Cheers for the long-ears

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This talent for thinking things through can be a great advantage: If a mule or donkey takes care of itself, it also is taking care of its cargo, human or otherwise. For decades, mules have been taking tourists down the narrow, winding paths into the Grand Canyon—a feat that should tell us something about mules' surefootedness and intelligent caution.

Muleand Donkey Definitions

From Mules and More magazine

Donkey - Nickname for members of the ass family (Equus asinus)
Jack, Jackass, Jack Ass - The male of the ass family
Jennet or Jenny - Female of the ass family
Burro - Small members of the ass family from Mexican and Spanish stock, native to the Southwest, but not widespread.
Mammoth Jack/Jennet - Large members (measuring 14 hands or more) of the ass family used for draft mule production.
Mule - A cross between a male ass (jack) and a female horse (mare).
Hinny - A cross between a male horse (stallion) and a female donkey.

STRONG AND SMART

A hybrid between a donkey and horse, the mule combines the best of both worlds—and, on rare occasions, the worst. A mule is the offspring of a male donkey (jack or jackass) and a female horse. A female donkey (jenny) mated with a male horse creates a Ninny or jennet.

Heavy-headed and long-eared, a mule has a donkey-like tail and fine-boned legs with small hooves. With shorter ears, a hinny has a more horse-like head and a long, full tail, but the smaller body of a donkey.

Mules usually display true hybrid vigor. Pound for pound, they are stronger than horses, live longer and are able to continue working throughout more of their lives than horses, although they mature somewhat later. They are less likely than horses to become ill or lame, and can live on frugal rations and in more extreme temperatures than horses. Stamina and resilience also are a deserved part of the mule's legend. (Hinnies are not necessarily as strong or hardy, however) Mules and Ninnies are virtually always sterile, but male mules should be gelded (castrated) to keep them tractable. Uncastrated mules can be very dangerous.

Low-maintenance mules have long held a reputation in the United States as the agricultural and draft animal of choice. They were a fundamental tool in the westward growth of the United States, hauling heavy loads over great distances (often to be thanked by becoming dinner when times got hard for the miners or pioneers who depended on their labor). Historical accounts boast the record of six mules hauling up to 7,000 pounds, 15 to 30 miles a day.

Among equestrians, the mule has become popular as a calm and steady replacement for the horse. Tim Roy of South Berwick, Maine, has been riding horses since his childhood days in Tennessee. After coming to Maine, he purchased a horse and continued riding. On overnight trail rides, Roy took note of the strength and stability of mules used by other riders.

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