# Mules



## TheFastMan (Sep 3, 2011)

For some reason or another my dad has it in his head that he needs a mule. Our old neighbor who lives out in Montana told mom that mules are not friendly to small animals (cats or dogs) or small livestock (calves). Dad already has an older quarter horse and an old paint and I have a couple shorthorn cows that will be calving soon plus a beagle and a very fat spoiled indoor/outdoor cat. Our pasture setup isn't the best and doesn't allow easy division of animals. So, will a mule kill a cat, dog or calf? I've heard it both ways from a few people. I won't be happy if a "darn" mule kills one of my calves.


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## Tim/South (Dec 12, 2011)

It depends on the mule. Some will pasture with cattle, some will not.
My grandfather never let his mules pasture with the cows. He had one stomp a newborn calf once.
It takes a special hand to work with most mules. They are "different".


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## Mike120 (May 4, 2009)

Mules and donkeys are easy to train as long as you only try to teach them something they want to do.

As a kid, someone gave my sister a donkey...it lasted until it tried to bite a calf on the neck. One of my daughter's students gave her a donkey to be a watch donkey and keep the coyotes away from the foals. I liked it after it went after her cats, but banished it to a far and secure pasture when it tried to get a little kid. I'll be happy to donate the thing to your father if he'll please come get it. They are probably the most useless animals on the face of the earth.


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## Tim/South (Dec 12, 2011)

A few years ago I bought a small mule. It went through the cattle sale, had short ears, looked like a pony. I bid $40 for the heck of it and brought her home.
I was trying to come up with a cute name for the critter. Ropeburn seemed to fit perfectly.
Things I learned from Ropeburn are invaluable.

1) Natural horsemanship does not work on mules. Nothing "natural" about them.
2) A mule can kick straight back. A mule with legs 3 feel long can kick 20+ feet at will.
3) A mule can out run a grown man carrying a chain saw.
4) A mule can stand flat footed and jump higher than any deer.
5) A mule can get on her knees and crawl through a place that a goat would not chance.
6) You can put a ribbon around a cute mules neck and sell it to city transplants. Especially if it has short ears and looks like a pony. It helps if the prospective buyer has RFD TV and does not know Natural Horsemanship does not work on mules. It is good exercise for both the mule and human. Humans can run much faster then originally believed when a mule is chasing them around the round pen. The mule also seems to enjoy the work out.


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

TheFastMan said:


> For some reason or another my dad has it in his head that he needs a mule. Our old neighbor who lives out in Montana told mom that mules are not friendly to small animals (cats or dogs) or small livestock (calves). Dad already has an older quarter horse and an old paint and I have a couple shorthorn cows that will be calving soon plus a beagle and a very fat spoiled indoor/outdoor cat. Our pasture setup isn't the best and doesn't allow easy division of animals. So, will a mule kill a cat, dog or calf? I've heard it both ways from a few people. I won't be happy if a "darn" mule kills one of my calves.


A belated friend of mine who had a team of mules once told me that you could have a mule for 20 years with daily handling and care and one day out of the blue the mule will haul off and kick your brains out. Mike120 is right.....they are a worthless genetic mistake.

Regards, Mike


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

Our hired man has a couple. Don't need near as "good" as feed as a horse. Had another guy that would get a matched pair and train em up, get an old wagon and use the mules every saturday to go 2 1/2 miles to the elevator and back, used to think he was nuts until we found out at that time a matched trained pair was going for well over 7K. He said I had the right temperament to handle mules, I still haven't decided whether to be insulted over that.


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

mlappin said:


> He said I had the right temperament to handle mules, I still haven't decided whether to be insulted over that.


Probably meant that you had a deliberate hand and are not readily discouraged......thats what it takes to handle mules.....and live to tell about it.

Regards, Mike


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

One difference always puzzled me between horses and mules. If either one got out and got into say 50# pounds of sweet feed in the stable the mule would eat until full and walk off....a horse will gorge until he bloats and twist a gut and dies....and if he is unfortunate enough not to die he will for sure have laminitis......bizarre behavior.

Regards, Mike


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## Mike120 (May 4, 2009)

Vol said:


> One difference always puzzled me between horses and mules. If either one got out and got into say 50# pounds of sweet feed in the stable the mule would eat until full and walk off....a horse will gorge until he bloats and twist a gut and dies....and if he is unfortunate enough not to die he will for sure have laminitis......bizarre behavior.


Horses are born looking for ways to hurt themselves......Mules, unfortunately, are born to survive.


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## Nitram (Apr 2, 2011)

When it comes to donkeys and mules my philosophy is...A man is born with one azz and that is all he should ever have . Martin


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