Mules versus Donkeys

[Andy Carson]

I am toying with the idea of getting a small mule or large donkey to perform some light jobs on my small farm in a calm and relaxed manner. These jobs will be very intermitant, and I want an animal that will remember it’s training and remain calm after sitting a while. I am looking for something with a weight of about 600-700 lbs. I am sure there is alot of variation between individuals, but how do donkeys compare to mules in general for this type of work? Are there any other special considerations that I should take into account? It seems that pony sized mules are out there, but they do not seem as common as a large donkey… Many of the mules were worked though, and many of the donkeys have been only pets. I do not know if a donkey that has been a pet for a while will be more difficult to put to work. My dad has a mule that has been a pet for his whole life and it seems like he would be hard to work with seriously (he would need to get rid of the idea that humans are treat and petting machines)… I could get a young one, but I am unsure of how long you have to wait to work them hard and not sure if I have any buisness breaking a mule (or possibly a donkey?). I talked to a guy that breaks donkeys to drive at two years old, but they seem like pretty light loads they are pulling at this age… Do mules mature at roughly the same rate? Thanks for any advice or thoughts

[sanhestar]

Hello,

I read – no own experience – that donkeys mature around age 5-6, mules are similar there.

From my point of view, donkeys are more “high maintenance” in keeping compared to mules because

– they need a shelter against rain 24/7
– they quite easy get hoof problems when standing in mud
– you have to watch their diet closely to avoid foundering and other health/diet related issues when they are not working

Around here sound donkeys that are able to work and/or work harder aren’t easy to get. Many have conformation problems.

[Robert MoonShadow]

Sanhestar; I’d have to respectfully disagree with you about the donkey’s hardiness…that’s where the mule gets it’s from, after all – mine don’t even go into the barn when it snows/rains, unless the wind’s real bad. Mine’s hooves do just fine with a every-eight-week trim and no shoes. {They’re on the paved roads much & get daily picking, though}.
Mouse; From just dealing with these two & with the boss’s two work/pack mules, I’d have to say that the donks are more laid-back and willing to accept honest mistakes made in handling them…I make a few (everyday, it seems!), and they are just so sweet and willing to please, for me. I think that a mule of the same size might be stronger, though…but am not sure. I’m under the impression that with mules, some are more horse-like (to me) in attitude, behavior, etc. and some are more donkey-like, if that makes any sense.
Another aspect; my 2 donks (large-standards) are an 18-year old and her 9-year old daughter that have been pasture ornaments for most of the last 9 years. Kinsey (the mother) was trained for all kinds of harness work – farm chorres, wagons/carts, pleasure driving & even parades. Her daughter Jenny-Mae had some saddle-riding experience. Kinsey took right off with the refresher copurse I’m putting her through, and Jenny-Mae watches & learns a lot from it…I don’t have enough experience with teaching mules, to know if they’d do the same way.
Hope this helps a bit. Either way, I don’t think you can go very wrong with a longear!

[sanhestar]

I can only repeat what I read about donkeys and heard from people who have donkeys. They basically say the same. It may depend on the area and number of rain days per year and type of soil.

[Andy Carson]

Thanks all, I am not looking for an extremely strong animal, just something slow, steady, reliable, and low maintainence. I have a horse I can use for heavy jobs. I met a few donkeys a little bit ago and seemed to get along with them well. That is an important factor to me, but was curious if I was missing out on something as to why they are not more popular. I had also read that they don’t do well in the wet, and pittsburgh gets alot of rain. I didn’t know if that mattered all that much though, because I sure see them (especially the mini-donks) in almost every region of the country. It seems that if given a small shelter and a dry place to stand, there shouldn’t be any other special care needs…

[Rod]

I agree that they are possibly an underutilized resource. We have two 12 hand gelding donkeys and recently acquired a mule. The donkeys definitely do not like to get wet as contrasted with our mule who will stand out in the rain when a dry shelter is available. The think the thing with our donkeys is they can’t pull that much and one would have to almost design and build special down sized equipment to use them effectively. Donkeys are very affectionate and generally like people. They also need an equine companion. I have found them to be very smart and easily trained to do most anything. But they can be stubborn also. Ours are calf guards as the primary farm job and my wife rides them and drives a small cart which one pulls.

The mules like the donkeys come in all sizes. My molly mule is a 15 hand Percheron cross and is very easy on the hay stack, stubborn, yet easy to train, very relational, and should be able to do a lot more work than the donkeys. I am just at the getting to know you stage with her and doing some light training/tune up stuff.

Donkeys seem to be less sensitive than my mule and a little easier to handle. They are small enough that I can horse them around somewhat if they try and plant themselves where I don’t want them something I can’t do with the mule. I know donkeys are used a lot in underdeveloped countries and you can find a lot of examples of that on the web.

If donkeys could do the work of a mule I would have donkeys although I do really like my mule.

[Author]

Posts