TYPES AND MARKET CLASSES OF LIVE STOCK 471 



On the other hand, the mule has some shortcomings as 

 compared to the horse. He has not the weight for the heaviest 

 draft work. Because of the small size of his foot he is more 

 apt to slip on pavements at a hard pull. Furthermore, the 

 mule's habit of pushing directly forward against the collar, 

 instead of crouching and lifting like a draft horse at a hard pull, 

 also results in slipping on pavements. Mules do not work well 

 in soft ground. The small foot of the mule does not bear him 

 up, and he is usually much more timid under these conditions 

 than is the horse. Mules will avoid a muddy spot or puddle 

 of water if they can. The wilfulness and trickiness of many 

 mules and their lack of spirit makes it less of a pleasure to drive 

 the average mule than the average horse. The mule has a 

 harder mouth. Too often it takes a gag bit to hold him and a 

 black-snake whip to make him go. Mules are not adapted 

 to use in the artillery, as they are gun-shy, usually lack speed, 

 and do not respond to commands quick enough. They are not 

 so dependable as horses in an emergency. 



Mr. George E. Wentworth, Superintendent of the Chicago 

 Union Stock Yards Horse Market, in an interesting article* 

 entitled "Why Use Adulterated Horses?" discusses the place 

 of the mule in warfare as follows: "They say the mule can stand 

 more heat, but cavalry regiments in South America, South 

 Africa, Arabia, India, China, or Morocco are not mounted 

 upon the sure-footed, swift, enduring, and patient mule. The 

 Cossacks did not pursue Napoleon from Moscow on the backs 

 of mules, nor did the men of Marion and Sumpter, Stuart or 

 Sheridan win their victories astride the progeny of a jack. The 

 Crusaders panoplied in full armor, fought Saladin and his Emirs 

 over the dry and arid dusty deserts of Palestine mounted upon 

 Norman and Arabian horses. Armies trust live weight to 

 horses, dead weight to mules." 



As mules do not breed, there is no opportunity for profit 

 to the farmer from this source. The mule's inability to breed 

 is something of an advantage in the city and in the army, as 

 there is always the danger of a mare being in foal when she 

 is purchased, and if she is it causes trouble and annoyance in 

 a city stable or in the army; she must either be sold or kept 

 idle for a time. From all standpoints, however, the mule's 

 failure to breed is a detriment as compared to the horse. 



'The Horseman & Spirit of the Times, Aug. 4, 1914. 



