Confidence boost helps Ollie explore new friendships

Fifteen-year-old Ollie, who resides at Town Barton Farm, was in the unusual position of having donkeys for company due to the friendship he shares with two geldings, Harvey and Merlin.

While mules and donkeys aren’t advised to be kept together due to their vastly differing care needs, Ollie arrived at the sanctuary alongside Merlin – a donkey with whom he shared a lifelong bond.

Even with other mules as possible companions, Ollie remained friends with Merlin during their time at The Donkey Sanctuary, and also bonded with Harvey.

Kayna Prescott, our Lead in Equine Behaviour, says: “We generally keep donkeys and mules in different groups across our farms due to their very different management needs.

“When mules and donkeys come in as bonded pairs, we allow them the space and opportunity to remain friends in the same group, or explore becoming friends with their own species.

“In Ollie’s case, he has chosen to remain with his donkey friend, so we have ensured they are in a group that is suitable to meet their individual needs.

“We have a small number of hinnies (offspring of a female donkey and a male horse) who prefer to live with donkeys, so Ollie also has those hybrids as companions.”

Building Ollie’s confidence

As well as providing Ollie with all the support for his mixed species bond to flourish, the grooms at Town Barton have been working hard with behaviour training to increase his confidence.

Ollie has been fearful of human interaction, so our Behaviour team has been working closely with Groom Maisie Green to help him overcome his nerves.

Maisie has been instrumental in Ollie’s transformation, spending every day for three months working with him to help build up his confidence.

“When I first met Ollie, he did not want to go near humans at all,” she recalls. “My initial aim was to just spend time with him and ensure he was comfortable.

“All I wanted to achieve was being able to stand by Ollie without him running away. It was all about helping him make his own decisions.”

The first time Maisie approached Ollie, he remained very alert and distant.

“I remember he kept to himself in the corner of the yard,” she says. “He clearly didn’t trust himself around me or what he thought I may do to him, so I just stood quietly and let him think that I was doing my own thing.”

In the weeks that followed, Maisie stood by Ollie every day and gradually observed that he was becoming more inquisitive as he got used to her company.

“I noticed his confidence was growing when I stepped away and he stepped forward,” Maisie adds. “Eventually I introduced some touch in the form of a small stroke.

“Although Ollie was leaning away, he didn’t step back. I think he was being very brave; he put his fear away just for a minute to allow me to touch him.”

Taking the next step

After a few weeks of touching Ollie and providing him with positive reinforcement in the form of food rewards, Maisie introduced a head collar.

At first, she lay it down beside them so Ollie could sniff it under no pressure.

“Once Ollie remained relaxed around the head collar, I then held it,” Maisie says. “My end goal was to put it on Ollie, so I wanted him to see it in my hand and know I wasn’t going to do anything with it at that point.

“After I had held it in my hands and I saw he was relaxed, I held the collar to the side and placed a food reward in it so Ollie could decide whether or not to take it – which he did!”

By repeating this action, Ollie soon trusted Maisie enough to put the head collar on him without reacting.

“I remember the first time I was able to fit the collar,” Maisie says. “I was so happy for him; I felt like I had contributed to his confidence and that he trusted me.

“I wanted to believe that Ollie could transform, and I felt that he could because he was so curious about me. He wanted to be handled and spend time around humans.

“Now, Ollie absolutely loves our company. Compared to the mule I first met, he is completely transformed. He is definitely out of his shell and more than happy to leave his donkey friends to approach a human.

“He is very vocal too! Nine times out of ten, if I call his name, he will respond with a bray and comes running over.

“Anyone can catch Ollie now as well, not just me. It’s wonderful seeing how trusting he is of everyone.”

Exploring new friendships

With more of his character shining through, Ollie is making the most of life at Town Barton – and has become one of the more noticeable equines in his herd.

“We see him a lot more now,” Maisie says. “He has such a fun personality compared to the scared, shy mule I met on day one.”

Kim Green, Town Barton Manager, adds: “Ollie had a long history of being nervous and was usually glued to his donkey friends.

“Maisie’s dedication, with the support of our Behaviour team, has allowed us all to see a different side of Ollie recently. In the past, he would be at the back of the barn and was not confident enough to come forward.

“Now, he comes to the front of the barn for attention and doesn’t run off if you extend a hand to touch him and give food.

“Our grooms have observed Ollie gravitating towards the other mules and hinnies in the group, and we have seen him spending more time out in the fields alongside them.”

The other mules and hinnies – called Solly, Milly and Rupert – have been in the same group for several years.

This is the first year that the grooms have observed the foursome spending time together in the fields, choosing to gather away from the rest of the donkeys in the herd.

Kayna adds: “It’s been so good to see the amount of confidence that Ollie has gained with Maisie’s consistent behaviour training.

“We are looking forward to seeing how his friendships with other mules and hinnies develop over the next few months and how his confidence will continue to grow.

“Had it not been for Maisie’s training and building all those positive experiences, Ollie would have remained feeling fearful of interactions with the grooms.

“Ollie is still friends with Harvey and Merlin and although they all remain in the group together, he now enjoys a wider circle of companions to spend his time with.

“We believe that every donkey and mule deserves to lead the happiest life possible, so I am delighted to see Ollie’s improvement and look forward to seeing how his journey unfolds.”