It was in Montana that Ladenburg’s love for donkeys and mules began to grow.
Her family, who lived in Orange County, spent summer vacations at Sprucedale Guest Ranch near Alpine. “When I was young, our family would go there. When I got old enough, I started to work there. I then moved to Montana, where I lived for 21 years, working for an outfitter doing trail rides, hunting and flyfishing trips, and driving mule and draft teams for dinner wagon rides. I even worked on the ranch fixing fences and doing every other ranch chore you could possibly think of.”
It was in Montana that Ladenburg’s love for donkeys and mules began to grow.
For a short while. she was a trainer with the Mustang Heritage Foundation, which at the time, was teamed up with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). “As trainers, we would pick up untouched wild burros and mustangs from the BLM holding facilities to gentle them with basic training skills and then find adopters for them. The goal was to get these animals out of holding facilities and into good homes,” said Ladenburg.
When she moved to Prescott, she began fostering burros on her five acres. She also discovered that finding a barefoot trimmer, especially for burros, was challenging, so she decided to fill that gap.
Barefoot trimmers fall under the umbrella of farriers, who are typically known for horseshoeing. “We help equines develop healthy hooves by removing excess growth, which improves circulation, makes their hooves stronger, improves shock absorption and reduces soreness and injury. It is crucial for good health,” she said.
Ladenburg also found that few people were willing to do farrier work on burros because they were concerned about getting kicked. “I have found donkeys are very willing to learn to stand for trims if treated right. Their mind is very different from that of a horse and therefore, they are very misunderstood.”
Her first step was learning to trim rescue donkeys online through The Donkey Farrier Program run by Megan Hensley. “Megan Hensley has been trimming donkeys for close to 20 years and her school has been a blessing for donkeys around the world. After I completed my online schooling with Megan, I started doing a local apprenticeship with Amanda Marsh in Prescott who has been a hoof care professional for 15-plus years. Amanda has become my biggest mentor and has taught me so much about trimming.”
Her next step was connecting with Dr. Thomas Tesky, a world-renowned veterinarian in Camp Verde. “He has also been a mentor and increased my knowledge through in-person hoof dissection training.”
What sets donkeys apart from burros? Burros and donkeys are actually the same animal. “Burro” is the Spanish word for donkey. “Here in Arizona where we have herds of wild feral donkeys, the term burro is most commonly used to identify that they were once a wild/feral donkey. But again, it is still a donkey,” Ladenburg explained.
“I’m very passionate about donkeys and burros and that’s what I love about my work. One of my goals is to educate society about them. They are very misunderstood animals. People think they are horses with long ears and that they are stubborn, but it’s not stubbornness, it’s just that they think differently. I love to teach people these differences. Once you learn to ‘speak donkey,’ they truly bond with you and they are incredibly loyal and are pretty much willing to do anything for you,” she said.
“When I met Juliana, I was really motivated to work with and help her because I really wanted to help women rise up in the farrier world, which is dominated by men,” said Amanda Marsh, who taught Ladenburg the art of barefoot trimming. “Juliana had so much passion and so much knowledge and she was so well-versed and had so much experience, it was a no-brainer to bring her along.”
Now retired, Marsh praises Ladenburg for her professionalism. “She’s smart, she’s responsible and she shows up for the job. She’s an inspiration, a great mom and so into her family and her animals. Also, her faith is extraordinary and I just love being around her.”
“I contacted Juliana because my saddle donkey was having some issues with her feet,” said Dee Whitt of Camp Verde. “Juliana started corrective trimming and slowly getting her balanced and comfortable. Juliana also taught me about donkey nutrition and the part it plays in keeping their feet healthy. She is efficient and picky and doesn’t stop until the animal is comfortable.”
Today, Ladenburg has six donkeys and works throughout the Verde Valley and Quad Cities region and enjoys living in Prescott. “My husband, children and I especially love the trail systems here for riding.” QCBN
By V. Ronnie Tierney, QCBN
To view her posts, follow Ladenburg on Instagram @hope_thewildburroplace.
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