BRAY Club

Phase one of our CMYC Vet Clinic is complete! With the help of so many volunteers and sponsors we’ve got our exam room and large animal clinic up and running for all your plush pet vet needs. Thank you to our large animal clinic sponsor, Urban Veterinary Services as well as our pet sponsors, Paws and Tails Pet Store Nicole Millis Nikki the Queen Bee and a huge thanks to Tracy Haifley for making the exhibit come to life.

We still have a very special phase two surprise from our premier sponsor, Foothills Animal Hospital scheduled to arrive the first week of May, along with our additional learning materials, so Yuma parents, make sure you come back to visit again next month!

⌛️ Better late than never! ⌛️

We finally got our asses together with results for the 2026 BRAY Apache Junction B***o Derby and Prospector Playday!

Without further ado, your results are as follows:

🥇Team Alice with Gretchen S - 1'1'40"
🥈Team Ethel May with Adam B - 1'1'45"
🥉Team Trey with TIna G - 1'23'15"
4th Team Justice with Rachel G - 1'23'36"
5th Team Liberty with Summer M - 1'23'38"
6th Team Stormy with Robin K - 1'27'21"
7th Team Ernie with Shawnalea - 1'27'37"
8th Team Daffodil with Kara O - 1'29'07"
9th Team Cannoli with Marta S - 1'29'12"
🏳️🫏 Last Ass: Team Christina with Richard O - Over 2 hours on course
Team Herra with Stephany G - DNF

🏆 Golden Ass was Ray, who jumped in to run, drive, and donkey wrangle his way into saving the day after some competitor struggles on course.

Thank you to our competitors and their wonderful long ears. Thank you to Apache Junction Parks & Recreation for graciously hosting us once again, thank you to Alyssa at Desert Donkey Experiences for organizing most of the event and doing all the local advertising, and as always, thank you to Teresa Marie Photography for the fantastic photos! If you see any that catch your fancy, be sure to reach out to her about purchasing a print.

We look forward to seeing everyone again next year!

Arizona folks: now is the time to begin your stinknet/globe chamomile removal and mitigation, before it has time to flower and go to seed. Not only is this plant an ecological mess for our deserts, crowding out native plants and increasing wildfire risks, but it’s also dangerous for your equids. Consuming globe chamomile can lead some equids, especially those with white spots or pink skin, to develop photosensitivity, or extreme reactions to UV rays. This will show up as extreme second and third degree sunburns with blistering, bleeding, and scabbing. Obviously this causes severe discomfort for your animals.

The weather is perfect for some outdoor work, so get out there and eradicate some stinknet this week!

✨Spot on!✨

Donkeys are wonderful animals, just as dogs, cats, horses, and lizards are wonderful animals. But not everyone should own every animal, even if you really, really like them— this explains the disappointing lack of zebu on my farm!

To add one more note to Alyssa’s post: before bringing home that donkey, even if you have a vet and farrier budget figured out? *Make sure you have access to vets and farriers.* a $300 monthly farrier or vet budget still won’t bring a farrier or vet to your location if no farrier or vet services your location, or if they don’t have any openings where you live. You may need to be prepared to haul your animals, sometimes several hours each way, to get the basic care they need.

If you are thinking of bringing home a donkey, check out our free Owner’s Guide, pinned at the top of our profile, and also on our website, or consider joining one of Desert Donkey Experiences Introduction to Donkeys classes.

As cute and wonderful as donkeys are, I strongly feel that not everyone should own them.

Donkeys are a big commitment, in both time and money. Donkeys live about 35 years, on average, and require all the same routine care as horses, including regular (typically every 6 - 8 weeks) hoof trims, routine veterinary care and vaccinations, and teeth floating. None of these things are cheap, and as with any animal, typically the purchase or adoption price is the least expensive part of owning and properly caring for an animal. And donkeys typically do best with other donkeys, so all expenses will be multiplied by two, if not more.

