The short answer
Welfare guidance is that a healthy donkey should carry no more than about half of its own body weight, including the weight of the pack saddle or harness. For a typical working donkey in Pakistan weighing around 110 kg, that means a load of roughly 55 kg. Yet research shows most working donkeys routinely carry far more. For the full background, see our working donkey species guide.
What the science found
In a 2022 study of working donkeys in Pakistan, owners reported a median donkey weight of about 110 kg and a median mounted load of around 81.5 kg. That works out to a median load of roughly 77% of body weight, well above the recommended limit. About 87% of the donkeys carried more than half their body weight, and around a quarter carried over 90% of it. Some were estimated to carry well over their own body weight.
Why overloading causes harm
A donkey is strong and sure-footed, but its skeleton and skin were not built for these loads, especially over long hours on hard ground. Heavy weight pressing through an ill-fitting or improvised harness produces girth galls, back sores and open wounds. In the Pakistan study, donkeys used to haul bricks were about 2.5 times more likely to have moderate-to-deep skin lesions than other working donkeys.
It is rarely just the weight
Overloading usually travels with other welfare risks: long working days, heat stress and dehydration, untreated lameness, poor nutrition, overgrown or cracked hooves, and little or no vaccination or parasite control. Because many brick kilns sit far from any veterinary service, small problems compound before help can arrive. And because donkeys mask pain so well, a visibly exhausted or wounded animal often signals trouble that began much earlier.
What safe loading looks like
- Respect the half-bodyweight rule: keep the total load, including the saddle, at or below about 50% of the donkey's weight.
- Fit the harness properly: well-padded, correctly sized tack spreads pressure and prevents sores.
- Build in rest, water and shade: these prevent heat stress and dehydration on long working days.
- Keep hooves and teeth in check: regular farrier and dental care keep a donkey sound and working comfortably.
The hopeful part
Almost all of this harm is preventable, and owners generally want their donkey to stay sound and earning. Effective welfare work meets owners where they are with mobile clinics, farrier and dental care, padded harnesses and clear guidance on load limits. WARN's local partner teams in Pakistan deliver exactly that. If you would like to help quietly, you can support working-animal welfare.
Read the full Donkey wildlife guide for the facts, IUCN status and conservation context — or donate to WARN to help fund the local partners protecting this species.
