View source for Mule

{{Short description|Domestic hybrid of horse and donkey}}
{{Other uses|Mule (disambiguation)|Mules (disambiguation)}}
{{EngvarB|date=July 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2024}}
{{hybridbox
| name = Mule
| image = Momo 260905.jpg
| status = DOM
| genus = Equus
| father = africanus asinus
| father_link = Donkey
| mother = ferus caballus
| mother_link = Horse
| synonyms = 
}}

The '''mule''' is a [[domestic animal|domestic]] equine [[hybrid (biology)|hybrid]] between a [[donkey]] and a [[horse]]. It is the [[offspring]] of a male donkey (a [[Male donkey|jack]]) and a female horse (a [[mare]]).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thedonkeysanctuary.org.uk/what-we-do/knowledge-and-advice/about-donkeys/mule |website=The Donkey Sanctuary |title=What is a mule? |date=5 September 2020 |access-date=22 September 2020 |archive-date=1 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201001230702/https://www.thedonkeysanctuary.org.uk/what-we-do/knowledge-and-advice/about-donkeys/mule |url-status=live}}</ref> The horse and the donkey are different species, with different numbers of [[chromosome]]s;<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Rodriguez |first=Monica |date=June 20, 2007 |title=Why can't mules breed? |url=https://www.thetech.org/ask-a-geneticist/articles/2007/ask225/ |access-date=March 9, 2025 |website=The Tech Interactive}}</ref> of the two possible [[F1 hybrid|first-generation hybrids]] between them, the mule is easier to obtain and more common than the [[hinny]],<ref name=JHeredity-30-12/> which is the offspring of a male horse (a [[stallion]]) and a female donkey (a [[Jenny (donkey)|jenny]]).<ref name=":0" />

Mules vary widely in size, and may be of any color seen in horses or donkeys. They are more patient, hardier and longer-lived than horses, and are perceived as less obstinate and more intelligent than donkeys.<ref name=Jackson2004>{{cite book |last=Jackson |first=Louise A |year=2004 |title=The Mule Men: A History of Stock Packing in the Sierra Nevada |publisher=Mountain Press |location=Missoula, MT |isbn=0-87842-499-7}}</ref>{{rp|5}}

== Terminology ==

A female mule is called a ''molly'', a ''Molly mule'', or more formally ''mare mule''. A male mule is called a ''john'', ''John mule'', or more formally ''horse mule''. A young male mule is called a ''mule colt'', and a young female is called a ''mule filly''. The donkey used to produce mules is called a ''mule jack'',<ref>{{Cite web |last=moduet |title=Animal Terms |url=https://livestockconservancy.org/resources/animal-terms/ |access-date=2025-03-05 |website=The Livestock Conservancy |language=en-US}}</ref> and a group of mules is often called a ''pack'', though the words ''barren'' and ''span'' also apply.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-12-10 |title=Names for Groups of Animals |url=https://arapahoelibraries.org/blogs/post/names-for-groups-of-animals/ |access-date=2025-03-02 |website=arapahoelibraries.org |language=en-US}}</ref>

== History ==
[[File:Rhyton en forme de tête d'équidé01.JPG|thumb|Early fifth century BC Greek [[rhyton]] (cup) in the shape of the head of a mule, made by [[Brygos]]]]
Breeding of mules became possible only when the range of the domestic horse, which originated in [[Central Asia]] in about {{val|3500|u=BC}}, extended into that of the domestic ass, which originated in north-eastern Africa. This overlap probably occurred in [[Anatolia]] and [[Mesopotamia]] in Western Asia, and mules were bred there before {{val|1000|u=BC}}.{{r|cabi|p=37}}

The Hittites, a people of Asia Minor known for their horse-riding skills, held mules in higher esteem than their best horses. The price of a mule was three times that of a good horse for the Hittites. Similarly, mules were seven times as valuable as donkeys to the Sumerians.<ref name=":2" />

