The Mule is a cross between a donkey stallion (called a jack) and a horse
mare. Hinnies are just the opposite - a stallion horse crossed to a donkey
jennet. For all purposes, hinnies and mules are classified and shown together
under the general term Mule. Mules ears are usually somewhat smaller than a
donkeys, longer but the same shape as the horse parents.
The mule’s conformation will be a combination of traits from both parents.
The head, hip and legs usually take after the jack. Mules do not have pronounced
arches to the neck, even from breeds such as Arabians or Warmbloods. A slight
arch or straight neck is preferable to a ewe, or upward curved neck.
The mule will have "combination hair," usually a thin forelock,
coarse mane hair, and a tail more like the horse parent. Both mules and donkeys
are shown with a variety of hairstyles from clipped to shaved (roached). Mules
may wear their tails "belled" as decoration, left long and full, or
clipped at the top to emphasize the shape of the hip.
Voice
Mules try their best to imitate the donkey’s bray, but most have a unique
sound that is a combination of the horse’s whinny and the grunting of the
wind-down of a bray. Most will start out - Whinee-aw ah aw.
Color
Mules usually have brown or tan-colored points, where in the donkey the Light
Points are a shade of off-white. Some donkeys and mules do not exhibit any light
points at all - this is not rare, but is a good identification marker for
registration purposes. Old-timers used to call a dark muzzled mule "blue
nosed."
Mules can be any of the colors that either horses or donkeys come in, along
with some unique variations of their own. The only colors mules do not come in
is true horse pinto (due to the genetic
factoring
of these colors). Mules from Appaloosa mares often have extremely loud patterns,
with spots enlarging or "skewing" in variants of the horse appaloosa.
Breeders wishing for a mule with four white feet should try a tobiano mare. The
mule will probably have four socks and/or stockings, with the most usual
combination being four white feet and a splash of white on the tail. The genes
of the mule seem programmed for the unusual, and very strange, loud spotted
pinto and appaloosa variants are common. In fact, the best way to produce a
spotted mule is to cross a spotted jack to a solid colored mare. The resulting
mule may have pinto-like patched in a variation of the donkey-spot pattern.
Appaloosa mares crossed to spotted jacks have often produced mule foals that
appear to be roan-patched pinto, with dark leopard appaloosa spots over the dark
areas.
Size
Mules come in every size and shape imaginable. Miniature mules (even to under
36") can be seen all the way up to 17 hand Percheron draft (by Mammoth
Jacks) Mules. The Poitou donkey was used exclusively for breeding huge draft
mules from a breed of draft horse called the Mullasier - the Mule producer. The
build of the mule is a combination of both parents. The head resembles both, the
eyes being more almond-shaped (inherited from the D-shaped eye socket of the
donkey). Male mules may have more prominent brow ridges like those of most
donkey jacks. The neck is straight and has little arch, even in mules from Arab
or Warmblood mares. The overall body shape will be dependent on the conformation
of both parents. Due to hybrid vigor, the mule has the possibility of growing
taller than either parent.
The rarer Hinnies are often said to be more horselike than the mule, but more
often it is impossible to tell them apart. Hinnies may tend to be slightly
smaller, simply because of the fact that most donkeys are smaller than horses.
Uses
Mules can be used in exactly the same sports as horses - under
saddle,
in harness, for cutting, roping or dressage. In actuality, they have more
stamina and can carry more weight than a horse of equal size. This is due to the
hybrid vigor. There is one particular aspect where the mule actually outshines
the horse, and that is high-jumping. Mules have a particular sport all their own
called the Coon Hunter’s Jump. It stems from the raccoon hunter moving his
mules through the woods. Wooden or stone fences could be taken down, but wire
ones could not. The hunter would flag the fence with his coat or a blanket, and
jump his string of pack mules over one by one. In the showring, mules jump a
single rail standard to increasing heights. The last clean jump is the winner.
Mules only 50 inches tall at the withers have been known to clear jumps of up to
72 inches. These jumps are not from a galloping approach, like Puissance, but
from a standing start inside a marked area, truly a remarkable feat.
Mules are not really stubborn. They can seem lazy, but they will also
not
put themselves in danger. A horse can be worked until it drops, but not so with
a mule. The "stubborn" streak is just the mule’s way of telling
humans that things are not right. Mules are very intelligent and it is not a
good idea to abuse a mule. They will do their best for their owner, with the
utmost patience.
