Mule
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Perissodactyla Family: Equidae Genus: Equus Species: E. Chordates ( Phylum Chordata) are a group of Animals that includes the Vertebrates together with several closely related Invertebrates Mammals ( class Mammalia) are a class of Vertebrate Animals characterized by the presence of Sweat glands, including sweat glands The odd-toed ungulates are browsing and Grazing Mammals which compose the order Perissodactyla. Equidae is the family of horse-like animals which belong to the order Perissodactyla. caballus + asinus
Binomial name
Equus mule?

In its common modern meaning, a mule is the offspring of a male donkey and a female horse, which is classified as a kind of F1 hybrid. The donkey or ass, Equus asinus, is a member of the Equidae or horse family and an odd-toed ungulate. The horse ( Equus caballus) is a hoofed ( Ungulate) Mammal, one of eight living species of the family Equidae. F1 hybrid is a term used in Genetics and Selective breeding. F1 stands for Filial 1, the first filial Generation seeds/plants or animal The reverse, the offspring of a male horse and a female donkey, is called a hinny. The word "hinny" is also a term of endearment used in North East England, equivalent to "honey" see Geordie. The term "mule" (Latin mulus) was formerly applied to the infertile offspring of any two creatures of different species. Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. In Biology, a species is one of the basic units of Biological classification and a Taxonomic rank. The mule, easier to breed and usually larger in size than a hinny, has monopolized the attention of breeders. The chromosome match-up more often occurs when the jack (male donkey) is the sire and the mare (female horse) is the dam. The father is defined as the Male Parent of an offspring The Adjective "paternal" refers to father parallel to "maternal" for Sometimes people let a stallion (male horse) run with a jenny (female donkey) for as long as six years before she becomes pregnant. Mules and hinnies are almost always sterile (see fertile mules below for rare cases). Female infertility|Male infertility Infertility primarily refers to the biological inability of a Man or a Woman to contribute to conception. In its common modern meaning a mule is the offspring of a male Donkey and a female Horse, which is classified as a kind of F1 hybrid. The sterility is attributed to the differing number of chromosomes of the two species: donkeys have 62 chromosomes, whereas horses have 64. A chromosome is an organized structure of DNA and Protein that is found in cells.

A female mule, called a "molly", that has estrus cycles and can carry a fetus, can occasionally occur naturally as well as through embryo transfer. Oestrus is also the biological genus name of the gadfly. The estrous cycle (also oestrous cycle; derived from Latin

Biology

Size

The median weight range for a mule is between 270 kg (600 lb) and 410 kg (900 lb). ^[1]

Characteristics

A grey mule

In its short thick head, long ears, thin limbs, small narrow hooves, short mane, absence of chestnuts (horny growths) inside the hocks, and tail hairless at the root, the mule looks like a donkey; in height and body, shape of neck and croup, uniformity of coat, and teeth, it appears horse-like; the mule comes in all sizes, shapes and conformities. The chestnut is a part of the body of Horses, found on the inner side of the leg near the knee or hock The hock, or gambrel, is the Tarsal joint of a Digitigrade Quadruped, such as a Horse, Cat, or Dog. The donkey or ass, Equus asinus, is a member of the Equidae or horse family and an odd-toed ungulate. Croup is a group of Respiratory diseases that often affect infants and children under age 6 There are mules that resemble quarter horses, huge draft mules, fine-boned racing mules, shaggy pony mules and many more types.

A mule does not sound exactly like a donkey or a horse. Instead, a mule makes a sound that is similar to a donkey's but also has the whinnying characteristics of a horse (often starts with a whinny, ends in a hee-haw). Sometimes, mules whimper. The coat of mules comes in the same variety as that of horses. Common colors are Sorrel, Bay, Black, and Grey. Less common are White, Roans (both blue and red), Palomino, Dun, and Buckskin. Least common are Paint mules or Tobianos.

The mule possesses the sobriety, patience, endurance and sure-footedness of the donkey, and the vigour, strength and courage of the horse. The donkey or ass, Equus asinus, is a member of the Equidae or horse family and an odd-toed ungulate. Operators of working animals generally find mules preferable to horses: mules show less impatience under the pressure of heavy weights, and their skin, harder and less sensitive than that of horses, renders them more capable of resisting sun and rain. A working animal is an animal that is kept by humans and trained to perform tasks Their hooves are harder than horses', and they show a natural resistance to disease and insects. Many North American farmers with clay soil found mules superior as plow animals, especially in the U. A farmer is a person who raises living organisms for food or raw materials Clay is a naturally occurring material composed primarily of fine-grained Minerals which show plasticity through a variable range of Water content, and S. state of Missouri, hence the expression "stubborn as a Missouri mule". Missouri ( or) is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee

Mules are generally less tolerant towards dogs than horses. They are also capable of striking out with any of their hooves in any direction.

Mule headcount in 2003

Distribution

FAO reports that China was the top market for mules in 2003 closely followed by Mexico and many Central and South American nations.

