My Senior Horse Podcast: Donkeys and Mules

Donkeys and mules have been a big part of her life, said Amy McLean, PhD. She currently is an Assistant Professor of Teaching at the University of California, Davis. She grew up on a farm in Georgia alongside many of these equids.

She learned from her veterinarian at that age that a lot of things were not understood about donkeys and mules. She remembered a mule foal that was sick, but didn’t act the same as a sick horse foal. “It appeared healthier than it was,” recalled McLean.

Fast-Forward to Today

Since her childhood, McLean has visited about 30 different countries in her quest to improve the understanding and care of donkeys and mules. McLean has led studies to try to learn more about normal physiology of donkeys and mules. She also is passionate about improving the health and livelihood of working donkeys and mules around the world.

Differences in Equids

Many times, even our students—and sometimes our professionals—are a little bit fuzzy on the differences in a donkey, a mule, and a henny,” noted McLean

She explained that a donkey is its own species. Just like a horse is a species of equid, so is a donkey—Equus asinus. They evolved from a desert environment.

A mule is a hybrid between a male donkey called a jack, and a female horse, a mare. The henny is the reciprocal cross. So the dad is a horse and the mom is a jenny—a female donkey.

McLean has studied the differences in mules and hinnies. She conducted studies with hinnies in Columbia, South America, and also in Spain and Portugal in Europe. She found some interesting differences from blood chemistry to temperature differences.

She says trying to get education out about the similarities and differences in donkeys, mules, hinnies, and horses is important.

“Donkeys and mules are equine and and they should be treated as equine, but not specifically as horses,” noted McLean. “Donkeys evolved in a desert harsh climate, and that plays a huge part in their behavior. They are when they experience pain or discomfort. It also plays a part in their physiology and how they take up nutrients or medication. Also how they store that medication or they quickly clear it.”

The mule and the hinny are part donkey and part horse, explained McLean. They have some of these same physiological traits of the donkey parent and also some from the horse.

“So, now we have a combination of traits that truly affects their behavior, nutrition, and overall management,” said McLean. “So they need to be treated as their own.”

Stubborn?

Many people—even horse owners—will say that donkeys and mules are ‘stubborn.’ McLean has another word she prefers—cautious.

“They’re both very intelligent animals proven by different tests—testing their knowledge, intelligence, ability to reason,” said McLean. “But, they are cautious. And that level of cautiousness and maybe not wanting to perform a task or thinking about how to do that differently, it gets them in trouble. And people easily label it as being stubborn.”

McLean said the only time she would say asses are ‘But the only time I would honestly say a donkey may be ‘stubborn’ is “when they don’t tell us they don’t feel well, or if we can’t get them to drink water from a different source, for example.

“But it’s not stubbornness, it goes back to smartness,” she said.

Long Memories

When asked about stories of mules and donkeys having ‘longer memories’ about people or situations, McLean had to say that researchers just don’t know. I don’t know if anyone’s looked at the brain anatomy of a donkey and mule compared to a horse.”

She said there were a couple of studies that were done in the UK that looked at the ability of donkeys and mules to reason. The studies looked at the time that it took for them to figure out different symbols associated with food and different mazes.

“It was incredible how quick the mules were,” said McLean. “The donkeys were slower, but very accurate in their choices.”

Pay Attention to Behavior

McLean stressed the importance for donkey and mule owners or managers to notice subtle changes in behavior as signs of physical issues.

“It’s very subtle changes and their everyday behavior that you really have to be aware of,” she stressed. “You need to notice if they’re eating slower, if they’re not consuming their favorite hay or are standoffish to a treat, or they’re lying down a little bit more, or not drinking as much water.

“It’s very subtle changes and their everyday behavior that you really have to be aware of,” McLean stressed.

Nutrition

Donkeys and mules evolved to thrive on very low nutritional value forages. So, in our modern horsekeeping environments, many donkeys and mules are overweight.

In trying to feed donkeys and mules lower-quality feeds, they might not be getting the nutrition they need. This can be an issue in keeping them within a proper weight and getting the vitamins and minerals they need.

With mules, McLean said, a lot can depend on the horse side of the equation. Was the sire or dam a Quarter Horse, or a draft horse? They can take some of the qualities of that side as well as the donkey side.

Blanketing Donkeys and Mules?

Donkeys have become popular as companions on many performance horse farms, especially along the East Coast. McLean said that even though donkeys do grow a long haircoat in the winter, the rain and snow can get down through the coat and create coldness.

“You should blanket them just like you do your horses,” she advised.

And because they evolved in desert environments, their hair and their ears are fantastic at dissipating heat, but they’re not the best in really cold environments. They also can get frostbite on their ears.

“I have found sometimes it’s a little difficult to find blankets that fit mules and donkeys because they’re more narrow,” said McLean. “Sometimes the donkeys are rounder but are narrow in their shoulders. So, still measure, take that into consideration. Provide access to shelter, but also truly think about bringing them in on during extreme temperature. And give them something to eat during the day to keep that body heat going.”

Top Tips for New Donkey and Mule Owners

While McLean said that she finds many folks who purchase donkeys and mules are not already horse owners, “I also feel like we’re getting more people from the horse world crossing over into long ears.”

Here are her top tips for owning donkeys and mules, but you can learn much more in the podcast:

Mules are not for everybody.
You are not going to micromanage mules.
There are personality differences from horses, especially with mules.
With donkeys, you have to slow down your thinking and your actions to ‘donkey time.’
Have patience.
Share information you learn with your professionals—veterinarians, farriers, etc.
- Some farriers will not trim or shoe mules and donkeys because sadly they’ve had bad experiences with them because of how those animals were raised and trained early on
- From a veterinary standpoint, most curriculums do not include mule and donkey information. Just even accessing the jugular vein to do simple blood work like a Coggins test can be a real challenge for for some practitioners because the muscles a lot thicker.
The relationships between donkeys and mules and owners they become attached to are very strong, “much more like a dog relationship,” said McLean. “And I find that mules pick their people.”
Donkeys and mules live a long time. “They can easily live into their late 30s,” said McLean.
They need regular farrier, dental, and vet care, including vaccines,

(Editor’s note: McLean and colleagues from around the world will publish a book on donkeys and mules in 2025. Check for Donkey and Mule Medicine: A Practical Approach to Treating and Care of Long Ears.)