Not published as conference proceedings

Introduction

A 3-year-old castrated male donkey was presented with multifocal, moderately firm, dull, white nodules, varying in size from 0.5-2.0 cm in diameter. The nodules were located on the skin of the penile shaft and showed depigmentation. Other locations on the body were not involved.

Materials and methods

Surgical excision of the nodules was performed. All formalin-fixed samples were embedded in paraffin and routinely processed for histopathological examination.

Results

Histopathological examination revealed presence of multifocal, round to oval, protozoal cysts within the dermis, with a size of 150-500 μm. The mature cyst walls consisted of four distinct layers, including an outer, hyalinized, eosinophilic layer of collagen fibers, a thin homogenous intermediate layer, a layer consisting of the cytoplasm of the host fibroblast with a compressed nucleus, and an inner layer that formed the parasitophorous vacuole. The vacuole was filled with numerous bradyzoites of 2 x 8 μm. There was a mild to moderate, superficial to mid-dermal infiltration of lymphocytes, plasma cells, macrophages and eosinophils, surrounding the cysts and blood vessels. The hair follicles were atrophic. The overlying epidermis showed mild acanthosis and orthokeratotic hyperkeratosis. Based on the histopathological findings, a diagnosis of Besnoitia sp. infection was made.

Conclusions

Besnoitiosis is an emerging disease in cattle in Europe. Few outbreaks have been reported in donkeys in the USA. To our knowledge, this is the first report in the literature of Besnoitia sp. infection in an European donkey.

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The hindgut microbiota of equines enables them to utilize forage/grazing based diets which contain a substantial proportion of lignocellulosic fibres. These fibres are a structural barrier that gut bacteria need to overcome when accessing plant nutrients, as well as being a challenging and structurally complex substrate that can be utilized. The limited dietary energy available from these ‘natural’ diets however means that many equines are supplemented with energy-dense concentrate feeds in order to fulfil their dietary energy requirements. Use of energy-dense concentrate feeds however can change the equine hindgut microbiome, and lead to the development of gut-mediated diseases (i.e. fermentative acidosis, laminitis, colic and stomach ulcers). There is therefore a clear need to optimize the utilization of lignocellulosic fibres in the equine hindgut in order to minimize the need for dietary supplementation. The most effective of the fibre-degrading gut microbes, anaerobic fungi (phylum Neocallimastigomycota), are known to be a normal member of the equine gut microbiota. Despite this however, they have been largely overlooked in equine gut microbiology studies to date. Research being conducted within the EU funded EQUIANFUN project will therefore establish baseline knowledge of the phylogeny, community structure, physiology and nutritional impact of anaerobic fungi in the equine hindgut. The insights gained will inform the development of novel strategies to promote indigenous anaerobic fungal communities in the equine hindgut, enabling optimization of the use of dietary forage as an energy source in equids. Reduction of the use of energy–dense diets and applying targeted nutritional strategies for optimizing microbial health may counteract processes in the gastrointestinal tract that have been associated with disease. Anaerobic fungi therefore offer the potential to enable significant advances to be made in the optimisation of the nutrition, health and welfare of all domesticated equids.

The Donkey Sanctuary has been providing Donkey Assisted Therapy in locations across the UK since the mid 1970s. The Donkey Assisted Therapy programme aims to improve the lives of both the donkeys we provide sanctuary for, as well as children and adults who visit our centres for support, learning, fun and therapy.

Recently we have started to advance the way in which our centres run, to ensure that we can offer our services to a diverse array of users whilst maintaining the highest possible welfare standards for our donkeys. The change in working practices has seen us decreasing the amount of Therapeutic Riding Programmes offered, and increase Donkey Facilitated Learning (DFL) sessions. Thus opening up our service to a wider range of ages and abilities.

Since starting this journey of change we have found a positive impact on the progression of service users, the development of new user groups, and the welfare of the donkeys involved in the programme. Service users work through a programme of life skills learning which facilitates the development of psychosocial skills. Using Qualitative Behavioural Assessments donkeys have shown an increase in relaxed behaviours, and a decrease in anxious body language since the change in services offered.

The Donkey Sanctuary is one of the world’s largest animal welfare charities and although its primary work is focussed on animals in Low Income Countries, the organisation does run significant animal assisted therapy programmes at its six farm centres in the UK. The ethological characteristics of the donkey make it an excellent facilitator in this process, reacting positively to human contact and actively seeking out interaction. Initially, at least, these programmes focused on children with additional needs but over the past four decades the demand for a programme that could help adults and children with a wide range of emotional, psychological and cognitive needs became increasingly apparent. The programme now also focusses on key life skills such as self-esteem, managing emotions and empathy. Furthermore, the wider client group now encompasses a more diverse set of emotional, psychological or physical needs, such as veterans, young people at risk, recovering addicts or those suffering the legacy of abuse. Engagement with animals in outdoor settings is an effective technique for establishing a position where affective behaviours may be explored and eventually expedited.

However, this paper presents two complimentary accounts. Initially it will discuss, through anonymised case-studies, the approaches that are adopted within this programme and will critically evaluate the difficulties of evaluating outcomes. It will then explore, within the context of the growing interest in animal therapies, the apparent enigma that while the outdoors is often cited as a medium in which therapies of varying types may take place, animals appear largely excluded from these narratives and therefore from published research. It concludes by exploring the paradoxical proposition that donkey assisted therapies involve one of the most derided and low status of animals, in strategies to promote the inclusion of those excluded from wider human society.