Donkeys have been giving rides to children on British beaches for over 50 years. I know, I was around 50 years ago, and it was one of my favourite events when we were on holiday. Even today, children clammer around the little group of donkeys, all eager to be thrown up into the saddle and to set off on their ride down the beach! I remember being so excited if the donkey of my choice broke into a trot for just a few steps. I would hang on like crazy in case I was dumped unceremoniously on to the sand with everyone watching.
Although they have bridles and saddles with stirrups, the rider has no control over what the donkey does, or where he goes or even at what speed. There is a steel handle on the front of the saddle for the younger children to grab hold of, but the older ones want to grip the reins so they look like they're in charge and "really" riding.
When you stand watching, there's usually alot of kicking from the children as they try to make their donkey go faster, but of course the donkeys know the route and amble along at their own pace. Let's face it they're known for being stubborn!
All of the donkeys have their names painted on the front of their bridle, so the children can pick out their favourite. Smokey, Prince, Henry and Tina for example. I use to wonder if they had the same tack each time, or if Prince became Tina and Henry changed into Smokey on different days of the week.
In the early 1960's, when I was young, at about 10 o'clock the donkeys would trot down the promenade on their way from their field to the beach and in the early evening be trotted all the way back home again. There would be one young fella on a bike riding behind them and as they all had bells around their necks there was great excitement, as the children knew they were on their way!
Things are a bit different today. Where I was convinced I'd been riding for a very long time and gone at least a mile, today the donkeys do a round trip of about 500 yards.
You can no longer see them run through the streets, as they are transported to and from the beach in big horse-boxes. They now have legislation to protect them (rightly so); they can only work from 11 in the morning till 5 at night and they are allowed a one hour lunch-break.
There is no age limit to the children hoping to ride them, but there is now a strict weight limit and some of the owners have scales to check this!
Donkey owners also have to be covered by Public Liability and 3rd party insurance in case of exaggerated claims made in our increasing "someone must be to blame" mentality.
Today all of the beach donkeys are micro chipped and have passports. They are vetted annually and their equipment is inspected before a licence is issued. They are wormed every 3 months and vaccinated yearly. They have to have their hooves trimmed approximately every 8 weeks, but as they do very little road work, they do not need to wear shoes.
All the rules and regulations aside though, I cannot imagine British beaches without the good old donkey rides. Even once the option (or ability) to ride them is long gone, the desire to stroke a soft nose or pat a dusty rump is what draws the grown-ups to the little creatures crowded together on the sand.
