As I’ve mentioned in previous blog articles, I live in a fairly rural area. Whenever I leave my house, I drive past several different properties with acres of livestock on my way into town. Maybe it’s because I didn’t grow up in this environment, but it’s been over a year now, and even though I have two goats of my own, I still get all giddy and excited every time I see fields of cows, goats, or sheep.

Well, except for the one time when I went on a “neighborhood walk” and apparently upset the herd when I got too close to some young calves who were curious about me and walked up to the fence line. As the angry parent cattle began snorting, pawing the ground, and running towards the fence to protect their babies, I legitimately worried they were going to break through the wire fence to attack me. I was still about ½ mile from my house, and it was early in the morning, so I was completely alone on a long stretch of road where nobody but the cows would hear me scream. With visions of my death by cattle mauling, I picked up my walking pace and eventually broke out into a run until I felt I was far enough away. Yeah, I’m an idiot. But just to be on the safe side, when I take my walks now, I stay as close as possible to the other side of the road.

Anyway, speaking of protecting the herd, my rural life adventures have also taught me some cool shit about donkeys. When I first moved to Texas, I noticed that one of the cattle properties on my road, which has a herd of about 60 black beef cattle, also has one little grey donkey. At first, I thought it was just a cute farm pet. However, while driving to work a few weeks later, I noticed a fat brown and black donkey standing out in a herd of white cattle (apparently called Charolais cattle) on another farm about a mile further down the road. Since this was the second herd of cattle I’d seen that had a solo donkey in the mix, I figured they must be there for a reason, so I asked my boss, who grew up on a local cattle farm.

I am not entirely unfamiliar with donkeys. Prior to moving to Texas, I volunteered at a horse rescue in Washington State for over a year, and there was a little old resident grey donkey named Addie that I used to let out to pasture every Saturday morning. She was one of my favorite equine companions there, and I typically gave her most of the carrot stash that I brought to the stables with me each week. Working with Addie, I learned that contrary to their reputation as being dumb animals, donkeys are actually highly intelligent and have excellent memories. Yet, much to my surprise (I’m originally a city girl from California who doesn’t know shit about farming…), my boss informed me that donkeys are also frequently used to protect herds of cattle, sheep, and goats on small farms.

Finding this fascinating, I started looking up information about donkeys as livestock guardians. Apparently, a single donkey can protect up to 300 head of livestock. Although they aren’t intentionally trying to be protective of their livestock companions, donkeys are very loyal and territorial, and they are naturally aggressive to canine predators. Unlike other livestock guarding animals like dogs, donkeys don’t patrol the pasture looking out for threats. Instead, they are super low key, grazing and socializing with their livestock friends until they perceive something amiss. Because of their large ears and their wide range of vision, donkeys have great hearing and eyesight and can easily graze, while still remaining alert.

Although donkeys aren’t typically effective against multiple predators or larger threats like wild boars, mountain lions, or bears, they are apparently great at confronting a lone fox, coyote, wolf, roaming dog, or even a small bobcat. Donkeys aren’t spooked by much, so they tend to stand their ground when confronting a threat, and they will actually charge a predator and chase it away. When a donkey does attack a predator, it is apparently capable of being super fucking aggressive, delivering crushing kicks with its front and hind legs and using its large teeth to bite a predator’s neck, back, chest or butt. So, basically, donkeys are like little warriors who lay low and chill until given a reason to stand up and fight.

I often feel like my personality is comparable to that of a donkey. For the most part, I’m super chill, but when I perceive a threat or an injustice, my first instinct is to stand my ground and fight, if necessary. People often think I’m stubborn because I won’t back down when I have a strong belief or opinion about something, but I like to believe my stubbornness is a product of my integrity and sensibility, as opposed to ignorance.

While doing some donkey research, I read a great article on a Canadian website (www.thedonkeysanctuary.ca) that explained how and why donkeys behave the way they do:

“Donkeys are not flight animals like horses, so you cannot as easily scare them into certain action or behaviour. This is usually the reason that people believe donkeys are stubborn. Horses evolved on plains where they have lots of space to run and many resources to choose from, whereas donkeys evolved in mountainous desert areas. The desert doesn’t provide an abundance of resources such as food, shelter, etc., and the mountains did not give them much space to run away. A donkey had to take time to assess the situation to decide if it was dangerous enough to run, or if they should stay and fight. This cautiousness has led to a very developed sense of self preservation. If a donkey is unsure of where they are being led, it will stop and consider the situation before proceeding. Some call this characteristic stubbornness or stupidity. We call this naturally analytical behaviour ‘common sense.’”

Another article I read, titled “Are Donkeys Smart?” by Waqar Zafar on the www.equinedesires website, stated: “[Donkeys] are resistant to taking orders and being told what to do. This often angers the handlers who end up thinking of them as not intelligent enough to understand.” The same article also described donkeys as logical and flexible when it comes to problem solving.

Upon reading both of these articles, I laughed at the correlation between equine behavior and that of humans. Over time, we have evolved into a nation of people who’ve had fairly unlimited access to resources and who have become so used to relying on the comforts of our environment that we are easily scared into certain actions and group behaviors when we perceive a threat. The past few years of government perpetrated divisiveness in our country have shown this to be the case, especially when it came to the Covid pandemic. Like horses, a large majority of Americans embraced the herd mentality and were easily scared into blindly trusting the Covid vaccine narrative being pushed on the public by the government, without asking questions. Those of us who resisted and wanted to take time to assess the situation to determine if it truly was a threat were accused of being stupid and stubborn, just like donkeys.

The American political landscape has abruptly changed over the past two years, resulting in a weakened economy, rising inflation, decreased national security, and a sharp increase in crime. Where we once had abundant fields and vast amounts of resources, we are now starting to encounter barren deserts and treacherous mountains. As the extreme political narrative being spread by our far-left government continues to escalate to new levels of absurdity, and our once comfortable way of life continues to erode, more and more Americans are becoming resistant to taking orders and being told what to do. Similar to the donkey, more people are starting to become aware of the real “threats to democracy” and are starting to fight back.

My point is this: In a field of horses (or cattle, sheep or goats), be the donkey. No, not the ass that represents the Democratic party. Be a true donkey. Live your best fucking life, but stay alert. Be loyal to your beliefs and values. Speak out against tyranny and corruption. Defend your territory. Refuse to blindly follow orders. Protect your friends and family. Be logical and flexible when it comes to solving problems. Think outside the box and act with common sense. And, most importantly, stand up to the predators who are threatening our freedom. An aggressive donkey kick is powerful as fuck. Be the donkey…

Unapologetically Outspoken,

Tara