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DIFFERENCES BETWEEN A DONKEY, A MULE AND A HORSE

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Differences between a donkey, a mule and a horse

The mule is a cross between a donkey and a mare. Their offspring are called “muleton”. If a stallion mates with a jenny (a female donkey), their offspring differ from muleton and are called “hinnies”.
But we are only interested in mules, the offspring of a jackass (male donkey) and a mare (female horse), because mules are almost always barren. If a male and female mule mate, and the offspring is delivered (which is very unlikely), in nine out of ten cases it is of unsound constitution and cannot survive. The sexual activity of mules is therefore normal but barren.



Physical distinction

In basic terms, mules have the ears, hooves and back of a donkey, and the tail of a horse (long and luxuriant). They have a stride which is halfway between a trot and a gallop. Finally, mules bray while horses, as everyone knows, neigh.

Intellectual difference

Their physical differences have necessarily given rise to behavioural differences in similar situations during the evolution of these animal cousins. For example, the donkey does not run well and cannot rely on running away from a problem. It has to confront it. This means that it has had many more experiences during its evolution than the horse, which is perfectly equipped to turn tail and flee at the merest hint of confrontation with barely a thought. Its solution is so effective when faced with a predator that it does not need to think about it any further. The result is that the donkey has more data stored in its genes and can analyse situations better than a horse (which is quite a surprise, isn't it?!).
This means that a donkey kicks out and then goes calmly on its way (or perishes), while a horse gets into a panic if it can't flee and will only kick out as a last resort. Its panic can make it do something it would rather not do; to cause this, you just have to make it even more scared than it is already and then channel it by very brutally tugging on its bit, so that it gets over its fear and obeys.
The donkey and the mule are more docile, because they run less quickly than a horse. They have therefore evolved (there are still natural mules in India called "onagers" - further explanation from the guide), and some of them have endangered themselves in the process of course, by confronting very dangerous situations. This is why you will not be able to make a mule or a donkey walk if they think, for example, that they are carrying too much weight in their packs! Intellectually, they make no connection between their problem (the burden) and moving (flight). Because the connection has never been made during its ancestors’ evolution, the donkey does not make it either and has no access to this solution. Its logical response, or rather “the” logical response, is to tolerate the lack of comfort caused by the excessive burden by remaining stationary.
Even if you were incredibly brutal, and by chance you made it move a few metres, you would eventually have to enter into a (gestural) dialogue and harmony with the animal, in a completely different way.
Mules have the calm and health of a donkey with the power of a horse. A burdened mule only needs a 40cm wide clear space to move forward while a horse will refuse to enter a gap of less than 90cm and will be aware of the empty space around it.


A farmer and his donkeys bringing salt up to the high mountain pasture

If you want to work with animals you must get into their mindset. If you go to France, it’s best to be able to speak French. Similarly, if you want to work with animals, you are strongly advised to assimilate new information.
The muleteer who curses his mule is just confronting his own limitations. He needs to focus on himself. Having said that, it’s not as easy as it sounds and nobody can claim never to have run after a mule across the mountain pastures!

And what does the mule think about all this?

Mules only leave the mountains during the two summer months and live in their prairies for the rest of the year, so monotony quickly becomes the rule.

The summer period is finally their chance to not only graze on the tasty mountain grass, but also rediscover surroundings, see new sights and reclaim territory... And what about the enormous packs we saddle on their backs? Well volume does not necessarily have anything to do with weight, as a kilo of feathers and kilo of lead demonstrate!

For a group of twelve people, a mule weighing five hundred kilos and measuring 170cm across the withers carries the baggage.

Their wellbeing is our prime concern (we put no bits in their mouths) and their working conditions are irreproachable! It is obviously out of the question to ask an animal to carry more than it is able to and to thrash it to make it move!

They are fed rations and food supplements in the morning and the evening, not because they are tiring themselves out (they really aren't), but simply because when you are active, you eat more than when you're kicking your heels in the pasture!


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