A few thoughts by Leah Patton, ADMS Office Manager

As most of you know, I work in the ADMS office, and as such get to see registrations coming in. I also serve in the capacity of official ADMS Regional Breed Inspector, traveling farms inspecting animals, affording me the opportunity to see many more mules and donkeys. Add to that experience factor of currently owning several mustangs, donkeys, and mules ... and perhaps you can appreciate where I’m coming from.

Appreciatively, there seems to be a growing popularity with mule and donkey molds. However, some of what we are currently seeing is still unrealistic. Sometimes the problem is in conformation, sometimes in gait, and sometimes unfortunately in color. Here are some tips I wish Resin Artists, Custom Artists, and even major manufacturers would go by.

Gaited mules ~
The most common gaited type saddle mules are from Foxtrotter, Racking or TWH horse mares. On occassion you’ll run across one from ASB or Paso Fino mares, but they are not as numerous as the aforementioned breeds. Most gaited mules rack or do the running walk, but are always light shod. You just don't see many Big Lick Mules at all, and even then, those that look in stride like a TWH are way few and far between. In reality, most gaited mules resemble the Breyer Missouri Fox Trotter, with “action” no higher than the old Breyer SM ASB mold. The Breyer Midnight Sun, for example, would be too exaggerated for the majority of gaited mules. Gaited mules may flop their ears and swish their tails, but they always keep their legs going right up underneath them.

Draft Mules ~
Among this type, Belgian and Percheron mules are the most common in showing. The real draft-mule people want matched flaxen-mane sorrels, blacks, or dapple grays. We have absolutely NO spotted draft mules registered. Those are considered to be a real “Ringer” - way too loud for draft mule enthusiasts. We do have a few Clydesdale mules (VERY FEW) in the registry, but trust me, the majority would disappoint most people. Take the most recent foal registration that came in. The dam (mare) was an exciting high-marked bay sabino (all the way up to her elbows) with lovely leg feathering. The sire of the mule foal was a gorgeous spotted jack. And the foal? Plain ‘ol bay with a star. That’s it. No wild or skewed patterns. And you can forget about leg feathers. Draft mules out of Clydesdale, even Shire dams just don’t inherit those gorgeous feathered feet. So model mules realistically, should not sport them either.

But if you’re absolutely deadset about having a model version of a spotty draft mule, then I suggest two scenarios - a Belgian or Percheron draft mare, bred to a spotted jack, with a chestnut, bay, or dark-brown modified Donkey Spot pattern. Or, use a rare breed like a Noriker/Pinzgauer mare (leopard appaloosa pattern) and make a wildly spotted mule. Make the sire a black or red roan mammoth jack, with heavy bone, and make the resulting draft mule dark bay or brown spotted. Sure there are tobiano "spotted Draft" mares, but you’ve got to remember that the tobiano pattern simply does NOTcome through completely in the mule. A tobiano dam puts white feet and a white tail splash on the mules, but rarely any more pattern. Again, keep in mind when creating your draft mule that 99% of all draft mules have smooth legs, with maybe a touch of feather on the heels, but not any true feathering over the cannons.

Spotted Mules ~
Sabino and Overo genes just don’t seem to come through right in muledom. The majority of spotted mules you see around are actually from tobiano mares, and even then are a modification of that pattern and NOT true tobiano. Overo mares seem to always throw solid-marked foals. For some reason that lovely overo pattern just won’t transmit to the mule. Sometimes spotted mules will be a form of modified donkey-spot pattern (from the sire). Others will have the traditional appaloosa markings - but a neat hip blanket with neat round spots is extremely rare. Yes, it CAN occur, but keep in mind it’s extremely rare. Mottled roan, tiny odd/shaped blankets, huge blankets, or oversized leopard spots are the more common outcomes.

Spotted Donkeys ~
This pattern is closest to the overo in action and visual sense. Spotted donkeys can be nearly all dark with just a blaze, one white foot and hip spots, or almost all white with just some dark on the ears, shoulder and croup. Roan donkeys - Mammoths or Standards - will have the full-body, reverse dapple roan pattern. There are only 2 bloodlines in the Miniature donkey that are dappled, and less than 20 dappled roan among the minis. Even most of these are slate-based.