A painting in the [[Tomb of Nebamun]] at [[Thebes, Egypt|Thebes]], dating from approximately {{val|1350|u=BC}}, shows a chariot drawn by a pair of animals which have been variously identified as [[onager]]s,{{r|bm}} mules{{r|cabi|p=37}} or hinnies.{{r|juliet|p=96}} Mules were present in [[Israel and Judah]] in the time of [[David|King David]].{{r|cabi|p=37}} There are many representations of them in [[Mesopotamian art|Mesopotamian]] works of art dating from the first millennium BC. Among the [[bas-relief]]s depicting the [[Lion Hunt of Ashurbanipal]] from the North Palace of [[Nineveh]] is a clear and detailed image of two mules loaded with nets for hunting.{{r|juliet|p=96|bm2}}

[[Homer]] noted their arrival in Asia Minor in the ''[[Iliad]]'' in 800 BC.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Homer, Iliad, Book 23, line 93 |author= |work=perseus.tufts.edu |date= |access-date=12 October 2022 |url=http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0134%3Abook%3D23%3Acard%3D93 |quote=mules |archive-date=13 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013140305/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0134:book%3D23:card%3D93 |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Mula et Asinus 1578.jpg|thumb|Engraving from 1578, ''Mule and Ass'']]
Mules contributed to the development of the Americas when [[Christopher Columbus]], introduced donkeys and horses to the continent during his expeditions in 1495. Bringing four male and two female donkeys in addition to horses allowed for the production of mules, which assisted the Spanish in their conquest of the continent. The defeat of the [[Aztecs]], for example, opened up Mexico as a mule breeding ground, and the presence of mules in military operations and watch duties soon became commonplace.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=History of the Mule |url=https://www.mulemuseum.org/history-of-the-mule.html |access-date=2025-03-03 |website=American Mule Museum |language=en}}</ref>

[[File:20 Mule Team in Death Valley.jpg|thumb|A 20-mule team in Death Valley, California in the 1880s]]
After the [[American Revolutionary War]], [[George Washington]] bred mules at his [[Virginia]] estate of [[Mount Vernon]]. Often called the "father of the American mule," George Washington sent his donkeys to a multitude of American farms to breed with horses and create mules. Washington found that mules work harder and longer than horses at the same tasks. They also need less food and water than horses. In 1785, he had 132 horses at Mount Vernon.  In 1799, there were 27 horses, 20 donkeys, and 63 mules. Before then, mules were not common in the United States, but Washington understood their value, as they were "more docile than donkeys and cheaper to maintain."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Chernow |first=Ron |title=Washington: A Life |publisher=The Penguin Press |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-59420-266-7 |location=New York |pages=483–484 |oclc=535490473}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Animals on Washington's Farm {{!}} George Washington's Mount Vernon |url=https://www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/farming/the-animals-on-george-washingtons-farm |access-date=2025-04-01 |website=www.mountvernon.org |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=American Mule {{!}} George Washington's Mount Vernon |url=https://www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/farming/the-animals-on-george-washingtons-farm/father-of-the-american-mule |access-date=2025-04-01 |website=www.mountvernon.org |language=en}}</ref>  

By the nineteenth century, mules had become favored draught animals on farms and for pulling boats. Their numbers in the US reached 885,000, though they remained more popular in the south than the north.<ref name=":2" /> Most notably, the Twenty Mule Teams pulled, often in teams of 20 or more animals, wagonloads of [[borax]] out of [[Death Valley#History|Death Valley]], California from 1883 to 1889. They pulled wagons carrying 10 [[Short ton|short tons]] (9 metric tons) of borax ore during trips to the Borate mines before being replaced by railroads.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Twenty Mule Team Trail, California - American Trails |url=https://www.americantrails.org/resources/twenty-mule-team-trail-california |access-date=2025-03-06 |website=www.americantrails.org}}</ref>

Mules were used by armies to transport supplies, occasionally as mobile firing platforms for smaller cannons, and to pull heavier field guns with wheels over mountainous trails such as in Afghanistan during the [[Second Anglo-Afghan War]].<ref>{{cite book |chapter=Mule Battery |chapter-url=https://www.loc.gov/resource/amedscd.2013646213/?sp=42&st=image |title=Afghanistan, 1879–80 |lccn=2013646213 }}</ref>

In the second half of the twentieth century, widespread use of mules declined in industrialised countries. The use of mules for farming and for transportation of agricultural products largely gave way to diesel-powered [[tractors]] and transportation.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mules are Equines Too {{!}} Richmond Fed |url=https://www.richmondfed.org/publications/research/econ_focus/2005/winter/feature5_web_exclusive |access-date=2025-03-06 |website=www.richmondfed.org |language=en-us}}</ref>

