Some Little Know Facts About Mules
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Updated April 06, 2000
(Mulish Links)First off, let me say that according to the story line in the old book, the little Mule shown in the background is not a Mule, but a Burro, or Donkey. However, for the purpose intended, he serves quite well.
A mule is a sterile animal incapable of bearing offspring. How then, you ask, do they come to be? The mule is a hybrid. The offspring of genetically different parents. In this case the cross of a horse and a donkey, produces a mule as the offspring. Some people consider mules to be freaks. But Hybrids occur in nature and far more often than you might think. Ask someone from Minnesota about hybrid fish. There are theories that some species were evolved from hybrids, especially in plants. When you prepare that delicious fresh corn you purchased at the market, it is almost a certainty that you are eating a hybrid, something that cannot reproduce itself naturally.
Why is this done? To achieve results that cannot be had from the offspring of genetically identical parents, folks who work with mules will tell you very quickly, that mules are more intelligent than horses or donkeys. A mule will often grow larger and stronger than either of his parents. I once saw a mule that weighed 1360 lbs. That's a long way from what most folks think of when you say "donkey." A mule is much more sure-footed than a horse.
Picture in your mind, a narrow trail winding down the wall of the Grand Canyon, a string of riders on mules. Where each mule places each foot is critical. He does it from memory. The mule cannot see his feet, but he anticipates where each foot has to go as he moves forward. Horses do the same, but the mule is much better at it.
Mules have an undeserved reputation for being "Stubborn." This comes from a characteristic trait of the mule. Unlike a horse, he will not place himself in danger. If a mule decides that he has pulled a load until he is exhausted, he will simply stop until he has rested. He will absolutely refuse to continue until he rests. If a mule balks for no apparent reason, you had best look around. More likely the mule has detected some danger that you are not aware of, like a big ol' rattler lying hidden ahead.
Another trait of the mule that is not shared with the horse, is their ability to learn to work together as a team. When two mules are hitched in tandem, or teamed together to pull a load, they quickly learn each other's strengths and weaknesses. Each will complement the other. Pound for pound, mules can pull more than horses.
Are Mules Intelligent?
I grew up the son of a share-cropper in the foothills of the Smokey Mountains. We used mules to farm with. We depended on our mules, and they did not let us down. They are friendly, caring animals, as long as you treat them right. It isn't a good idea to abuse or mistreat a mule. They never forget it, and the bond that normally develops between the mule and human will be gone. If you treat them right, they will work their hearts out for you.
A good example of the mule's intelligence is shown "Pulling Corn." This requires two men, a team of mules and a wagon. We had an old Studebaker iron wheeled two horse wagon we used to gather the corn crop. One man starts at one side of the field, pulling the corn from two rows and pitching the ears two rows over. The mules and wagon are then started down the two rows just pulled. The men walk along either side of the wagon, pull the corn (picking up the ears pulled earlier) pitching them into the wagon. The man nearest the middle of the field skips two rows. When the end of the row is reached, the mules know what to do. They turn and go back down the the two rows picked nearest the middle of the field. After the mules are once shown what is expected of them, they perform this on their own. It shows at least that they can count. When the wagon is turned, the inside mule works with the outside mule to make turning easy. When the wagon is near full, if you don't tell them to go to the barn to unload, they will just stop. They do it together, just as they work together. Occasionally, two mules won't work together. I guess it's a personality conflict or something. But it does happen. When this happens, there is only one out. Trade or replace one.
A Mules Furniture
A mule's furniture, at least as far as I have had occasion to use.
includes:
(Please keep in mind, I am no artist, especially free hand with a mouse.)
