Horse vs Mule

[desertdog]

Gotta' buy from someone who's "dead honest" and you can trust.. I got mine from Max Harsha and she was everything he said. Integrity, integrity, integrity..

[luckylqh]

I breed and raise quarterhorses and have bred and raised mules(my wifes idea) you can go through 2000 mules to find a good one,and even most good ones have some kind of quirk(horse people talk for bad habit). my advice to you would be to go to a ranch that raises their own horses and buy you a at least 10 yr old cow pony thats been rode 10,000 miles by a good cowboy, just be careful you dont buy a crippled horse,take someone with you that knows what to look for , and always and I mean always make them(the owner) get on the horse and ride it first

[Maddoglures]

I breed and raise quarterhorses and have bred and raised mules(my wifes idea) you can go through 2000 mules to find a good one,and even most good ones have some kind of quirk(horse people talk for bad habit). my advice to you would be to go to a ranch that raises their own horses and buy you a at least 10 yr old cow pony thats been rode 10,000 miles by a good cowboy, just be careful you dont buy a crippled horse,take someone with you that knows what to look for , and always and I mean always make them(the owner) get on the horse and ride it first

I like this last post and really love the last sentence.

I have a story I want to tell everyone, about 20 years ago I was looking for another young mule. Since I already had 10 mules, what was another one to feed. I wanted a older mule maybe 10 years old.

I had heard about a "Dun" colored John mule some 50 miles from my house in Salmon, Idaho. after calling the owner and making arrangments to see the mule in action.

Now, This is the real story behind this mule. I drove up to the owners house, he already had the mule tied up to a hitchin rail. I asked to see the mule handled, like pick up his feet, saddled up and just a qeneral all around inter action.

What happened next was really funny, but I know it hurt.
He tried to saddle the mule, but the saddle got bucked off three times.
i said no problem, offered to give him several hundred dollars less than he was asking. i guess, he took that as an insult. Because he said let me ride him out, this would show me that this mule was really a nice mule, just needed some long rides put on him.

Well he did get the saddle on, but after getting bucked off hard twice. I had seen enough, I offered him even less money than before, this was enough to send him in the house mad as hell.

I did not buy this mule, but I told a friend about what had happened.
It was a beautiful mule and he bought it a few weeks later.

This mule must have had a real liken for bucking. He said that it would just get in a bucking mood every once in a while, like maybe every month it would take a bad spell an start bucking. I laugh even today thinking about all the times he has been buck off that critter.

Sold it the next year to some packers. I never heard what ever happened after that.

Always have the owner of any horse or mule you plan to buy catch the animal, put the halter on and ride the animal in front of you. Some don`t like you putting a bit in their mouth, catching, riding and spook real easy about anything strange like blood.
Good Luck and have fun.

I will always be a mule man first.

[Benny G]

I had a 23 year old mule that would behave badly like that. He would be walking along without a care in the world, when all of a sudden, for no apparent reason, he would absolutely BLOW A GASKET!! Sometimes I could walk up to him in the middle of the pasture, sometimes I couldn't get close to him in a corral. One day he just fell over dead. Turns out, he had a .41 magnum hole through his heart!

[Dan Edwards]

I breed and raise quarterhorses and have bred and raised mules(my wifes idea) you can go through 2000 mules to find a good one,and even most good ones have some kind of quirk(horse people talk for bad habit). my advice to you would be to go to a ranch that raises their own horses and buy you a at least 10 yr old cow pony thats been rode 10,000 miles by a good cowboy, just be careful you dont buy a crippled horse,take someone with you that knows what to look for , and always and I mean always make them(the owner) get on the horse and ride it first

Great post and I'm a mule man but I couldnt agree with you more.

[mulehound]

Wish Paso mules were a little larger. The best monutain ledge jumping mules I have been around were out of Paso mares.
Just remember a bad mule will kill or cripple you, it's not if but when. Been riding one since 1980, never looked back.
14 yr old boy with Downs syndrome now rides my old fire breathing Timberpig mule. When I saw it happen and got the pics I could not believe it. That old mule tends that boy. It is like nothing I have ever seen. If I could ever learn how to post a pic on here I would.
Darrel.

