Driving Minis

[miniluv777]

I have a mini mule named Ceci (short for Cecelia) who is three years old and pretty tiny. I don't think she weighs 300. She's a scrapper, of course, but I am wondering if a mini mule can be too small to drive. I have just started to ground drive her and have worked with her quite a bit (on the ground of course!). She seems to really like being ground driven! It would be fun to have her pull a cart but I wonder if the weight would be too much for her. Frankly I wouldn't ride in it myself and let her pull me around until I lose at least 50 pounds,,, but I am wondering how much can a mini mule pull? Or any mini for that sake? (barely 32" high).

I learn SO much from you guys. Thanks.

 

[dannigirl]

I don't know about mini mules, but we drive a lot of our minis. the smallest is 30". Our rule of thumb is no more than 3 times their "ideal" weight behind the mini. That includes cart, harness and load. Notice, I said "ideal weight". Just because your mini could be 300lbs, doesn't mean that is what he should be. My littlest guy usually weighs about 250 or more, but idealy, he should weigh a well fit 225. We don't put more than 550 in the cart behind him. Now, this is a fit horse that is used to the work. You can't just take him from pasture to work and expect 2 hours of full load out of him. Also, terraine plays a part. Smooth roadways are much easier than hills and/or grassy areas. Another factor is whether your mini actually likes to drive. We have two that will mostly just stand there cause they don't like to drive and we have some that will just go and go and go and we have to force them to slow down.

Good luck and it sounds like you have a great start.

Angie

 

[miniluv777]

I don't know about mini mules, but we drive a lot of our minis. the smallest is 30". Our rule of thumb is no more than 3 times their "ideal" weight behind the mini. That includes cart, harness and load. Notice, I said "ideal weight". Just because your mini could be 300lbs, doesn't mean that is what he should be. My littlest guy usually weighs about 250 or more, but idealy, he should weigh a well fit 225. We don't put more than 550 in the cart behind him. Now, this is a fit horse that is used to the work. You can't just take him from pasture to work and expect 2 hours of full load out of him. Also, terraine plays a part. Smooth roadways are much easier than hills and/or grassy areas. Another factor is whether your mini actually likes to drive. We have two that will mostly just stand there cause they don't like to drive and we have some that will just go and go and go and we have to force them to slow down.

Good luck and it sounds like you have a great start.

Angie

Thanks for the guidelines. They make sense. I don't even have a cart so no danger right now

of overloading her. I was just surprised that she seemed to enjoy ground driving so much. Most important to me is a happy healthy little mule. We both have a lot to learn and look forward to it. She is a real smarty and catches on to everything amazingly fast.

 

[HGFarm]

Most Minis love having a job and seem to take to driving like a duck to water. They are so easy to work with too! Sounds like you are having fun with yours!

 

[Shari]

Maggie is about 33 1/2" tall and runs 250lbs. When I gained some weight she was starting to have trouble pulling me in my 100lb Country Road cart with the hills we drove over. Cart and my weight was 280lbs.

Between that and the move, I ended up selling it for a lighter Hyper Bike.(Not recommended for green horses) Which she loves and has no trouble pulling.

Every mini is different in what they can pull but with Maggie, less is better.

Your mini Mule should have no problems pulling you in a more traditional cart. And if she is like her larger counter parts, she should be stronger than a mini horse to boot.

She sounds like she will make the perfect driving mule!

Maggie also has a Saw Buck and Panniers and she helps me a lot around the farm carrying things for me. That is some thing your Mule can learn now too.

 

[shelterwood]

Miniluv,

I think you have gotten great advice already, so I'll only add that if and when you do decide to hitch, make sure you have a well made, well fitted harness and a balanced cart. These two things alone can really increase your little man's comfort and pulling ability. I have 2 40" mares, so I can't speak about the real little ones, but I know my mares are FAR stronger than anyone would ever imagine. I have pulled logs and carts full of firewood, and they LOVE having a job. If you are so inclined to learn more about harness fit, breast collars vs. regular collars, cart balance etc, slide on over to the driving section of the forum and search some topics. Or, better yet, start a new thread with pictures of your mini mule. I would love to see him, and am fascinated by the mini mules, and I'm sure everyone else would love it too. We can see your ground driving set up and your little guy's conformation and offer friendly advice, if wanted. Welcome to the addicting world of driving!!

Katie

 

[Reble]

In our experience our 32" - 34" mini

can pull two adults without any problem.

 

[maggiemae]

In our experience our 32" - 34" mini

can pull two adults without any problem.

Is this on hard flat ground?