No, I do not mean he won't turn left (Gee for right and Haw for left was typical when driving horses, mules and dogs, I think, in harness). Any mule raisers out there? This is a question you you long eared experts.
When Blackjack, our little 600 lb pet mule, brays he will only let out a couple of long Heeee Heeee. The horse lets out a long whinny. They both stand by the front gate every day waiting for their daily portion of sweet feed and sound off as soon as I step out the door. When a typical donkey brays he goes Heee Haaaw. Blackjack won't complete his bray. Never has in the 20+ years we have had him (I got him for Becky's 20th wedding anniversary present). I'm wondering if since he is only half donkey he can only half bray? ;D
For the rest of you mule raisers out there does your mule do a complete bray or only half a bray? (Don't tell me what your donkey does - I know what they sound like. :D). If you can shed some light on this mystery it will be greatly appreciated - inquiring minds want to know.
I can't tell you what your mule should sound like, but I have an idea what my wife would have sounded like if I had ever bought her a mule for an anniversary, I have forgot them a time or two, and think even forgetting is a safer way to go.
Starmac,
Its what she wanted. Actually wanted a donkey but when she saw an 11 y/o boy riding Blackjack at the horse auction that was what she wanted. (I got her a little white gold donkey charm to wear on a chain the same year to commemorate the event).
The good thing is now for her birthday or Christmas or such I can just buy her a new implement to go with him. ;D Actually one Christmas I bought her a new saddle for him in October. I had it in a big box and hid it under her shoes in the closet and she never found it. On Christmas Day I told her to go move her shoes if she wanted her gift. Kind of like the time I bought my teenage son a deer rifle in October for Christmas and hid it where I knew he would never find it - under his bed. :D :D That worked too.
Yea, I was just kidding.
For our first anniversary, I bought my wife a rifle, the only problem with that is going on 40 years later, she still reminds me it is hers if I use it.
How old was Black Jack when you got him? If he was young enough and didn't get socialized with other mules, he might not have learned how to act. It sounds like he learned that he is a horse and should winny like a horse.
We have a dog that was found as a young puppy on the street and was taken in by a cat rescue. We've had her about 10 years now. She acts like a cat. When chasing a ball, she bats it about and pounces on it like a cat playing with a mouse. She is also a good mouser/ratter/goferer/moler/lizarder/etc. Puts them on the door step for us.
Blackjack was supposedly 4 years old when we got him. I don't know what kind of misguided childhood he might have had. Do you think it is too late to train him if a bring a speech donkey up and put with him? :D
Ha Ha, I don't know about mules, but I have seen what johnsaw was talking about. I lived in a travel trailer park on a lake for a couple of years,
The manager had chickens, ducks, geese and guinees. The people there in town would buy some of these as chicks around easter and raise them together, when they got bigger, they would tire of them and bring them and give them to him.
He had ducks that that they were chickens, we would even go out there and physically pick them up and put them on a limb to roost with the chickens. He had guinees that thought they were geese, they would run up and down the bank, going crazy when the rest of the geese went into the lake, I don't know how many times I had to fish one out of the lake that ran off the end of the dock, never seen anything like it before.
My wife would give me a big hug if I bought her one or a burro.
Okay team, lets get it together - have any of you muleheads out there ever heard your mule do a complete bray? ;D
Quote from: WV Sawmiller on March 14, 2018, 08:00:59 PM
Okay team, lets get it together - have any of you muleheads out there ever heard your mule do a complete bray? ;D
Nahhhh
When I was a kid, we had neighbor's that had 4 mules. Most of the time they sounded like donkeys but not always sometimes we heard heee-whinneys or whinney-haaas and various other things. But most of the time it was donkey-talk.
I know of a man that thinks he's a goat, wonder how he was raised?? :-X :D
The common denominator in mules is a mammoth jack donkey, and the variable is the horse breed to which they were bred.
I've owned two mules, my first was out of a quarter horse. He delivered a genuine bray. He was also lazy and an escape artist. My second mule was out of a Tennessee Walker, and would deliver a bray on his out-take breath, and a hiccup sounding whinny on the in-take breath. He loved to work, especially when harnessed. I took him for visit to a local Amish mule whisperer and he hitched him up to his ground driven hay rake. He snapped to work, almost before the driver got into the cart. The two of them out there working that field were a sight to behold, but I digress. :)
Maybe the vocals are somewhat dependent on the horse breed? I really don't know, but it sure is an interesting question.
Sometimes my Haaw won't Heee and my Git-up won't Go. I'm gonna practice Braying.
Roxie,
Based on his relatively small size I always assumed Blackjack's mom was a pony. I had a guy bring a pair of Belgian mules in summer before last. The mothers were Belgian horses. I assume a mammoth jack was the father. I understand some people would dig a pit for the mare to accommodate the smaller donkey, especially when bred to the big work horses like Belgians, Clydesdales, etc.
Mules are smarter than horses i many ways. Blackjack will eat till he is full then walk away with sweet feed still in his trough. Trigger, the horse. will eat till he literally kills himself. I understand sheep and cows are like horses and I know goats are like mules in the overeating respect.
Quote from: sandhills on March 16, 2018, 08:47:49 AM
I know of a man that thinks he's a goat, wonder how he was raised?? :-X :D
On a bottle as a kid and then thrown in a briar patch. :D :D :D
I would rather ride a good mule than a horse, especially hunting, and even more especially hunting at night in the dark woods, even more especially in thick underbrush, vines and briars. A mule will just walk until it can't go anymore and you have to get off and break up some vines to get it clear, a horse will get exited and wild and kill you is you aren't careful.
I've got a picture of a Mammoth Jack. He's the king of the donkeys.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11566/Mammoth_Jack.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1521282552)
That's a four rail fence, and he can easily put his head on the other side.
WV, I haven't spent as much time around mules as many others here have, but the few I've been around all had a different sound. Horses don't sound the same either, after you get to know them. I can be a half mile away, and hear a horse winny, and know which one it is.
Checking Google, it appears that there is much interest and concern regarding this topic, but at the end of the day- we all have our own song to sing....... The many good animals I have buried has taught me to enjoy it while I can.