Mules Anyone? (update)

[AnnB (NE)]

The owner of the mare I have is adament that she wants the mare bred this spring/summer. She doesn't want her to turn into a barron mare, which I can understand. I don't charge her for the mare being here, I have full use of her -- in over 2 years, the owner has been out to ride twice. The owner has no use for a foal so the foal will be mine, and since the foal will be mine, all costs associated with breeding her are mine too.
(and no, I'm not complaining -- it would cost me LOT more to buy, or even lease, a mare of her quality and training)

The mare is breeding stock Paint. Originally we were looking at finding a Paint or Appaloosa stud to breed her too, but stud fee and mare care costs are too high compared to what a foal is worth.

BUT, DH suggested that maybe it might not be a bad idea to breed her to a jack donkey for a mule foal. I've never worked with mules, but it sounds like a mule would be a useful animal on a small farm.

I've done some reading on breeding for mules and found some interesting information. Such as --
A lot of mares won't stand for a jack and have to be hobbled and blindfolded!
Mule foals have been documented on BLM land -- jacks fought and defeated band stallions, took over the bands, and bred the mares.

Does anyone have any experience in breeding a mare to a jack?
If you were breeding a mare (or 2) to a jack, would you find a breeder to take the mare(s) to, or would you buy a jack and go for it yourself? I can buy a nice 4 y/o jack for $50 (not halterbroke). I haven't started researching how hard it will be to find someone locally that is breeding mules. The vet and the farrier might be able to give me some leads, but if nothing else, there are a lot of Amish just east of here and they still use mules for field work.

Ann B

[rezzfullacres]

We are "mule" people...The best advise I can give you is do not try it yourself the first time...Some mares won't stand for a jack just as some jacks won't breed mares...Find someone who has a standing jack and let them handle the business at hand or you could do AI, there are plenty of good jacks out there to purchase from...Mules are a unique animal and not everyone is cut out to be owned by them..Good luck to you, I wouldn't trade our mules for any horse out there but I have been told that I am a little bit differant anyway so oh well. You didn't ask but I will warn you that mules can become very territorial and see small four legged animals as predators and may try to kill them, calves and mules generally do not mix, nor many other newborns. Mules have also been known to steal babies that are a little bit older... Not all mules do this some just have a very strong protective gene...

[BasleeBackwoodsFarm]

Our Appy stands just fine for our miniature donkey. We are on our 4th mid/mini mule due around July. He stands at the top of the hill and her below. No help from us either. DH has a regular sized mule and she needs to be broke but no time and I'm to old to do it and don't want either of us to get hurt. He always wanted one so now I have another lawn ornament.

[rezzfullacres]

Mar 8, 2011 12:13:35 GMT -5 AnnB (NE) said:

it would cost me LOT more to buy, or even lease, a mare of her quality and training)

/quote]

One other point, would you breed a mare of this quality to a stallion that costs $50, you usually aren't getting much of a jack for that price..

[suzorse]

I can not give you much info but you will need to find a mammoth jack for breeding to a full size mare
the reason for the hobbles is because , mares can freak when the jack brays in their ear hope this helps
Suzanne

[cam]

search in your area for a good jack as tall as you can find and check out his foals maybe one that is throwing good natural gaited foals that are easy to handle. If your wannting color find one that is throwing color it just adds money to your baby in the long run.

[rezzfullacres]

The annual Mule and Donkey Breeders Guide is out now... It is in the March issue of Western Mule Mag. Lots of good Jacks in there...Most sell straws or will stand mares at thier farms...

[jerseyrose]

My mare was bred for her first time to a regular/ standard 56 inch jack. Not only did she stand, but she did it in a chute they had which the jack can stand on a platform so he could reach my 16.2 hand mare. I also had no experience owning a mule and I would advise you to get some knowledge from someone who does. I have had a huge learning experience with my now 5 year old guy. He has been so patient while I mess things up They just don't learn the same way as horses so all your horse training experience you can basically throw out the window. One thing I do know, is he is under my skin and I love him to pieces. His personality (although ornery at times) is unbelievable and they are like no other equine. He turned out to be 16 hands so if you mare is a good size you may not need a "mammoth jack". Look at Mules and More website, or The Lucky Three Ranch website. Good Luck.
Oh yeah, find a jack whose offspring are known to be " in your pocket" types. See some in person if you can. It makes a difference.

[AnnB (NE)]

Looks like I found the Jack, he's in Dixon, Missouri. He belongs to Pat Ragan, the owner of Gentle Ben, a Champion Gaited Jack.
C-2 isn't being bred to the gaited Jack due to the slim chance of actually getting a gaited offspring. We're using another of his Jacks that has a history of throwing good trail mules.

$200 with a live foal guarantee.

Ann B

[jerseyrose]

Yes, The chance is there that you would get a gaited mule and if you DIDN'T want one you would most certainly get one! I am glad you found one that is proven to throw good babies.

[AnnB (NE)]

Apr 3, 2011 15:50:12 GMT -5 jerseyrose said:

Yes, The chance is there that you would get a gaited mule and if you DIDN'T want one you would most certainly get one! I am glad you found one that is proven to throw good babies.

I would dearly LOVE to have a gaited mule! BUT, with the mare being a non-gaited stockhorse-type mare, the chances are slim that a foal would be gaited. I'd pay the higher stud fee for the gaited Jack, IF there were a good chance of getting a gaited foal, but since the chances are so slim, I can't justify paying the higher amount.

