Mules as Partners

 

     In the novel Turquoise Man, the tracker’s saddle mule’s have a special place. While the variety of mules in the world is wide, a specially-bred saddle mule is unbeatable for speed, safety, and endurance.

     “After the first ten miles, few horses could keep gait with any of the tracker’s saddle mules. Crossbred from a mammoth jack donkey and an Arab-thoroughbred mare, the tracker’s 16-hand tall mules could move twice the distance using half the water as the best horse.

    A well-bred mule eats less grass, has none of the leg problems, and has flexible hoofs made for desert rock. Iron shoes on a healthy mule foot—making noise and cutting deeper tracks—makes little sense.

    While there are great horses, a carefully-bred saddle mule rides smoother, travels faster, jumps higher, spooks less, and lives longer.

    In the long-past age of working horses, the only reason mules were more likely to pull a plow, or a wagon was that—pound for pound—they could pull more weight longer without breaking down; “more bang for the buck.”

     In the historical hardpan of the American southwest, if an Indian fighter could get a good one, both scouts and Army troopers preferred a fast mule. The fastest horses in the world is only seconds faster than the fastest mule. And the fast horse won’t last long.

     On the downside—to the frustration of many thrown or kicked cowboys—bullying a mule is always counter-productive. With a mule’s tendency to think things through and work in their own interest, a smart mule required more skill and partnership than the average cowboy can muster.

    One hundred and fifty years ago in Arizona, the US Army Indian fighter General Crook rode his favorite mule in a five-mile, hard-rock race against his Unit’s top horse. The big-hearted horse—well ridden by the Apache Scout Chilapan—tied Crook’s mule across the finish line.

      The General ordered them both washed down, gave them both a scoop of grain and ordered the animals to be given two-days rest.

During the night, the horse collapsed and died. The next morning Crook’s mule, having untied itself from the picket line, was standing outside Crook’s tent pulling apart a supply box in search of coffee grounds.”

     If you ride the hard desert, mistakes can be unforgiving, A good saddle mule increases your probability enjoying the journey, and then getting back home.