The first cloned equine was a mule foal, [[Idaho Gem]], who was [[cloned]] by [[nuclear transfer]] of cells from [[Foetus|foetal]] material, and was born at the [[University of Idaho]] in [[Moscow, Idaho]], United States on May 5, 2003. Neither an equid nor a hybrid animal had been cloned before that time.<ref name="er"/><ref name="science"/>

As of 2018, Mexico had the largest population of mules in the world at 3,287,449.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Norris |first1=Stuart L. |last2=Little |first2=Holly A. |last3=Ryding |first3=Joseph |last4=Raw |first4=Zoe |title=Global donkey and mule populations: Figures and trends |journal=PLOS ONE |date=25 February 2021 |volume=16 |issue=2 |article-number=e0247830 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0247830 |doi-access=free |pmid=33630957 |pmc=7906361 |bibcode=2021PLoSO..1647830N }}</ref>

== Characteristics ==

{{multiple image |perrow=1 |total_width=200 |image_style=border:none;
|image1 = Juancito.jpg
|image2 = Mule head web (5884904857).jpg
|footer = Typical shape and coloration of mules
}}
In general terms, in both mules and hinnies, the foreparts and head of the animal are similar to those of the [[sire (horse)|sire]] (father), while the hindparts and tail tend to resemble those of the [[dam (horse)|dam]] (mother).{{r|cabi|p=36}} Mules are generally larger than hinnies, with longer ears and a heavier head like donkeys, while their tails are usually covered with long hair like that of horses.{{r|cabi|p=37}} Mules have thin limbs, small narrow hooves, and short [[mane (horse)|mane]]s like donkeys, while their height, shape of neck and body, and uniformity of their coat and teeth are more similar to what is seen in horses.{{r|EB1911}}

Mules vary widely in size, from small miniature mules under {{convert|125|cm|-1|abbr=on}} to large and powerful draught mules standing up to {{convert|180|cm|-1|abbr=on}} at the [[withers]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=2025-02-01 |title=Mule {{!}} Draft Horse, Donkey & Hybrid {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/animal/mule-mammal |access-date=2025-03-09 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>{{r|ensminger|p=86}} The median weight range is between about {{convert|370|and|460|kg|lb|abbr=on|sigfig=2|comma=off}}.<ref name=":1" /> 

Mules' coats may be of any color seen in the horse or donkey. Mules usually display the light points commonly seen in donkeys: pale or mealy areas on the belly and the insides of the thighs, on the muzzle, and around the eyes. They often have [[primitive markings]] such as dorsal stripes, shoulder stripes, or zebra stripes on the legs.{{r|cabi|p=37}}

Mules exhibit [[hybrid vigor]].<ref>{{cite book |doi=10.1002/9781118552872.ch8 |chapter=Heterosis: The Case for Single-Gene Overdominance |title=Polyploid and Hybrid Genomics |date=2013 |last1=Liberatore |first1=Katie L. |last2=Jiang |first2=Ke |last3=Zamir |first3=Dani |last4=Lippman |first4=Zachary B. |pages=137–152 |isbn=978-0-470-96037-0 }}</ref> [[Charles Darwin]] wrote: "The mule always appears to me a most surprising animal. That a hybrid should possess more reason, memory, obstinacy, social affection, powers of muscular endurance, and length of life, than either of its parents, seems to indicate that art has here outdone nature."<ref name=Darwin>{{cite book |last=Darwin |first=Charles |year=1879 |title=What Mr. Darwin Saw in His Voyage Round the World in the Ship 'Beagle' |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GY41AAAAMAAJ&pg=PA33 |publisher=Harper & Bros. |location=New York |pages=33–34 |access-date=16 July 2014}}</ref>

