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Anyone raise mules, ride, or drive mules?

I don't raise mules but I ride and drive them. I use them in my wagon train business. I have guests ride them and when I need extra spans to pull wagons I hook em up.

Saddlesore, Laker to name a few.

Popular farm machine for the Amish here in PA.

The 4wd of the equine world.........

Casey

My father talked more about farming with mules, than horses.

I used to have a small (13 hands) mule, he was cool as long as you didn't try to handle his ears.

Went to Bishop Mule Days a couple of times.
Some amazing animals at that event.
The Forest Service would put on a pack string exhibition that was worth the drive and then some.

I also went to the Mule races in Winnemucca NV one time. Very entertaining.

Sold my 14 hand mule a year ago last spring, great riding mule, always ready to pick up the pace even after 16 miles of trail north of Gunnison in Unit 54. Two major quirks were, like many he didn't like his feet messed with, and he was always looking for that next mouthfull of grass. Sold him because I was running out of places to ride around here and at 64 years old, it just wasn't as much fun anymore.

Back in PA a buddy used one for years to drag logs out of the woods to his saw mill, back when a lot of the game roads were closed to vehicles he would ride it up the the mountain and get back in the boonies. By the time we got that far back hiking he would have his deer and be heading home..

Went coon-hunting one night years ago in Wisconsin with a guy who had 2 riding mules. That was neat as hell and I'd do it again in a heartbeat.
One of the mules you had to be real careful how you approached a fence with--he'd pop over it with you still sitting on it if you weren't careful.

The original ATV. I have bred, raised ,trained, packed, rode, driven, and shown mules for about 40 years now. Like lot of my fellow mule men, age has crept up on us and our herds have diminished.I only have two now. A saddle mule about 18 years old and a pack mule about 20 years old. These are smaller mules now as those taller ones got so I couldn't throw a pack on one or even my saddle. We suit each other fine now. Checkout my Avatar. That's them.

A lot of folks can't get along with mules. Mostly because they think they are a horse with long ears. They can't figure out how their brain works and more than likely the mule is smarter than the owner.

The ones quirky about their feet just haven't been started right. I still shoe my own and I'm 73. I only ever sold one that I couldn't fix her not wanting to get shod. Someone had messed her up bad. It wasn't worth getting hurt.Too many good ones out there.

Certainly Bishop Mule Day, Memorial Day weekend, is the premier gathering of mules in the US, but the one in Shellbyville TN is no slouch either.Then there is the Jake Clark mule sale in Powell ,WY, around Fathers day, which sees high selling mules for outrageous pricing

In the last few years there has been a renewed interest in the mule world..Everyone wants one. You can get on Facebook and find dozens of mule groups. One good one is Mules of Texas.

Ole 270.I was in Unit 54 this past week. Came home Sunday . Rode a lot around the Castles, mostly rain,mud, mosquitoes. Heck of a time though

The only way I would ride a horse instead of a mule is if I had to walk instead.

Have all day for mules, not so much for horses

Owned a few but currently only have one. I get along with mules great ,horses not so much. Wife tells me it's because we are both asses. I use mine for mainly just trail riding. Do a little packing and hunting off him and working cows. He's broke to rope but I'm not so much. I want the wife to take him to a barrel race and run him to see how much the other can chasers get mad. They have quite the personality compared to a horse. One thing about them is you have to make it seem like it's their idea to do something

Our daughter had a mare - inadvertently bred by a donkey.
When he was about 18 months old, I sold him to a friend.
A red mule, Elvis (so named by our son for the massive sideburns he grew in the winter) was put to work pursuing mountain lion, down in the Gila.
According to my friend, his son has turned that mule into a legend in that area!

You might ask this down in the Horse/ATV forum at the bottom of the page.

John Burns on here uses a few.Haven't seen him post for quite awhile though.Guess it is a sign of the times of the type of members we have here.

Mark Shubert. Many years ago I knew a fellow that chased lions down in the Gila with his mules. IIRC his name was Orville Fletcher.Exciting times for sure

Had a friend tell me I should not have anything on the place smarter than I was,talking about my mules. So I told him that is why I have mules and he has horses. We had a good chuckle. I really like my mules. I have one ,Jake that I raised from a weanling , he thinks he is a human. He would come in the house if you let him. He will follow you around and watch what you are doing. You can catch him anywhere. He is 16-3 hands.

I have zero mule experience but for some strange reason suddenly want one.


Can you chase cows on one?

Sam, I'll let smarter men answer that, I can see no reason why not.

I'll bring up the question about a mule seeing the rear feet?

cows are faster, but you could run them until they puked out and fell, then drag them home

Yep, slow cows.