mulesuk

I was wondering: are there acctually mule breeders in the UK? It seems rediciolous to me to buy mules from the States or even from Spain or France if we could do this here...
The other thing I wanted to ask is:Why are mules still so unpopular in this country? They are harder then horses and more useful and stronger then donkeys. Or am I wrong?
By the way Iread that the German Army has bought recently 8 mules from Spain as they can't access certain areas in the Bavarian mountain with vehicles. I also like the idea going shopping on my future mule...
Tina

Susannah Powel's the only person I know who bred mules for a purpose,she breeds them for loggig and work.
On the whole I think they are ignored as most people think they are either donkeys or donkey sized and lets face it not many people do anything with their donkeys!Can't remember if I've ever seen a ridden donkey that wasn't at a beach,fete or occasionally at a donkey show.With the Donkey Sanctuary laying down the law that you can't ride a donkey if you are over 7st (Or is ir 8?) most people wouldn't think of it.
People tend to ride mules in countrys where life is hard and their animals have to work for a living although I think Albie once told me there is no word for a mule rider in Spain.Times have changed from when important people were mounted on mules like Kings,Bishops and Popes.
Even in the States where Mule breeding was encouraged by Washington,(indeed if it wasn't for Mules and to a lesser extent the Oxen then most of the U.S. wouldn't've been "won")quite a few welknown people would use a mule as their main source of transport and then switch to a horse for parading!
Personally I can't see why anyone in their right mind would ride a horse and pack a mule it ought to be the other way round

Very nice response! Thank you!
Who is Suzannah P.? Is she a member on this forum? And has she got a website?
I am surrounded by horseowners and when I mention my plans to open a mule trekking bussiness I get these sorry looks as to say 'poor thing can't afford a proper horse...'. Oh, and the day I heard the comment:....yes, but they do bray! Hmmmmm....
So shouldn't be something done to increase their popularity???
Tina

p.s. Are there any good books around about mules?

Try contacting Longears and co (Helen Brodie in Lincs)she bought a Mule (in the womb but now about 18mths I think) off Susannah (helenbrodie2@aol.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false)
Personally I think its easier to Import than breed as at least you know what you are getting and can start work on it straight away.
The answer to your horsey friends?

Mules are dependable and steady while horses are all prance fart and no sense! ---General Joe Stillwell

"You had A mule .. . . And then found out it was waaaay smarter than you and went back to horses . . . right?"
All equines are the same, God just trimmed the ears on the dumb ones.(muleskinners forum)

My Favourite
Know what they say about horse owners?
They can't afford to buy a Good Riding Mule. and to Proud to ride a
COW....




Books well theres The Mule by Lorrain Travis former president of the BMS,
Training Mules and Donkeys by Meredith Hodges

The Modern Mule by Paul and Betty Hutchins
The Mule companion by Cynthia Attar

Ooh I forgot
The Natural Superiority of Mules John Huer (Good Coffee table book)

Haha, you obviously do like mules???
Thank you so much for comments and advice reg books.
Reg buying from the States I just think we are talking here about a lot of money: firstly it's the purchase price of, well say $3500 (is it enough?) and then the transport costs of approx &4500? (or did I read this wrong?). I mean these are gracy costs, don't you agree?
Well, I will start with buying the recommended books and then will see...
Tina

Look at it this way.....buying a descent QUALITY brood mare,finding semen ir a Quality Donkey stud that will work on mares,feeding said Broodmare during pregnancy,hoping foal survives,rearing till old enough to start,cost of starting....all adds up!
There are Still mules in Spain at present and Portugal

I was going to breed a few mules a year and I'll be honest, "running" (OK logging on occasionally and checking we haven't been spammed probably doesn't count!!) this forum has put me off - The issue I have is I'm not sure people will pay enough for a mule to justify me breeding them (too many posts wanting a ride and drive longeared saint, over 14.2 for less than a grand!)

Simply I would need at least £2000 (preferably nearer £3000) a foal for me to make it worthwhile using my already proven quality mares and sending them out to an outside donkey. The costs of a stud fee, stud keep, diesel etc would be upfront (we stand our own stallions and only tend to use an outside stallion on one mare a year) so more outlay and therefore more risk per foal. In reality I would probably buy in a couple of mares as I'd like to breed unusual coloured mules so probably looking at spending £2000 a mare too.