- Collar Image: Collar.gif 2.01KB
A straw filled, padded, formed leather collar. Sometimes with a wool or felt lining. This fits aganst the mule's shoulders and transfers his forward momentum to the traces. The collar is buckled at the top of the mule's neck. The Hames go around the collar against the inner roll.- Hames Image: Hameset.gif 2.76KB
The Hames fit around the collar and has the traces attached to it with hooks through holes in the center bracket. The Hames are adjustable for mules of different heights and are secured at the top with a leather strap buckled to the correct width and at bottom with a Hamestring, which is a simple leather strap soft enough to be tied in a knot. Even now, after all these years, I still remember how to tie a hamestring.- Back band Image: BackBand.gif 1KB
The Back band goes over the mule's back, behind his shoulders. The traces are attached to the back band and transfer part of the load to the mule's back. Back bands are made out of heavy canvas, with a metal buckle on each end and are adjustable to regulate the load.- Traces
The traces are light chains fastened from the Hames, going back and snapping into the Back band buckles and continuing on back to the single tree.- Single Tree Image: Singletree.gif 1KB
Usually a wooden bar that's wide enough to give the mule free walking room with a single trace chain attached with a hook on each end. The hooks point toward the mule's head. A band in the center of the Single tree holds a clevis loop for attaching to a plow or a Double Tree.- Double tree
Used when mules are harnessed as a team the Double Tree is exactly like the Single Tree, except bigger. It hooks a Single tree from a mule on the left and one on the right for hitching a team. It has a clevis loop in the middle also for hooking to a plow, etc. Wagons have the Double Tree attached to the wagon tounge with a king pin. This allows for moving the team without unharnessing them. Just pull the king pin, and take the whole shootin' match to drink or feed, while the wagon is being unloaded, etc.- Bridle Image: Bridle.gif 2.05KB
The Bridles that we used when I was a kid, were heaver than those used on a horse. It consist of a leather strap going over the Mule's head, just behind the ears and attaching to the bit on either side. Also a buckled chin strap. They often included "Blinders" to limit the mule's side vision. The mule has very sharp eyes and their favorite sport is seeing "boogers" off in the distance. I have had mules get "spooked" from seeing a sun bleached seed sack left in the field.- Reins
The Reins attach to the Bit, which is part of the Bridle, one on each side, going back through a steel or brass ring attach to the upper part of the Hame. The reins are used to turn the mule in a sharp turn. When plowing or pulling a wagon, usually only a gentle "Gee," (Right) or "Haaw," (Left) is all that's needed to guide the mule. The louder you give the command, the sharper the turn. Sometimes you'd talk to the mule with "Gee now" or "Woah Gee" which interpret to "turn sharper right" or "Quit foolin' around and turn right!"- Breeching
A Leather Harness goes over and under the mule's rump to control a wagon, or other free wheeling implement, as it's going down hill.- Breast Chains
Light chains attach to the front of a wagon tongue so that the inside mule can pull the tongue in the direction of the turn.
A True Mule Story
I would like to relate a true story to you about mules. It happened a long time ago, before I was born, to a young girl, but I know it to be true, because the young girl was my Mother. It was probably in the early 1930's. At any rate, Mom was very young, and like all kids raised on a farm, the kids had their part to do too. My Grandad had set her to "cuttin' stalks." It's a process by which a pair of mules or horses are used to pull a stalk cutter over last years cotton stalks. Now, as any of you cotton farmers out there know, last years stalks dried and cured, have a consistency of 20 penny nails. So they're chopped into short chunks, as to not interfere with the plowing and planting. Today, tractors don't pay any attention to them. The stalk cutter is a big ol' log about four feet long, with sharp blades driven and staked to the outside diameter. Usually about six of them. The log has a steel bar driven through the middle for an axle. The whole thing is covered by a wooded platform that the person driving the mules sits on. It's an extremely bumpy ride, as each blade comes around and strikes the ground.
Well, Mom was cuttin' stalks. She had the reins wrapped around her wrist, and the trailing end dropped down in front of the cutter. The reins caught on a stalk or stick, and were swept back under the cutter. The blades came around and caught them, pulling Mom forward, almost off the platform and in front of the cutter. With the reins wrapped around her wrist, and them pulled tight, there was little she could do. To go under the heavy cutter meant certain death. But with a frieghtened voice she cried "Woah!" The team stopped in their tracks. But she couldn't manage to get loose. Her younger sister Lois was in the barn, about a couple stone throws away, so she started calling for Lois. Afraid that her yelling would spook the mules, It was nevertheless all she could do. Eventually Lois did hear her and came running. Lois backed the mules up enough to get some slack in the lines and Mom got loose. I have heard her tell this many times, and I still think how close that was. I have cut stalks myself in later years, but I would never ride the cutter. I always walked along side of it, holding the reins.
