Megan Hensley Provides Hoof and Image Rehab for a Misunderstood Species

by Torrey Douglass

“Ear rubs and booty scratches are mandatory for making friends,” Megan Hensley says. To be clear, the farrier is referring to donkeys, not humans. She shares this wisdom while vigorously rubbing the long, fuzzy ears of a blissed-out donkey who had just nudged her shoulder.

Both parties are delighted with the interaction. Megan has been a farrier for over 20 years, providing necessary hoof-trimming and other foot care to horses and donkeys. Specializing in donkeys was unheard of back when Megan went all-in on the misunderstood species. “I was roasted on Facebook by other farriers,” she confides. “Nobody took me seriously. They just thought I was nuts.”

Turns out the last laugh is Megan’s—or would be, if she was the type to indulge in such pettiness, which she isn’t. She is frankly too busy. She works as Lead Farrier for Oscar’s Place, a donkey rescue in Hopland that is also the setting for the reality TV show Donkey King. She manages her online DIY hoof care course for donkey owners, cares for her own menagerie, and sings in the rock band Deep Cover with her husband, bassist Joe Hays. It’s a pretty full plate.

Megan grew up in the Yuba City area in a home full of animals. She was close to her grandmother, who did a lot of informal animal rescue. “She once stole a neglected dog off someone’s porch,” remembers Megan. “I was on lookout, watching her from the car. I remember thinking, ‘Go, Granny, go!’” After the heist, they drove two and a half hours up a mountain to hand off the dog to a new caretaker. “It was just skin and bones,” Megan adds. In time, the pup made a full recovery and was adopted into a new forever home.

Megan began riding at 12 years old. As a teenager, she joined the CCC/AmeriCorps Backcountry Trails Program for six months, living deep in the wilderness of the Stanislaus Mountains. Mules packed in supplies so the human team could maintain trails and do construction with dry stone masonry. Leading a team of pack animals in the mountains sounded like a great job to young Megan, so the following year she applied to be a packer.

She quickly learned that she would need shoeing experience in order to be hired, so she apprenticed with farrier Will Scott of Ferndale for a year. After that she attended Pacific Coast Horseshoeing School, where she graduated top of her class in 2007. When Will moved out of the area, he passed along his business to Megan, who had already worked with most of his clients. By then she was fully committed to becoming a farrier instead of a packer. Before he left, her mentor said, “Donkeys will need you.” He couldn’t have been more right.

Megan quickly earned a reputation for handling donkeys with gentleness and ease. The animals have historically been disdained by farriers, and many won’t work on them unless the creatures are sedated. Donkeys don’t share the high status horses enjoy as a symbol of wealth, and they are not as easy to pressure into compliance, earning them a reputation for being stubborn, difficult, and prone to kick.

This reputation for ornery behavior is unfair, according to Megan. Donkeys simply have their own minds and trust their own judgment. While it is usually unproductive to try to force them to do something, they can be convinced. “They are super smart and have a high emotional intelligence,” Megan says. “It takes time to build a relationship with them.” And once that trust is developed—helped along by the high-quality treats Megan carries with her—they reveal their true nature as patient, gentle, and steady creatures.

It’s not surprising that donkeys are at ease around Megan. She has a quick laugh, sunshiny smile, and the easy confidence of someone who loves what she does. Ron King, the founder of Oscar’s Place, describes her as “a skilled farrier with a heart of gold.” In the organization’s early days, he was bombarded with an overwhelming number of questions to answer and problems to solve. One of those questions was, “Who will trim the hooves of all these donkeys?” Ron quickly found afarrier and moved on to the next issue.

As a budget-conscious non-profit, Oscar’s Place has a bare-bones staff that is both talented and trusted. So when Hugo Vasquez—one of the donkey caregivers—mentioned that the farrier’s treatment of the animals made him uncomfortable, Ron listened. He’d received an Instagram message from Megan introducing herself as a farrier specializing in donkeys, so he reached out. Megan’s been the organization’s hoofcare expert ever since.

Donkeys need their hooves trimmed starting at 4 weeks old, continuing every 4-8 weeks throughout their lives. With farriers in short supply and essential for a donkey’s health and comfort, Megan has trained her own apprentices, three of whom now work at Oscar’s Place. Still, donkey owners everywhere are struggling to find capable people to care for them. With this in mind, Megan created an online course so owners can learn how to trim hooves themselves. Over 1000 owners have participated in the program since 2020, throughout the U.S. and internationally. There’s been online criticism from other farriers saying it is irresponsible to teach owners these skills. Megan shrugs off the disapproval with her signature smile, commenting, “I’ve been doing stuff people have told me I can’t do for a long time.” From the host of glowing online reviews, it’s clear that the donkey owners who take her course are enormously grateful for the ability to give their donkeys the foot care they need. Some have even become farriers themselves.

The course is one more example of how Megan prioritizes the well-being of donkeys. She is a stalwart advocate of the species, and her friendly demeanor should never be mistaken for meekness. In her work, she’s encountered neglectful owners who complain about the expense of much-needed care for their animals. These owners are given three choices: pay for the care, surrender the donkey to Megan, or expect a visit from animal control within 48 hours. There will be no mistreated animals on Megan’s watch—just like her grandmother.

Sometimes a donkey is not receiving enough care because of willful neglect, but in other instances the owners just no longer have the energy or resources. “I’m always looking for a compassionate solution,” Megan says. “I have a soft spot for our elderly community and know how important their relationships with their animals can be, and I do my best to preserve that whenever possible.”Megan’s love for the species, combined with her top-notch skills and consummate professionalism, have earned her a place of distinction in her field. Those qualities are also why she is such a good fit for Oscar’s Place and the reality TV show that takes place there, Donkey King. The show rides along with Ron and his staff on their rescue missions to livestock auctions or to ranches and homes that are surrendering an animal that they can no longer provide for. It also shows viewers the work that happens after the rescue— building trust with the new arrivals one patient step at a time, addressing health concerns, attending births, and all the heartbreaking, tender, and hilarious moments that come with providing a home for 200 donkeys.

Megan brings her warm charisma and that sunbeam smile to Donkey King, assessing the hoof health of new arrivals, trimming hooves, and working with the vet to create a treatment plan for those with the most acute issues. When asked about her thoughts on being part of the show, she redirects the attention to the animals. “I’m so excited donkeys are in the spotlight,” she shares. “It can help get rid of the ‘stubborn jackass’ stereotype.” She admits that she now has an online fan base, but doesn’t dwell on it. Her primary hope for the show is that it will provide insights into this misunderstood species, showing people how sweet and smart they are, and that it will ultimately result in them receiving better care. As she likes to say, “Everybody loves donkeys—they might just not know it yet.”

Megan’s DIY Donkey Hoof Trimming course can be found at donkeyhooves.com. Hire her band through deepcover.band.

Tours of Oscar’s Place are available for volunteers, donors, or potential adopters. The best way to support the work of Oscar’s Place is by becoming a monthly donor. Visit oscarsplace.org for details.

Watch episodes of Donkey King on ABC stations nationwide, on YouTube, and at donkeyking.com.

Torrey Douglass is a web and graphic designer living in Boonville. When she’s not at work you can find her escaping into a good book.

photos by Nik Zvolensky