Mules inherit from donkeys the traits of intelligence, sure-footedness, toughness, endurance, disposition, and natural cautiousness; from horses, they inherit speed, conformation, and agility.<ref name=Hauer2014>{{cite book |editor-last=Hauer |editor-first=John |year=2014 |title=The Natural Superiority of Mules |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FVJlAgAAQBAJ |publisher=Skyhorse |isbn=978-1-62636-166-9 |access-date=16 July 2014}}</ref>{{rp|5–6,8}} They grow faster and live longer, giving them a larger interval of productivity compared to horses or donkeys.<ref name=":03" /> They rarely become ill, unlike horses, who often need to be checked for worms, and like their donkey fathers, mules can see their hind legs and have hooves better suited to dry climates.<ref name=":8">{{Cite web |title=Differences between Horses and Donkeys |url=https://donkeymuletrust.org.nz/differences-3/ |access-date=2025-03-06 |website=Donkey & Mule Protection Trust NZ |language=en-NZ}}</ref> Additionally, the skin of mules is tougher than that of horses or donkeys, and they tend to live longer on fewer resources than do horses.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Reasons why Mules rule |url=https://www.thebrooke.org/news/reasons-mules-rule |access-date=2025-03-06 |website=Brooke |language=en}}</ref> Mules are reputed to exhibit a higher cognitive intelligence than both of their parent species, but robust scientific evidence to back up these claims is lacking. Preliminary data exists from at least two evidence-based studies, but it relies on [[sample size|a limited set of specialized cognitive tests and a small number of subjects]].<ref name="MuleCognition">{{cite journal |last=Proops |first=Leanne |author2=Faith Burden |author3=Britta Osthaus |date=18 July 2008 |title=Mule cognition: a case of hybrid vigor? |journal=Animal Cognition |volume=12 |issue=1 |pages=75–84 |doi=10.1007/s10071-008-0172-1 |pmid=18636282 |s2cid=27962537}}</ref><ref name=Giebel1958>{{cite journal |last1=Giebel |display-authors=etal |date=1958 |title=Visuelles Lernvermögen bei Einhufern |journal=Zoologische Jahrbücher |series=Physiologie |volume=67 |pages=487–520}}</ref>

Similar to other equine animals, mules can sleep while standing (mostly to protect themselves against danger). To prevent predation, a group of mules may select members of the pack to "stand watch" while sleeping upright as the others sleep on the ground.<ref name="caring"/>

== Fertility ==

The speciation of horses and donkeys from their common ancestor happened sometime between 7.7 and 15.4 million years ago.<ref name=":03">{{cite journal |display-authors=3 |last1=Wang |first1=Xisheng |last2=Bou |first2=Gerelchimeg |last3=Zhang |first3=Xinzhuang |last4=Tao |first4=Li |last5=Shen |first5=Yingchao |last6=Na |first6=Riga |last7=Liu |first7=Guiqin |last8=Ren |first8=Hong |last9=Ren |first9=Xiujuan |last10=Song |first10=Lianjie |last11=Su |first11=Shaofeng |last12=Bai |first12=Dongyi |last13=Zhao |first13=Yiping |last14=Li |first14=Bei |last15=Dugarjaviin |first15=Manglai |title=A Fast PCR Test for the Simultaneous Identification of Species and Gender in Horses, Donkeys, Mules and Hinnies |journal=Journal of Equine Veterinary Science |date=July 2021 |volume=102 |article-number=103458 |doi=10.1016/j.jevs.2021.103458 |pmid=34119210 }}</ref> Today, they are phenotypically and genetically different, with a horse having 64 chromosomes and a donkey having 62.<ref name=":0" /> A mule has 63 [[Chromosome|chromosomes]], 32 from the horse and 31 from the donkey. Its odd number of chromosomes makes gamete formation difficult, often leaving mules [[infertile]].<ref name=":0" /> This also disqualifies them as a species under the [[:simple:Biological_species_concept|biological species model]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-07-13 |title=18.2A: The Biological Species Concept |url=https://bio.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Introductory_and_General_Biology/General_Biology_(Boundless)/18:_Evolution_and_the_Origin_of_Species/18.02:_Formation_of_New_Species/18.2A:_The_Biological_Species_Concept |access-date=2025-03-06 |website=Biology LibreTexts |language=en}}</ref>

