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*Are mules a Species?
The answer is NO. Mules are not a species, they are a hybrid
between two other species - Equus assinus (the donkey) and Equus caballus (the
horse). A species is usually defined as a group of animals that can
reproduce like examples, and the mule cannot reproduce.
Likewise, Tygons and Ligers (crosses between Tigers and Lions) are not in
themselves Species. They too are hybrids, exactly like Mules and Hinnies.
If you must come up with an approximation of a Latin name for the mule, Equus
mulis has been used. However, the correct scientific classification is
Hybrid (Equus caballus x Equus assinus).
*Can Mules Reproduce? Do they have normal anatomy? What is the
offspring of a horse and a mule called?
Short answer - No, mules (both male and female) are sterile. Both have
normal anatomy internally and externally. The males must be castrated, as
they have the equipment but do not produce the essential element needed (we're
trying to keep this PG here...) Females may come into heat and may need
hormone shots if heat is a problem.
For
those who are following up with "Okay, what about the fertile mule we have
read about..." - Fertile mules (hinnies) are a 1 in 1 million case occurrence.
All known fertile hybrids in the equine world have been female mules or hinnies.
Why these few is still scientifically a mystery, and there is still scientific
debate over the verification of some "Fertile"; cases. The most
well known and documented cases are of Krause, a mare mule with two mule sons,
and a fertile hinny in China, who's offspring, Dragon Foal, is considered
unique. The complications for Krause's cases is that her sire, Chester, is
also the sire of her sons. However, DNA testing has been cataloged as
conclusive that both foals, Blue Moon and White Lighting, are Krause's foals.
In most known
cases of mule fertility, it has been noted that the mare mule passed on a
complete set of her Maternal genes to the foal. Therefore a female mule
bred to a horse would produce a 100% horse foal. Thus was the case of Old
Beck, who was at Texas A&M in the 1920's;. This mare mule had a mule
daughter, Kit. She was brought to TX A&M for observation. She
was bred to a saddle horse stallion, and produced a horse son, Pat Murphy Jr.
Pat Jr was fertile, and sired horse foals. Beck aborted a third foal,
sired by a jack, which although deformed, appeared to be a regular mule.
There has more recently been a case of a mare mule in Brazil who has foaled two
100% horse sons. Tests in the future will hopefully prove them to be
normal, fertile stallions.
Dragon Foal, instead of being a donkey foal from the mating of a hinny to a
jack, is a unique hybrid, with combinations never documented before.
Visually, she appears to be a strange donkey with some more mule-like features,
and her chromosomes and DNA test seem to confirm this.
In the feline world, there are hybrids of Jungle cats and domestic cats, crossed
by breeders to have a large cat with the wild markings and still be a pet.
The first-generation female hybrids (F-1) are fertile, but the males are not.
It is not until the F-3 generation (F-1 Crossed back to domestic cat is F-2, F-2
back to domestic cat again is F-#) that the males become fertile again.
There have been no recorded cases of entire male mules (Male mules are
always gelded for use and show, no stallion mules are allowed) ever siring
a foal. The cases of fertile Mare mules are so low that the F-3 generation
has not been documented or verified in order to test this theory. There is
one case (which has no scientific backing) of a mare mule whose Mule daughter
was also fertile, and foaled a male "hule" (very horse like in
appearance but with some mule characteristics) but no testing was ever done on
the hule, and it is not known if he was routinely gelded or was left entire.
* How can you tell the difference between a Mule and Hinny?
Really, there is no reliable way to do so. The mule has a jack father and
mare mother. (Mules can be either male or female). Hinnys (also
either male or female) have a stallion father and jennet mother. Hinnies
are more rare than mules, but for all purposed are grouped together as MULES
(for example - horses, donkeys, mules, zebras, zebra hybrids). Most
known hinnies - where both parents are known- look just like mules. Some
so seem to have slightly more horse-like or donkey-like features, but so do some
mules. Not all hinnies are small - the size can be influenced by the
parents. However, Draft Hinnies are Extremely rare, while Miniature and
Pony hinnies are more common.
