Home The Donkeys How Did Kiwi Get Her Name?

Baby Kiwi was born on 18th August 2008. Her mother is Sinead, our big Irish donkey, but we don't know who is her father, except that he is Irish too. She is the first baby donkey born in Clovelly for at least 80 years. She is cheeky and lively and very clever.

Age....5 in     August   2013  Size:about 11hh (44") and growing !  Colour: Black with a white nose and eye patches.  Born: Clovelly

When she was born the news traveled fast around the village and everyone wanted to see her. For 3 days Sue and Bart didn't get any work done because people kept coming ! The vet came to see another of the donkeys who was poorly and even he was delighted to see her. It was such a wet, miserable summer but Kiwi brightened it up.  >>>>>>>> At last, in October we got some sunny weather. Here is Kiwi with one of our village helpers out in the field.

and already having a bounce round the shed !

	1Week old

2 Weeks old.	The first weeks of Kiwi's were  part of the wettest summer we have ever had. She played at dibbling her feet in the puddles and made us laugh. Here she is with Mum under the shelter of Bart's new roof. Mum is helping her to practice her    'oh I'm a Donkey, It's raining and I'm sooooo miserable '    look.
	Foals are not at all waterproof and should not be allowed to get cold and wet - but Sinead needs to go out and eat some good grass.  So here is little Kiwi after some time in the field wearing her first raincoat - and trying out Mother's evening feed !

Here we are out in the field at 3 weeks old.
Here is a portrait of a really cute, fluffy baby donkey called Kiwi.                              Aged 3 weeks >>>>>>>>>>>>

Kiwi's First Year

Sinead and Kiwi enjoying some sun in December . Kiwi has been growing fast.

She's still very fluffy but she's outgrown her foal slip. Here she is in her new baby headcollar.   Kiwi is very playful...............

She likes to play with big buckets.....

.......and medium buckets.....

Scooting then around and tipping them over.

......and lots of little buckets.  (Roll your mouse over here)

She likes cones too.

Bart wants to measure her to see how much she has grown. Kiwi thinks it looks like fun. First she pulls the tape measure....

..........and then eats the ruler.

That's better ! Perhaps Mother told her to stand still ?

Now, annoying old Uncle Toby is just naughty.......

But Mother will always give you a kiss when you've been told off.

Sue trying some training in May.   >>>>>> By June Kiwi is starting to get her first lovely black, shiney summer coat.

But she still has leg fringes and a very silly tummy fringe in July.

Kiwi's Second Year

March -  Two pairs of friends :- Jasper and Jake Sinead and Kiwi

Palm Sunday Kiwi, Sinead, Toby and Jake parading through Clovelly with people singing hymns.

Kiwi is doing well in her training.

Click here for our
Parelli Page

 

She's still up to mischief... No, she's not allowed in the feed room to toss the buckets around...... nor the money bag !

In May Sinead had a new foal ! Say ' hallo ' to baby Peter. Click here for his page. At first Sinead chased Kiwi away but by July they were all back together again, including Uncle Toby.

In August Kiwi came up to the Meadow to supervise the Donkey Rides.

She was very good until tea time when she decided to help with the packing up.....

She turned over the bucket and the bags

And then undid all the ropes. (Roll your mouse over the picture.) Really Kiwi ! Well, she won't be old enough to give rides until she's 5 years old so she gets  bored when all the people have gone home.

<<<< Here she is in September, looking very smart.   >>>> Hallo Kiwi !

Baby's Big Day Out

Kiwi has been doing lots of Parelli training and as she was doing very well we decided to go to the Parelli Games Day at Dutchy College. Click here to see how she got on. Click here for our Parelli Page Since then Kiwi has been to the games several times and in 2012 we joined the International Horse Agility Club which is similar to dog agility but for horses.

In September we joined the International Horse Agility Club so that we can take part in horse agility competitions. It's similar to dog agility but with horse obstacles you can make yourself and, best of all, we can compete from home using video recordings that we send via Youtube. Click here for the Horse Agility Club Click here for our Horse Agility page. You can see Kiwi in action in the real films we have entered for the competition.  Go to our eeore blog at www.clovellydonkeys.blogspot.co.uk and click the links to the films.

<<<< Here's Kiwi backing over a pole and   >>>> jumping a jump. Well done Kiwi !.

<<<< going round an 'L' bend  >>>>> crossing a tarpaulin

<<<< going through the 'scary corner'  >>>>> and through the strip curtain

Top of Page                              See the films on our eeore-blog at www.clovellydonkeys.blogspot.co.uk

The New Inn is in the centre of Clovelly village and inaccessible to cars so it has always had donkeys to carry things up to its garage in the Lower Yard, by the stables. At one time the manager of the New Inn was from New Zealand so he called one of his donkeys Kiwi. She carried luggage up the cobbles for visitors leaving the New Inn. The New Inn had 3 donkeys. Another was Coronation who was born in the year of the coronation of her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.  The third donkey was called Peggy after the wife of the donkey man because when she came to the village the wife and the donkey were both pregnant !  When we re-painted the stables we found Kiwi and Peggy's names on posts by their stalls. We painted around them so that you can still see them today if you visit the stables.  >>>>>>>>  Left to right :- Coronation, Kiwi and Peggy going to collect the luggage from the New Inn in the 1960s.

When the first Kiwi retired a lady in Fairy Cross adopted her. Eventually she died but at the same time one of the lady's other donkeys had a foal so the lady named the foal Kiwi in her memory .   Our Kiwi  came to Clovelly in 1984 when he was 6. Kiwi and Peggy's names are still painted on the posts in the stables where they used to live.Corrie lived in the next pen but sadly her name was not there. Our Kiwi and Barney lived in the same pens too.When we painted the stables we left the names for everyone to see.

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Here is Luke who has adopted Kiwi for 2013. Thank you Luke !