ANSWERS: 13
  • Strictly speaking, and sometimes ya gotta be strict with a mule, a mule is the offspring of a female (mare) horse (Equus equus) and a male (jack) ass, donkey, burro (E. asinus asinus) . The offspring of a female donkey ( jenny or jennet) and a male horse ( stallion) is called a hinny. Hinnies are rare since the foal can be to large for the jenny to deliver safely. Mule became a term used for just about any sterile crossbreed. Mules do have gender males are horse mules, females, mare mules , ( folks call um Johns and Molly), And mules do have sex. Boy, do they, especially John. There are a few reports of Molly havin foals. Nobody is sure about John siring, because he was just turned out with the other animals, bein sterile and all. Most folks geld john anyway just to keep him from all that botherin of the mares. Another reason mules are more common than hinnies is that they inherit the better qualities from each side, size, speed,and trainability from the horse and stamina, surefootedness, patience, and intelligence from the ass. That intelligence is what makes um seem stubborn,they will not put themselves in danger, which is why, with their surefootedness, they are such great animals for goin down the Grand Canyon of the Colorado. A horse can be over loaded, over raced, over whipped, and over worked until it drops or runs right over a bluff, but not a mule. The "stubborn" streak is just the mule’s way of sayin, "Hey,boss, this is too much to ask and you know it." Hinnies seem to take the less desirable traits from their parents. The sterility combined with the obvious gender of mules lends itself to jokes. The writers of the TV show Gunsmoke thought it would be funny if scruffy ol' deputy Festus rode a mule (not knowing that in the old West a lot of people knew a good riding mule was a lot more comfortable than a horse on a long day), Ken Curtis, who played Festus, was from Colorado, he'd played scruffy characters in a lot of westerns, he knew his mules, he insisted on the name Ruth for his mule, a male. " Well, Matthyeeeew, yew know mah mule Ruth, he don't like tha scent a' blood." The writers would argue, they thot it was funny that he just rode a mule, the producers and directors knew better. The joke was on the writers
  • A mule has shorter ears than a donkey! A donkey is a Donkey but a mule is a cross between a pony and a donkey!!
  • The main biological difference is that horses have 64 chromosomes and donkeys have 62 chromosomes. Cross-breeding the two animals will produce a mule, which has 63 chromosomes. From a biological standpoint, chromosomes do not indicate a certain level of intelligence or complexity. For example, I have a genetics book that states goldfish have a total of 94 chromosomes, and certain vegetables have more chromosomes than humans. Chromosomes are comprised of genes. Genes are made of a sequences of DNA. DNA is the building block of life, and our chromosomes are located in our body cells. Humans have 46 chromosomes. Human sex cells pass half of those chromosomes on to their offspring. 23 chromosomes from the male sex cell (sperm) and 23 chromosomes from the female sex cell (egg) produce a total of 46 chromosomes in the zygote. Through the process of cell division, the zygote begins to grow and develop. That is why all non-sexual human body cells contain the same genetic code.
  • This crossing of animals extends into the other animals to if it were needed as mules are. For example a male lion and female tiger produce a Liger weighing almost a ton and standing on its legs beyond 12 feet. But switch the sexes and you get a midget instead. Why was this done? For the circus or animal shows.
  • A Donkey is a natural species of equine. A Mule is a man-made species that is created when you breed a Donkey stallion to a Horse mare. http://www.lovelongears.com/about_mules.html Offers even more information and some nice photos... You can actually create different TYPES of Mule. Such as using a Tennessee Walking Horse Mare...usually gives you the characteristics of a Tennessee Walker in the smooth, easy gait of that breed, plus the hight typical to that breed. If you use a big draft breed as the Mare, you'll get a bigger, stronger Mule. Mules also are sterile, they cannot procreate themselves. If you breed a Donkey Mare to a Horse Stallion, you get what is called a Hinny, again similar genetic qualities can be influenced by what Horse Stallion you are using. As with Mules, a Hinny can not procreate, they too are sterile. Mules tend to be somewhat smarter and more relaxed than many horses. Some Mules will balk at working, if they are loaded with a pack INCORRECTLY or unevenly, which would result in injury to them during their work. Likewise, they can refuse to move forward if they strongly believe the trail is unsafe for passage. While horses can also display such behaviors, they are also more easily manipulated by humans. Most of the Mules I've known were very good, solid citizens who were friendly, willing and had good manners. These qualities are a product of the temperament of the animal and the quality of training and care the animal receives. My uncle's plow mule, Jake once stepped on my foot when I was a kid..running about barefoot in the summer visit to NC from CA. Jake lifted his foot (shod too, which could have left my skin in ribbons had he drug his foot off of mine) so fast, there wasn't even a mark on me! He was a good old boy and could easily be ridden bareback with never a wrong step or misbehavior on his part. (Uncle showered his draft animals with love and they all responded with sweetness and affection). Typically, Donkey females are called Jennys, while males are called Jacks. The black and white mule shows the colors of a very "splashy" Appy horse, while the ones in harness, show the typical Draft colors associated with that type of Mule. As you can see on the web site provided, Mules can come in many colors, shapes and sizes!
  • A mule is the offspring of a male donkey and a female horse.
  • If I am not mistaken, a donkey can reproduce. A mule, on the other hand, is a hybrid (donkey & mare) therefore cannot.
  • A donkey is a donkey, a mule is half donkey half horse.
  • G'day Denise, Thank you for your question. A mule is a hybrid between a male donkey and a female horse and cannot reproduce. A donkey has 62 chromosomes and a mule has 63. A cross between a male horse and a female donkey is called a hinny but these are rarer. The name mule is derived from mulus which was a Latin phrase meaning a hybrid animal of any description. I have attached sources for your reference. Regards Reference Wikipedia Donkey http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donkey#Donkey_hybrids Wikipedia Mule http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mule Answers.com Mule http://www.answers.com/mule&r=67 Answers.com Donkey http://www.answers.com/donkey&r=67
  • Half of an ass.
  • a donkey has a big nose (like zakk bakers) and a mule has a smaller 1 like normal people
  • a donkey has a big nose (like zakk bakers) and a mule has a smaller 1 like normal people
  • A mule is the hybrid product of a mare (female horse) and a Jack (male donkey). A hinny is the hybrid product of a jennet (female donkey) and a stallion (male horse). A donkey is usually smaller than a mule, as the mule will be somewhere between the height of its parents. Donkeys usually range somewhere between 7 hands (for a miniature donkey) and 14 hands (for a mammoth Jack). Mules will range between about 10 hands and 16 hands high. The mule will have a short spiky mane and sparse tail, although more hair than it father. It will tend to have a more horse-like coat. It will usually be fairly angular and will have the long ears of a donkey. Being a hybrid, it will be sterile, although there have been a few recorded cases of a mule bearing live young. A hinny has a more horse-like appearance, with a longer, fuller mane and tail, more rounded appearance and shorter ears than a mule. It too, is a hybrid and sterile. Now this is totally written from my own experiences with the beasts, and I see some of the others have provided you with links to the encyclopedia articles. If you want to read about the recorded cases of fertile mules, which are fascinating, google fertile mule OLD BECK texas AM. Old Beck was a mollie mule who, when bred to a Jack, produced mule foals and when bred to a Stallion, produced horse foals. One of her sons, named Pat, was sired by an American Saddlebred stallion. He was fertile and stood stud, producing extraordinarily tough offspring. He did have one outward sign of his parentage, and that was mismatched ears, one long and one short.

Copyright 2023, Wired Ivy, LLC

Answerbag | Terms of Service | Privacy Policy