I would love to breed mules, I suspect I will at some point in the next few years but at the moment I cannot risk it. I'm not sure mules can be bred commercially in this country, maybe for hobby breeders that don't need to make a profit?

Do people want quality or will just long ears do?
Will people pay for quality?

Importing is fine though you don't have any guarantee of what you will get, costs are high, shipping fever is a risk... breeding is a joy when it goes right and a heartbreaker when it goes wrong, raising a foal to being your riding horse/mule is immensely satisfying - we all want different things!!

I think one should have rather a horse stallion and donkey mares. Apparently I read somewhere mules learn all their behaviour from their mums. Or would one rather have a mule with horse behaviour (this is not a sarcistic question!!!)
Anyway, I have got a German/French friend who breeds Poitous (A-Class) and he has got a super stallion. Now he would make a brill father (the stallion...)
But what kind of horse would one want: thorough bred?, Haflinger type...to cross with a Poitou?
I would like to see mules over 14.2 (you are right, Mulesuk!!!), but not with the look of a shire horse as I can't imagine riding one of these to be comfortable.
So what is your experience?

Does anyone has addresses of breeders in Spain or Portugal, by the way?

Tina

... but the horse stallion x donkey mare cross is less fertile than the other way round; and at least a mule with a horse mum knows exactly how to behave like a horse in a herd situation.
As for Poitous would one need to be careful to use a short, strong-backed mare to make up for the (??reputed ??suspected ??proven) lack of back strength? Would a large mare, AI and a nice typey 13hh donkey (occasionally found in UK) not be better option to produce a riding-type mule? Or do you specifically want a big, weight-carrying chunky mule in which case a traditional Poitous x draft mare (or cob-shaped stocky mare like a Haflinger) would be very sensible.... except that as others have pointed out, you have to then wait realistically 6 years from now (breed 2010, foal 2011, ready for work 2015) to get any serious use out of your mule. There is no simple, cheap, or quick way to do it. Or you might get lucky nd stumble across something - does anyone know what happened to that nice-looking large 4 year old that was advertised recently?

The problem with breeding donkey mare to horse stallion is that fertility rates are significantly worse. It would also mean you would get a hinny rather than a mule, though in my experience/research its not a major difference. That said I have a few spot appaloosa stallion who has given my mule "the look" so I'm thinking he wouldn't be adverse to doing the wild thing with a donkey. So if I stumbled upon a nice big donkey mare I'd certainly give it a go (for a spotty hinny).

My brood mares have fantastic temperaments, thats not me seeing them through rose coloured glasses, I am brutal about moving on mares that don't. So from that point of view I don't mind if they have horse foals or mule foals, they are lovely girls who produce super tempered foals. I did buy a prospective mule mom but she was not as nice tempered once I got her home as I wanted so I sold her rather than breeding from her. I'm going to get shot down here but in my experience I've met some really filthy natured donkeys and I'm pretty sure they all kick, so I'm not sure that they would put nicer natures on the foals?

I like my stock breeds so I'd breed from Appaloosas, Quarter Horses and Criollo's. Personally I don't get on with Halflingers and Fjords so they wouldn't be my taste, I suspect it would breed something a bit too food orientated and single minded? (Though in nice shades - LOL!!)

Some lovely crosses about from thoroughbred and spanish mares too! I guess a good mare will breed a good mule almost regardless of breed.

Didn't see Elkay's post before I typed mine so yes I agree the huge problem that way round is fertility I'm afraid.

http://www.ruralheritage.com/mule_paddo ... whynot.htm
None of my donkey mares kick (humans)but wow!Do they make my donkey stallion work hard for his oats!
Sarah-lee is a Part Bred Arab Hinney
and is only 13.hh+ but she was always great on fun rides no matter how long or hilly(though I never pushed her because of her age.
I've lost my Portugal contact because of computer problems but I think theres a link on this forum and I got both Malaga and Picasso from Albie in Spain http://www.mulesspain.com/
So did Heliotrope max-has-arrived-t380.html

So really, if I/we/you found a lovely looking entire donkey with a heigth of say 13 hh would you give it a try do breed a mule foal, or not?

Nope!