The conception of a mule is difficult due to the differences in behavior and mating patterns between donkeys and horses. When in close proximity, groups of horses and groups of donkeys do not interact with each other often, and donkeys remain at the bottom of the equine social hierarchy while horses rule the pasture and mules are left in a mid-tier social caste.<ref>{{cite book |doi=10.1016/B978-0-12-812106-1.00005-X |chapter=Equine Social Behavior |title=Equine Behavioral Medicine |date=2019 |last1=Beaver |first1=Bonnie V. |pages=115–150 |isbn=978-0-12-812106-1 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Proops |first1=Leanne |last2=Burden |first2=Faith |last3=Osthaus |first3=Britta |date=2012-07-01 |title=Social relations in a mixed group of mules, ponies and donkeys reflect differences in equid type |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0376635712000654?fr=RR-12&ref=pdf_download&rr=92617f0e7b213958 |journal=Behavioural Processes |volume=90 |issue=3 |pages=337–342 |doi=10.1016/j.beproc.2012.03.012 |pmid=22709577 |issn=0376-6357|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Mule pregnancy is rare, but can occasionally occur naturally, as well as through [[embryo transfer]]. A few mare mules have produced offspring when mated with a horse or a jack.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Savory |first1=Theodore H |year=1970 |title=The Mule |journal=Scientific American |volume=223 |issue=6 |pages=102–109 |doi=10.1038/scientificamerican1270-102 |bibcode=1970SciAm.223f.102S}}</ref><ref name="Kay2002">{{cite news |last=Kay |first=Katty |date=2 October 2002 |title=Morocco's miracle mule |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/2290491.stm |work=[[BBC News]] |access-date=5 February 2009 |archive-date=29 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180729080951/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/2290491.stm |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Herodotus]] gives an account of such an event as an ill omen of [[Second Persian invasion of Greece|Xerxes' invasion of Greece]] in 480 BC: "There happened also a portent of another kind while he was still at Sardis—a mule brought forth young and gave birth to a mule" (Herodotus ''[[Histories (Herodotus)|The Histories]]'' 7:57), and a mule's giving birth was a frequently recorded portent in antiquity, although scientific writers also doubted whether it was really possible (see e.g. [[Aristotle]], ''Historia animalium'', 6.24; [[Varro]], ''De re rustica'', 2.1.28). Between 1527 and 2002, approximately sixty such births were reported.<ref name="Kay2002" /> In [[Morocco]] in early 2002 and [[Colorado]] in 2007, mare mules produced colts.<ref name="Kay2002" /><ref name="Npr2007-07-26">{{cite news |date=26 July 2007 |title=Befuddling Birth: The Case of the Mule's Foal |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=12260255 |publisher=[[National Public Radio]] |access-date=5 February 2009 |archive-date=6 December 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081206052236/http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=12260255 |url-status=live}}</ref> Blood and hair samples from the Colorado birth verified that the mother was indeed a mule and the foal was indeed her offspring.<ref name="DenverPost2007-09-19">{{cite news |last=Lofholm |first=Nancy |date=19 September 2007 |title=Mule's foal fools genetics with 'impossible' birth |url=http://www.denverpost.com/haley/ci_6464853.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091107032740/http://www.denverpost.com/haley/ci_6464853.html |archive-date=7 November 2009 |access-date=5 February 2009 |newspaper=[[Denver Post]]}}</ref>

A 1939 article in the ''Journal of Heredity'' describes two offspring of a fertile mare mule named "Old Bec," which was owned at the time by [[Texas A&M University]] in the late 1920s. One of the foals was a female, sired by a jack. Unlike her mother, she was sterile. The other, sired by a five-gaited [[American Saddlebred|Saddlebred]] stallion, exhibited no characteristics of any donkey. That horse, a stallion, was bred to several mares, which gave birth to live foals that showed no characteristics of the donkey.<ref name=JHeredity-30-12>{{cite journal |last=Anderson |first=W. S. |year=1939 |title=Fertile Mare Mules |journal=[[Journal of Heredity]] |volume=30 |issue=12 |pages=549–551 |doi=10.1093/oxfordjournals.jhered.a104657 }}</ref> In 1995, a group from the [[Federal University of Minas Gerais]] described a female mule that was pregnant for a seventh time, having previously produced two donkey sires, two foals with the typical 63 chromosomes of mules, and several horse stallions that had produced four foals. The three of the latter available for testing each bore 64 horse-like chromosomes. These foals phenotypically resembled horses, though they bore markings absent from the sire's known lineages, and one had ears noticeably longer than those typical of her sire's breed. The elder two horse-like foals had proved fertile at the time of publication, with their progeny being typical of horses.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Henry |first1=M. |last2=Gastal |first2=E.L. |last3=Pinheiro |first3=L.E.L. |last4=Guimarmes |first4=S.E.F. |title=Mating Pattern and Chromosome Analysis of a Mule and Her Offspring |journal=Biology of Reproduction |volume=52 |issue=Equine Reproduction VI – Monograph Series 1 |pages=273–279 |year=1995 |doi=10.1093/biolreprod/52.monograph_series1.273 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

