The Pega Donkey is a Brazilian gaited saddle donkey breed, which is known for its unique curved ears, and for its ambling gate.

The Brazilian donkey:
The development of the Pega Donkey took place during the 18th and 19th centuries, in Minas Gerais state in Brazil. It started with Father Manoel Maria Torquato de Almeida, who crossed imported Egyptian and Italian donkeys with each other, and probably with local donkeys as well. After he formed a little herd of Pega donkeys, he sold some of them to Colonel Eduardo Jose de Rezende, who continued to develop the Pega breed.

Originally, the Pega Donkey was an extremely popular donkey breed in Brazil. However, it lost its popularity during the 20th century, and by the beginning of the 21th century the breed was at the risk of extinction. It was subsequently saved thanks to breeding efforts, and today it is doing well.

The Pega mule:
Ever since they were created, Pega Donkeys were bred primarily to serve as breeding stock for Pega Mules, a purpose for which they are still bred today. Pega jacks are crossed with horse mares that themselves have both American Quarter blood and either Campolina or Marchador blood (see 'Campolina,' 'Mangolina,' and 'Mangalarga Marchador' for more information about these breeds.) The result of this cross is the Pega Mule, which is a gaited mule breed that is well-adapted to the Brazilian climate, and is widely used for herding cattle in Brazilian farms.

Gait:
The Pega Donkey has a relatively comfortable ambling gait, it is also used for riding rather than just mule-producing.

Conformation:
The Pega Donkey is a relatively large donkey breed with a lean conformation. The head is long, has a convex profile, and large ears that are curved inwards (although their tips usually don't touch each other, contrary to the Kathiawari and Marwari horse breeds.) The neck is often held high, has a minimal crest, and connects smoothly to a flat or a slightly-arched back. The legs are longer relative to the body than seen in most other donkey breeds, and the hind legs are often stretched a bit behind the body. The hair of the coat is short and smooth.

Performance metrics:
The following are the: range, average, (SD), and MOE of performance metrics of ordered Pega Donkeys in Horse Isle (not bred ones). In rare cases, donkeys might have metrics outside of the range. Breeders can produce donkeys that are beyond this range.

Speed: 13.5-14.9, 14.2 (0.3), 0.06.
Sprint: 40-53, 46 (3), 0.57.

Accel: 0.91-1.08, 0.99 (0.05), 0.01.
Decel: 0.83-0.96, 0.90 (0.03), 0.01.

Jump: 4.89-5.18, 5.03 (0.06), 0.01.
Pull: 1.47-2.23, 1.84 (0.17), 0.03.

Turning: 42.88-56.01, 46.69 (2.81), 0.55.
Reverse: 2.2-2.8, 2.5 (0.1), 0.03.

Stamina: 50.01-56.58, 53.21 (1.52), 0.3.
Reaction: 0.67-0.80, 0.75 (0.02), 0.00.

Coats & Height:
Pega donkeys come in all colors and patterns except for missense-albino. They stand between 12.3hh and 15.1hh.