Humans have greatly benefited from their relationship with donkeys. Different roles that donkeys play in high- and low-income countries are two sides of the same coin. Their draft power is indispensable in low-income countries, and by contrast, their milk in Europe is fetching a premium. New productive niches are controversially being explored, for example, donkey meat and skin (ejiao); both are considered premium products and have increased value of donkeys in many developing regions of the world. New advances in human medicine are starting to consider possibilities of donkey serum and heart valves. Scientists and channels that they use to spread their knowledge directly influence public interest and implementation of welfare practices in domestic species, indirectly affecting their survival. The study's aim was to trace historical registry of www.sciendirect.com directory from 1896 to 2018 to assess trends followed by articles dealing with donkeys. Publications with 22 themes and 114 publications (91 JCR indexed journals) from 56 countries were included. JCR impact index was scored to study influence of publications dealing with donkeys. Chi-square test tested six variables, randomly influenced by the rest. Cramer's V measured strength of association between variables. Statistically significant differences were observed between almost every combination of variables except for year and JCR impact, year and area/topic and country of the corresponding author, and area/topic of submission. JCR impact and journal influences the area of the articles that are published. As some countries are more specialized in certain themes concerning donkey-related sciences, they are more likely to publish.

Expectation-related bias may configure individuals' perception of their surrounding environment and of the elements present in it. This study aimed to determine the repercussions of environmental (weather elements) or subject-inherent factors (sex, age, or personality features) on judgment bias. A cognitive bias test was performed in eight Miniature jennies and four jacks. Test comprised habituation, training and testing phases during which subjects were trained on how to complete the test and scored based on their latency to approach an ambiguous stimulus. A questionnaire evaluating eleven personality features was parallelly completed by three caretakers, five operators and two care assistants to determine the links between personality features and judgment bias. Adjusted latencies did not significantly differ between sexes (Mann-Whitney test, p > 0.05). Although Miniature donkeys can discriminate positive/negative stimuli, inter-individual variability evidences were found. Such discrimination is evidenced by significant latency differences to approach positive/negative stimuli (33.7 ± 43.1 vs. 145.5 ± 53.1 s) (Mann-Whitney test, p < 0.05). Latencies significantly increased with patience, indicative of an expression of pessimism. Better understanding judgement bias mechanisms and implications may help optimize routine handling practices in the framework of animal welfare.

Mules and hinnies are the hybrids between donkeys (Equus asinus) and horses (Equus caballus). For centuries, mankind has used them for agrarian purposes, the military, or recreation. Contrasting literature with behavioral observations, we seek a better behavioral understanding andthus comprehensive solutions for their welfare enhancement. Over the past 6 years, we have assessed physical and behavioral welfare in over 900 mules by surveying owners from Egypt, Peru, Portugal, Spain, Mexico, and the U.S. These mules participated in shows, brick kiln work, cart-pulling, packing, tourism, and cattle herding. Observations are discussed alongside facts from the literature. Unfortunately, their behavior has been misunderstood by many, and harsh treatment and equipment has been used to control them. Few studies have attempted to define or use learning theory to understand how and why mules and hinnies behave as they do. Hence, understanding their health considerations, natural behavior, and training theory is crucial for those who work with them.Solutions to welfare improvement partially lie in an individual's ability to handle mules and hinnies from birth, and to proceed slowly through training. Conclusively, this review sets forth a clearer understanding of these hybrids' behaviors and promotes positive handling, allowing their access to more routine healthcare and ultimately, a higher welfare standard.

The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged professors and students of all disciplines to adjust quickly to remote online teaching and education platforms. In this new era of remote teaching, a greater challenge has been presented in the field of equine science; how to effectively share knowledge that is most often demonstrated by providing students access to live, in-person animal examples. Historically, students and teachers believed skill sets, which are vital for future careers in the industry (e.g., veterinarian) must be learned through hands-on experience. However, in-person methods were not available, so students were taught through the Zoom platform. Students enrolled in various levels of equine science classes were invited to complete a short voluntary questionnaire measuring their response and perception to equine courses taught in an entirely online remote setting by the same professor. One group was comprised of undergraduates majoring in the field (n = 44) in upper level equine science courses, Advanced Equine Reproduction Physiology and/or Equine Enterprise. These students, 41 females and 3 males, ranged in age from 20 to 25 yr, were provided a voluntary questionnaire seeking responses related to the perceived effectiveness and individual preferences of in-class lectures and in-person labs vs. remote online teaching practices. A similar questionnaire was offered on a volunteer basis to precollege students (n = 17). These students, female, high-school students from freshman to senior status (14-18 yr of age), were interested in equine science as a major at UC Davis in the future. This questionnaire evaluated their response to a 2-week remote synchronous online equine science course, which included multiple teaching methods, including lectures, mini labs, and full labs. Responses from both populations suggested that equine courses were perceived as effective when offered as online, remote courses. Live (synchronous) classes and labs offered on Zoom increased engagement and interaction, but students also appreciated the opportunity to access recorded materials. Students responded positively to online remote teaching and found courses to be effective for increasing their knowledge about equine science in an engaging manner, despite their continued preference for in-person instruction.

