i have recently come to be riding a french mule. a 15hh mare. she is lovely and she does both english and western, she jumps, has hunted. i took her on the wansdyke downland ride, my first fun ride with her, and i was warned before i set off, that if people "complained" about me being on course, i could be thrown out! apparently people have an objection to seeing a mule?? she is a TB X mule, just because the other half is a donkey, not a ID or something similar, why do so many people have such predujice towards them??? i think this is wrong, she has just as much right to be there as the horses, surely??
these animals were highly valued in the wars as working animals, i want to know where this respect for them has gone??
i would like to know every one elses opinions on this subject!!!

Hello,

As a fellow mule owner..... the reactions you have described from people is just due them being prejudiced, (and I don't mean that nastily at all) - they were probably genuinely worried that horses may be worried by/scared of your mule and envisaged large heaps of earth-bound riders being unsteated by spooked "short ears".

As you will hopefully have discovered, it would not have taken very long to see that whilst horses are often mesmerised by mules, they just don't seem to be afraid of them. (I am sure there will always be exceptions, of course, but then there are horses who go nuts at the sound of a rustling waterproof)

The staff at the livery yard I use, and I think my trainer, and in fact me too, were all a little worried when I first imported my mule, as to what the horses would think when they saw their first mule. We needn't have been concerned - so far, without exception (she has now met in excess of 70 horses in the UK) not one has been afraid, about two thirds have been very curious indeed, and a handful have been totally obsessed, calling and gawping at her. Including my QH, which was very funny, who seems to forget he is in fact a gelding and gets hugely excited when he sees her.

So yes, horses DO know there is something a bit different about mules; some horses ARE afraid of donkeys, and it is a perfectly natural concern for people who are aware of this to be a little concerned about how horses might react to their first mule (perhaps the organisers of the fun ride may have been worrying about their insurance premiums if every horse spooked at the mule, not realising that wasn't likely to happen at all).

Now that saddle mules are so rare in the UK, so is mule experience.

So, it is up to people like you - and me when mine is ready to go out in public (she's only just had her 3rd birthday so will be a while) - and Laura, also on this forum, and has a saddle mule that competes, and jinglejoys, who has a Spanish import she is now riding, and anyone else lurking with a mule hidden away - to be sensitive to people's perfectly valid initial concerns; reassure them that, although reasonable, those fears are in fact unfounded, because even known donkey-phobic horses don't seem to have a problem with mules... and get them out into the public arena and show them off.

Word will soon spread that actually, a mule doesn't upset the horses, and hopefully as there used to be a well-known mule competing at WES shows a few years ago (sadly the owner has now passed away and I never got to meet her) you will find more automatic acceptance of your mule amongst western riding circles.

Good luck and best wishes, and have you signed up to mulesuk yet?
http://mulesuk.freeforums.org/index.php

cheiro1 - Please do join us on the forum, we are a bit quiet but it would be lovely to see photos of your new longear and hear how you are getting on. I have never had a bad reaction to my mule out in public (though I did get asked if she could get foot and mouth, Treacle was MOST offended!!) Mostly Treacle gets old army veterans telling her how wonderful she is, little old ladies feeding her mints (she does a good line in "sad eyes, starving mule impression") and people wanting to stroke her ears.

Treacle is a mouse dun and not a typical mule colour, so often I get a lot of really odd looks before people work out what she is! The only slightly negative reaction was when Treacle won an in-hand class (judged on turnout and manners) the owners in second in third complained!! The secretary laughed at them!!

I've never met a horse that didn't like her, and like Elkay said some get infatuated with her. I do think it is polite if I'm taking her to an event where there may be small children competing that I do ask if she can come, just incase she did scare a small pony. Nobody has ever refused and most are thrilled.

thank you for your encouraging comments!!
we did indeed find that most people on the fun ride thought she was ok, a couple asked why a would want to ride a donkey ( does she look like a donkey?? er no!)but apart from that most people were happy to see her.
i have now joined the forum, didnt know it existed so nice to hear about it!!
she isn't actually mine, she is on long term loan to a friend of mine, i ride her and have a play. its also lovely to know im not the only longears rider around!!
Laura-what competition do you do with your mule? she sounds gorgeous!!

Post edited by: cheiro1, at: 2008/06/15 13:42

Post edited by: cheiro1, at: 2008/06/16 11:02

We have had a brief brush with "western"



We showjump over HUGE fences...



(don't be fooled, she can jump 4ft, its the turning thats not too clever!!)



See, manages better without mum!

She can snig, but finds it demeaning.



and can take "granny" driving



we've shown english in hand (rather limited for classes though!)



I am struggling to find the time for her at the moment, so there is a teeny bit of me that is concidering putting her on loan.

Does your mules name begin with W or am I thinking of a totally different mule?!!

Post edited by: laura, at: 2008/06/15 13:59

yes, she is called Widget. Widget does drive too, like your mule, but we dont have a suitable carriage to take her out in at the moment.
wow, your mule is a little allrounder then!! she looks good doing all of that!
widge has a really scopey jump, dont have any pics, hehe.
how big is your mule? where are you based?

Post edited by: cheiro1, at: 2008/06/16 11:03