Mini Donkey Saddles?

[NCdonkeygirl]

We've given a few kids a bareback "pony" ride on our gelding Wilbur and he was awesome about it. We were thinking about getting him a saddle, but I wasn't sure what size to get. Would a mini horse saddle work? Or do I need to measure him? Also do any of you use bridles with your minis or just a halter and lead line?

Thanks!

 

[Bunnylady]

Donks and mules are notoriously difficult to find tack for, because they do have different proportions than horses do. I have seen mini donkey halters, but I don't know about saddles.

I don't think I can be of much help, because Betsy's kind of a special case. She's a very drafty mini mule, with a rather short and very wide back (no, she isn't just fat!!) Believe it or not, we put a 12" Western-style Abetta youth saddle on her. It works, width wise. She has almost no withers (Like most donkeys and mules) so the fit isn't great, but it stays put. As she only wears it for maybe 20 - 30 minutes at a time (and a lot of that is standing still) I don't worry about it making her sore. She doesn't fuss about the saddle, it's the leg pressure of a bareback rider that puts her into orbit! OH! Because I have hopes of training her to pull a cart, I often put a bridle on her too. I've had to resort to a pony bridle and bit, because mini tack can't possibly fit Betsy's big mule head

 

[minimule]

You might try a mini English saddle. They are built differently than the western saddles.

 

[NCdonkeygirl]

What about one of those bareback pad with the stirrups? Do you think something like that would work?

 

[JumpinJackFarm]

What about one of those bareback pad with the stirrups? Do you think something like that would work?

A few years back I bought a Padded Suede saddle W/stirups ...... I think it was Pony size..coul have been Mini? ...not sure? Anyway, porportion wise it fit good ..... but it was loose and just didn't tighten up. It was a Jack I used it on and he had such a barrel chest ... I think that was the problem.

 

[NCdonkeygirl]

hmmmmm...I found a really inexpensive mini horse/pony size bareback pad with stirrups on ebay and went ahead and ordered it. Hopefully it will work. My gelding has a pretty big gut (lol) so we'll see. Maybe I'll need to alter it a little. I'm really just concerned with kids getting dirty when they sit on him and having something to hold on to. I'll let you know how it works! Thanks for the advice!