QUESTION: In all the years I've had donkeys and mules I have never had a tragedy like what happened in my little long ear kingdom yesterday. Seems my little standard donkey jenny, Rosita, came into heat and that big lug of a john mule, Skipper completely savaged her. I mean he darn near killed her. Found her last night when we brought them into the barn. My girlfriend, Chris wants to NOT believe that her mule is the culprit, but all the signs were there. From the roughed up butt fur to the savaged back and torn up ears - the evidence is incriminating. Rosita has no fur OR skin from her withers to her croup and the path of destruction is about a foot wide. She has deep nasty gashes from teeth on the backs of her ears.  Those injuries don't worry me as much as the back injury from the weight of that mule. She can hardly walk, she's so sore.  Needless to say, I have to find another place to put my two donkeys.  I did notice whenever I see pictures of your mules and donkeys that they are never mixed together. Is my recent experience the reason?

ANSWER: Male mules will always have a certain amount of aggressive male behaviors particularly in the spring. Even when gelded, they are prone to “jump” the females during breeding season. Mules will also chase animals that are smaller than themselves and this is true of both males and females. This is why it is very important to make an evaluation of your animals before putting them in pens and pastures together. Certain behaviors are predictable and if taken into consideration can prevent a disastrous outcome. Mules will always LOVE their mothers, so when penned with horses, they can be content, but not always willing to leave them. Plus, if with mares, the male mules will mercilessly harass them in the spring. This is why I pen my horses separately from the mules. I do not put smaller animals in with the larger mules because they will also harass them whether male or female. The smaller ones can be penned with the larger horses provided you do not have an extreme alpha male or female in the herd. Mares seem to be more tolerant of the little ones. I do not pen younger and smaller mules with older mules (three years and younger). Once they have reached their third birthday, they can better withstand the pecking order ritual and can be added to the older group (mules from 3 – 15). Note that mules from 3 to 15 will exhibit aggressive sexual behaviors with their own kind, but the female mules are better equipped to fend off aggressive males in the spring where horse mares are not. Mules that are over 15 or 16 years old should be penned with a more sedate group of older mules, but still not with horses just to keep the peace. Older mules will be chased mercilessly by the younger and more aggressive male mules, especially if they are older males. Younger male mules will also mercilessly harass the older female mules in the spring and can injure them.

Generally, the best thing to do with a new animal is to put them in a pen of their own that is adjacent to the pens with your other animals for about two weeks just so they can be introduced "across the fence" before actually turning them in together. Jacks and stallions should never be turned in with other animals. When you finally do put them in together, they will have a ritual of developing the new pecking order, but as long as they do not get completely vicious with each other, you can be reasonably sure that they will work this out and things will calm down over another two week period. Of course, there may be irreconcilable differences in personality or size that will affect his behavior. If he is incompatible with the other animals, he may need to be kept by himself, or with a partner that is more suitable for him.

Internships in the Equine Industry

Finding the perfect internship can be one of the most difficult choices a student will make. Many are looking for a program that offers a wide variety of experiences, that provides the opportunity to make valuable connections, and that can be a unique addition to a resume. Hearts & Horses is able to offer an internship that covers each of these aspects for students from various backgrounds.

Currently, Hearts & Horses has three full-time interns working towards a career in either social work or occupational therapy. Their tasks range from working with students in classes to assisting staff members with various administrative projects.

Although Hearts & Horses’ main mission is to influence the lives of people with disabilities in a positive way, each intern has found something special from their time on-site that is helping them reach their future goals. Ashley Phang, a senior at Colorado State University, has benefited from gaining hands-on experience within the field of equine assisted therapy helping her work towards a career in animal-assisted therapy. Anita Reynoso, a senior at Metropolitan State University, has been able to witness the benefits a horse can offer students, providing her with insight into the human-equine bond. Ashley Sippel, a senior at Wichita State University, is able to observe and assist riders with a wide range of disabilities, helping her narrow down what population she would like to work with.

Ashley Phang specifically found it encouraging that she was able to work here as an intern with little equestrian knowledge. It is easy to assume that one must have an extensive equine knowledge to work around these animals daily; however, Ashley found the opposite to be true. “My experience here has been a lot of just building my knowledge from the ground up. I have experienced great support and patience from all those around me. Everybody is always willing to pause, explain things, and assure me that I’m doing alright,” Ashley said.

Hearts & Horses provides students with an exceptional internship due to their wide variety of opportunities and supportive staff. Students can specialize their experience by taking part in activities such as assisting with the business/administrative aspect, learning the ins and outs of a non-profit, observing various therapeutic classes, or gaining experience managing equines (just to name a few). Many might overlook Hearts & Horses as a traditional internship experience; however, the amount of knowledge one can gain from spending time here is unlimited.

Ashley Sippel

Wichita State University

Wichita, KS

We are having the hardest winter here in North Idaho since '96.  Right now there is 4 and a half feet of snow all over everything and ice under that and now on top of that.  My trips to the two barns to care for my mules is now a mixture of adventure and hardships.  I can tell you that the two big mollies (Iris and Lucille) are loving their little three-sided "palace" my hubby built for them a couple of years ago.  It is open to the south to spare them the punishment of that north wind.  They have only the few paths through the snow that are absolutely necessary to get to and from the hay.

I lost my dear little IKE the donkey, last month during one of the severly cold spells.  He just couldn't fight it any longer and simply laid down one Friday and quit.  I had him put down by my hero vet, Dr. Stoll, and then the fun began as we had to somehow get him out of the corral he died in and out of the pasture and into the driveway so we could load his body onto a friends flatbed truck.  I'm shure the neighbors were thoroughly entertained as it was a logistic feat as well as a hard pull at times.

Ike's pasture mate, Cookie the old molly, was rather lost without him for a few days and quit eating hay--but not her oats.  I was surprised as she was always acting like he was a pain in her ass and didn't really spend much time with him as a companion.  But, she is over it now and is mostly holed-up in her sweet little barn out of the wind and the moisture.  Only God knows how old she is, but Dr. Bob mouthed her several years ago when we first rescued her and he said at that time that she had passed 30 at a high lope many years ago!  Cookie is a sweet but very serious lady and I take great delight in discussing world matters with her.

Got the cute story of "Barney the Lop Sided Mule" finished (illustrations).  I understand it is at the printers now and his author, Liz Hughey, is planning on being in my booth at Bishop with it.  Golly, Bishop seems light-years away right now with all this snow.

Also got the book cover for "Miss Royals' Mules" done (by Irene Bennett Brown).  It won't be out until '18, but it is worth waiting for so add that to your list of good things comin your way.

So, I am just trying to survive up here in the north woods and dreaming of summer rides on Iris and time spent with dear friends like Meredith.  Hope you are half as lucky.  Bonnie