I’m Jana Appleyard and I live with my donkeys and cats on Hvar island, Croatia where I teach yoga retreats and have a small B&B. I met my first donkey Pano in 2013. He and his friends have led me to discover even more about myself and our journey together has become part of my spiritual practice.
Check out “donkeys are great” very own facebook page, written by Pano himself!
1 day ago
For the past month or so we were without hay ! Jana and our volunteers were cutting lots of green long grass and then drying it and Jana was taking us on daily walks at the all you can eat buffet in tne woods .However there are lots of things to be careful of when the spring grass appears ! If we eat too much in the beginning it can cause us tummy ache or the dreaded equine enemy COLIC!!!! So we all had to be very careful and walk more than eat . Obviously there are various family members who do not listen to that rule …Zena !!! Who was eating like a vacuum cleaner on speed ! She never learns 🙀. Luckily Jana caught it all in time . It’s very important that the greedy equine in question poops 💩 so we know nothing is stuck in there ! And then we have emergency bran and Epsom salt mix always on hand to aid the pooping process! It’s a whole science about grass , types of grass and hay ! Also as I’m sure I have told you before donkeys diet should be not too much grass . So please don’t employ a donkey as your grass cutter!
Luckily the hay was cut early this year due to the warm weather so our hay arrived at the weekend . Big thank you to everyone who donated towards this ! Prices increased so much this year so we appreciate your help ! Love Pano and family xx ...
1 week ago
It’s been a very long time since I wrote anything on my page but we have had a very busy few months . We had a lot of sick cats and we were helping Jana look after everyone ! Then we ran out of hay ! I will tell you more about that soon . But today is for celebrating birthdays 🎉. Last week was Mathildas 4 birthday 🥳 and today is lily-roses 9 th birthday 🙀🎉. Last week we had a big walk for Mathilda big day and yesterday we had another big walk . The weather was perfect ! This afternoon we will stay in and relax because we all agree lily needs a rest sometimes and I’m sure Jana will bring some nice birthday carrots 🥕 for us all to enjoy ! ...
3 months ago
Spotted on hvar island this month only ! The very rare two headed 8 legged donkey! 😹 can you guess who it is soaking up the January 🌞 sun ?! ...
4 months ago
Today was the winter solstice and although I love these magical kind of days I was getting a bit worried that as the day would be so short I might not get enough to eat . ‘Don’t be so silly Pano ‘ said lily ‘you won’t starve , even zena isn’t looking worried and her number one love is eating ! ‘
I looked at zena and she was indeed not looking worried at all . Luckily before I had chance to overthink the whole thing Jana arrived and announced dinner would be a bit earlier tonight and we might even get a bit extra as it was a special solstice day ! Phew what a relief . Then Jana lit some special incense and told us to make wishes for the year ahead . We had dinner over looking the village and watched the day turn into the longest night of the year . It was very beautiful ...
4 months ago
Do you know that donkeys and horses don’t sleep as long as you do ! Although we have standing meditation naps throughout the day it’s important that we have one hour of sitting/ laying down sleep . If we have this we feel like you when you have had a good nights sleep!
Here we all are enjoying our sunbathing nap time . As you can see one of us always takes turns to stand up and that’s to protect the herd and warn us of any danger . We feel very safe in our field but you never know ! ...
4 months ago
5 months ago
Do you know that donkeys are very curious animals ? Jana tells us we are real busybodies 😹 we notice everything . Whatever is going on around we know . In our field we have many areas where we can watch what is going on . But we think our favourite area is by the barn gate so we can see that our breakfast is arriving in time! And if it’s not we can make sure to eeeeeeyyyooorreeee very loud ...
6 months ago
We are still having beautiful weather here and there’s no better way to enjoy life than chilling out in our field during the afternoon while Jana runs around tidying up after us 😹💪 ...
7 months ago
September is a lovely month to walk in slightly cooler weather when we can set off around 2pm and return around 7pm . We love to meet new people who enjoy a relaxed donkey walk . Today too many people rush and don’t get chance to appreciate the beauty around them and we cherish our walks so much with people who enjoy the nature have time to chat and admire the scenery . Of course their highlight was cuddling all of us as we walked as there’s nothing better than a donkey 🫏 or pony hugs ...
