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Bailey's mom was adopted by a family who did not realize she was
pregnant. So Bailey was born in captivity and does not know that she could
have been a wild burro. The adoptive family kept Bailey for three years
and trained her to lead and tie and be cuddled.
I bought Bailey in August of 2001 and started training her for riding. I
had never had a donkey before, just horses years ago. She amazed me with
her calm assessment of situations that would have sent my previous horses
running the other direction! It took about three months of daily work to
get her ready to go trail riding. We go out almost every day now, and
Bailey is very brave - she crosses railroad tracks, walks under freeway
underpasses, and sometimes has to pass VERY frightening farm machinery.
Our most interesting adventure so far was one day I strapped sandwich-board
signs on Bailey, tied two teddy bears to her back, and walked her a couple
of miles to cheer for my friend who was in a running race. Bailey was a
great sport about the signs and the teddy bears that bobbed around on her
back when she moved. The runners all cheered and waved and clapped to see
a donkey on the sidelines! My friend was so proud to have such unique fans!
At first, I thought I would be lucky to ever get Bailey into even a
trot. But now that she has gotten in good shape, she sometimes breaks into
a run on her own and I have to slow her down! She seems to be "gaited",
too - she has a Tennessee-Walker-type speed walk that is very comfortable.
Bailey is boarded at a horse stable, and has charmed all the horse
owners. She likes having her ears rubbed, inside and out, and having her
rump scratched. Her other favorite thing is rolling in soft dirt. She has
a pylon and a basketball in her stall to play with.
Bailey now has a job in community service - every two weeks, I put two
five-gallon buckets in each of her panniers, and we go up the road picking
up recyclables and trash. Unfortunately, we can fill up all four buckets
in about a half mile!
I am so glad that donkeys live as long as they do - I hope to still have
Bailey when I am 70 years old and we can retire and sit on the porch and
swish flies together.
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