Mules and donkeys are the best choice for trail packing and light to medium cart work on poor feed and rough ground: they have tough hooves that often need no shoes, and are cautious enough to avoid injuring themselves. A mule is a horse and donkey cross and is sterile, so you must keep horses and donkeys to produce them, and it has less raw pulling power than a draft horse.
Part of Draft Animal Training
Mules and donkeys as working animals: their endurance, sure-footedness and cautious intelligence, and the limits that come with their smaller size.
Mules Trade Raw Power For Endurance And Self-Preservation
A mule combines horse speed with donkey endurance and sure-footedness. It thrives on poorer feed than a horse, has extremely tough hooves, and is smart and cautious, so it is less likely to injure itself. That makes it the standard animal for mountain pack transport.
The limits are breeding and size. Mules are sterile, so a community needs both horses and donkeys to produce them. A mule is smaller than a draft horse, so it has less raw pulling power. A mule can be stubborn when it senses danger or overwork; the carrier calls this self-preservation, so stopping is information, not defiance.
What You Need
- Breeding stock or a purchase source — horses and donkeys, because mules cannot breed.
- Light to medium vehicles — a mule suits light to medium cart work.
- A pack saddle for trail work; see Pack Saddle Design.
- Hay, with a little grain for hard work — see the ration below.
Method: Use A Mule Within Its Strengths
Step 1: Choose pack work for rough ground. Mountain trails, streams and rubble are where mules are strongest. For packing limits, use Weight Limits by Animal.
Step 2: Feed a 400 kg mule on the ration table. Idle: 6-8 kg hay. Light work: 7 kg hay plus 1 kg grain. Heavy work: 7 kg hay plus 3 kg grain.
Step 3: Trim hooves. Trim every 8-10 weeks. Mules rarely need shoes, though rocky ground still calls for a hoof check.
Step 4: Read a refusal. If a mule stops, look at the load, the trail ahead and the harness before correcting it.
Worked Example
Pack loads in the pack-animal table, set beside body weight:
- Small mule, 350 kg: comfortable 45-55 kg. 45 / 350 = 12.9%; 55 / 350 = 15.7%.
- Large mule, 450 kg: comfortable 60-70 kg. 60 / 450 = 13.3%; 70 / 450 = 15.6%.
- Donkey, 200 kg: comfortable 30-40 kg. 30 / 200 = 15%; 40 / 200 = 20%.
These fractions are computed here from the table, not stated by it, and the table is for fit animals on moderate terrain.
Heavy-work feed for the 400 kg mule: 7 + 3 = 10 kg a day; 10 / 400 = 2.5% of body weight.
Common Mistakes
- Overloading because the mule keeps walking — mules tolerate overload until they refuse, and an overloaded pack animal goes lame.
- Treating refusal as stubbornness — a mule that stops is usually reacting to danger or overwork.
- Planning to breed mules from mules — they are sterile.
Safety
Kicks and falls from a pack animal
A mule can kick in any direction, so approach from the front or side, never from behind without a hand on it. Never tie a lead rope around a hand or wrist, and never let a string of animals be tied by a rope that cannot break or be cut free if one falls.
What’s Next
- Learn next: Pack Animal Management — saddles, panniers and trail work
- Combine with: Hoof & Foot Care — keeping a tough hoof sound