Up until recently we had two UK Equine Dentists come out to check and treat our 120+ donkeys. You might be surprised to hear that donkeys need their teeth checked but, just like us, poor dentition can cause a lot of problems and discomfort. Sharp hooks, loose or missing teeth can cause all sorts of problems; weight loss, sore mouths, digestive problems and, of course, bad breath. Although it's generally the older donkeys that have loose or missing teeth, we check the young ones too as again, like humans, it is much better to identify any problems early.

Several of us here hate going to the dentist yet all of our donkeys stand quietly while they have their teeth rasped – some even seem to enjoy it! The picture shows one of the dentists working – don't worry, that large metal contraption doesn't hurt. It just keeps the donkey's mouth open so the dentist or vet can get right to the back teeth and put his hand in safely to check everything is in order.

Our own vet has been trained how to check and treat the donkeys teeth now and by doing some of the donkeys on each of his twice weekly visits, we can ensure that all of our donkeys continue to to have their 6 monthly check.

It's amazing to see a very thin donkey start to put on weight after having its teeth attended to. Sometimes we need to reduce the amount of food we give to some donkeys as once any problems are sorted, the donkey can start to put on too much weight!