With all the talk about---

[MeadowRidge Farm]

I just thought I would put my two cents in on how I feel about hinnies, since I think there are only a very few of us on the forum that do have them. IMO, Hinnies are great, and comical,and well worth themselves! They do resemble a horse more so then a mule would, but hinnies are similar to mules in the respect that they are generally (OK--putting on my flame retardent suit, if any horse people are ready to disagree with me

)they are generally more intelligent then horses and more coorporative then alot of donkeys. (there said it!

)Hinnies are very difficult to breed for under most circumstances, because most stallions will not accept a jenny, and then there is also a differance in the chromosomes of the horse and donkey--a horse has 64 pair, and a donkey has 62, a mule and a hinny will have 63 the uneven number will result in a incomplete reproductive system. Hinnies will have more of a horse type head, and ears not quit as long as a mule would have, hinnies can also be gaited. Now maybe Shawna, can get on and add her version of a mule. Hope this helps some of you who have been emailing me, and I really do not have any secret on getting a stallion to breed a jenny

If you have more questions I will TRY to answer them if you email me. Corinne

 

[minimule]

I won't flame you!

I TOTALLY agree that mules (and donkeys) are smarter than horses. Most people think a mule/donkey/hinny are stubborn but they really aren't. They are into self preservation and if they think there is the slightest chance they will get hurt doing something........they will NOT do it. You can actually see the mules and donkey thinking about something before they will try it. I've seen Kilroy thinking about 2-3 things at once. It's quite obvious what he is doing.

Most mules do have a longer ear than a horse. Mine however have shorter ears than most mules. For some reason Kilroy throws shorter ears. Mine have been accused of being horses before. Guess that gives you an idea of the quality of my mules too.

Donkey's body temp is also different than a horse which is another reason why jennys have a harder time settling when bred to a stallion than a mare bred by a donkey. I have had several people tell me if a mare won't settle with a stallion to breed her to a donkey and 99% of the time she will settle.

 

[tifflunn]

Is there a difference in their life spans?

Tiffany

 

[shminifancier]

How about this one.. I feel some people, (not all) but some for sure, Should before getting ANY horse get a mule first to handle and train IMO they would be better horse people and better trained horses after a person trains a mule, Because mules are so smart and will teach these people just how to go about training a horse

 

[MeadowRidge Farm]

Sam, I agree with you 100%, but there are so many people that do think a donkey/mule/hinny is trained the same as a horse, and give up very fast after not getting anywhere!

Tiffany, Hinnies/mules have a lifespan of 30-40 yrs. yrs. Corinne

 

[shminifancier]

This is true, but I feel that a mule would not put up with as much as a horse does and that alone could teach these people something. I don't know it is hard to say.

Sam, I agree with you 100%, but there are so many people that do think a donkey/mule/hinny is trained the same as a horse, and give up very fast after not getting anywhere! 

Tiffany, Hinnies/mules have a lifespan of 30-40 yrs. yrs.    Corinne

531144[/snapback]

​

 

[minimule]

I spoke to a person yesterday that trains Harness Horses. She said someone asked her to train a donkey once and she ended up giving up. Said she never could get a line of communication or understanding with the donkey.

Working with a mule/hinney/donkey is one sure way to teach a person patience. You also learn more about body language.

I would recommend someone new at least going to work with someone that works with mules. It shows you a whole new perspective on the equine mind set.

I don't think I would sell a mule to someone that was new to horses and had no clue about how to handle them. A mule at least would walk all over them and it could be an ugly situation.