The Mule: A Treatise on the Breeding, Training, and Uses to Which He May Be PutRiley, Harvey
History
The Mule: A Treatise on the Breeding, Training, and Uses to Which He May Be Put
Riley, Harvey
Mules
No. 7 is a spotted, or, as the. Mexicans call them, a calico mule. He
and his mate were sent to the Army of the Potomac about the time General
Grant took command of it. They were worked as wheel mules in the team
until 1866, when this one, like nearly all spotted animals, showed his
weak parts by letting up in his fore-feet, which became contracted to
such an extent that the surgeon had to cut them nearly off. We were
compelled to let him go barefoot until they grew out. This is one of the
spotted mules I have referred to before. You never can rely on them.
No. 8 is the mate of No. 7. His bead, ears, and front shoulder indicate
him to be of Canadian stock. His neck and front shoulder, as you will
see, are faultless. But on looking closely at his eyes you will find
them to be sore, and running water continually. I have noticed that
nearly all animals in the army that are marked in this way have weak and
inflamed eyes. A farmer should never purchase them.
No. 9 is a swing mule that has undergone a great deal of hardship. She
is tolerably well formed but inclined to kick. She is also hard to keep
in good condition, and unless great care is taken with her she would
give out in the hind feet, where she now shows considerable fullness.
When a mule's neck lacks the ordinary thickness there must be some
direct cause for it, and you should set about finding out what it is.
Lack of food is sometimes the cause. But in my opinion creased neck very
frequently so affects the passages to and from the head, that the organs
that should work in depositing flesh, fat, or muscle become deranged,
and the neck becomes weak and in a disordered state. Purchasers would do
well to discard these creased-neck mules.
No. 10 is an animal of an entirely different character from No. 9. She
is remarkably gentle and tractable, of good form, and great endurance,
and will work in any way. She is fifteen hands and one inch high, weighs
ten hundred and fifty pounds, and is seven years old. This celebrated
animal went through all of General Sherman's campaigns, and is as sound
and active to-day as a four-year old.
No. 11 is one of those peculiar animals I have described elsewhere. He
is all bones and belly. His legs are long, and of little use as legs. He
is five years old, sixteen and a half hands high, and weighs thirteen
hundred and ninety pounds. One of his hind legs shows a thorough pin.
His hocks are all out of shape, and his legs are stuck into his hoofs on
nearly the same principle that you stick a post into the ground. The
reason why his pastern-joints show so straight is, that the heels on the
hind feet have been badly trimmed when shaving. They too have been
permitted to grow too long, and thus he is thrown into the position you
now see him. This mule belongs to a class that is raised to a
considerable extent, and prized very highly in Pennsylvania. In the army
they were of very little use except to devour forage.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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