A donkey's weekly check earns its keep not through any single discovery but through comparison: this week's ears against last week's, this eye against the other one. Donkeys are stoic animals who mask discomfort until it is advanced, so the owner's real instrument is a routine repeated in the same order, at the same calm pace, until the normal feel of this particular animal is known well enough that a small change registers instantly.
Look before you lay a hand on him
Begin standing back, halter still over your arm. Both eyes should be open, bright and level, with no discharge crusting the inner corners and no half-closed squint on one side. The ears should sit comfortably and swivel independently towards sounds; an ear held flat, a head tilted to favour one side, or repeated head shaking is a finding before you have touched anything. Watch him blink, watch him look at you, and take in the coat as a whole — its shine, its evenness, any patch rubbed raw along the neck or hindquarters where an itch has been scratched against a gate.
Ears: inspect the entrance, never excavate
Donkey ears are long, mobile and expressive, and they collect dust, loose hair and the occasional insect at the opening. Part the hair at the entrance and look for redness, dark debris, scabs or anything moving. Wipe only what you can see at the outer ear with a soft, slightly damp cloth; never push fingers, cotton buds or tools down the canal, because the ear's deeper reaches are the veterinarian's territory, not the grooming kit's. An ear that smells sour, discharges, or makes him flinch and toss his head when its base is touched gently goes on the list for professional attention rather than home treatment.
Eyes: a gentle wipe and a hard look
Eyes get observation first and contact second. Check that both surfaces are clear rather than cloudy, that the whites are not angry or bloodshot, and that tearing is equal on both sides. If dried discharge needs removing, soften it with a clean cloth dampened in plain water, using a fresh section of cloth for the second eye so nothing carries across. One-sided discharge, cloudiness, a blue haze, swelling, or a donkey who starts rubbing his face on his foreleg or the fence is not a cleaning problem — note it, keep flies off him as best you can, and contact your veterinarian, because eyes deteriorate quickly and home remedies delay the examination that matters.
Coat: your hands find what eyes miss
Brush loose hair and dried mud out first — mud must be dry, or you grind it into the skin — then run both palms slowly through the coat against its natural lie. Your fingertips are feeling for the things sight skips: small scabs, rain-scald crusts along the back, lumps that were not there last week, ticks or lice in the warm folds, and the tender spots that make him shift away. Work the legs and belly too, where mud fever and mites start quietly. Anything new, one-sided, spreading or sore gets written down with the date while you remember which side it was on.
The same hands, or a shared list
This check works best done by one practised person, but real yards share duties, and a second helper who does not know the routine will skip steps silently. Set it down once as the donkey's assigned weekly duty in KinsLe's Care Teams, so whoever grooms him follows the same ears-eyes-coat order and the finished check closes with its time recorded, leaving next week's helper a clear record that it was done.