HORSES AND MULES 



577 



legs should be an indication of a horse's ability to haul a load at a fair rate 

 of speed. 



The Mule is a hybrid, having for parents a mare and a jack. Because 

 of this fact it shows many parental characteristics which are common to 

 both ancestors. It has longer ears than the horse, a Roman nose, heavy 

 lips, clean legs, small, narrow feet of good quality, and a scanty growth of 



English Shire Stallion. 1 



hair on the tail and a scanty mane. The sexual organs of both mare and 

 horse mules are undeveloped, consequently they do not breed. 



The mule is generally smaller than the draft horse, being from 14 to 

 17 hands high, and weighing from 600 to 1600 pounds. Mares of good 

 quality weighing about 1350 pounds when bred to a heavy-boned jack with 

 long ears produce mules which have good size, quality and action. As a 

 rule, mare mules bring better prices on the market than do horse mules. 



America has done more towards the economical development of the 



1 Courtesy of The Field, New York City. 

 37 



