Donkey weight loss question.

My wife and I just purchased 2 miniature donkeys as guardians for our Dexter cattle. We have had some stray dogs pester our cattle on occasion and also have a lot of coyotes behind our property.

One donkey is a little overweight and we started doing some research on weight loss for her. It was like opening a can of worms on donkey care and special environment needs. Most talk about putting them up nightly, specific ground preparation and special feeding needs. We had a similar experience when looking to get cattle initially and later found out how people are using permaculture processes to minimize inputs and how not to do things like “everyone else” does.

Does anyone else have experience with donkeys and letting them run with the cattle most of the time? It kind of defeats the purpose of having them as guardians if you have to put them up for the night and limit their exposure to grasses to keep their weight down. We are in East Texas and have a fairly green pasture that we let grow naturally so there is a variety of forage and do have shelter for them. The wife and I just don’t want to lock them up for a majority of the time to restrict access to grazing like is being recommended.

I wish there were replies to this post, as I am wondering the same thing.
We have overweight mini donks, and I'd love for them to be able to run freely through our pasture, but everything I'm reading online says to limit grass consumption.
There is also conflicting advice on whether to feed them hay in the summer. While some say they shouldn't be eating the rich grass as their main diet, others say foraging and grazing in the summer is enough and we shouldn't supplement with hay.
Also confusing to me is my donks seem to prefer the hay to the pasture grass. 🤷‍♀️

Not lecturing but sharing my experience.
When minature donkeys become overweight they are prone to metabolic syndrome.
Diabetes and foundering.
Laminitis is very painful and can cripple your donkeys.
Watch for the big thick neck muscle as it is a warning sign.
Learn from my overweight donkey mistake.