== Use ==
Mules are commonly used as [[pack animal]]s. While a few mules can carry live weight up to {{convert|160|kg|lb|0|abbr=on|sigfig=2}}, mules can generally be packed with dead weight up to around 90 kg (198 lb).<ref name="Carlton">{{cite web |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=2009 |title=Hunter's Specialties: More With Wayne Carlton On Elk Hunting |url=http://hunterspec.com/content/more-wayne-carlton-elk-hunting |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101008150241/http://hunterspec.com/Updateable/update_display.cfm?pageID=2048&categoryID=12 |archive-date=8 October 2010 |access-date=16 July 2014 |website=hunterspec.com |publisher=Hunter's Specialties}}</ref> Although it depends on the individual animal, mules trained by the [[Army of Pakistan]] are reported to be able to carry up to {{convert|72|kg|lbs|0|abbr=on}} and walk {{convert|26|km|mi|1|abbr=on}} without resting.<ref>{{cite news |last=Khan |first=Aamer Ahmed |date=19 October 2005 |title=Beasts ease burden of quake victims |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4354440.stm |publisher=BBC |access-date=6 April 2010 |archive-date=29 April 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090429210137/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4354440.stm |url-status=live}}</ref> Mule trains are also used to deliver food to remote areas of the world: in Nepal, for example, the World Food Programme provides food for children in the Sudurpaschim province with the help of mule drivers.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-10-25 |title=The backstory: The sherpa of Nepal's Far West {{!}} World Food Programme |url=https://www.wfp.org/stories/backstory-sherpa-nepals-far-west |access-date=2025-03-07 |website=www.wfp.org |language=en}}</ref>

Mules also have uses beyond heavy lifting. In the Abruzzo region of Italy, for example, mules are used to defend herds of animals against predators like wolves and feral dogs. Horse breeders in Italy used to add a female mule to their flocks, finding that the mule tended to protect the foals with even more vigor than the actual mother.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Camillo |first1=Francesco |last2=Rota |first2=Alessandra |last3=Biagini |first3=Lorenzo |last4=Tesi |first4=Matteo |last5=Fanelli |first5=Diana |last6=Panzani |first6=Duccio |title=The Current Situation and Trend of Donkey Industry in Europe |journal=Journal of Equine Veterinary Science |date=June 2018 |volume=65 |pages=44–49 |doi=10.1016/j.jevs.2017.11.008 |hdl=11568/905165 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> They are additionally used as research specimens, especially in studies regarding the slicing, rearrangement, and compatibility of chromosomes.<ref name=":03" />

<gallery mode="packed" caption="Contemporary use of mules">
File:Wagon mules, Talkeetna, Alaska.jpg|Pair, pulling a wagon (2008)
File:20151016-ESP A.MARKUS CJOPCOMMTF-08 (22338729192).jpg|Army mule (2015)
File:Arando con mula en Candeleda.jpg|Plowing (2012)
File:Mule train.jpg|Supply train in the [[Grand Canyon]] (2009)
File:SupaiUSMailMules.jpg|Carrying the mail in rural Arizona (2008)
</gallery>

== Care and management ==
A mule's diet is more similar to that of a donkey than a horse. They store water more efficiently, for example, and can consume 15 gallons of it daily, making them suitable for more desert-like climates. Their diet is also herbivorous, mainly consisting of grains, hay and greens, though they can also enjoy fruits and vegetables. Mules can have dietary preferences based on taste and texture.<ref name="caring">{{Cite web |author=<!--none--> |date=June 10, 2023 |title=Caring for Mules - Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park |url=https://www.nps.gov/choh/learn/historyculture/mule-care.htm |access-date=2025-03-02 |website=U.S. National Park Service |language=en}}</ref> Additionally, protein intake can be an issue with mules, so monitoring the amount of essential amino acids in their diet can be helpful.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Wu |first1=Guoyao |last2=Bazer |first2=Fuller  |last3=Lamb |first3=Cliff |date=2020 |title=Animal Agriculture: Sustainability, Challenges and Innovations |chapter=Introduction |doi=10.1016/B978-0-12-817052-6.00001-X |isbn=978-0-12-817052-6 |publisher=[[Academic Press]] }}</ref>