Scientific evidence for intelligence in donkeys could expose their historical unmerited cognitive derogatory status. Psychometric testing enables quantifying animal cognitive capabilities and their genetic background. Owing to the impossibility to use the language-dependent scales that are widely used to measure intelligence in humans, we used a nonverbal operant-conditioning problem-solving test to compute a human-analogous IQ, scoring the information of thirteen cognitive processes from 300 genetically tested donkeys. Principal components and Bayesian analyses were used to compute the variation in cognitive capabilities explained by the cognitive processes tested and their genetic parameters, respectively. According to our results, IQ may explain over 62% of the cognitive variance, and 0.06 to 0.38 heritabilities suggest that we could ascribe a significant proportion to interacting genes describing the same patterns previously reported for humans and other animal species. Our results address the existence of a human-analogous heritable component and mechanisms underneath intelligence and cognition in probably one of the most traditionally misunderstood species from a cognitive perspective.

Recent approval of transdermal flunixin meglumine (FM) (Banamine^®) in cattle has opened the door for the drug's potential application in other species. Transdermal FM could provide a safe and effective form of pain relief in donkeys. In order to evaluate the pharmacokinetics and effects of FM on anti-inflammatory biomarkers in donkeys, a three-way crossover study design was employed. In total, 6 healthy donkeys were administered transdermal (TD) FM at a dosage of 3.3 mg/kg, and oral (PO) and intravenous (IV) doses of 1.1 mg/kg body weight. Blood samples were collected over 96 h to determine the concentration of flunixin, 5OH flunixin, and eicosanoids (TXB2 and PGF2 alpha) using LC-MS/MS. The results indicated that both flunixin and 5OH flunixin were detectable in blood samples collected during TD. The elimination of the drug was slower following the TD route compared to PO and IV. TD administration significantly decreased TXB2 levels in non-stimulated serum from 1 to 96 h post-administration, while IV and PO resulted in TXB2 reduction for 1 to 8 h. A significant reduction in PGF2 alpha was observed in PO and IV 1 h after administration, while TD resulted in a gradual decline from 4 to 72 h. The study concluded that the off-label use of transdermal FM at 3.3 mg/kg could be effective in controlling inflammation in donkeys.

Genetic diversity and demographic parameters were computed to evaluate the historic effects of coat colour segregation in the process of configuration of the Hispano-Arabian horse (Há). Pedigree records from 207,100 individuals born between 1884 and 2019 were used. Although coat colour is not a determinant for the admission of Hispano-Arabian individuals as apt for breeding, it may provide a representative visual insight into the gene contribution of Spanish Purebred horses (PRE), given many of the dilution genes described in Há are not present in the Arabian Purebred breed (PRá). The lack of consideration of coat colour inheritance patterns by the entities in charge of individual registration and the dodging behaviour of breeders towards the historic banning policies, may have acted as a buffer for diversity loss (lower than 8%). Inbreeding levels ranged from 1.81% in smokey cream horses to 8.80 for white horses. Contextually, crossbred breeding may increase the likelihood for double dilute combinations to occur as denoted by the increased number of Há horses displaying Pearl coats (53 Há against 3 PRE and 0 PRá). Bans against certain coat colours and patterns may have prevented an appropriate registration of genealogical information from the 4th generation onwards for decades. This may have brought about the elongation of generation intervals. Breeder tastes may have returned to the formerly officially-recognised coat colours (Grey and Bay) and Chestnut/Sorrel. However, coat colour conditioning effects must be evaluated timely for relatively short specific periods, as these may describe cyclic patterns already described in owners' and breeders' tastes over the centuries.

Genetic diversity and population structure were analyzed using the historical and current pedigree information of the Arabian (PRá), Spanish Purebred (PRE), and Hispano-Arabian (Há) horse breeds. Genetic diversity parameters were computed and a canonical discriminant analysis was used to determine the contributions of ancestor breeds to the genetic diversity of the Há horse. Pedigree records were available for 207,100 animals born between 1884 and 2019. Nei's distances and the equivalent subpopulations number indicated the existence of a highly structured, integrated population for the Há breed, which is more closely genetically related to PRá than PRE horses. An increase in the length of the generation interval might be an effective solution to reduce the increase in inbreeding found in the studied breeds (8.44%, 8.50%, and 2.89%, for PRá, PRE, and Há, respectively). Wright's fixation statistics indicated slight interherd inbreeding. Pedigree completeness suggested genetic parameters were highly reliable. High GCI levels found for number of founders and non-founders and their relationship to the evolution of inbreeding permit controlling potential deleterious negative effects from excessively frequent mating between interrelated individuals. For instance, the use of individuals presenting high GCI may balance founders' gene contributions and consequently preserve genetic diversity levels (current genetic diversity loss in PRá, PRE, and Há is 6%, 7%, and 4%, respectively).