# Eventing Mules



## NBEventer

So I have recently stumbled across a super cute mule. He is just a baby at 5 months and the horse breed in him is QH. Momma was a donkey. 

I am toying around with the idea of buying him and training him to do some lower level eventing and jumping. Eventually he would become DH's for trail riding and possibly used in my school as a lease horse. I wouldn't use him as a full time school horse.

Am I crazy for thinking this? I don't have a lot of experience with mules, and honestly they are not that common around here as anything more then a pet.

I have seen that they are rather common in the US as eventing horses. So thoughts? Experience? Please share and help me decide if I want to do this. Thankfully his owner is not in a rush to get rid of him so I do have time to mull it over.


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## Corporal

Mules SOMEHOW really like to jump. I bought one that I could never even get on, and he kept jumping my 5' fence gate! The US Army jumped their mules and we ALL know about their endurance abilities. I say, go for it, and do us a favor and keep a journal about it.


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## NBEventer

Well I have to talk to DH. He doesn't know I am considering this yet lol. However I am really leaning towards it.

I wont lie, I really want to do it to see the reaction of other competitors around here lol. The coach I use for my cross country schooling is going to poop his pants the day I show up at a lesson on a mule. And then, knowing the area I live in, I will have started a trend and everyone will have one lol.


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## gypsygirl

i thought mules couldnt compete at USEA events...correct me if im wrong


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## NBEventer

gypsygirl said:


> i thought mules couldnt compete at USEA events...correct me if im wrong


As far as I am aware mules are allowed at Equine Canada horse trials in pre-entry, entry and pre-training. I don't know about higher levels but I wouldn't be using him to do anything more then pre-training. I have another horse to ride at higher levels. 

I will have to look through the rule books. But considering a horse does not require a passport and license for anything below training level I don't see it being an issue.


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## xJumperx

> So I have recently stumbled across a super cute mule. He is just a baby at 5 months and the horse breed in him is QH. Momma was a donkey.


Did the owners say this? They told you the mother was a donkey?
If so, this is actually not a mule, at all. This is a Hinny. A mule is a mare bred to a jack, or stallion-donkey. A Jenny, or mare-donkey, bred to a stallion is a hinny. I know close to nothing about Hinnys, but I can tell you a bit about Mules!  If this is in fact one - If the owners said the mother was a donkey, it's a hinny. If they just said its a mule, and you assume the mother was a donkey, it was actually the sire that was a jack  Extremely common confusion, no shame.

Anyway, I think that you would LOVE having a mule!! They are so smart, and so willing once you get them going. Most actually really love jumping, as previously stated. But I would be slightly cautious - In riding/showing the mules, I have found some that adore it, can't get enough of it, and are great at it. And then I've also found the mules that just will not do it without a huge effort. Some love it, some don't. My dear friend, amazing little rider, not one to pull the bit at all over a jump, leases a mule that is this way. She simply hates jumping, and takes a lot of power to get her over. So it could go both ways. You COULD be easily successful, though, if you get a good one 

Best of luck!! I loved showing the Mules!! SO much fun! They are wonderful little equines!


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## NBEventer

Okay I was totally backwards. Its his dad thats the donkey. My bad  And I can honestly say, I never knew that. Which goes to show I have some learning to do. 

From what I have been told about him, he is quick to learn and loves attention and a total Mommas boy. I am really looking forward to things. I am fairly sure I will be getting him. So I need to start doing some major reading and learning on training mules.


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## xJumperx

Well then he sounds awesome!!  Best of luck with him! I only want to say one thing - when you are working with him, always mix it up. Don't drill one thing ... ever. Always keep things new, exciting. All Mules, no matter the age, are as smart and cunning as a 16 year old - they get bored quickly, and when they do, they start making up ways to make it fun again.


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## NBEventer

That will not be a problem AT ALL. I am the one everyone sends the ADHD horses to. The last mare, if I didn't switch things up constantly... well I am still recovering from the injury, and it happened in July lol. You can not school the same line twice in a row with her. Couldn't do a figure 8 more then two or three times. Constant mental stimulation for her. And she also had to be tricked into thinking things were her idea. Or you were going to be eating dirt.


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## xJumperx

Then you're set!! Haha, really! The only real trouble I've heard of people getting into with mules is people that just don't keep them busy. But you sound like you'll have an amazing time with a mule, and they will have an amazing time with you!


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## Saddlebag

This mule may grow up to be smallish. The taller ones usually carry draft.


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## NBEventer

Saddlebag said:


> This mule may grow up to be smallish. The taller ones usually carry draft.


I am expecting around 14.2. Would that be a fair guess? By the time I start riding him I am hoping to have my weight down. Otherwise I am rather short so don't need much height. I like my equines under 16 hands. Any bigger is to far to fall :lol:


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## NBEventer

So DH is actually okay with the idea. I am not getting ahead of myself as I have to look into trailering and such. We would bring him home in the spring, we are buying property next fall and will be building a barn and indoor. So chances are it will all fall together perfectly. Poor lil buggar has a 5 - 6 day trailer ride ahead of him.


