Mammoth Jacks

[KenK]

Greetings from the Backyard Chicken Forum!

I'm going through my annual "want a mule" phase. We had several horses when I was a kid but that was long ago, 35 years or so now since the last of them was sold.

Found some interesting links today about riding donkeys and mammoth jacks. I would like a pair of mules or jacks to ride, drive and plow.

Would a newbie like me be out of their mind to try fooling with an entire jack? I suppose that's the draw over a mule to me is that I could breed them. I guess I could look for a pair of jennies and then try to find a jack standing at stud.

Mainly just talking, can't really do anything until I retire in a few more years.

Also, I'm a right big man, 6'2" and about 210 pounds now but that has been known to fluctuate, mostly higher. I would assume I could ride a 15 hand donkey...

 

[goodhors]

I would say a totally new-to-equines person should NOT have an entire male. They are programmed for breeding as their first drive. Unless you KNOW what you are doing, have worked with a LOT of equines (jacks, stallions), you probably will do things wrong and get hurt. Jacks are worse than stallions, if they go bad or are badly handled.

May I suggest that you get involved with a local Mule and Donkey Association as a helper? You can learn from folks who already own some Longear equines, see what their animals act like, respond to. Many mules, donkeys, Mammoth's, are trained to both ride and drive, to be enjoyed in more activities. You're not used to having equines of any sort, so you NEED to learn a lot about handling, consistancy in methods of doing things (Longears LOVE routine), and about harnessing, driving any kind of equine.

And while foals are very cute, unless you know how to handle them, you will probably do more "untraining" to produce a spoiled young animal that will be difficult to train or sell as it gets older. Foal handling and training WELL, starts the minute they are born and needs some handling on a daily basis to keep them civilized. Handler needs to be knowledgable in when to correct basic behaviour and not over-react or let things be ignored. Folks who don't do this end up with rude, hard to manage, LARGE young animals they are afraid of. Those young animals then end up getting roughly handled to be broke and trained, since they are unresponsive to the gentler methods. I do NOT suggest you get into the breeding end of things at all, because you have no experience with it.

Friends you make might give you some driving lessons for helping them. Or at least help you find a driving trainer to take lessons from. Working with a trainer will help you learn in a progressive way, so you have a good base of knowledge to use later on. Doing things with your trainer should be considered an investment in learning to do things correctly, to save yourself being harmed. Sounds like a LOT of fun, doing farm things with your animals, but it can be an easy way to get hurt doing it wrong. Equines are NOT tractors!! Some like to "help" and try to assist in making choices! This is VERY BAD for everyone, runaways are extremely dangerous.

Working with the trainer, you may find that working equines is really not that much fun, just fun to watch. You have to work with these animals DAILY, they need to be handled and fed every day of the year. It is not a 5 minutes a day deal, and cost of upkeep in hay, hoof care, Vet care, can add up.

When you decide towards purchasing something, you will want to look at older animals who are more reliable, settled in their training. The good mules we see, all seem to come from "down South". They are trained well, cooperative, and owners just enjoy them. Owners really never teach them anything new, but benefit from original good basic training.

A point for mules over A$$es (all the donkey and Mammoth stock types, large and small), is that mules are usually better gaited. This means they have longer strides, may be more comfortable in riding gaits, cover ground faster. The smaller longears and Mammoth stock, will have shorter strides, rougher gaits, probably go slower for distance covering. This is because they have a different shoulder build than what mules get from their horse mothers.

Check out the American Donkey and Mule Association site. They can provide you with LOTS of information, videos of training and handling the longear equines. Longears do NOT respond like horses in most situations. If they trust you, they will work VERY hard for you. But if you fail them, cause them to loose that trust, you will have problems. They are not truly stubborn, but may not understand the situation you put them in or what you are asking. So if you back up, ask a different way, as shown in the training material, the longears will "GET IT" and understand what you want done, step right out to do it for you.

http://www.lovelongears.com/

If you have a few years before getting enough time to play, that gives you plenty of time to learn more with driving lessons and working with other longear folks. I just don't want you getting hurt or jumping in to be disappointed with your equine experiences. We see that happen a LOT. People get the whole shebang at top prices, then the fun is gone and they are stuck with animals and equipment they don't want, can't sell for what they paid.