By DOUG GRAVES
Ohio Correspondent

LEBANON, Ohio — As the saying goes, good things come in small packages. No one needs to tell that to owners of miniature donkeys.

Hundreds of such enthusiasts turned out for The Great American Miniature Donkey Sale last month in Lebanon. Buyers and sellers from Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Vermont, Texas, Iowa, Michigan, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, New Jersey, Missouri and Illinois were represented at this one-day event. All came for the love of a four-legged animal that weights 100 pounds and stands no taller than 26 inches.

“One of the primary objectives of this sale is to bring buyers and sellers together in an open market for an exchange of quality miniature donkeys,” said Martha Howard, owner of Elms Farms Miniature Donkeys and host of this annual stop.

According to Howard, the donkeys are selected from those submitted for consideration to create a diversified, interesting sale representing the miniature donkey breed’s best. “While the sale provides a forum for donkey owners and breeders to offer their best stock, purchasers are able to review and consider top-quality donkeys in one place in a time efficient manner,” she said.
“Even during the tough economic times that we’re going through, donkeys are still very popular among the people. At this sale we have people who are getting their starter herds.”

In years past it was not unusual to see the sale of one donkey equal to that of a new car. With today’s economy, donkey prices are still high, but much less than in recent years. Buyers and sellers come with their trailers, families and wallets to this annual event.

“The market is down,” Howard said. “At a recent sale in June one donkey sold for $5,000 and 13 sold for just more than $3,000. The (donkey) economy isn’t booming as it once was.”

Mary Nissen of Corwith, Iowa, made the 680-mile trip to attend this show. Nissen hosts The North American Select Miniature Donkey Sale in Corwith each June.

“Miniature donkeys are an easy animal to work with,” said Nissen, who has raised them since 1985. “They’re easy to tame, docile by nature and the feed cost is low, and that’s nice. The downside with them is when the show drifts get to being four or five feet high, you spend half a day clearing a path for them so they can get to their food and water.”

At these national shows miniature donkey owners and breeders submit prospective donkeys to sale sponsors for consideration based on guidelines concerning conformation of the donkey. The sponsors review the information, still photos and videos before selecting top-quality donkeys representing various bloodlines and colors, to put together an interesting group of well-conformed miniature donkeys. This group becomes the selected group in the sale.

“And what sells is all dependent on what the breeder is looking for,” Nissen said. “A donkey, say, with black and white spots is harder to produce and therefore might command more money. What one guy doesn’t have becomes a collector’s item and, as a result, more money at a sale like this.”