Moving Horses, Donkeys & Mules: Coggins Tests, Trailers & Why Donkeys Aren't Small Horses

This is the last installment in the farm animal moving series, and it covers three animals people often lump together as "equines" without realizing how differently they actually need to be handled. A donkey is not a small horse. A mule is not either one. Treating them the same way on moving day is where a lot of avoidable stress and a few real injuries come from.

The Coggins Test Comes First

Equine Infectious Anemia is a serious, incurable viral disease, and Texas requires a negative Coggins test, blood work confirming the horse, donkey, or mule doesn't carry it, before the animal can legally be transported across county lines in most circumstances, and definitely before crossing state lines. This test has to be current, typically within the last 12 months, and needs to be performed by an accredited veterinarian. Don't assume an old Coggins certificate from a prior sale will hold up. Confirm the exact requirement for your specific route with your vet before moving day, since some destinations and haulers require an even more recent test.

A health certificate, the standard certificate of veterinary inspection required for most livestock moves, is also typically required alongside the Coggins test for any real-distance transport.

Trailer Loading and Transport

A proper horse trailer, not a stock trailer improvised for the job, matters more here than with most other livestock. Horses need secure footing, adequate headroom, and either a straight-load or slant-load configuration they're actually accustomed to. An animal loaded into an unfamiliar trailer configuration for the first time on moving day is a real safety risk, both for the animal and for anyone handling it. If possible, practice loading in the weeks before a move rather than making moving day the first attempt.

Ramp versus step-up trailers matter more to some animals than owners expect. An older horse or one with any joint issues may seriously struggle with a step-up design, while a horse unfamiliar with ramps can be hesitant to load on one. Know your animal's preference before you book the hauler, not after they show up with the wrong trailer type.

Heat matters here too. Load and haul during Houston's early morning or evening hours in summer, never midday, and never leave a loaded trailer sitting stationary in direct sun. For hauls longer than a few hours, plan a stop to check on the animals and offer water.

Why Donkeys Aren't Small Horses

Donkeys form intensely strong bonds, with their handler, with other donkeys, sometimes with a specific companion animal, and separation during a move can trigger real, visible distress that goes beyond typical moving-day stress. If you're moving a bonded pair or a donkey with a longtime equine companion, keep them together through the transport and the settling-in period if at all possible. Splitting a bonded pair during a move is one of the more common and most avoidable donkey welfare mistakes.

Donkeys are also more independent-minded and less prone to the flight instinct that dominates horse behavior. A frightened horse tends to run. A frightened donkey is more likely to plant its feet and refuse to move at all, which changes how you handle loading and unloading. Patience and pressure-release techniques work better here than anything that resembles force.

Mules: Hybrid Vigor, Independent Minds

A mule, the offspring of a male donkey and a female horse, blends traits from both parents: a horse's size and athleticism with a donkey's endurance, sure-footedness, and strong self-preservation instinct. That self-preservation instinct means a mule generally won't push itself into a dangerous situation the way a horse sometimes will, which experienced mule owners consider a real safety advantage, but it also means a mule that decides a trailer or a new stall looks unsafe will be considerably harder to convince otherwise than a horse would be. Handlers experienced with horses but new to mules sometimes misread this as stubbornness rather than what it actually is: a fundamentally different risk calculation happening in the animal's head.

Setting Up the Property Before They Arrive

Fencing needs to be truly horse-safe, which means no barbed wire. Barbed wire causes serious injuries to horses that panic or get tangled, and it's worth replacing on any new property before animals arrive, not after an accident. Board fencing, pipe fencing, or well-maintained woven wire designed for horses are all safer options. Walk the entire perimeter yourself before moving day, not just the visible sections.

Shelter and water need to be functional on day one. A run-in shed or barn access, and a reliable water source, trough or automatic waterer, confirmed working before the trailer arrives, not something you'll sort out during the first week.

The First Days on New Ground

Horses, donkeys, and mules all benefit from a shorter adjustment period in a smaller paddock before full turnout onto unfamiliar acreage, the same principle that applies across this whole series. This lets them learn the boundaries and locate water and shelter with lower stakes if any part of the fencing has a weak point you haven't found yet.

If you're introducing a new animal to an existing herd, expect some pecking-order adjustment, and give it time rather than intervening too quickly. For bonded donkeys or mules moved with a companion animal, keeping that pairing together through the transition matters more than almost anything else you can control.

Next up in this series: llamas, alpacas, and emus, followed by honeybees to close things out, each meaningfully different from everything covered so far.