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Date Posted: 18:14:19 11/23/02 Sat
Author: Cheri
Subject: Saturday's horse fact..
In reply to: Cheri 's message, "A New Week. Daily Inspirations, and Horse Facts..." on 12:25:54 11/18/02 Mon



Health Concerns of Mules and Donkeys..


Part 6..


Hutchins tells this story:



"I will never forget a double show we attended here in Texas on a hot day. There were beautiful palominos in one arena and fine mules in the other. They were all performing in the same classes except that the individual mules would go in many classes, such as Western pleasure, barrels, single driving, coon jumping, halter, and probably egg and spoon and pole bending classes thrown in, whereas the horses were more specialized and only went in one or two classes in most cases.

"The thing that impressed everybody who noticed it was that the palominos were absolutely black with sweat. They were dripping, frothing, and drenched in it. I purposely examined most of the mules. They were sweating--under their browbands and saddlepads. The animals I had at the show drank one bucket of water each full day, and they each went in seven classes.

"If you looked around, you didn't see any mule owner hot-walking his animal. Only in really exceptional cases such as endurance riding or exceptional activity in very hot weather is a mule walked until cool. Most are turned loose to roll in the sand and cool themselves out."

A key difference between donkeys and mules when compared with horses involves water intake. Donkeys, and most mules, have a built-in mechanism similar to that of the camel in which the animal, when water starved, will drink only enough to replace lost body fluids while the overheated horse might drink until it becomes ill. Water founder almost never occurs in the mule.

A personal case in point. When we lived in Kentucky, it was a two-day trip to get to a western destination for a vacation of mountain riding and trout fishing. Our journey took us across the central part of the United States where soaring summer temperatures are common.

One of our pack mules, a lovely buckskin named Tammy, would not consume a single drop of water during the two-day trip. We tried all the ruses, such as flavoring the water and even bringing some from home. Nothing worked. When Tammy traveled, she didn't drink, no matter how hot the day.

She often wouldn't drink until we arrived at the first mountain stream after leaving a trailhead. She never guzzled water, even then, as though suffering from thirst. She merely drank normally and usually was finished well before the horses.


Tomorrows fact .. Another difference between horses and mule

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