homes. We have very little red tape associated with the adoption process and can typically get your adoption approved in just a few hours. You could have your new adoption horse at your property by nightfall. If you would like to consider if a horse adoption is right for you please visit the website at www.TrinityHorse.info or you may call the main adoption office at 281-744-2197.

Robbie Jones is a writer for Texas Horse Report, Stop Horse Abuse and Horse Business Press Release. He also write for the Texas Horse Network which owns a network of equine classifieds of quarter horses for sale, used saddles, and he is a featured author at www.AranchHorse.com and TexasHorse.org. He has been on staff with the Trinity Horse Adoption for the last two years.