8 months ago
Please if anyone in the island sees this kitten please contact us . He needs medication and was coming to stay with us when his rescuers had to return home ...
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When this happens, it's usually because the owner only shared it with a small group of people, changed who can see it or it's been deleted.8 months ago
Beautiful Paca is the birthday donkey this month ! During the week we went for a lovely walk up to one of our favourite places . Paca is now 5 years old and such a sweetheart . ❤️❤️❤️❤️ ...
9 months ago
This month I celebrated my 10th birthday !!! I wanted to make a post on the actual day which is 9th July but Janas internet wasn’t working and she couldn’t get my birthday fundraiser up on time so here it is ..
👇👇👇
gofund.me/d56c3e44
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I just wanted to ask you all that as 10 is a special landmark year of double figures for me that I will sacrifice all my gifts for money towards this go fund me for all my family and animal friends. Please read through the fundraiser to see what the money will go towards . And here’s a photo of me looking very handsome . Love from Pano who’s now 10 years old ❤️❤️❤️ ...
9 months ago
As you can see it takes a lot of work to take care of me and my family ! Jana and her wonderful volunteers have spent the past few mornings moving these very heavy hay rolls into the barn. They even have had time and energy to take us out walking too ! Thank you so much to our volunteers Jana ( German) ,klaudi and Misa (Czech) Laura ( Australia) and Molly (uk) ❤️❤️❤️❤️ ...
10 months ago
Happy summer solstice! Here’s my sister Lula , my dear lily rose and sweet Juliette with the pretty flowers of the day , lavender, imortella and rosemary 🫏❤️🫏❤️🫏❤️ ...
10 months ago
Today we want to write about beautiful Juliette ❤️ when we all met Juliette she was very shy and it wasn’t easy to approach her let alone put a headcollar on her. She was still feeding her daughter Paca who she had at a very ( too young ) age and she was pregnant with Mathilda who’s father was our much missed Romeo.
Since joining our family Juliette has really come out of her shell and after eating lots of special food that Jana gives to pregnant ladies and also to help build them up ,Juliette is looking and feeling amazing 😻. She helps lily-rose keep us all in line! And loves cuddles and to be brushed .
All animals deserve the best care and love ❤️ ...
11 months ago
11 months ago
When Jana took this photo on Saturday morning she had no idea that when she returned to take lady Penelope and Daphne for their daily walk that they would not be there …😭
The owners after 5 months had taken them back . Penelope is back to being tied to a tree and currently we are having very heavy rain (why take them away from freedom and a roof over their head to be tied permanently on a tree with no shelter?🙀🙀🙀). Daphne is only 6 weeks old . What kind of people subject animals to this ? We will tell you… people who exploit animals for tourism. They think it will make their guests happy to give a donkey a carrot and look at the baby , maybe take a photo . Here we are in hvar island a top and very expensive tourist destination. Top hotels , private boats , expensive restaurants. But the animal welfare here on hvar is non existent. No inspections, no support , no education. Some people are doing their best to help animals but we can name many places who are making good money but treating their animals this way . Shame on them and Shame on touristic places who pat themselves on the back each year to say how amazing they are at tourism and turn a blind eye to the care and welfare of the animals ...
11 months ago
Do you know today is international world donkey day ! Yes we have a special day all for us . Jana told us it’s so important to have a day like this although then I heard her whispering under her breath … ‘ but for you lot everyday is a special day 😹’
Today we have all been out for a walk in the woods to eat lots of nice things . My mum lady Penelope and my new sister Daphne went out this morning and we went this afternoon .
We wish that all donkeys receive good care and love and that more and more people educate themselves on the needs of us wonderful animals ! 😻 ...
12 months ago
If anyone in the island would like to buy some poop 💩💩💩 for their gardens please let us know ! We work really hard eating lots of natures best food while out walking and then at home where we have hay all the way from the mainland ! We are certain it’s top grade poop💩 😹
All the proceeds go straight back into our tummies in the form of hay which is very expensive to buy from the mainland.
We are also saving up to get an equine dentist to visit us as there are no programmes in Croatia to help equines especially on the island with dental or hoof care
Here is zena modelling by our poop 💩pile . You can bring your trailer or bags and if you don’t have time to fill it Jana will do it as she has nothing better to do all day 😹 and we will supervise her to make sure she works hard ! ...