Mule is a domesticated, hybrid animal that results from crossing a mare (female horse) and a jack (male donkey). The offspring of a male horse (stallion) and a female ass (jenny) is called a hinny. Other mulelike hybrids were bred during ancient times from horses and onagers. Mules were once popular work animals throughout the world. Some breeders even raised certain types of large donkeys in order to produce sizable mules.
A mule looks somewhat like both its parents. Like the jack, a mule has long ears, short mane, small feet, and a tail with a tuft of long hairs at the end. From the mother it gets a large, well-shaped body and strong muscles. She also gives it a horse’s ease in getting used to harness. The father gives the mule a braying voice, sure-footedness, and endurance. Like the jack, a mule saves its strength when it is forced to work hard and for a long time. A mule is less likely to suffer from overwork than a horse.
Mules are hardy and resist disease well. However, mules do not have offspring of their own, except in extremely rare cases. Animals that cannot have offspring are said to be sterile. All male mules and most female mules are sterile. A few female mules have produced young after they were bred to male asses or to stallions.
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Mules can remain strong under much harsh treatment and work, but they work better if they are treated with kindness. When owners take proper care of their mules, the mules will do as much work as horses, and they will do the work under harsher conditions. The hardiness of mules makes them suitable for work in construction camps, mines, and military zones.
In the United States, over nine-tenths of all the mules have worked on farms and plantations. Most of them have been used in the South.