It is more difficult to breed for hinnies - the fertility rates drop when the
chromosome number is lower in the female. The male donkey has 62
chromosomes, the female horse 64, and this is a viable, easy cross. In the
reciprocal cross, the horse (64) to jennet (62) the female's count is lower and
the conception rate, as well as the live birth ratio, drops drastically.
Old wives tales say the hinny lacks hybrid vigor, but no evidence has been
found to prove this. However, modern hinnies are larger than the
"Common"; hinny of times past - which would probably have been from a
standard jennet (44-48") and a local stallion - not necessarily a good one
either!!!
One way that some breeders say is reliable to tell a hinny from a mule is to put
them in with a mixed pasture - some donkeys and some mules. The hinny will
pair with the donkeys, the species that raised it, the mule with the horses.
But other than actually knowing the parents for certain, even this is just a
"Best-guess" method.
* DO ALL DONKEYS HAVE A CROSS?
You may have heard the term "Jerusalem donkeys" or
"Sicilian" used to indicate a gray-ish donkey with a cross and
stripe over the shoulders and back. However, neither of these terms are
correct. Sicilian is a bloodline of small donkeys that can trace parentage
back to the original animals imported from Sicily. MOST donkeys,
regardless of color, and especially non-Mammoths, have a cross and stripe.
Even some Miniature donkeys that appear to be black actually have a faint cross
and stripe.
Mule breeders can tell you that foals from a black jack and sorrel mare are
often bay with a cross and stripe (if you have an understanding of genetics you
know that bay can result from black bred to sorrel where the mare possesses the
Extension gene ). Since most horses do NOT have shoulder stripes,
and only some have dorsals, it is logical that the cross comes from the jack,
even if it is not visible.
There may be some donkeys who do not have a
cross, but the genetic marker has not been located to see where it is; or is not
and the breeding trial is highly complicated. So for now, the best answer
to "Do all Donkeys have a cross" is, NOT VISUALLY.
*What is a group of donkeys called?
A herd. Although you may have heard the answer "a pace of
asses" on a popular "Win money" Game Show, no references ANYWHERE
can be found to support this answer. It is certainly not in any of our
archival books! Any group of equines is a herd - whether horse, zebra,
donkey, mule, wild ass, or mixed species. A family group might be called a
band if you are referring to a specific family - such as Midnight's band, and
Blackie's band.
*What is the difference between a donkey and a burro?
Donkey is the correct term for any of the domesticated Asses. Horses,
Donkeys and zebras are all of the family Equus.
Burro is a coloquial term for the Spanish or feral type of donkey (wild burros).
The term is used almost exclusively in the West. The term is correct only
when applied to the mid-sized types of donkeys, and more correctly only those
who are wild in descent.
The term burro is NOT correct in use with Miniature Mediterranean Donkeys (under
36") or in Mammoth Asses (over 56").
A donkey near us had twins. Our vet says he's never heard of such a
thing! Are twins common in donkeys
Yes. Twins are 10 times more common in donkeys than in horses. Fewer
than 1 in 1000 sets of twins in horses are estimated to be born healthy and
alive, in donkeys, 1 in 100 sets will survive. Twin are far more common in
the long eared equines and we hear of at least 10 sets being born and surviving
every year. Most of these are standard and Mammoths, but there have been
recorded twins in Miniature donkeys as well. In April and May, we have just had
reports of 2 set of Miniature twins. The first set both were born alive,
but one died at 5 days. The second set are fraternal twins (both jacks but
different in color and markings) and are both still alive at 2 weeks. (born
4-27-01) Although some twins appear to be identical, many of the twin
cases are graternal (of different colors, or male/female pairs).
Mares carrying mule foals may also have twins, and the likelihood of twins
surviving is higher than a mare carrying only horse foals.
There are also 5 recorded cases of horse mares who have given birth to one horse
foal and one mule foal at the same time. The mare was bred to one
stallion, thought not to be in foal, and bred to the other. Surprise!
She took both times and rather unusual phenomenon occurred!
Unlike in cattle, female twins carried with a male twin are not sterile.
This is called the freemartin syndrome, and is common in cattle where the heifer
is sterile due to an overload of male hormones from the bull twin. It is
not the case in equines, and many twin mares have gone on to have foals of their
own - sometimes twins, sometimes not.
*How long does a donkey carry a foal?
