My Story
My name is Robert Wallace and welcome to my passion for donkeys.
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I was gifted my first donkey at a year old and now I have 26 of them! Since the age of 7 I have been obsessed with them, their nature and history and I always wanted people to appreciate them the way I do.
That donkeys are intelligent, good-natured and have value.
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During the COVID-19 pandemic I opened my family farm to visitors. At this time I had lost my job as a hotel receptionist, was studying my equine management degree from home and my parents were struggling to support two adult sons and a hoard of animals on their retired dairy farm.
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I had realised during Lockdown just how privileged I was, to have animals to care for everyday, a reason to get up and to be outside in the beautiful countryside I grew up in. I needed a way to pay for the donkeys coming in for the Winter and I wanted the chance to share my home and the animals who protected my mental health. Thus I opened Kinedale Donkeys to the public.
I was working part-time in a garage, I knew I would not be able to be open 9-5 everyday in hopes of a visitor, like a standard petting farm. I needed to be able to schedule experiences to allow myself to be there and to also prevent the donkeys being "switched on" at all times. So I planned to offer "Wellbeing Visits", come along to the farm, meet the donkeys, brush them and join them for a walk. When pandemic restrictions allowed outdoor events I posted on our Facebook page and our first visitor came on 3rd August 2020.
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Slowly, slowly our visitors increased, the donkeys' feed was getting paid for, then I was able to afford to improve their barn, then the rest of the farm, suddenly the donkeys were financing themselves and their home! My goal had been reached all while I was still working part-time to support myself. Then in July 2023 I paused the shifts at my job, expecting to be back after the Summer holidays.
It has now been a year and Kinedale Donkeys is my full-time career. I care for the donkeys and they care for me.
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Donkeys
Need
Value
From my childhood in farming I have always known that something needs a purpose to be considered valuable. How we have preserved rare and traditional breeds is by creating purpose for them and making them worth something.
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The donkey lacks appreciation because they serve no purpose. I do not write this to belittle the donkey, I write to showcase the fact that within Ireland and the UK donkeys are readily abandoned, neglected and wasted in fields. Heading to sanctuaries because no one knows what to do with them, a creature that has been at man's side for 7000 years. Carrying equipment, transporting people and working the land to grow food. Donkeys of yesteryear were not abandoned nor willfully neglected because they were busy as an important part of our lives.
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I am determined to increase the value of the donkey, show people their valuable work as therapy animals, pack animals and intelligent companions that deserve an active role in our lives. Not to be forgotten in a field.