Ann B

[kristi]

I think $200 w/live foal guarantee is a great price. Is that for a live cover and include mare care or is that for straws? There have been a few mules for sale around here lately and they seem to sell well. We went to the Canton Trade Days in Canton, Tx this past Friday and saw a gorgeous team in harnesses and the wagon ready beside them to show they will pull. We also saw 2 very large mules, one I would have loved to have brought home. They are definitely gaining in popularity.

[AnnB (NE)]

Apr 3, 2011 21:54:42 GMT -5 kristi said:

I think $200 w/live foal guarantee is a great price. Is that for a live cover and include mare care or is that for straws? There have been a few mules for sale around here lately and they seem to sell well. We went to the Canton Trade Days in Canton, Tx this past Friday and saw a gorgeous team in harnesses and the wagon ready beside them to show they will pull. We also saw 2 very large mules, one I would have loved to have brought home. They are definitely gaining in popularity.

That's live cover, no mare care. $100 booking fee, applied to the stud fee.
They want the mare to first have a Breeding Soundness Exam and have any problems corrected (such as fluid in the uterus -- she is an 8 y/o maiden mare) and they want her to be ultrasounded to pinpoint where she is in her cycle, so we'll be able to plan when she'll be in heat. He said that since he started requiring the BSE and ultrasound that he rarely has to rebreed a mare.
We're planning on breeding in June, I talked to the vet today and while he's a good cow vet, he's a great horse vet, you could even call him a horse specialist. Sounded like it's all "old hat" to him, so hopefully everything will go as planned and we'll have a baby mule next year.

Ann B

[Jerseylady*Heather*]

We have gaited horses (fox trotters). We have known quite a few people that have bred non gaited horses to gaited horses and the trend is they usually have gaited foals. The value of a gaited mule is really high around here I have seen two yr old unbroke ones go for $2000; and up from there for the older broke ones. We know one guy who paid $10,000 for his gaited mule allthough it was a beautiful animal and moved like a dream. There are different degrees of gaited horses We have two mares both reg fox trotters, sisters, and one has a much better gait then the other. We have an old stallion with an amazing gait and he has never sired anything that didnt come out gaited. He has numerous foals out there we have only owned him for short while but we have been very impressed with him so far. We are waiting for our first foals to be born this spring. We bred a small well gaited fox trotter stallion to our two non-gaited pony mares hoping for gaited poines. I fully expect the off spring to be gaited. If it were me I would probably go for the gaited mule but I am biased. Either way sounds like it should be a nice little mule.

[Bobbie]

Ann I can send you to some mule sites if you would like to read some more things about mules and their behaviour. They are pretty different than horses with their actions and reactions. I have owned and ridden mules for over 10 yrs. I also trained my own mule colts and went to several clinics with him.

[AnnB (NE)]

Apr 4, 2011 21:14:16 GMT -5 Bobbie said:

Ann I can send you to some mule sites if you would like to read some more things about mules and their behaviour. They are pretty different than horses with their actions and reactions. I have owned and ridden mules for over 10 yrs. I also trained my own mule colts and went to several clinics with him.

That would be great, thanks!

From what I've read so far, it sounds like a mule would fit our needs quite well. I really like the aspect of their highly developed sense of self-preservation and that they're not as "flighty" as horses -- seems like that should make for an animal that would be safer for children. The grandkids are already talking about doing 4H with mules! They're even wanting to breed the pony mare now, which we won't. Granma lied to the kids -- you see, older ponies like Gracie are so delicate that if she were to get pregnant, they wouldn't be able to ride her at all. Such a baldface lie! Gracie is only 12 and she's had a couple of foals, the last time was 3 years ago, so she *could* be bred. And of course, she's not so delicate that she couldn't be ridden while pregnant -- but I had to come up with something!
And that worked real well for 5 & 6 year olds who love to ride the pony!

Ann B

[kristi]

Granma!!!! LOL. Sounds like you've got a great plan for getting your little mule. I think they're really pretty and have heard they're great to ride but have NO experience with them. I would love to have one that could pull though. Looking forward to seeing pics of yours next year.

[treatlisa]

Oh fun! Good luck with your mule project!

We have enjoyed our mules. I will say though, being raised with horses all my life.... mules think MUCH differently. I know you are a ways off from having to worry about that, but, just sayin', I have had to relearn a lot with the mules.

Ours are both very kind and willing, however, I find them hard to read...hard to tell what they are about to do...if you know what I mean. And the part about them not being as flighty as horses has its downside....they tend to want to be a little pushier. Important to cultivate a healthy respect from the very start. I can't wait to hear how it goes!! Long ways off, I know. Lisa

[jhranch]

Ann were located in northeast missouri. We have 4 mare that should foal within the next 2 weeks with mule foals. 2 are draft horse and 2 are draft crosses. They are all bred by a mammoth jack. We do have a jack that we will be breeding with this year, and will offer him to others next year. Anyway, feel free to call jeff at 660_353_1138 if u have any mule questions

[parndt]

Ooooo do I have a mule story for you!! Ooooo it's too funny.
My grandpa had two mules, Rocky and Dolly. Dolly was super sweet and very, very gentle. Rocky, her brother was ENORMOUS, very smart and sneaky.
My parents decided to go riding one day, Mom was on my grandma's Arab gelding Smoky and my dad rode Rocky. They are riding along, Rocky's nose in Smoky's flank. They decided Rocky was going to behave so Mom passed Rocky's lead back to my dad. Mom was in the lead, heard an "umph" and turned in time to see Rocky racing past her, my dad sitting in front of the saddle, feet still in the stirrups. When Mom caught up with them my dad had flipped over Rocky's head and that crazy mule was standing there staring at him in (mock) confusion.