Foal

At just seven weeks old, little Coco has had more than her fair share of drama in her short life. Orphaned shortly after she was born, Coco needed a life-saving plasma transfusion, round-the-clock specialist care and help to cope with the loss of her mother at such a young age. Despite all of this, Coco is thriving.

Donkey foals have been in the news this week with the story of a three-month old donkey called Moses who had been raised with a herd of goats.

I recently received an email that made me squeal with delight – two gorgeous foals had been born at one of our outlying farms near Sidmouth. As we have a no-breeding policy here at The Donkey Sanctuary, the birth of a single foal is a very exciting event, but two healthy young foals is a major cause for celebration.

This image is published by The Donkey Sanctuary, under the terms of a Creative Commons Licence.

As regular visitors to our site you will know all about Ashley our orphaned foal. I got to meet Ashley when he was a day old and started helping with the early morning feeds. He was such a sweet fluffy bundle and has been a joy to feed. I feel doubly privileged to not only work in the Veterinary department but also as a relief groom in our Isolation Unit where all new arrivals spend their first six weeks.

At 4 am this morning I arrived at our isolation unit to find Ashley wide awake and already at his stable door waiting for his next feed. He was extremely well behaved and patiently watched while I made up his special foal milk after his last feed at midnight.