Mule talk

TIMES photographs by Annette Beard “You want me to do WHAT?!” this mule appears to be saying when his owner tried to get him to go over a high jump in 2010.
TIMES photographs by Annette Beard “You want me to do WHAT?!” this mule appears to be saying when his owner tried to get him to go over a high jump in 2010.

Mule: The hybrid animal produced when a male ass (Jack) is crossed with a female horse. The mule is a sterile hybrid, meaning it cannot reproduce. Mules come in both male and female. Mules are a combination of traits of the parents with the most obvious donkey traits being long ears, narrower body and smaller hooves. The horse contributes size, speed and muscle. Other characteristics such as the head and voice (an odd combination of the bray that ends as a whinny) are a blend of the parent features. You can always tell a donkey from a mule by the fact that a donkey has a tail in essence like a lion or a cow (long tail with a tassel) and the mule has a tail like a horse (short tailbone with long hair).

Hinny: This is the term used for the hybrid animal produced when the female ass (jennet) is mated to the male horse (stallion) to produce a foal. There are both male hinnies and females. For all purposes, hinnies are classified with mules.

Horse Mule: The proper term for the male mule. All male mules should be gelded, since stallion mules are very sexually active, even though they are sterile. Many people refer to a male mule as a john mule, but the term is informal.

Mare Mule: The proper term for the female mule. The common informal term for the female mule is molly mule, and is frequently used.

Mare Hinny or Horse Hinny: The terminology for the hinny follows that of the mule for clarity.

Mule Colt or Mule Filly: The young male or female mule under the age of three. When show classes are listed they are frequently listed as "Mare Mule under One year of age" etc. This is of course correct but more difficult to use in speech.

Miniature Mule: Bred from various types of pony mares or Miniature Horse mares. 50" at the withers is considered the cut-off height for miniature mules.

Saddle Mule: Bred from mares of riding horse breeding. These vary in size from small to very large but having riding type confirmation.

Pack/Work Mules: Bred from mares with some draft blood or of heavy work types rather than for saddle type confirmation.

Draft Mules: These are the largest mules and are bred from various Draft mares. Belgian mules are the most common, valued for their bright sorrel color, but mules from Percheron, Clydesdale, Shire and other draft breeds are also seen. The larger and heavier the better with these mules, but refinement is desired as well.

Gaited Mules: Bred from the saddle-gaited horses including Tennessee Walking, Foxtrotter, Paso Fino and Peruvian Paso. A jack exhibiting a smooth singlefoot type gait is desirable as the sire of these mules. Gaited mules have their own registry in the American Gaited Mule Association, which requires qualification testing of the animal to show gait, as well as video evaluation of the sire and dam. These mules may also be registered in the American Mule Registry (ADMS) as Saddle Mules of gaited breeding.

Community on 10/05/2016