Jasper the Donkey

We have a new friend at the barnyard - Jasper the Donkey! Jasper was a really lucky find - he is still pretty young at 3 years old, and LOVES people and especially kids. He comes from a petting zoo and has really good manners. Donkeys are infamous for being - well- stubborn and temperamental. We have never had a donkey before, and it is amazing how they are so much like horses but so much alike! Horses are just sooo cooperative most of the time! It surely is a fact that is not appreciated enough by us horse lovers.
Jasper is a very good little donkey though. He LOVES to get the inside of his huge ears rubbed... he will hang his head and stick out his lower lip in ecstacy. It looks very cute. He is so soft! His fur feels nothing like horse fur... he sure is very shaggy, but is soft like a pillow. A shag pillow!

My friend, who co-owns him with me, has a small saddle that we tried on him, but I didn't like the way it fit, so I bought a small riding pad for him. I think he likes it, and has been very good at giving little kids ride... for a little while. He will tell me when has had enough, donkey way, and I take his hints and set him free after a job well done. Jasper might be a very nice donkey, but he is donkey enough to not let me forget that all the work he does is just a favor to me, not because he really thinks he has to!!!