Another Mule Story
As a teenager, when I wanted to earn some money on my own, so I got a job cutting timber. There was a pair of mules there that were beautiful to watch. They were pretty good sized mules and a good match. Each would go about 900-1,000 lbs. I even recall that their names were Maude and Mandy. When the logs had been cut and trimmed, a man would bring this pair of mules to the pile of logs. Using a tool similar to an ice tong, only bigger, he would grab the end of a log with the tongs. Then he called "come up here" to the mules. The pair then pulled the log to the loading area where someone unhooked them and sent them back for another log. This is called "Snaking." When the last log was moved, the handler had to wait for the mules to come back, then lead them to a new log pile. They always went back to the place that they started from. If they happened to butt the end of the log against a stump, they would work together, moving right or left, until the log was pulled away from the stump, then continue on to the loading area. Sometimes this took place on the side of a mountain or in a canyon. The mules pulled logs out of places that are difficult to imagine. I have seen this team go to their knees pulling. Yet, when they became exhausted, they just stopped to rest. I never heard of anyone who could put an honest cash value on this team. I don't know if you could.
It's almost uncanny, the way a good team works together. Do they communicate with each other or do they just co-ordinate their actions to their partner? Certainly, I don't know. But talk to someone who works mules, and they will all tell you the same thing. A good matched pair of mules are a thing of beauty. One thing I can tell you for sure. Never buy a mule to plow your garden that has been used to snake logs. He'll wind back and forth all over the rows because that's what he learned to do when pulling logs.
Another Mule Story Part 2
Another story of interest comes to mind that happened during this summer of logging. We had an odd mule (one that was worked by it's self) that was sometimes used to snake small logs from the cleanup areas. These were previously cut logs where crews had already gone and for one reason or another, were to leave a few trees standing. The cleanup crew got these. The boss told me that a big pine had been cut about a quarter mile up from our loading area, and the top was blocking the road for the trucks. I was to take this odd mule up there and drag the pine top out of the road. Now this road was no more than ruts cut by the log trucks, and the pine top was square across it. There was enough clear space on either side to drag the top out of the way, so I hitched the mule to the butt end of the top, intending for her to drag it to the right. I guess I forgot to tell her. When I called "Come up," she swung to the left, pulling like crazy. I was standing at the side of the road in knee deep wild honeysuckle, at the point I had hooked the chain to the top. I saw what was happening and tried to run to my left. But my feet got tangled up in the honeysuckle and down I went. Well since the mule was pulling this pine top from an angle, it came rolling over me. I got a pretty good skinning. Looked like I had been in a fight and lost. After the top rolled over me, I came to my senses and called "Woah!" The mule stopped dead in her tracks. I should have gotten a hand on her bridle and led her to the right. I learned a lot that summer.
The mule almost became extinct during the 60's and 70's, but has made a great comeback as a pleasure animal. Saddle mules now bring high prices. Near the bottom of this page are some links to sites that cater to the mule.If you have a Mule story, or a link you would like to send us, we'll be glad to post it here. Just E-MAIL it to the codemaster@htcomp.net. We will get it. Tall tales are ok too, as long as you say that they're tall tales.
- Wild Burro Rescue and Preservation
- B.R.R.R.O
- The Red Ass Journal
- Hey folks, Ol' Phudpucker knows what he's talkin about. His palce is just about two hoops and a holler from me, and he has a great site with all kind of mule links. Most of the links here came from following the links on his site.
- American Donkey and Mule Society
- Since 1967, a national Breed Society for registering donkeys and mules. Located in Denton, Texas.
- American Gaited Mule Society
The British Mule Society- Be sure to check out this link for excellent documentation on mules.
- The Carolina Mule Association
- Appalachian Mule Riders
- American Mammoth Jackstock
- See how it all started with George Washington.
- Cowboys.Com
- Everything you can imagine for horse, mule or rider.
- Grand Canyon Mule Rides
- Users of NN3 and MSIE3 may experience difficulties here.
- You've Got to Have Heart
- Located in Bryan/College Station Texas, a non-profit organization that provides recreational horseback riding for handicapped and special populations and their families.
- Mule Trains at Disneyland
The Mule Barn- Best viewed with IE4+ or NN4+.
- Visit MuleShoe Texas
- Planning a vacation? Texas has thousands of interesting sights. One of them is Muleshoe.
- Another Page about Muleshoe Texas
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