Riding a Mule

milkweed · Jul 27, 2013

My FMC in my Sci/F has a mule as her mode of transportation. Assuming the mule is cooperative, how long would it take her to ride it five miles on a gravel road? Not many hills, etc., as obstacles.

Just asking I haven't ridden a horse or a mule, in over 15 years now.

MacAllister · Jul 27, 2013

If she walks and trots (or jogs), about an hour. If she trots and canters (or lopes), maybe a half hour, or even a little less.

milkweed · Jul 27, 2013

MacAllister said:
If she walks and trots (or jogs), about an hour. If she trots and canters (or lopes), maybe a half hour, or even a little less.

So they can move pretty quick like then? I don't know that I've ever ridden a mule and the last time I rode a horse was on pastured trails and that was way back in 1996. For some reason I thought the horse was moving rather slow.

MacAllister · Jul 27, 2013

A good, stiff walking pace for a human is about 4 mph -- likewise, a briskish walk for an equine is 4-5 mph.

A trot tends to be 12-16 mph for an equine, depending on build, leg-length, gait, etc.

But a person could hike 5 miles on a gravel road in an hour or less, pretty easily, if they move out, jog a little too, and walk briskly.

Horses don't actually travel that much faster than humans, over long distances -- but they're capable of faster speeds over shorter distances, like your hypothetical 5 miles. See this, frex.

milkweed · Jul 27, 2013

MacAllister said:
See this, frex.

thank you for the link!

frimble3 · Jul 27, 2013

And, a mule's build, and therefore potential speed, is based on the parent stock. A mule from a donkey/pony cross, or donkey/draft cross, would be shorter legged/heavier built, and therefore slower than a mule from riding/racing stock.

milkweed · Jul 28, 2013

frimble3 said:
And, a mule's build, and therefore potential speed, is based on the parent stock. A mule from a donkey/pony cross, or donkey/draft cross, would be shorter legged/heavier built, and therefore slower than a mule from riding/racing stock.

Ok something I didn't know, I shall do some further research into breed combos and see what happens.

I was given one site by a friend on FB last night and learned that there is a difference between a mule and a hinney (sp?) which I had never heard of before.

So I guess now I need to decide if there are any jack or jennies in my scifi world (Earth, I'd say it's post apocolyptic but the apocolypse hasn't even begun to happen yet!) and also what, if any, kind of horses may be living there as well.

There's just so much to learn.

frimble3 · Jul 28, 2013

milkweed said:
Ok something I didn't know, I shall do some further research into breed combos and see what happens.

I was given one site by a friend on FB last night and learned that there is a difference between a mule and a hinney (sp?) which I had never heard of before.

So I guess now I need to decide if there are any jack or jennies in my scifi world (Earth, I'd say it's post apocolyptic but the apocolypse hasn't even begun to happen yet!) and also what, if any, kind of horses may be living there as well.

There's just so much to learn.

If you don't have jacks and jennies, you won't have mules - problem solved!

milkweed · Jul 28, 2013

frimble3 said:
If you don't have jacks and jennies, you won't have mules - problem solved!

But my FMC has a mule, so it had to come from somewhere!

shaldna · Jul 31, 2013

milkweed said:
My FMC in my Sci/F has a mule as her mode of transportation. Assuming the mule is cooperative, how long would it take her to ride it five miles on a gravel road? Not many hills, etc., as obstacles.

Just asking I haven't ridden a horse or a mule, in over 15 years now.

A mule is only as cooperative as it's been raised to be.

In terms of riding, walking 5 miles will take about an hour, covering it mostly in trot/jog will be about half that.

If the animal is pretty fit they could cover that in canter in 10-20 minutes.

milkweed · Jul 31, 2013

shaldna said:
A mule is only as cooperative as it's been raised to be.

In terms of riding, walking 5 miles will take about an hour, covering it mostly in trot/jog will be about half that.

If the animal is pretty fit they could cover that in canter in 10-20 minutes.

My mule is pretty cooperative in my story, well at least for my FMC anybody else and all bets are off! He does like flowers, sniffing them, eating them, etc., and this has been known to get him into trouble.

Canotila · Jul 31, 2013

One of my friends has a really nice gaited mule from Tennessee walker/mammoth jack stock. It is seriously the nicest animal ever. She keeps up with the horses on long trails no problem, is a dream to ride, and has the nicest temperament ever. I would take her in an instant over any horse I have ever met.

Riding a Mule

milkweed

Abuses commas at will.

MacAllister

'Twas but a dream of thee

milkweed

Abuses commas at will.

MacAllister

'Twas but a dream of thee

milkweed

Abuses commas at will.

frimble3

Heckuva good sport

milkweed

Abuses commas at will.

frimble3

Heckuva good sport

milkweed

Abuses commas at will.

shaldna

The cake is a lie. But still cake.

milkweed

Abuses commas at will.

Canotila

Sever your leg please.