Horses carry for 11 months, donkeys for 12. A mare carrying a mule foal is
usually about 11 1/2 months. However, there are many, many factors that
affect the length of a pregnancy. The age of the mare or jennet, previous
foaling history/number of foals, sex of the foal, weather, region, infection may
all play a part. Some will go 3 weeks less than the norm, a few have even
gone early 14 months! (Studies also show that mares grazing on fescue may
delay birthing for as many as 30-40 days. Fescue can cause toxic reactions in
equines.)
A premature foal, one that is actually born early, will need intensive care.
Any foal that is healthy at birth is probably full term no matter how long it
was carried. BUT...if your jennet has gone past the projected due date, is
listless, or losing weight, have your vet check her to make sure the foal is
still alive. Carrying a stillborn can result in infection, loss of future
fertility, and possible loss of the jennet. Always be safe rather than
sorry!
What is a baby donkey called?
Any baby equine (horse, donkey, mule or zebra) is called a foal. Male
foals are colts (or Jack foals in the case of donkeys), females are fillies (or
jennet foals). They are grouped as "Foals" up until they are
weaned, usually about 6-8 months old, then they are Weanlings. After their
first birthday, they are Yearlings. They may still be called Colts or
Fillies up until they are mature, usually at 3-4 years of age. Breeding
males are stallions (horse or zebra) or jacks (donkeys or wild asses).
Females are mares (horses, zebras, mules) or jennets/jennies (donkeys or wild
asses). Male mules should NEVER be left intact, so stallion mule or jack
mule should never be used. Male mules should be gelded before age 2 and
are called Horse mules, geldings, or sometimes "johns". (Mare
mules may locally be called "molly mules".)
What colors do donkeys come in? How do I get a spotted donkey?
The most common colors in donkeys are Gray-dun ( Slate Gray), Brown, and black.
There is a variation of sorrel, Ivory (blue-eyed white) and a variant of bay.
Some donkeys appear to be nearly white with dark skin - these are Frosted
Spotted White. (It's like true gray in horses, the frosted/graying covers up the
original color. It's a color combination, an overlay over the base color
and any other patterns. So a frosted donkey might be brown and white
spotted PLUS the frosted overlay, making it look nearly white.)
There is a unique donkey roan, and donkey spotted pattern (closest to overo in
pattern and genetic working) which can occur with any base color. There is
a supposed dilution, which lightens the sorrel to a "pink", but there
are no recorded buckskin or Palomino donkeys. The donkey spot pattern may
be large frame type patches, or small scattered spots, but there is no appaloosa
patterning in donkeys.
DO Donkeys wear shoes like horses? Do they need them?
Generally, no. Donkeys have a slightly different hoof shape, and their
hooves are a little more durable than horses. However, if your donkey is
going to be ridden a lot, work on surfaces (such as rock or pavement) that might
cause a lot of wear, or has hoof problems, he or she might need to be shod part
of the time. Barefoot is actually best for the pastured equine, and shoes
are only used to correct problems or add support to the foot. They don't
need shoes as a rule.
My Farrier is a little unsure about trimming donkey hooves. Aren't
donkeys supposed to be "upright"?
No not all donkeys have upright hoof angles. The best trim for a donkey
hoof is to MATCH THE PASTERN angle, as they would on any horse. For an
animal that has under-run heels or is coon-footed, there may be some corrective
trimming in need, but the general rule is to match angles. Trying to "Stand
a donkey on it's toes" may do more harm than good. The basic trim is
the same, just the general shape and to a small extent the angles are different
- but not that much. Its not something to fear in trimming!
We're getting a donkey as a pet. What should we get?
NOT A JACK. Jacks are not pets. Get a jennet or gelding, and if
you do not really have a lot of prior horse/equine experience, you probably want
to start with an older animal, before you go through the joys of learning about
donkeys and babies at the same time!!! Getting a pair of donkeys is fine,
but please do not get a mature jack unless you intend to breed donkeys, you have
the facilities to keep a jack, and you have the experience to handle one
Some jacks may be fine around kids, but jacks are not pets and children should
ALWAYS be supervised around jacks and any other large animal.
Flop-Eared Mule
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2003 Moniteau Saddle Club
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