Jubilee at two years. Photo by Tony Nelssen.
I’m One Proud Mule!
As published in A Peek at the Peak, March 2010 Issue
By Jubilee
Hello, my name is Ella’s Jubilee, but everyone calls me Jubil for short. I’m a mule and proud of it!
I’m almost two years old and I live with the Nelssen family in north Scottsdale. I came from Colorado to live with my human family in June 2001 at three months old. At the time, my Mom was pregnant with my baby brother. My brother, Mighty, was born in May. My Mom is a horse, but my Dad is a Mammoth Jack, making me a mule. The Nelssens know mules are special, and you know what? We are!
Not Stubborn!
Many people think I am a donkey or a horse, but I’m a mule. A lot of people think mules are stubborn and not rideable. Nonsense! A mule can learn anything a horse can learn, including jumping, dressage, cutting, and working in the feedlot. It can take up to twice as long to train a mule, though, because we are smarter. This calls for patience on the human end. We like to think about new things before we give them a try. Did you know that a horse can be run to exhaustion and even death? Not a mule! Our strong sense of self-preservation comes from the jack side of the family, and it serves us well.
Don’t Make us Mad!
Mules are very limber. We can see all four feet at a time, making us fantastic trail animals. Because our muscles are more striated and flexible than horses, we can place our feet where we want them and also easily scratch our ears with our hooves, too. We can kick quite accurately when we want to. So do not scare us or make us mad! We also have good memories, so we can get you back when you are least expecting it. A word to the wise: Never mistreat a mule! This is partly why mules are sadly misunderstood and considered stubborn. Also, anyone trying to sneak up on a mixed herd of mules and horses will first be detected by the mules.
Waiting to be Ridden
Both mules and horses have excellent vision, hearing, and sense of smell, but we marvelous mules seem to make more constant use of our sensory skills. Our big ears are not just for decoration.
I must admit that sometimes I can get spooky and I can be nervous, but I am rarely panicky like a horse. I may fear new situations, but when I encounter an obstacle, I can usually negotiate it with ease. I am eager to please. I love new adventures! I can’t wait to be ridden, but I am still too young.
Pioneers Counted on Us
Nelssen Family Pets, Mighty & Elly. Photo by Tony Nelssen.
When a female horse is bred to a male donkey (jack) to produce a mule, many wild characteristics, both behavioral and physical, often emerge in the offspring. Why this happens is not entirely clear. It may simply be that the donkey contributes more “wild type” genes to the offspring than the horse does. It is these wild traits that make us superb in the back country. Mules were responsible for carrying, hauling, and packing most of the pioneers as they traveled west. Most military and civilian expeditions relied heavily on mules for both pack and saddle use because we are better survivors than horses when it comes to hard use and difficult conditions.
George Washington Bred Us
A long, long time ago, the King of Spain presented my hero, President George Washington, with a Mammoth Jack and two Jennies (that’s a female donkey to you), with which he later started breeding American mules. An important factor in why horses are more popular than us mules is that in the eyes of many people, horses are “prettier” than mules (present company excepted) and easier to manage. In equestrian events, we mules seem to be judged not just on performance, but too often on horse-like physical traits. The mules judged to be the most “beautiful,” being the most horse-like, win. Welcome to life in a horse’s world.
Hollywood Wrong about Heroes
The horse does have, in fact, a more rounded and streamlined body shape than the more angular mule and our dad the donkey, but I suspect that Hollywood has had a great deal of influence on 20th century perception of equine beauty. The popularity crash of mules early in the 20th century was largely due to Hollywood typecasting. The horse opera or “western” made its silent film debut about the same time that mules were being replaced with mechanical muscle. Go figure! And the Hollywood western never championed us mules. Never mind historical realities, everyone knows that western screen heroes always rode horses, not mules. Only hillbillies, plowboys, and clownish characters rode mules in the movies. Did you know General George Crook and Wild Bill Cody preferred mules? But times have now changed. Mules have become the Harley Davidsons of the equestrian world. About time, I say!
First on Pinnacle Peak Trail
Now, I have not lived a long life or had many adventures, but I was one of the first on the Pinnacle Peak Trail. When I was walking it with my family, some greenhorn came up behind me and slapped my bottom as he passed. How rude! I guess it is a good thing that he did it to me and not my little brother. I can control myself, but my brother would have kicked some sense into him. Some advice for you hikers: Give horses and mules the right-of-way and only approach them from the front. Never, ever come up on the rear of a mule or a horse and touch them! Always let them know you are there or you might not like their response!
Hanna Nelssen. Photo by Tony Nelssen.
I hope you enjoyed learning a little about a great animal, the mule. I sure enjoy being one and spending my time with the Nelssens.
It would be really nice if the City of Scottsdale could step up and create more trails for me to use and also make it safer for me to cross Pima Road. When they do that for us mules and horses, I’ll bet they’ll be as proud as I am.
This article was ghost-written by Hannah Nelssen, the daughter of Marg and the late Tony Nelssen. The article was published in the March 2003 issue of The Peak, and according to Tony, received many compliments. If you just finished reading the article, you understand why.
Hannah is a native Arizonan and has lived in what is now North Scottsdale all her life. When she wrote this article, Hannah was 14 years old, an eighth-grade student at Desert Arroyo Middle School, on the Principal’s Honor Roll, and a member of National Junior Honors Society.
Photo Credit.
The photographs used in this story were taken by Hannah’s proud father. Tony, a professional photographer, graphics designer, and member of the Scottsdale City Council is also a native Arizonan. Marg Nelssen, Hannah’s mother (also proud), is known for her colorful paintings of mules.
The Peak Welcomes Your Comment
GPPA Membership Make a Donation to GPPA Peak Advertisements & Advertorials
Recent Comments