The infamous Donkey “cross” ~
Most slate-gray donkeys have a shoulder stripe along with a dorsal stripe, as do most of the other colors, from dark brown to sorrel, especially among Miniature Donkeys and Small Standards. Unfortunately, some model manufacturers who mass-produce don't take the time to put these markings (called “crosses”) on their animals. And for OF collectors, to add one on would be considered “customizing” a model, knocking it out of OF contention, so we have no choice but to stay with slightly unrealistic colors and/or patterns. The Creative Concepts resin donkey is a good example. Personally, I love the mold enough to have all three colors in my possession, but realistically all should have a dorsal stripe and shoulder (withers) crossbar.

Sidebar here: There are exceptions to the donkey cross. You would NEVER find such markings on the Poitou Ass as that would signal outcrossing, a definate no-no among the breed. On Mammoth jackstock, the slate-gray populace might have a cross, but it is usually frowned down upon. Some saddle mule breeders might still use a jack with this cross since it makes for flashy striped-saddle mules, but Draft mule breeders would avoid these jacks like the plague. For this reason, it is bred out as much as possible among the Mammoth Ass.

The Poitou Ass ~
Recently while on ADMS business, I was lucky enough to have toured many of the Poitou breeder farms both in France and the US. They are not by far, glamorous saddle donkeys. They are instead heavy-boned drafters, with long curly coats nearly touching the ground in some instances. In the US, the unkempt coat, however passe in today's society, is still highly sought after by the French. One donkey I saw overseas in the traditional rags-and-tatters coat had a HUGE fuss made over him. THIS was considered tradition. THIS was considered breed correct. My own half-bred, Thor, is an excellent example of a Poitou. He is shaggy, ungainly, and clumsy even. They have heavy distinct heads, long furry ears, and clompy legs. They NEVER ride or even harness these wonderful in France. There are only 450 total pure and part-breds in the entire world, about 60 of these in the US. I enjoyed the Poitou artist resin model that was released awhile back, but in real life the French would have massive coronaries if they even THOUGHT about a Poitou breeding jack wearing a saddle or harness.

Real vs Model Standards ~
We can get away with a lot of things in the model world ... some of which would probably never, ever occur in real life. Take exotic Friesian Mules or Fjord/Zebra hybrids for example. In the real world, breed associations such as the Fjord and Friesian populace, would strongly object to and even disbar any breeder, breeding stock, and of course any resulting hybrids. They argue any kind of outcross will harm even contaminate their pure gene pool. Personally, I think this is a bit of an extreme (like a fjord mule, which is for the most part sterile, could actually affect the gene pool of the pure-bred Fjord), but like it or not, that's their rules. If you want a Fjord hybrid, it's going to have to be model.

Overall, in the interest of breed promotion, I think we as hobby artists and collectors/showers, should try to mirror some standards, and perhaps keep a certain degree of realism to the point that we don't have models performing feats that their real counterparts could never accomplish, such as Poitou’s engaged in Jumping or Cross-country events. The same applies to rows of colors & patterns that could never exist among some breed entities, such as a tobiano, buckskin, or palomino donkeys. It just doesn’t happen.

The ADMS has extensive packets on color and conformation regarding the mule and donkey. Some are free, other packets can be had for a minimal cost. If you are a resin artists or remaker serious about your work, it pays to check the breed & color standards.

Moderation ~
I suppose the whole point of this article is to take things in moderation. We all love the flashy colors, the spots, the dapple grays, the roans. We enjoy having a big-lick mule in with the Walkers. But for the sake of promoting the breed, if you are going to do a resin model, by all means PLEASE make it moderate. 25, 50, or 100 Big lick mules suddenly appearing in the show ring is definately MORE than would ever be realistic at the Gaited Mule World Championships in Tennessee. A pleasure-gaited mule, or a good saddle mule in a trotting or jogging position is probably better for the sake of competition. We should enjoy our models, but at the same time make sure we are also CORRECTLY representing the breeds, especially rare or unusual animals, in the best light to future competitors and the general public.

(This Page last updated: February 15, 2002)