• About
• Agenda
• Presenters
• Attend Online
• Lodging
• Register / Enroll

About the Conference

This conference is targeted at veterinarians and farriers as well as the owners and breeders who love and care for donkeys on a daily basis.

First and foremost, it is a serious conference intending to raise awareness and increase knowledge amongst both equine professionals and donkey owners of topics critical to donkey health and welfare.

It will feature lectures on donkey related subjects from experts in veterinary research and related equine professions as well as presentations and practical demonstrations from owners and operations managers of sanctuaries and rescues who have developed a great deal of expertise caring for donkeys.

It will also be a great opportunity for donkey people on the east coast of the U.S. to get together, expand your network of friends and technical contacts, and learn more about how to better care for these wonderful animals in a relaxed, friendly, and enjoyable atmosphere.

The theme of this conference will be "Donkeys: what can you do with them". This is because we believe that one of the best ways to increase awareness and appreciation for donkeys that will lead to more research and support for them in the equine professional community as well as in the greater public is for owners to better utilize their donkeys in ways that showcase their superior attributes. Better utilization and training of donkeys will also lead to improved interactions with equine professionals and improve the overall health and happiness of donkeys.

 
Agenda / Schedule

As a courtesy to the busy schedules of veterinarians, we are planning to present most veterinary level topics on Day 1 (Wed, June 10) and presentations which are targeted more for owners will be on Day 2 (Thur, June 11). Owners, however, will find the veterinary level topics very important as it will raise your awareness of issues your veterinarian or farrier may not be aware of and better prepare you to be able to discuss these topics with your veterinarian or farrier.

 
Presenters

• Dr. Stephen Purdy, DVM
• Dr. Faith Burden, BSc, PhD, U.K. Donkey Sanctuary
• Dr. Karyn Bischoff, Cornell University, College of Veterinary Medicine
• Dr. Linda Mittel, Cornell University, College of Veterinary Medicine
• Kim Hayes, Operations Manager, Donkey Sanctuary of Canada
• Chris Gerber, Farrier, Donkey Sanctuary of Canada
• Jessica Gonzales, Empowered Equines, Inc.
• Joan Gemme, Save Your Ass Longear Rescue
• John LaVoie
• Jennifer & Regina Molnar
• Holly Besaw, Thera-Pets, Inc., Butternut Ridge Miniature Donkey Farm
• Steve Stiert, Donkey Park, Inc.

 
Attend Online

Note: If you have registered to attend online, for information on how to access the conference, refer to the webpage linked in the email confirmation. While attending in person is the most beneficial way to participate, not everyone has the time, budget, or ability to do so and we would like as many people to benefit from the information presented as possible.
Our goal for the online presentation is to broadcast all presentations including practical demonstrations with enough quality that viewers can absorb all of the information presented. We also hope to allow for some interactivity so that online participants can ask questions. But, it is not likely that we will have the technical means, staff, and environment to get anywhere near television quality coverage, and there are bound to be some challenges getting good views of practical demonstrations, so please set your expectations accordingly.

 
Lodging

A group rate for attendees of the conference is available from Americas Best Value Inn in New Paltz. The Inn is approximately 4 miles from the Ulster Country Fairgrounds. The rate for a single room is $70/night and can be gotten by calling the Inn directly at 845-255-8865 (do not call their national 888 reservation number or use other hotel booking services) and giving them the group code: R150906S For other lodging recommendations, please visit the New Paltz Chamber of Commerce website.

 
Register / Enroll

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