A miniature donkey can change your life. Ten of them can change it a lot.

Steve Stiert was explaining this the other day to two dozen people who had gathered at Donkey Park, otherwise known as his backyard, in Ulster Park, N.Y., two hours north of New York City.

“Donkeys in my opinion are the most misunderstood and underappreciated of man’s domesticated animals,” Mr. Stiert said. “They’re very kind animals, sweet, thoughtful. Their nature helps us get more back in touch with a calm state of mind and a simple way of life.”

Human guests, some seated on hay bales, nodded appreciatively. Three-foot-tall donkeys milled among them, nibbling on the hay bales.

Mr. Stiert’s sidekick, Flint, a gray-dun 4-year-old, approached a woman in a pink T-shirt. She made a kissy face. Flint responded by resting his head on her shoulder.