Here is Arizona, there are some upcoming opportunities to adopt wild burros through the Bureau of Land Management (BLM.) These animals can be adopted for $125. However, even though this is an extremely cheap initial cost, it is so important to realize that these donkeys will need lifelong care. They also will need to be gentled and trained to accept and ideally love humans, and learn basic skills like being touched, haltered, groomed, and being comfortable having their hooves handled. It is ESSENTIAL that a donkey learns these skills so that they can safely receive the care they require to live comfortably.

All too often I see people that adopt burros without doing any research, or realizing the time and effort that training and caring for these wonderful animals requires. They are not bikes that you can just pull out in nice weather when you feel like it- they require care every single day, whether it is 120 degrees or -30, or if you are ill or injured. They are living, thinking, feeling beings that are incredibly intelligent, sensitive and emotional. The more time you invest in your donkey, the more rewarded you will be with their affectionate, kind, curious, and adorable antics.

Donkeys also need space. Too often I see donkeys living in 20' x 20' pens, as that is all the BLM requires to adopt one. Although a pen of that size is terrific as an initial training pen, it is completely unfair to expect a donkey to live an enclosure that size without regular turnout in a larger area where they can run, play, and move freely. They also should have an adequately sized solid roof shade/shelter (here in the Phoenix area- in colder climates they should have enclosed shelters/barns) to protect from sun and rain. They may not always choose to use it, but they should absolutely have that option.

If you cannot provide these essential, MINIMAL basics for a donkey- another donkey for companionship (or at the very least another equine, as some donkeys will bond with a horse or mule), proper training, routine farrier and veterinary care, a spacious living area, and adequate shelter- then please, do not get a donkey. Volunteer at a responsible donkey rescue, instead, as they can always use help! It is incredibly unfair for these amazing animals to suffer because of human ego and selfishness.

Also, if you have a donkey, and have been unsuccessful training it, or cannot care for it properly, please reach out for help. Good trainers or rescues will have resources and most will do anything in their power to help owners who want to do the right thing by their animals. I know I will!

Calling all vendors!

We are looking for vendors to come out to the Apache Junction B***o Derby and Prospector Playday on Saturday, February 7th from 11 am - 3 pm! If you make or sell something cool, we would love to have you! Informational booths are also welcome! If you sell merchandise, there is a $15 one-day AJ business license fee (if you don't already have one.) If you are interested, please message me or text me at 480-372-3290!

“An old cowboy said….”

Listening to advice that came to be from fourth-hand information concocted by those with an eighth grade education, making due with what was readily and cheaply available on the ranch in 1963 is generally no longer considered best practices (would *you* take health and safety advice from a cigarette ad, as claims were commonly made at the time?). This article is a quick and easy guide to some things that may have once been considered settled “cowboy wisdom” but have since been dispelled by actual science and data. With the exception of feeding alfalfa— donkeys generally shouldn’t eat that— the rest of the info is transferrable between species.

And please: don’t use leg wraps as fashion accessories, especially if they don’t fit correctly or if you’re not knowledgeable in how to put them on. You’re almost certainly doing damage to your animal’s sensitive leg tissues.

5 Horse-Care Myths Veterinarians Want You to Stop Following From wound care to alfalfa to cooling out, vets debunk the top horse-care myths and share safer, smarter ways to manage your horse.

Good news for Arizona equine owners! The lifting of these restrictions will definitely lift some worry from our shoulders regarding the AJ B***o Derby! As they say in the post: owners should ALWAYS follow good biosecurity protocols, not just when there is an active outbreak.

BRAY ambASSador Hamilton was asked to go on an extra special holiday mission this weekend to the Arizona State Veteran’s home: he was tasked with being the transport supervisor for Dooley the elf, who had to make a last minute stop to hand out candy canes to ensure all the residents were topped up with Christmas cheer.

While there Hamilton was able to meet another VIP, Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs, to share with her the benefits of these visits for the donkeys (monthly enrichment that our ambASSadors look forward to) and more importantly, the residents. Donkey visits help residents with socialization, mobility, and of course opportunities for reminiscing about their younger years when it seems everyone’s grandparents had a donkey on the farm. We also got a chance to shout out the wonderful staff at the AZDVH and the Children’s Museum of Yuma County for being wonderful assets to our community.
We can’t be sure just yet, but we think everyone got put on the nice list.