Washington was convinced mules were the future of American farming. The biggest problem was obtaining quality breeding stock. The best donkey jacks in the world were in Spain. Donkeys there had remarkable strength and proportions, and the monarchy guarded these animals by prohibiting their export. However, Washington was eventually able to procure this preferred beast of burden from the king of Spain.
By 1784, Charles III of Spain had arranged for two fine Andalusian jacks to be dispatched to the American president. One died during transportation but the other, named Royal Gift by Washington, went on to sire hundreds of high-quality mules, which as Washington had planned, did indeed help to build America. Throughout his life, Washington bred mules. He was responsible for breeding what is today known as American Mammoth Jackstock, which are much larger than the average donkey.
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Mules were the main choice of a riding animal for most of the pioneers, the cavalry troopers as well as the cowboys, despite the fact that films depict these iconic characters on horseback. Mules also to became the backbone of the farming industry with large teams pulling great ploughs across the open plains, cultivating ground and harvesting crops. The mule was used in farming, commerce, transportation, logging, mining and riding. Mules also towed great barges laden with farm produce along the Ohio canal system to markets in the south and east as settlers headed for new lands.
The Murphy’s involvement in the draft mule industry began around 1915 with Ed's grandfather, William Murphy, when he started farming with mules. In the early 1930s, he trucked cattle and swine to the National Stockyards in East St. Louis and would attend the horse and mule auctions, buying and selling for neighbors and a nearby coal mine. William Murphy really enjoyed the mules and drove them in local parades.
He also loaned his mules for others to show at local fairs, but by 1946, William was showing and exhibiting for himself at every major mule show in the Midwest. In 1957,
Murphy’s mule “Dixie” was chosen as the champion mule at five state fairs - Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, Kentucky and Tennessee.
William owned, raised and showed mules until his death in 1969, at which time the mules were sold off. But Ed continued to help others show their animals, and in 1980, when his son, Courtney, was 4, he bought a pair of mules - Judy and Jack - and the love affair between man and mule continued.
Though the mule industry threatened to die off during the mid 60s, Ed said it is very much alive and thriving today. Mules are still favored over horses for working, and even trail riding. They are often purchased by Amish families for farming. Except for the long ears, mules look very similar to horses, but their muscle composition is different. Both are very strong, but the mule has greater physical strength for its size, and more endurance. A mule gets its athletic ability from the horse and its intelligence from the donkey. Mules are smart, patient, enduring, and desire to take charge and learn things independently. Mules actually have a natural attraction to humans. When treated with patience, kindness and understanding, they learn to trust and obey.
Mules have been labeled “stubborn” for centuries, though it is really only an abundance of common sense and a strong desire for self-preservation that might make them inclined to resist, Ed told me. “For instance, if you are trying to lead a mule into stall, or someplace unfamiliar to them, they may balk and refuse to continue. It’s not because they are stubborn. They don’t know what’s in there - that’s self preservation.”
Mules intelligently scope out the safest and most reliable passages and decide their plan of action when descending sloppy terrains. If it doesn’t see the point of doing something, then it won’t. Mules are used for riding into the Grand Canyon for this reason. It also helps that they can endure heat longer, and require less water than horses.
Ed added, “The same thing applies when mules are working. You have a mule pulling a load and they just stop, because the load is too heavy. That mule is saying ‘get me some help here,’ I can’t do it myself.”
Often people prefer male horses over females, but in the mule industry, the mares are preferred.
“The female mule temperament is entirely different than the male,” Courtney explained. “Mares mature faster. They train easier. It could be a situation of brain over brawn....”
So why do you need a donkey and a horse to get a mule? Why can’t mules just have their own babies?
A horse has 64 chromosomes and a donkey has 62. A mule inherits 32 horse chromosomes from mom and 31 donkey chromosomes from dad, for a total of 63 chromosomes. Mules can be either male or female, but because of the odd number of chromosomes, they can’t reproduce.
Though you can breed a donkey to any horse, the Murphys breed their Mammoth Jack to Belgian mares. Belgians are one of the draft horse breeds, and are used not only for their size, but because they produce the sorrel mules, the desired color for showing. The Murphys currently have nine mares, all with colts on the ground.
The Belgian mares owned by the Murphy’s serve only one purpose, and that is to produce mule colts. That may seem a bit extreme, but the mares have a pretty sweet life. They are very well taken care of and enjoy a life of leisure, rather than working on a farm. The gestation period for a draft horse bred to a Jack is around 350 days. The mares normally have their babies in the spring, around the end of March. The babies are weaned usually by Labor Day, and then sold. For the most part, the Murphys don’t know where their draft mule colts end up, as they deal with a trusted mule trader, but they did tell me about how they were contacted once by people in Kentucky who bought a pair and trained/used them for firefighting in California. The mules were used to haul in the equipment needed to fight the fires in areas that could not be accessed by any other means.
Around nine days after a colt is born, the mare will go back into heat, indicating they are physically ready to be bred again. And because a donkey is smaller than a horse, but the draft mares are large, the pregnancy and birth is less stressful than if they were bred to a draft horse.
“A draft horse colt can weigh up to 125 lbs at birth,” Courtney explained, “Whereas a draft mule colt will range in weight between 50-75 lbs. That’s quite a difference.”
And ironically, even after 42 years of raising mules, the Murphy’s have never seen one born.
“They normally birth between 2-5 a.m. in the morning,” Courtney said. “Even as early as we get up to start caring for them, we’ve never actually seen one be born.”
Ed added, “Back in the day, in the wild, horses and donkeys had to have their babies early in the morning for survival. The predators started coming around ten o’clock, so equine’s babies had to be up, mobile and ready to run by that time if needed.”
According to Ed, breeding, showing and raising mules is probably a losing financial proposition, but they love doing it, and they love spreading the word out about mules, and creating an appreciation for the animal that built America. They Murphys are truly dedicated to the mule industry and feel very privileged to have the opportunity to make a mark in the breed's future.
For more information about Murphy’s Mules you can email courtneymurphyfarm@gmail.com, call 217-227-3204, or find them on Facebook. The Murphy’s will attend the Illinois State Fair with the mules again this year - a tradition for the last 42 years. They will show in both competition (hitched teams and their ability to perform together ) and confirmation (judged on their build, etc). If you attend the Illinois State Fair this year, make it a point to stop by the competition rings and see Murphy Mules in action!
