Mounted search and rescue

[Karen Nesbitt <spanishequines@yahoo.com>]

Responding to:

Message: 1
Date: Wed, 12 Aug 2009 22:49:39 -0700 (PDT)
From: ALLEN SNYDER <allendana1@sbcglobal.net>
Subject: [MSAR] Mules for MSAR
To: Mounted search and rescue <msar-riders@lists.ibiblio.org>
Message-ID: <213788.58238.qm@web82205.mail.mud.yahoo.com" ymailto="mailto:213788.58238.qm@web82205.mail.mud.yahoo.com">213788.58238.qm@web82205.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
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How many of you own and use mules for search work??? I?have only worked with horses?for about 28 years and have been learning about horse mounted work for?about 2 years.? There are some great qualities mules?have that may?be?very advantageous, but I would appreciate resources ?and what to avoid.? Thank you.?

?Dana S.? in Kansas??
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Hi, for years we have been trying to breed our Pasos for gaited mules.  We have friends that own them and swear by them.  Not only are they worthy trial animals, their endurance sureness of foot and sensibility on the trail is marvelous.  If you have one that gaits, you are in 7th heaven!  AND they do sell for a PREMIUM. (Well over $3500 and some near $10,000 plus!)   With or without gait, they are superbly surefooted.  We have friends that have draft mule hitches and that is the only kind of equine they would own.

 

The thing about a mule is is YOU are either a mule person or not.  Same with Jacks.  Same with hot bloods.  If you do not have more patience than a saint when it comes to the hybrids and hotbloods, then you are in trouble from the gitgo!  They are smarter than you think and will get your number faster than speed dial! 

 

We have a jackstallion and he is the darnedest critter I know!  Smart but has his own way.  While I do not use the jack for much of anything other than a guard animal in the pasture with our paso mares due to his being a small standard and with a big mouth!...(too small for me to ride)  we love him dearly.  He has no interest in breeding our larger mares and will let you know if anything is not kosher!  The thing with jacks, they either love mares or not.  If not, then you got no mule baby!  So unless our guy is the exception, I am inclined to beleive gelding a jack is not always necessary if you have a jackstallion that you want to pasture with mares.  Ours is 7 now and has had every opportunity in the world and has had for years to breed our smaller mares, but he is just happy to have their company and is not interested in doing the deed with them.  I truly wish ours was not such a gentleman.

 

Some of the larger breeding jackstallions in our area that we had used did have issues with libido in our neck of the woods so that put us out of production. We tried several years running to have a mule foal only to learn the jack that we were using had issues with his hormones and  were how should we say a tad too much on the feminine side.  To this day we wish we could find a good jack that could do his thing with our mares.

 

I had a skinner come to our farm a few years back and was looking to scarf up all the gaited mules he could find to export them to South America as he was starting up a youth camp down there.  The very fact that he was willing to pay OUR asking price on a gaited mule was impressive and had we had any, he would have took them all!  The fact he was wanting to strickly use only gaited mules for the youth camp impressed me.

 

Expect to search for a custom saddle maker especially saddles and packs when it comes to mules.  Horse saddles do not fit them.  The whither is sculptured much differently.  Custom saddles can run big bucks.. several thousand for the right one.  Bridles and halters also fit a tad different than the regular horse equipment and not all saddleshops carry mule stuff!

 

Another thing, a mule and a donkey, neither will drink water if they are over heated.  Unlike a horse, a horse will quit often take water when overheated.

 

One thing I have found with our one donkey is that he attracts flies something terrible especially on his legs. Unfortuneately, his previous owner did manage to founder him and so in his particular case we need to be extra vigilant on fly watch as well as foot watch.  The flies will literally devour the hide off his legs.  And he needs to be trimmed more regular due to the founder.  I do beleive the laminitis is the reason as it is likened to him being a diabetic with high blood sugar.  Hence the bloodsugar was making him highly fly bait!  He loves to roll and keep dusty.  While his founder is under control, he will always be a laminitis case and the flies are always a menace to him due to this.  Dont know if this is true with many a mule being the mule is a hybrid.  For flys on any equine, we recomment FREEDOM SPOT ON.  One thing we are not sorry about is having this animal in our string.

 

Also antoher thing... I was told recently by a gal from the humane society that the majority of most of their worst cases are founderd donkeys and ponies.  People just do not seem to know how to manage them.  And most of them that they see are the ones already with ski feet. Trouble with the founder is is one day your good, and it does not take much and in a few days to go bad.  You have to be vigil.  As for founder in mules.. I for one have not heard of any, but that is not saying they are not out there. 

 

Good luck on your mule adventures if you decide to go there!

 

        Karen

Some trust in chariots, and others in horses: but we will always remember the name of the Lord our God.  Psalms 20:7..and the bay went forth,  and sought to go to and fro that they might walk to and fro through the earth: and he said, Get you hence, walk to and fro through the earth.  So they walked to and fro through the earth. Zec 6:7