Fertile mules

Several female mules have produced offspring when mated with a purebred horse or donkey. Since 1527 there have been more than 60 documented cases of foals born to female mules around the world. It must be noted that there are no recorded cases of fertile mule stallions. Mules and hinnies have 63 chromosomes that are a mixture of one from each parent. The different structure and number usually prevents the chromosomes from pairing up properly and creating successful embryos. In most fertile mule mares, the mare passes on a complete set of her maternal genes (i. e. , from her horse/pony mother) to the foal; a female mule bred to a horse will therefore produce a 100% horse foal. A pony is a small Horse with a specific conformation and temperament Some examples of recorded fertile mules include:

• Cornevin and Lesbre stated that in 1873 an Arab mule in Africa was bred to a stallion and produced female offspring. The parents and the offspring were sent to the Jardin d'Acclimatation in Paris. Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city The mule produced a second female offspring sired by the same stallion and then two male offspring, one sired by a donkey and the other by a stallion. The female progeny were fertile, but their offspring were feeble and died at birth.
• Cossar Ewart recorded an Indian case in which a female mule gave birth to a male colt.
• The best documented fertile mule mare was "Krause" who produced two male offspring when bred back to her own sire (biological father). Inbreeding is breeding between close Relatives whether plant or animal
• In the 1920s, "Old Beck", a mare mule at Texas A&M, produced a mule daughter called "Kit". Texas A&M University, often called A&M or TAMU, is a Coeducational public Research University located in College Station When Old Beck was bred to a horse stallion she produced a horse son (i. e. , the horse stallion sired horse foals). When bred to a donkey, she produced mule offspring.
• Likewise, a mare mule in Brazil has produced two 100% horse sons sired by a horse stallion. |utc_offset = -2 to -4 |time_zone_DST = BRST |utc_offset_DST = -2 to -5 |cctld
• In Morocco, a mare mule produced a male foal that was 75% donkey and 25% horse, i. Morocco (المغرب "al-Maghrib" officially the Kingdom of Morocco (المملكة المغربية is a country located in North Africa e. , she passed on a mixture of genes instead of passing on her maternal chromosomes in the expected way.
• There is an unverified case of a mare mule that produced a mule daughter. The daughter was also fertile and produced a horse-like foal with some mule traits; this was dubbed a "hule". There are no reports as to whether the mule was fertile.
• A comparable case is that of a fertile hinny (donkey mother, horse sire - the reverse of a mule) in China. China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National Her offspring, named "Dragon Foal", was sired by a donkey. Scientists expected a donkey foal if the mother had passed on her maternal chromosomes in the same way as a mule. However, Dragon Foal resembles a strange donkey with mule-like features. Her chromosomes and DNA tests confirm that she is a previously undocumented combination.

The modern mule

An "Appaloosa" mule

This pair was working a plowing exhibition at The Farnsley-Moreman House in Louisville, Kentucky

After World War II, mules fell on hard times. The use of mules for farming and transportation of agricultural products gave way to modern tractors and trucks. A dedicated number of mule breeders, however, continued the tradition as hobby and continued breeding the great lines of mammoth jacks started in the United States by George Washington with the gift from the King of Spain of two Catalan Jacks. These hobby breeders began to utilize better mares for mule production until today's modern saddle mule emerged. Exhibition shows where mules pulled heavy loads have now been joined with mules competing in Western and English Pleasure riding, as well as dressage and hunter jumper competition. There is now a cable TV show produced by Meredith Hodges of the Lucky Three Ranch dedicated to the training of donkeys and mules. Mules, once snubbed at traditional horse shows, have, through the efforts of riders like Meredith Hodges, been accepted for competition at the most exclusive horse shows in the world in all disciplines.

The mule clone

In 2003, researchers at University of Idaho and Utah State University found a way to get mules to reproduce—by cloning the first mule as part of Project Idaho. The University of Idaho is Idaho 's oldest public university located in the rural city of Moscow in Latah County. Utah State University ( USU) is a public Land-grant university whose main campus is located in Logan Utah. The research team includes Gordon Woods, UI professor of animal and veterinary science, Kenneth L. Animal science is described as "studying the Biology of Animals that are under the control of mankind" (http//www Veterinary medicine the application of medical, diagnostic, and therapeutic principles to companion, domestic, exotic, wildlife White, USU professor of animal science, and Dirk Vanderwall, UI assistant professor of animal and veterinary science. The baby mule, Idaho Gem, was born May 4. Events 1256 - The Augustinian monastic order is constituted at the Lecceto Monastery when Pope Alexander IV It is the first clone of a hybrid animal. Veterinary examinations of the foal and its surrogate mother showed them to be in good health soon after birth. The foal's DNA comes from a fetal cell culture first established in 1998 at the University of Idaho.

Mules of a different color

An Argentine pack mule. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Argentina topics.

Mules today come in all shapes, sizes and colors, from minis under 50 pounds to maxis over 1000 pounds, and in many different colors. Mules from appaloosa mares produce wildly colored mules, much like their appaloosa horse relatives, but with even wilder skewed colors. The appaloosa color is produced by a complex of genes known as the Leopard Complex (Lp). Mares homozygous for the Lp gene bred to any color donkey will produce an appaloosa colored mule.

See also

• African Wild Ass
• Donkey
• Horse
• Jennet
• Kiang
• Hinny
• Onager

References

External links

• British Mule Society
• A case of a mule giving birth
• LongearsMall.com - Online Donkey & Mule Community and Resource Directory
• Supply Mules in Kashmir
• John Henry - One of the world's nicest mules
• Project Idaho
• The American Donkey and Mule Society, registers mules of all types/educational information. Also some fertile mule information in FAQ.
• Mule Production (pub.1948) hosted by the UNT Government Documents Department