Home Forums Gear Horses and ATV's Best type of horse for hunting?

I was just wondering what yall think is the best horse breed for hunting/ mare for a hunting mule? Or a trail and hunting mule or horse?

I have always preferred the Walker mares for breeding mules over quarter horses. Just seemed to have a better temperment. But quarter horses with a lot of sense have been my second choice. Quarter horses throw better heads on mules than walkers , who tend to throw long heads. Fox Trotters have good disposition but lack body girth and strength.
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<br>I now have been breeding some halflinger mares with standard jacks . Have two on the place now, a 2 yr old and a yearling.
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<br>These are 14 h mules, stocky as all get out. Smart, seems to have a good dispostion, and likes people. However, it takes 5 yrs to find out how good a mule you have.
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<br>If your looking at mules, stay away from arabians, all warm bloods and hot bloods
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<br>Also take a good look at the jack and look at some of his off spring as far as tempermnet goes. They also pretty much control the looks of the head and neck.
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<br>Both the mare and the jack: Garbage in =garbage out . So look at good bred mares and good bred jacks.
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<br>Can't tell you much about horses, as I think thier only use is to make mules, and most of them are dumber than a box of rocks

saddlesore, I have been meaning to ask you. Have you ever seen a hinny that was worth killing? I've seen a few but never saw one that was worth any thing, have you?
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<br>BCR

BCR, I've only run into a few. Not enough to form an opinion, but the few I have seen were about as you have seen. Don't know of anyone that bred a hinny on purpose. Most were by pasture breeding and a complete surprise. It takes a real horny stud to mount a donkey. A lot of jacks won't mount a mare when they have only bred donkeys , and a lot of jacks won't mount a donkey if they have only bred mares. But some will mount anything. Don't know why though.
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<br>I don't keep a jack because I don't breed enough , and it's too darn much trouble breeding other peoples mares. ( Kinda like guiding).
<br>I prefer gelding john ,mules because they are more stable, but they try you more all thier life, but when a molly comes out, you can't put it back and have to take what's given you.
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<br>The two young ones I have now are mollies, but they are getting spayed as soon as the yearling is big enough.

Thanks for the answer saddlesore. I only remember three hinnys. All the natural dumbness and nervousness of a horse and all the stubornness and deviltry of a jackass. Seems that cross combines the worst characteristics of both animals. I don't know why either. Never have fooled with a John. Bet they would give you a fit.
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<br>BCR

<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr><p>But some will mount anything. Don't know why though.<p><hr></blockquote>
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<br>I think I do..........

Probably the same resaon some of these sheep herders I see have pink ribbons on only certain ewes in thier herd!!
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<br>BTW, I have seen Jacks that only certain people could handle while breeding. It isn't uncommon for jacks to be so well hung that someone has to help guide them into the mare. If the wrong person touches them , they go limper than a piece of spaghetti that has been boiled too long

Ok what is the difference between a john mule and a molly mule? Also how hard is it to get a gold color mule?

A john mule is a gelding, a molly is a mare mule. Breeding fo color in a mule is like playing the sweepstakes. The bets color is broke!
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<br>I have had one palomino mule , way back , and have one now that is more chestnut/dun. But they do make them on occasions. Probably best to breed to a light colored jack and a lght mare, but you could always get ared or black mule out of this also.
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<br>You can breed the same mare and same jack 10 times and get 10 different color variations. Then again , you might get a few the same.
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<br>Look for a good mule, and if it turns out to be a color you want, juct consider it icing on the cake. A good mule is harder to find than the color you might want.

In the Rocky (by god) mountings, I like my huntin' horse to be heavy an' strong. Days (and weeks) of huntin' in the high country is hard on hosses. Small hosses get thin' an' poorly quick on meager rations. A big strong hoss will thin out too, but still have plenty of gas fer hard work. Mules hold up better an' mos' hosses. Appy's ain't too good in my book. They got lil' in common with the injun ponies they descend from. Walkers a generally strong an' foundation quarterhorses do well. By far, the best breed overall fer huntin' is the Morgan. Not them johnny come lately, cut with saddlebred morgans. The big stocky amish type is what I prefer. I'd trade ever hoss I got fer a good morgan mare an' a 'nother mule. I like mares cause they take charge. Geldin's can be pusses, an' thet don't fly with a lead hoss. Mules will herd up with a mare quicker then a geldin'.

Muleskinner makes some good points. We don't get many of the big morgans around here. Most are small frame, short type.
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<br>If you have one mare in camp, those mules sure won't leave, unless it's a john mule past 18 yrs old or so. Then , they just don't care and get pretty independant. Since I usually lead with a saddle mule also, I can't say about having a mare vs gelding as the lead animal. I have never had a problem leading with a john mule. However, just about every mare horse I have had has been a ding a ling. Which hasn't been many.

This is really a hard question to answer as it depends a lot on where you are hunting and how you are hunting. Having had my share of both mules and horses I developed certain preferences. If Im by myself and mounted I prefer a mule- especially if I'm in country where there are fence and gates. I can ride solid 13h mule day in and day out for 3 days and not wear it out. I usually have to switch a horse out after 2 days max. Also ive never seen a 13 h horse that was worth a hoot. I'm short and don't like big horses when I'm hunting. If I'm packing more than one animal I prefer to ride a horse as I can make the horse do what ever I want to get the pack animals out of a jam. You can't make a mule do something it doesn't want to...
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<br>The worst are Arabs and Thorobreds. They will get you in a wreck sure as daisys in the summer. I raised one mule colt. It was out of a good jack but a half crazy race horse momma ( Top Deck blood) she was a handful until 5 years old. All this said, my best mules were all mollies and my best horses were all geldings. I find that mares are too hard to get along with in mixed company when strange horses are on the trip. Just my observations as I'm far from an expert.
<br>As for Morgans- I've never even seen one! And gaited horses aren't worth a hoot in rough country ( everywhere I seem to go)
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dennisisaz.
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<br>Pretty good summation of the whole deal. Only thing diffent is that I'm usually riding a mule pulling a string. The smarter mule keeps me from doing something stupid.