A mule's hooves should be cleaned regularly to remove debris and should be shortened at least every two months to prevent overgrowth, pain, and discomfort. If necessary, mules may also wear muleshoes to protect their hooves,<ref name="caring" /> and generally wear a smaller [[horseshoe]] than a horse of the same size, due to their smaller and narrower hooves.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gallery Item Display (U.S. National Park Service) |url=https://www.nps.gov/media/photo/gallery-item.htm?id=d054d686-9c77-8568-8983-83ce33348d90&gid=CFBE4D57-D292-E777-03F1DA2B00BD7C93 |access-date=2025-03-02 |website=www.nps.gov |language=en}}</ref> A mule's coat needs to be groomed regularly.<ref name="caring" />

An adult mule's temperature should remain within the range of 37.5°C – 38.5°C, their pulse has a healthy range of 26-40 bpm, and they should take 8-16 breaths per minute.<ref name=":82">{{Cite web |title=Differences between Horses and Donkeys |url=https://donkeymuletrust.org.nz/differences-3/ |access-date=2025-03-06 |website=Donkey & Mule Protection Trust NZ |language=en-NZ}}</ref>{{Clear}}

==References==

<references>
<ref name=bm>[https://web.archive.org/web/20200625012748/https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/Y_EA37982 Tomb-painting: Museum number EA37982]. London: British Museum. Archived 25 June 2020.</ref>

<ref name=bm2>[https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/W_1856-0909-21_3 Wall panel; relief: Museum number 124896] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220706220631/https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/W_1856-0909-21_3 |date=6 July 2022 }}. London: British Museum. Accessed July 2022.</ref>

<ref name=cabi>Valerie Porter, Lawrence Alderson, Stephen J.G. Hall, D. Phillip Sponenberg (2016). [https://books.google.it/books?id=2UEJDAAAQBAJ&hl=en ''Mason's World Encyclopedia of Livestock Breeds and Breeding''] (sixth edition). Wallingford: CABI. {{isbn|9781780647944}}.</ref>

<ref name=EB1911>{{EB1911|wstitle=Mule|volume=18|pages=959–960|inline=1}}</ref>

<ref name=ensminger>M. Eugene Ensminger (1990). [https://archive.org/details/horseshorsemansh0000ensm/page/86/mode/1up ''Horses and Horsemanship''] (Animal Agriculture Series), sixth edition. Danville, Illinois: Interstate Publishers. {{isbn|9780813428833}}.</ref>

<ref name=er>{{cite book |last1=Hinrichs |first1=Katrin |chapter=Nuclear Transfer |pages=2924–2930 |chapter-url={{GBurl|QPJQT6-g-YMC|p=2924}} |editor1-last=McKinnon |editor1-first=Angus O. |editor2-last=Squires |editor2-first=Edward L. |editor3-last=Vaala |editor3-first=Wendy E. |editor4-last=Varner |editor4-first=Dickson D. |title=Equine Reproduction |date=2011 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-0-470-96187-2 }}</ref>

<ref name=juliet>Juliet Clutton-Brock (1981). [https://archive.org/details/domesticatedanim00clut/page/95/mode/1up ''Domesticated Animals from Early Times'']. Austin: University of Texas Press; London: British Museum (Natural History). {{isbn|0292715323}}.</ref>

<ref name=science>{{cite journal |last1=Holden |first1=Constance |title=First Cloned Mule Races to Finish Line |journal=Science |date=30 May 2003 |volume=300 |issue=5624 |page=1354 |doi=10.1126/science.300.5624.1354a |pmid=12775807 }}</ref>
</references>

