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Making a MULE!

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Making a MULE!
  • My Haflinger mare Sweet P has an appointment with the mule maker at the end of the month.

    Pictured is a handsome mammoth Jack, standing at 14.2 hands, whom I will be breeding her to.

  • Pics of Sweet P.  She is 5 now. 
  • What an interesting cross!
  • I am hoping for a short, drafty red mule!  If it's a jenny her name will be Brandy (my favorite backcountry elixer) and if it's a john the he will be named Whiskey (no guessing here!).
  • You should definitely get a short drafty mule from that cross. It will be interesting to see what color they produce. You HAVE to keep us updated on this breeding !  The jack looks to be a dappled red roan with russet trim. Those black ear tips have me wondering about those ( they are REALLY COOL !) But I don't know if that has an tell on color factor or not. Do you know what he's produced with other mares and more importantly mares of your mares coloring ??
  • My barn owner has a mini donkey with the same coloring...similar facial markings too.  He is a JERK.  Not saying yours will be.  Pedro probably just has "small man syndrome"  [':D']  I agee about the updates!  I bet your baby will be very cute.
  • the Jack has been bred to the owner's Tenessee Walking Horse mares and there is a majority of red mule foals in the batch along with a couple buckskins and blacks.  The Haflinger 'chestnut' gene is dominant so I am hoping we get blonde or red!  Most of the Haflinger mule pictures I have seen are red or palomino-looking, but there are some black ones out there.

    The jack is very mello, I was in his stall hanging out with him, touching him everywhere, and he had a 'ho-hum' attitude.  I have owned 2 gelded donkeys in my life, one was aggresive towards both people and other livestock, the other was just 100% donkey, willing to put up with almost everything (doesn't mean he LIKES it) and happy to have attention.  The jack struck me as the latter personality.  I handled a couple weanling mules sired by him and they were happy little buggers, loved attention, easy to set boundaries with..... but most babies are.

    So, we have to just wait and see.... first, hope my mare will conceive, and then see what we get. 
  • PS on the donkeys:  the easygoing donkey, "Brew", I had now belongs to a family that home-schools their children.  He fell in love with their daughter (6 at the time) and with a lot of work from Mom the kids now ride Brew in a snaffle bit without an adult at the end of the lead rope.  The kids are 100% safe with Brew, he LOVES them and protects them as donkeys will.  They live in the heart of the boondocks out here, with cougar being a real threat to dogs and children.  Mom keeps tabs on kids' wherabouts, but she is glad to have a 'guard donkey' whose senses are much keener than hers.

    The other donkey was a rescue and never adapted to life in my herd,  I gave him to a professional donkey breeder who had experience rehabilitating problem donkeys, it was either that or euthanasia.  Last I heard was that he did come around and they found him a forever home.
  • Looking forward to updates, too!