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## luvlongears

xJumperx- If it is half horse and half donkey, it is still a mule. They are called hinny's when the mom is a donkey, but they are still 100% a mule. Most times a person can't tell if it is a hinny just by looking at it. They are just generally smaller because the donkey (mom) is smaller. But genetically, it is a mule.


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## allboutjess

I would love to see an eventing mule!


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## luvlongears

allboutjess said:


> I would love to see an eventing mule!


Every year during the week of Memorial Day, in Bishop, Ca. they have Mule Days. If you want to see mules in action, that is the place to go. They race, run barrels, rope, sort, jumping, dressage, all the typical english and western, trail, halter, chariot racing, chariot roping, chariot barrels, log skidding, pulling, **** jumping.....you name it, they have it. It is the largest mule show in the western U.S.


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## gypsygirl

has anyone found out if mules are allowed to event in the US ?

ETA i found an article from 2010 saying they could not. in the USEF rule book it talked about how mules can do combined driving [i think] and dressage except in championships but said nothing about eventing.


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## NBEventer

I believe Allison Finch said they can? I know they can for sure in Canada, don't know about the US though.


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## SMMJessee

It is a stated fact that mules are better jumpers the horses.
Have you ever heard of **** jumping??

Or mule nelly jumped our six foot fence....FROM A STANDSTILL
i am not trying to sound rude so im sorry if i do but i kinda "specialize" in mules and it gets a litle annoying because people think mules are only for packing, mules do :
Show jumping

raceing

Western pleasure/ showmanship

Dressage

barrels

trail 

Mules do everything  it is not a bad idea at all


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## SMMJessee

oh also mules are allowed in horse shows in canada, i ride a 17 hand show mule ( you all know QH and paints when they do wester pleasure ya my mule has the slow broken leg looking lope with its head low and REALLY slow.)
and i ride him in all the horse shows and it make me feel good when at first they give my snobby looks and then i kick their butt on a mule.
Mules are just as good as horses and better


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## Mercy

I would LOVE to have a mule, but there are none for sale in my area that are cheap enough!


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## EmilyJoy

Umm... Wait. Talking about mules, about buying a mule... But no pictures? Are we going crazy? No pictures????  hint, hint..


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## NBEventer

I thought I had posted pics lol. I will post some tonight if I remember


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## wetrain17

Yes, pictures are a must.


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## NBEventer

Meet Dobby!


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## TheLauren

I just died of the cute overload. I love mules.


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## Endiku

what a cutie patootie! You're going to have fun finding an eventing saddle that fits him though...maybe a special made mule saddle?


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## Golden Horse

CUTE, and double cute, if I had space I would be going to look this little girl


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## NBEventer

Endiku said:


> what a cutie patootie! You're going to have fun finding an eventing saddle that fits him though...maybe a special made mule saddle?


Yea thats the only thing I have been thinking. I am ok with an AP on him. If I can't find something that will work without going custom then his job will have to change because I am not having a custom saddle to event a mule to PT(at best). So we will see. If it doesn't work then he will just be hubbies horse and we will get a proper saddle for trail riding and such. 

GH She is precious!!


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## Endiku

Perhaps you'll be able to find one that mostly fits him and be able to attach a breastcollar and crupper to it. Mules are always the hardest to fit with those crazy straight backs!


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## Catpeedontherug

At Hells Canyon Mule Days, a few years back, a 34 yr old mule won the jumping comp! And the mule wasn't even that leggy.
I do believe that same mule later pulled a buggy and won that comp. too!

My family has mules. One is a Hinny. Can't tell the difference. My parents use their mules mainly for trails and hunting, but can hold their own in the Mule competitions. My Dad got a team penning buckle after her ran the Musical Mules race. Mules can do anything~ heart for days.


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## Muppetgirl

I soooooo need a freakin mule!!!! One day!!!


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## Bluebird

NBEventer said:


> Meet Dobby!


Wow! He is just gorgeous. You are so lucky.


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## Bluebird

Catpeedontherug said:


> At Hells Canyon Mule Days, a few years back, a 34 yr old mule won the jumping comp! And the mule wasn't even that leggy.
> I do believe that same mule later pulled a buggy and won that comp. too!
> 
> My family has mules. One is a Hinny. Can't tell the difference. My parents use their mules mainly for trails and hunting, but can hold their own in the Mule competitions. My Dad got a team penning buckle after her ran the Musical Mules race. Mules can do anything~ heart for days.


I love the name 'Hinny' In my dialect (I'm originally from the North East of England) Hinny means 'beloved' or 'darling' or 'honey'. My late grandmother came from Gateshead and always called me 'Hinny'. Got a lump in my throat now. I bet you tell me a hinny is something bad...LOL


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## Endiku

haha, not at all! Hinnies are also a mix between a horse and donkey, but the difference is that a mule is the mix between a male donkey and a female horse, and the hinny is a mix between a male horse and a female donkey. Some believe that they have different personalities and that they take after different parents, but there isnt really any scientific proof on that.


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