== Further reading ==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Arnold |first1=Watson C. |title=The Mule: The Worker that 'Can't Get No Respect' |journal=Southwestern Historical Quarterly |date=July 2008 |volume=112 |issue=1 |pages=34–50 |id={{Project MUSE|408460}} |doi=10.1353/swh.2008.0002 }}
* {{cite news |last=Buchholz |first=Katharina |date=16 August 2013 |title=Colorado miracle mule foal lived short life, but was well-loved |url=http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_23879376/colorado-miracle-mule-foal-lived-short-life-but |newspaper=Denver Post |access-date=16 July 2014 |archive-date=25 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140725091719/http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_23879376/colorado-miracle-mule-foal-lived-short-life-but |url-status=live}}
* {{Cite journal |last1=Chandley |first1=A. C. |last2=Clarke |first2=C. A. |title=Cum mula peperit |journal=Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine |volume=78 |issue=10 |pages=800–801 |year=1985 |doi=10.1177/014107688507801003 |pmid=4045882 |pmc=1289943}}
* {{cite book |isbn=978-0-8173-5772-6 |last=Ellenberg |first=George B. |title=Mule South to Tractor South: Mules, Machines, and the Transformation of the Cotton South |publisher=University of Alabama Press |year=2007 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B1F4nAEACAAJ |access-date=3 January 2022 |archive-date=2 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230402054636/https://books.google.com/books?id=B1F4nAEACAAJ |url-status=live}}
* {{cite journal |last=Loftus |first=Bill |date=August 2003 |title=It's a Mule: UI produces first equine clone |url=http://www.uidaho.edu/~/media/Files/events/herewehaveidaho/2003_Fall.ashx |journal=Here We Have Idaho: The University of Idaho Magazine |publisher=[[University of Idaho]] |pages=12–15 |access-date=16 July 2014 |archive-date=23 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140723235618/http://www.uidaho.edu/~/media/Files/events/herewehaveidaho/2003_Fall.ashx |url-status=live}}
* {{cite journal |last=Lukach |first=Mark |date=11 September 2013 |title=There Is a Man Wandering Around California With 3 Mules |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/09/there-is-a-man-wandering-around-california-with-3-mules/279495/ |journal=The Atlantic |publisher=Atlantic Monthly Group |access-date=16 July 2014 |archive-date=24 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140724122911/http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/09/there-is-a-man-wandering-around-california-with-3-mules/279495/ |url-status=live}}
* Renner, G. K. "The Mule in Missouri Agriculture, 1821-1950." ''Missouri Historical Review'' 74 (July 1980): 433–457. [http://digital.shsmo.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/mhr/id/39254/rec/9?_gl=1*1ngtg68*_ga*MTkyNjAzOTc5My4xNjk4NDYxMDM0*_ga_B5NXL6MKLP*MTY5ODY2NTc4OC42LjEuMTY5ODY2NzcwMS4wLjAuMA. online]
* {{Cite journal |last1=Rong |first1=R. |last2=Chandley |first2=A. C. |last3=Song |first3=J. |last4=McBeath |first4=S. |last5=Tan |first5=P. P. |last6=Bai |first6=Q. |last7=Speed |first7=R. M. |doi=10.1159/000132531 |title=A fertile mule and hinny in China |journal=Cytogenetic and Genome Research |volume=47 |issue=3 |pages=134–9 |year=1988 |pmid=3378453}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Williams |first1=John O |last2=Speelman |first2=Sanford R |year=1948 |title=Mule production |url=https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1784/ |journal=Farmers' Bulletin |publisher=[[United States Department of Agriculture|U.S. Department of Agriculture]] |volume=1341 |access-date=16 July 2014 |archive-date=21 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150121073219/http://digital.library.unt.edu/ark%3A/67531/metadc1784/ |url-status=live}} Hosted by the [[University of North Texas|UNT Digital Library]]. Originally published by the [[United States Government Printing Office|U.S. Government Printing Office]].
{{refend}}

==External links==
* {{Commons-inline}}
* {{Wikispecies-inline|Equus mulus}}
* {{Wiktionary-inline|mule}}

{{Mammal hybrids|state=collapsed}}
{{equus}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q41692}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Mules| ]]
[[Category:Equid hybrids]]
[[Category:Livestock]]
[[Category:Livestock guardians]]
[[Category:Pack animals]]