Real morgans ain't gaited. Thet comes from mixin' 'em up with Saddlebred blood to get a show horse. Dumb move in my book. The original Morgan and Quarterhorses were all thoroughbreds, so there goes yer idear 'bout thet! Also, whenever a breed is "improved" its crossed back to the arabian (the original warmblood). Arabians begot thoroughbreds an' thoroughbreds begot jus' bout everthin' else ('cept drafts). True, race horses are to be avoided. And, show horses tend to have the sense bred out of them (i.e. arabs). But, there are suitable lines in both those breeds that are the REAL breedin' stock, and make fine animals for trail use. Problem is, breedin' is not selective enuff, and perceptions about breeds are often derived from stereo-types. All thoroughbreds ain't racing stock, an' all arabs ain't inbred schizoids. Jus' mos' of 'em are. I've got one lil' arab thet is a fine trailhorse. Calm and attentive. My wife's old arab is outta the egyptian line an' has allays been a flake. I'm avoidin' arabs an' t-breds too, but only if I don't know about the line. An' the same goes with mares. Mares have advantages over geldings that can be worth it if the breedin' is right. Course outfitters an' ranchers what run dozens of horses ain't got the time to sort this stuff out, an' thet's whar these stereotypes come from. Jus' copin' strategies for volume horse dealers.

It all depends on the individual horse, its breeding and training. An arab with an exceptional temperament is tough to beat. My dedicated pack horse is an arab gelding. Add loads and blood doesn't bother him a whit. His grandpa was my first horse and impressed the hell out of a lot of old timers with his performance in the mountains over the years. The most level headed line of arabs I've ever experienced. The typical arab? No way!
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<br>My wife's horse is a Missouri Foxtrotter. He's too small for me to feel comfortable on, but I have to admit, he is becoming a good horse as he's aging a little (only 6 yo). My only complaint is that he's so dang fast! In a group, you can't put him in front or you'll constantly be waiting for the others. Put together a string of these suckers and you'll get places!!!! I'm not kidding you, that dude gets you where you are going in half the time! Smooooooth too!
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<br>I've never been around any other foxtrotter, so I don't know what the "breed" temperament is, but I can sure get used to riding one.

muley. I have a fox trotter mule. He doesn't have much body on him, takes an 0 pony shoe, but he drives, packs and rides , goes where you point him, either fast or slow, smooth riding, and a heart of a lion. He has never quit on me and has handled some big packs for his size. Wouldn't trade him or sell for any price

SS, I swore after my first wreck with Jill's horse, that he'd never go in the mountains again. Well, #3 was under the weather last fall and I only have 4 but needed 3, so back he went. A buddy who is about 190 pounds rode him 12 miles back into some steep terrain and the foxtrotter never even broke a sweat. Through a calf elk on him the next day. No problem. He just likes to have some time to sniff around and get used to the blood smell, then he's fine. He's settling down enough that I'm beginning to think he'll be a keeper. In fact, he has me thinking I might have to shop around for another one when the time comes. A pair of those suckers and you can cover some SERIOUS ground!

Muley, by 10 he will be a good horse, just needs seasoning. I have bred and raise several walker and fox trooter mules in the past, and all had very good temperments.
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<br>I us eto buy qiute few wlaker mules out of Kirtland NM, just a little west of Farmington.Th eold guy ( dead now) said he would sell about 3 times as many of the walker mules as quarter horse mules to the buckaroos in AZ and Utah. They like the leggy types for covering more ground , held up better in the heat.
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<br>If I wanted a foal, I had to pay for it before it was born because that were all spoken for two yrs in advance

So yall are saying look for a walker or fox trooter mule, where can I find some info on each breed? I mean like how do they handle other things and personal expercies etc?

Do a search on Google.com for tennesee walkers and fox trotter horses. Don't know where you are elocated, but ther are a lot of walkers in Tenn and they breed a lot of walker mules. Most book stores have books on various breeds of horses.
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<br>If you are in Texas, there is a lot of mule competition at the Stae fair in Oct and at the Forworth fat stock show and you can tie up with a lot of good mule folks down there.
<br>Don't worry about if they are gaited or not. If some one tells you they are gaited, the price goes up. Gaited mules are the Buzz Word of people buying and selling mules today, and it don't make a differnce if it does or doesn't if you are using them in rough country. Fine for covering flat ground though
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<br>Also you can look on Ruralheritage.com in the mules and donkeys for sale. Just remenber, that walker mules will tend to run taller and have longer heads. Fox trotters will tend to have narrow , smallest bodies, not as tall.
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<br> However, let me caution you. Mules are entirely differnt than horses. It takes a completely different train of thought to work them and all different tack. If you are not at all familier with equines, start with an old horse first, 15-18 yrs old. If you are not a patient person, don't consider a mule.
<br>As for what they can do, if they are level headed, you can teach a mule to do anything a horse will do. You teach a mule, but train a horse
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