# collar fit for donkeys



## rod44 (Jun 17, 2013)

Read in a post somewhere on this forum where a comment was made on donkey collars. A friend of mine has a team of mammoth jenneys that he drives on the road 10 to 20 miles a day with his camper. Also does all kinds of farm work with them.

He had some issues with the pointy shoulders of donkey interfering with the collar. He had some custom made with a little cutout for the shoulder. You will see them in this video I made of him explaining his plow setup. Look sharp when he goes to the front of them and points out the collar.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9gNwq5LNtw[/ame]


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## jennigrey (Jan 27, 2005)

The draft on his hames and collar is unusually high. Where the trace attaches to the hames... it's a good two to four inches higher than what my experience has taught me is optimal. The trace doesn't even pass over the wear leather of the collar. 

I remember Bob from another board. I remember his "camper"... I saved a picture. I will post a picture of his setup. I will also post a still image captured from one of the videos showing him plowing with his donkeys. The still shot from plowing shows the very high draft on the hames. The picture of him hitched to his "camper" shows the more conventional placing of the draft on the hames, which evidently wasn't working out for him, for whatever reason.

He obviously deliberately raised the draft as high as he has. Very interesting. 

In the photo with the "camper", the donkey closest to the camera has his draft lower than I would have had it. I would have shimmed the trace up until it was riding near the top of the hame bolt. I bet he probably tried a bunch of things before resorting to custom collars, though.


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## jennigrey (Jan 27, 2005)

Another still that shows detail of the hames and traces.


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## rod44 (Jun 17, 2013)

I can't hardly comment on donkey collar fit. They are just setup so differently from a horse. You can bet he has tried most everything to make it the most comfortable he can for the girls. His neighbor and good friend is an amish farrier that is very knowledgable horse wise. Between the two of them they usually get things figured out. There is another amishman in the community that Bob has taught to train donkeys to drive or ride. Donkeys must be becomming more popular as he has trained quite a few. 

Good to see someone like yourself also paying attention to harness fit.


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## jennigrey (Jan 27, 2005)

Yeah, I have had zero experience with donkeys and have only seen mules being harnessed, hitched and worked. The only thing I know about donkeys is that I have heard that their necks are really narrow, so they take a straight-sided collar and the hames should be pretty straight also. That and their very upright shoulders.


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## jennigrey (Jan 27, 2005)

With such an upright shoulder, I can't see any way to make the hame/trace junction anywhere close to 90 degrees. I wonder what that does to their efficiency and comfort when working in harness. I have always striven for a 90-degree angle when driving with a substantial load. No way to do that on a vertical collar bed, unless you are hooking straight back to something with a very high point of hitch, like a cart. Hmmm. Well, I'd better go research or find someone to ask these now-burning questions of.


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## rod44 (Jun 17, 2013)

If you are on Rural Heritage you should post a question to Bob E on the subject and I am sure he would be happy to respond.


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## Barn Yarns (Oct 7, 2012)

remember that when you hook to different things, your draft changes. i remember that you want to keep the line of draft to what you hook to the most.


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## jennigrey (Jan 27, 2005)

The angle of draft should remain consistent to the hames. The girth/belly band allows the hames/trace angle to remain consistent regardless of whether you hitch high to a pleasure cart or hitch low to drag a log. The trace can bend at the girth to go wherever it needs to go, but the angle where the trace attaches to the hame is what dictates how the collar lies against the shoulder. In a horse with a well-laid shoulder, the collar and hames lay at whatever angle (something more than 45 degrees but less than 90 - which would be vertical) and then the traces should come off at 90 degrees to the hames. That perpendicular attachment presses the collar flat to the shoulder without causing it to rock.


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## jennigrey (Jan 27, 2005)

rod44 said:


> If you are on Rural Heritage you should post a question to Bob E on the subject and I am sure he would be happy to respond.


That's probably the best plan - get the lowdown straight from the donkey's mouth.


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## rod44 (Jun 17, 2013)

He might hook to 2-4 different things in a day. Ask him how he handles it.


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## rod44 (Jun 17, 2013)

Talked with Bob this morning on the collar situation. Said donkey necks are way different than horses. The are shaped more like the side of a violin. Thicker top and bottom and thinner in the middle. They also have a much thicker and stronger tendon on the top of the neck. Like a cross between a horse and a ox. Therefore they can take more of the load higher. The point of the shoulders have less fat and muscle covering than a horse and can therefore get chaffed and sore.

So, Bob puts the point of draft about 5 inches higher on the collar than if it were a horse. This transferes some of the load to the strong neck tendon. Uses a pad to fill out the thin part of the neck. Has not had any problem with the shoulders since. He uses a fulll collar. Says do not use a sweeney collar. Just the opposite from what you need. Ideally would like a 90 degree angle on the tugs/hames. However, the donkey shoulder is very upright. Slight variations have caused no problems. These donkeys are harnessed all day long many times so these adjustments work. Not like they were hitched and driven around the yard a few times.

Hope this helps answer question.


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## jennigrey (Jan 27, 2005)

Fantastic information! Thank you! Please thank Bob for me!


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