I have a thing for mules. Their looks and behavior have long intrigued me.
They set themselves apart from horses in many ways. Some say: Mules think. Horses don’t.
At the Horsemen’s Re-Union, I got to talking with a California woman about mustangs and she mentioned that at the nearby herd management area (HMA) of Bureau of Land Management, there exists a population of mustang mules.
Mustang mules?
As you know, mules are sterile by nature. So a consistent “population” could only come from wild mustangs and burros being friendly with one another over generations.
How interesting!
Amy Dumas, BLM manager of the wild horse program in California, confirmed this phenomenon.
“It’s very rare,” said Dumas, who said her Twin Peaks HMA was the only California area and most likely the only HMA in the country with mustang mules.
During the last round-up in 2010, about 1,800 mustangs and burros were rounded up. Ten percent were burros. Only about one percent were mules.
All the mules over age four are returned to the wild, said Dumas. Experience has shown they’re simply to
o hard to domesticate.
But partner a young mustang mule with a really good trainer and you might have success. Here are a few who’ve followed that path:
Photos courtesy of Amy Dumas.
Susan Orlean wrote compellingly about military mules in this article
Check out Save Your Ass rescue here.
I have one of those mules from the 2010 round up. He was 6 months old when brought in from round up. Best equine in general. He’s my best bud.
I recently adopted a mustang mare that was pregnant. She gave birth to a mustang mule. He has all the burro markings. The stripped legs. The cross on the back. Also another woman adopted a mare out of the same group that was pregnant. She also gave birth to a mustang mule. We are located in NY. I was just looking up how rare it was for them to have a mule born. Guess my boy is really rare as they say for him to have all the burro markings Thank you for your post. I’d love to hear more about mustang mules. I’m hoping to train mine for riding as he gets older.
This a question would mustang mules be a good wagon team