Bryon Daly (Sun, 25 May 2003 23:29:37 -0400) wrote: > >From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > >Donkeys are the sterile offspring of horses and asses. They are hybrids. > > Correction: Mules are the sterile offspring of horses and donkeys. > (ass == donkey). Specifically, breeding a male donkey and a female > horse results in a mule, while the opposite apparently results in a > more horse-like "hinny". At least according to this site: > http://www.imh.org/imh/bw/mule.html [...snip...]
When I was about 12/13 years old, I used to spend my summer vacations at the coffee plantation that my father managed in the Peruvian jungle. We only used mules (other than the Land Rover and the Auto Union amphibian) to get around the plantation (about 3,000,000 acres). I still remember the explanation my father gave me "Horses will walk at night but they don't watch where they're going; donkeys are very safe in navigating jungle terrain but will refuse to walk at night, whereas the mule will walk at night and _feel_ it's steps before committing itself -- very smart animal." I had the opportunity to experience this on many occasions and I should also add that they knew exactly how to get back home on their own. One of the disturbing aspects I had to learn about mules is that they have a mind of their own. I was used to riding horses -- I was a member of the boarding-school's equestrian team -- and wanted total control over the animal. I soon learned to live with the fact that while at a gallop from township to township on the road which was carved into the mountain side with a 500/600 feet drop to the river below my tendency was to try to get the mule on the inside of the road without much success because it wanted to go on the precipice side (I guess it felt safer that way?, at my expense :-) Cheers! -- Han Tacoma ~ Artificial Intelligence is better than none! ~ _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
