Merle

Meet Merle! This donkey came to Longmeadow in the late summer of 2025. He was intact but as sweet as could be! He made it through his quarantine phase and was given his necessary medical care before being castrated by a vet. His kind, gentle personality never left and now he is ready to find his forever home! 

Merle has proven himself to be quite the gentleman, especially considering he was only recently gelded. He handled his evaluation by our trainers with quiet thoughtfulness, passing most of his tests with ease. While fly spray and trailer loading weren’t his favorite activities, he remained honest and composed during both, never trying to rush off, just taking his time to decide if he felt comfortable. With a little confidence-building and desensitizing, we believe he’ll likely improve quickly.

In the barn, Merle is polite and cooperative, even when he’s feeling unsure. He allowed all four feet to be picked up by our trainers and farrier without a fuss, which is no small compliment coming from a donkey who clearly likes to assess new people carefully. He’s easy to handle for daily care and is fine with staff administering oral medications and being blanketed. True to donkey nature, Merle is slow and observant, preferring to survey his surroundings before moving forward at his own deliberate pace. Despite his thoughtful approach to life, he genuinely seems to enjoy human company, often poking his sweet little nose out of his stall in search of kisses.

Merle currently lives alone in a stall but is turned out with other mini equine here at the Ranch and he gets along well with his herd. We think Merle would make a great addition to a herd or as a companion to another equine at home.