A Donkey's Life April 29, 2008 I recently read your "special donkey issue" and really enjoyed it. A friend of mine from FL sent it to me. In the past year my husband and I retired and moved from FL to VA to live in the country. Since we've been in VA we have purchased 3 donkeys, a mule, and rescued a yearling colt recently. All of our animals have brought such joy to us. We started with a foal donkey, and now we're up to 5 animals. So we know how addicting these animals are. The reason I'm writing to you is to let you know I have a website which is kind of a fun site. I started taking photos of our animals daily and then drew graphic caracatures from the photos. I have printed them on shirts and hats and was wondering if you could check out the site and maybe pass it around to your friends and co-workers. Just wanted to share the site with you because it is not easy to find donkey designs on clothes. The site is www.adonkeyslife.com. Thanks for your time. I will continue to read your magazine. Janet & John Stum Donkey's Milk February 21, 2008 Hello, editor, from Bob Jonasson of Carmel Valley,California. Just so your readers know donkey milk has been revived in Europe with Italy leading the way at 700,000 liters per year. There is a wonderful donkey milk bed and breakfast 12 miles west of Toulouse, France, run by Bénédicte and Jean François. It is called Asinerie d'Embazac. I have visited them 4 times since 2005 and they are wonderful people. Jean François also teaches a 120 hour course in setting up a donkey milk farm. In Belgium there as a very beautiful farm in Frasnes Lez Buissenal called Asinerie Du Pays Des Collines.They receive visitors each Sunday. Marie and Olivier Tack own and operate this world class farm. I plan to visit Marie in Belgium this year. I have loved donkeys and drunk donkey's milk for 20 years and I have taught several U.S. ranchers to produce donkey milk. Donkeys are absolutely wonderful animals.I own 7 standard donkeys and 2 mammoths. Donkey's milk is used for children and adults who cannot tolerate cow's or goat's milk. It is the closest thing to human breast milk and is the best possible milk to raise infants on if they cannot be breastfed. Right now there are no commercial farms up and running. The American Donkey & Mule Society gets calls each year about obtaining milking jennets for private individuals. Donkey's milk has had and still has a small useage here in the United States. Doctors are recommending it but people can't find it. My plan is to get donkey breeders to produce donkey's milk as a sideline. My French friends website is: www.embazac.com and Marie's website is http://www.asineriedupaysdescollines.be.They are in French but the owners of both farms speak some English and visiting them can be a very rewarding experience. Several more U.S.farms are interested in future production so I will be visiting them in the future as a production instructor. Donkey's milk no longer belongs to the past but has returned in the 21st century. I know, and have visited the farm of, Olivier Campardou,who restarted donkey's milk in France, in 1994, after a 66 year hiatus. He began it's renaissance. Donkey's milk has grown so much since then that it has attracted the attention of adventure capitalists in Switzerland. They are the Eurolactis Group. Type this into Google and you will see a massive effort to establish a donkey milk industry. They are engaging the expertise of vets, dieticians, genetists and specialised breeders to make this happen. They operate the largest farms in Europe with more planned. Clinical trials are underway to find out exactly why this milk is so good for you. My objective is to get donkey breeders who raise standard donkeys and mammoths to produce milk as a sideline. I will be training two more ranchers this year. Also I want to get these ranchers to characterize and or train standard donkeys and mammoth stock for milking. Some people will want to obtain a milking jennet for themselves. The milking jennets at Embazac also make wonderful companions for children and adults. Little children can milk them! Jean François carefully selects donkeys for gentleness and the size and shape of the udder and teats when he purchases stock for his farm. They have enough beds at their farm to house an entire 4H club. They would love to receive visitors from an American 4H club that have an interest in donkeys. Right now their farm is the most unique in the world. Bob donkguy@comcast.net Here is a cute picture of a girl learning to milk at Embazac. In reference to Winter 07/08 issue.

Ivory Pal Fan February 29, 2008 Hi my name is Kristin I am 13 years old my parents just bought me a horse named Winston. He is Ivory Pal's cousin. I have rode Winston for over a year and shown him 4 times. I just taught him how to bow. I am hoping to have him trained like Ivory Pal very soon. I just wanted to let ya'll know that I first read your magazine when it had an article on Ivory Pal in it. The article made me cry. I am now in love with ya'lls magazine. Here are two pics of Winston and me he kinda looks like Ivory Pal just smaller and not as golden but still very cute!!!!!! I love yalls magazine, Kristin I Love Horses!!!! In reference to Summer 2006 Issue

Silver Charm Fan September 10, 2007 Hello! I'm just writing to thank you for your article on Silver Charm and the TC videos on what you might guess was one of my favorite horses ever, along with his 'nemesis' (at least in CA). I'm 57 and have been following Thoroughbred racing since both Sunrise County and Sunrise Flight were youngsters, so maybe I shouldn't be such a kid about this anymore, but I haven't smiled this much in a long, long time. Thanks again, good luck, and take care. :) Mike Rehak Praha, Czech Republic In reference to Summer 2007 issue.

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