National Mule Day | Monday Mischief

I owe an apology to mules and mule lovers.  National Mule Day was October 26.  Unfortunately, I was too busy celebrating Pit Bull dogs (National Pit Bull Awareness Day) to celebrate mules.  However, in the spirit of better late than never and, as a fan of all equine, especially mules, I've decided to do some celebrating today.

National Mule Day marks the arrival of a special Spanish donkey to our country.

In addition to being a passionate American Foxhound dog breeder, George Washington is often called the "father of the American mule."  According to Our White House here's how the story goes:

In 1785, when King Charles III of Spain heard that General Washington, at home in Mount Vernon, was looking for the finest jackasses in the world to mate with his mares to create “super mules,” he sent Washington two of his best Spanish donkeys.

Only one survived the cross-Atlantic journey, landing safely in Boston. With meticulous care, Washington personally planned its arrival at Mount Vernon, making sure that his mares had lived a celibate existence so that they would warmly welcome their “foreign affair.” The regal jackass—Washington named him Royal Gift—was not at all pleased with the proffered country bumpkins and made no attempt to seal the deal.  

As frustrated as the poor mares, the creative Mr. Washington decided to trick Royal Gift.  He used a female donkey to capture the attention of the Spanish jackass, then, at just the right moment, pulled a switch substituting the femme fatale donkey with one of his Virginian mares. 

The ploy worked and by 1799 there were fifty-seven new mules at Mount Vernon. Washington farmed them out across the country to improve the nation’s stock and as a result many of the best mules today can trace their lineage back to old Royal Gift and George Washington’s mares.

Our mammoth jack, Mr. Jones

For those not in the know, mules are the result of breeding a male donkey (jack) to a female horse.   When a female donkey (jennet) is bred with a male horse (stallion) the result is a hinny.   Male mules are called horse mules or johns;  female mules are called mare mules or mollies.

Our john mule, Clyde meeting Spanky

Stubborn like a mule?  I prefer: smart as a mule.  While a horse's first impulse is to flee from danger, a mule will often freeze and refuse to move when danger is sensed.  Mule (and donkeys) will think about the situation and figure out the safest response.  Frankly, the mules I've known are often smarter than a lot of people I've met!

Yep, that's me driving a four-up of mules:  Molly, Nellie, Frank and Jesse

There's probably more mischief ahead... I really need to feature a mule song on Dog Song Saturday!

Thank you to Snoopy’s Dog Blog, Alfie’s Blog, and My Brown Newfies for hosting Monday Mischief!