[STUNTMAN]

Mulehound funny you should say that ....Uphill Doc went out and brought himself a real nice Paso mare and said if I wanted to I could breed her to a Jack this year.

[Dan Edwards]

Mulehound funny you should say that ....Uphill Doc went out and brought himself a real nice Paso mare and said if I wanted to I could breed her to a Jack this year.

They will be very small usually. I had one and he was 55 inches and thats about as big as they get normally. Some will make 14 hands though or a little better.

[hamilton10]

If you breed that Paso to a 15 hand mamoth jack you should get a 14-15 hand mule. I raised mules for years out of a 15 hand jack and bred some paso mares. Never had one smaller than 14.5 hands.

[Stubby]

he just fell over dead. Turns out, he had a .41 magnum hole through his heart!

I love that line

There is nice little paso fino molly mule here http://www.horsetopia.com/for-sale/classifieds/ad475032
if anyone in Northern Wash. or Eastern BC is reading this thread. She is kinda finely built and right on the 14 hh mark. I phoned and have a couple pics of her but the she was out of my price range considering she wasn't even started.

I've been working with a 4 yr old molly mule that I am in the process of buying if she comes along as expected. She seems to have a good mind but is kinda tall for my short ass to get up on. Anyway I am new to mules but know that getting a good saddle fit is REAL important but she is built just like a barrel and the saddle would be just as happy hanging under her belly as on her back. I sure as heck don't want to have to buy a mule saddle but wonder if you guys with mules get a good fit from a saddle with full or semi QH bars or have you found that you need a mule saddle. She is a tad plump right now.

[Benny G]

I have never bought a saddle just for a mule. I do, however, have to keep an eye on the shape of my mules. Mules tend to be easy keepers, not requiring near as much groceries as horses. As soon as I start hunting hard, my mules tend to shed weight.

[hamilton10]

On most mules you need a 3/4 rigging instead of a full rigging. which means that the d-rings for the billet and latigo are not all the way up on the front of the saddle. They are 3-4'' set back. This will keep from galling the animal in the cinch area behind the front legs. Keep the britching tight enough so the saddle dont work itself forward. There really isnt such thing as a mule saddle because if you have a saddle built to fit one mule it won't fit 1 out of 10 others.

[Benny G]

3 of my saddles (all that I have ever ridden) are 3/4 rigged. I ride them for the same reason - to keep from galling the horse OR mule. I have found that in very rough country, and even more so in hot country, it's just too easy to gall an animal with anything less than 3/4 rigging.

[horshur]

he just fell over dead. Turns out, he had a .41 magnum hole through his heart!

I love that line

There is nice little paso fino molly mule here http://www.horsetopia.com/for-sale/classifieds/ad475032
if anyone in Northern Wash. or Eastern BC is reading this thread. She is kinda finely built and right on the 14 hh mark. I phoned and have a couple pics of her but the she was out of my price range considering she wasn't even started.

I've been working with a 4 yr old molly mule that I am in the process of buying if she comes along as expected. She seems to have a good mind but is kinda tall for my short ass to get up on. Anyway I am new to mules but know that getting a good saddle fit is REAL important but she is built just like a barrel and the saddle would be just as happy hanging under her belly as on her back. I sure as heck don't want to have to buy a mule saddle but wonder if you guys with mules get a good fit from a saddle with full or semi QH bars or have you found that you need a mule saddle. She is a tad plump right now.

Clint if the mule is real fat the saddle is going to turn it has nothing to do with the bars on your saddle. I wouldn't spend any money on a saddle till she is thin.

[marty]

I have been outfitting in British Columbia 20+ years and have a string of 25 animals. 14 mules and 11 horses. Good qualities in both but definitely prefer the mule for safe mountain travel. Only buy a mule from a quality breeder someone who has real nice mares....mine all come from Kentucky. A well bred and broke mule is pretty tough to beat. Mules for mountains and horses for arenas......