Editing Donkey (section)

==Care==
===Shoeing===
{{multiple image
 | direction     = horizontal
 | image1        = Donkey shoe.jpg
 | caption1      = A donkey shoe with [[calkin]]s
 | alt1          = 
 | width1        = 125
 | image2        = Cyprian Farriers (1900) - TIMEA.jpg
 | caption2      = Farriers shoeing a donkey in [[Cyprus]] in 1900
 | alt2 = 
 | width2        = 200
 | footer = 
}}

Donkey hooves are more elastic than those of horses, and do not naturally wear down as fast. Regular clipping may be required; neglect can lead to permanent damage.<ref name=alberta/> Working donkeys may need to be shod. Donkey shoes are similar to [[horseshoe]]s, but usually smaller and without toe-clips.

===Nutrition===
[[File:Местные жители у берега Айдаркуль.jpg|thumb|Local man watching his donkey graze near the [[Aydar Lake|Aidarkul Lake]] an artificial lake in Uzbekistan. Donkeys are particularly well suited for grazing in [[Drylands|dryland environments]].]]
In their native arid and semi-arid climates, donkeys spend more than half of each day foraging and feeding, often on poor quality scrub.<ref name="svend2" /> The donkey has a tough [[digestive system]] in which roughage is efficiently broken down by [[hind gut fermentation]], microbial action in the [[caecum]] and [[large intestine]].<ref name="svend2" /> While there is no marked structural difference between the gastro-intestinal tract of a donkey and that of a horse, the digestion of the donkey is more efficient. It needs less food than a horse or pony of comparable height and weight,<ref name="smith2008" /> approximately 1.5 percent of body weight per day in dry matter,<ref name="Wood2005" /> compared to the 2–2.5 percent consumption rate possible for a horse.<ref name="Penn">[http://pubs.cas.psu.edu/FreePubs/pdfs/uc099.pdf Hall, Marvin H. and Patricia M. Comerford. "Pasture and Hay for Horses – Argonomy facts 32", 1992 University of Pennsylvania, Cooperative Extension Service]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010200000/http://pubs.cas.psu.edu/FreePubs/pdfs/uc099.pdf |date=2017-10-10 }}  Web site accessed February 14, 2007.</ref> Donkeys are also less prone to [[colic]].<ref name="svendsen" /> The reasons for this difference are not fully understood; the donkey may have different [[intestinal flora]] to the horse, or a longer gut retention time.<ref name="smith" /> 

Donkeys obtain most of their energy from [[Dietary fiber|structural carbohydrates]]. Some suggest that a donkey needs to be fed only [[straw]] (preferably barley straw), supplemented with controlled grazing in the summer or [[hay]] in the winter,<ref name=sanct/> to get all the energy, protein, fat and vitamins it requires; others recommend some grain to be fed, particularly to working animals,<ref name=alberta/> and others advise against feeding straw.<ref name=blm/> They do best when allowed to consume small amounts of food over long periods. They can meet their nutritional needs on 6 to 7 hours of grazing per day on average dryland pasture that is not stressed by drought. If they are worked long hours or do not have access to pasture, they require hay or a similar dried forage, with no more than a 1:4 ratio of legumes to grass. They also require salt and mineral supplements, and access to clean, fresh water.<ref>Aganga, A.A., et al. [https://web.archive.org/web/20070928063807/http://www.cipav.org.co/lrrd/lrrd12/2/agan122.htm "Feeding donkeys"] ''Livestock Research for Rural Development'' 12 (2) 2000. Department of Animal Science and Production, Botswana College of Agriculture. Web site accessed July 4, 2009.</ref> In temperate climates the forage available is often too abundant and too rich; over-feeding may cause weight gain and obesity, and lead to metabolic disorders such as founder ([[laminitis]]<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20071119104524/http://www.dengie.com/pages/feeding-horses/nutritional-advice/feeding-your-donkey.php "Feeding Your Donkey"]  Web site accessed July 4, 2009.</ref>) and [[hyperlipaemia]],<ref name=sanct/> or to [[gastric ulcers]].<ref name=Burden2009/>

Throughout the world, working donkeys are associated with the very poor, with those living at or below subsistence level.<ref name=aluja/> Few receive adequate food, and in general donkeys throughout the [[Third World]] are under-nourished and over-worked.<ref name=svend4/>