Donkey and horse become unlikely best friends with heartwarming bond

Donkeys are highly social animals and companionship is important for their wellbeing. While they will usually form close bonds with other donkeys, four-year-old Beletu has found an unexpected companion in Donsa, a four-year-old horse.

The pair met at an animal health and welfare centre in Bishoftu, Ethiopia, which is run by our local partner, Addis Ababa University College of Veterinary Medicine (AAU).

“When Beletu first arrived at the centre in 2023, she was shy and hesitant to approach people,” explained Dr Reta Tesfaye, Working Animals International Project Lead at AAU.

“Because her new environment and housing were unfamiliar, once she entered her stable, she didn’t want to leave.

“Our team introduced her to Donsa so that she could have some companionship and they’ve been firm friends ever since. They live in adjoining stables, so they can see and interact with each other and during the day they graze together in a nearby field.”

Beletu and Donsa’s friendship is heart-warming, but it also highlights an important aspect of animal welfare.

Good welfare is about more than an animal’s physical health. The Five Domains model of animal welfare considers nutrition, physical environment, health and behavioural interactions, and how these contribute to an animal’s mental wellbeing.

For highly social animals such as donkeys, opportunities to interact with other animals, form bonds and express natural behaviours can contribute to positive experiences and a good quality of life.

Rebekah Sullivan, Director of Global Animal Health & Welfare, Working Animals International, added: “Companionship is incredibly important to donkeys, and they can become very distressed if they’re separated from a bonded companion. Donkeys will typically seek to form these companionships with other donkeys.

“While it’s less common for donkeys to form these close bonds with horses, it’s wonderful to see the special friendship Beletu and Donsa have developed.”

Ethiopia has the largest population of working equines in Africa and one of the largest in the world [1]. They are central to daily life in the country, helping to transport food and water, supporting families to earn a living and even helping children get to school.

Working Animals International has worked alongside AAU since 2003, supporting working animals and the communities who depend on them. Together, we work to improve the health and welfare of horses, donkeys, mules and camels, including through access to animal health and welfare services and support for the people who care for and work alongside them. In 2025, the team reached more than 12,000 animals in Bishoftu, and over 212,000 across the country.

Our work recognises that good welfare means considering the whole animal – not only their physical health, but their behavioural needs and mental wellbeing too. Beletu and Donsa’s story is a simple but powerful example: sometimes, something as fundamental as companionship can make an important difference to an animal’s quality of life.