WHY MULES? by Zina Abbott

Why Mules?

Mules are known to be ornery and uncooperative as compared to horses. So, why are mules often preferred over horses by many for riding and for pulling a wagon?

Most mules do not require grain, even when they are being worked.

Compared to horses who will fill up on grain until they make themselves sick, mules don't tend to overeat.

Mules need less hay than horses -- and the hay doesn't need to be top quality.

Mules will drink only what is necessary.

Mules tend to be healthier than horses, a characteristic known as “hybrid vigor.”

Mules tend to live longer than horses.

Mules have a good sense of self-preservation. Unlike a horse, they will not go places they decide it is unsafe. They are less likely to become injured because of this.

Mules tend to not overexert or overextend themselves the way a horse can. Men have been known to run a horse to death. Mules tend to become “stubborn” and stop before they allow that to happen.

Mules usually have good, strong feet that don't require shoeing.

Because of their feet are smaller and more upright, mules tend to be more sure-footed than horses. Mules have been used extensively to transport cargo in rugged, roadless regions such as large wilderness areas.

Mules don’t tend to panic as easily as horses when they find themselves in difficult situations.

The debate rages between horse lovers and mule lovers as to which is more intelligent. Based on the above characteristics, it does appear mules tend to be endowed with a healthy dose of what can be called “common sense.”

 

1st Cavalry Tent Encampment showing mules-Fort Lawton, Washington

Because of these characteristics, many men in the old West preferred to ride mules over horses. Although mules did not have the pulling capacity of oxen, they were often used, particularly in rugged terrain, to pull wagons and even stagecoaches.

With its short thick head, long ears, thin limbs, small narrow hooves, and short mane, the mule shares characteristics of a donkey. In height and body, shape of neck and rump, uniformity of coat, and teeth, it appears horse-like. In spite of their reputation for being stubborn, and ornery, many familiar with both horses and mules will admit in difficult situations, a mule will tend to take better care of its rider than a horse.

Let’s give mules more respect.

In the series, The Widows of Wildcat Ridge, the Wells Fargo stagecoach is pulled by teams of mules. This is due to its setting high in the rugged Uinta Mountains where the roads are not good and there are a lot of ups and down. Likewise, in Diantha, Book 14 in the series, I wrote scenes where Buck, the hero in my secondary romance, arrives in Wildcat Ridge driving a wagon pulled by Mabel, the mare, and Charley, the ornery mule. Charley doesn’t like most men, and will bite and kick when they come too close to him. He likes Buck, and he particularly likes Buck’s sweetheart, Hilaina Dowd.

Diantha is now on preorder, but is scheduled to be released this coming Monday, April first. To find the book description and purchase link, please CLICK HERE.

Join me on the Widows of Wildcat Ridge Reader Group on Facebook between 9:00am and 4:00pm Pacific time to celebrate the release. To find that group, please CLICK HERE.

Sources:

https://animals.mom.me/advantages-mule-vs-horse-6118.html

Wikipedia

Wikimedia Commons

Autumn in the Northwest by Zina Abbott

I barely rolled in my driveway 24 hours ago after spending the past weekend at the Women Writing the West conference in Walla Walla, Washington. With everything I need to catch up on, there was no time for a well-researched blog post. Instead, I am sharing some of my photos of the lovely autumn colors I saw as I drove to the conference and home.

Mount Shasta technically is not in the Northwest states since it is in the very northern part of California. However, I cannot pass up sharing with you some of the lovely colors surrounding it. I'm used to seeing a lot more snow on this mountain. Maybe later this year...

We stopped at a rest stop in Oregon's Rogue River Valley, and discovered there is a state campground on one end. Pay a cheap rate to be in a beautiful campground, or search for a Walmart parking lot. Hmm...let me think about this. We opted for the campground.

We stop often when we travel. The next morning, a little farther up the road, we had company sharing the rest stop, and I'm not talking about the truckers.

We headed towards McMinnville, the home of the Spruce Goose, the WWII airplane made of about 95% wood. Along the way we enjoyed some beautiful country in the Willamette Valley.

The next day we survived traveling through Portland, and were very grateful we were not there when the truck blew a radiator hose. We limped to a Target parking lot where we bought water and anti-freeze. While hubby reattached the hose and made our radiator cool and happy, I took pictures of the horse trail next door. Those traveling along the Columbia River by wagon train may have seen the same kind of sight, but they would not have gotten off so easy with a vehicle breakdown as we did.

The banks of the Columbia River were stunning, but grew more desolate and treeless as we drove east. Much of the trip along the river to Walla Walla we drove in the dark, so we were unable to see it until the return trip.

Usually this particular conference is earlier in October. One advantage of it being held the last weekend of the month was we were able to enjoy the colors around the city. Here is a scene from the old Fort Walla Walla.

Here is the railroad bridge near Celilo Village to the east. The terrain across the river shows it is mostly grassland, but there were still some pretty trees along the Oregon side of the Columbia River.

This view of the dam at The Dalles where we turned off also sported some pretty autumn colors.

We avoided Portland by going home the back way through Bend and Klamath Falls. It was more high desert, but here at the turn-off we saw some pretty color. More striking, I bet those early pioneers who traveld the Barlow Road over 150 years ago would have welcomed the offerings on the blue signs. 

The eastern landscape in Oregon is a little dryer, but still displayed some lovely autumn colors. After Klamath Falls, we found ourselves in high mountains and evergreen trees. They provide year-round beauty, but the colors we enjoyed on this trip can only be found a few weeks each year.

My novel in The Widows of Wildcat Ridge series titled Nissa is now available. To reach the book description and purchase link, please CLICK HERE.