HOW TO BUY A MULE WITHOUT MAKING AN ASS OUT OF YOURSELF

By Vic Otten

Last Spring, I began my search to purchase a new mule. I wanted a mule that was dead broke, really trained and fancy enough to show competitively at major events such as Bishop Mule Days.  As I spend most of my time trail riding in a populated area, the training and disposition were the most important factors. At the time, I had no idea how hard it would be to find such an animal.

At Bishop Mule Days, I spoke with most of the major trainers. While none of the trainers had what I was looking for, they all offered to help me in my search. During the following three months, I spent countless hours searching for my next mule. I called the major mule clinicians, traders, trainers, owners of magazines and individuals from all over the country but could not find the right match. 

There were lots of mules and plenty of folks wanting to sell them. I soon learned that there are people in the mule and horse business that will say just about anything to get your hard earned money. In fact, one individual wanted to sell me a 12 year old mule that had never been shown for $14,000; he also had a 20 year old thoroughbred mule that he said he would sell me for $10,000. This person believed that he was dealing with a total novice and would have sold me either of those mules for thousands of dollars more than they were worth.  

In general, there were several mules fancy enough to make a good showing at Bishop but they were young and needed finishing. I do not have the time to take a young mule and turn it into a finished mount so those mules were out. There were also several really trained mules that were not fancy enough for the show circuit—had those mules been located closer to Los Angeles, I may have bought one.

Eventually, someone at one of the mule organizations told me about a mule in Arizona. I contacted the mule’s owners and requested information. We spoke several times over the phone and exchanged numerous e-mails. The owners answered all of my questions, so I decided to travel to the mountains of Arizona to meet a john mule named Jessie. I spent two days riding Jessie in the arena and on the trail. Jessie had impeccable manners on the ground and in the saddle.  I flew home without making any commitments on the purchase of Jessie—it is really easy to slap some money down in the heat of the moment and I wanted to do everything possible to make sure that this was the right purchase.

About a week later, I had a vet examine Jessie and agreed on the terms of the sale. We arranged the shipping and the owners gave me two weeks to back out of the deal if things did not work out. Jessie has turned out to be everything I expected and more. He is trained, loves people and has loads of personality.

Jessie is not the first mule that I have purchased and I have made mistakes which have cost me a lot of money and aggravation. The following are my suggestions on the approach to take when purchasing your next mule:

Be Patient. You should never be in a hurry to buy a mule, especially in today’s market. There will always be another mule. As you are likely to have this animal for many years, take your time. It will pay off. Make a rushed decision, and you could make a costly mistake (both financially and emotionally).

Make a list of what you want and prioritize. Create a list of what qualities you want in the mule and prioritize them. I was looking for a really trained mule that could be shown competitively in various Western disciplines. You, however, may not care about showing the mule.

Your list could include training (English or Western disciplines-- show, dressage, trail riding, cow work), gender, age and color to name a few things you might be interested in. As you are not likely to find a mule, or a horse for that matter, that has everything on your wish list, you should rank the items in terms of importance.

Locating a mule. There are various ways to locate a mule or horse. I found Jessie James through a referral from a well respected competitor in the mule world- he did not own the mule and had nothing to gain from my purchase of the animal. It has been my experience that reputable trainers will willingly point you in the right direction if they can.

There are many written publications where businesses advertise mules for sale. Some of these include: Mules and More Magazine, Western Mule Magazine and the Horsetrader.

The Internet is also great way to find mules for sale. Many of the businesses that breed, train and sell mules now have websites. The good websites have pictures and videos of their mules. For example, you can find information about mules at www.dreamhorse.com and www.mulerights.com.

Many mule and horse shows have animals for sale. This is a good opportunity to check out a wide variety of mules in one location.

A few words should be said about businesses that sell mules. While many of the people who run these businesses are honest, in many cases, they simply are not familiar with the mules they are selling. Because mules do not command the high prices that some other equines do, it generally does not pay to keep them for too long- they have to be fed and cared for.  Therefore, the people selling the animals may not have had them long enough to know all their quirks.

Spend time with the mule. Once you locate a mule you like, spend as much time with the mule as you can.

Price. What to pay for a mule is far too complicated for this article. The best advice that I can offer is buyer beware! If you spend a significant amount of time shopping for a mule, you will begin to understand the price range of a good mule.

Legal issues.  Once you find a mule and agree on a price, you should consider having a vet examine the animal. This protects both the buyer and seller. From the buyer’s perspective, you will know what you are purchasing. As the physical condition of the mule will be documented, a seller will be protected from claims from a buyer that something was not disclosed. Put all the essential terms of your deal in writing.  

I have found that most reputable dealers will give you a window of time for you to return the mule if it is not a good match- most will let you exchange the mule for another but some will actually return your money.

Good luck on the purchase of your next mule!

Jessie James at his new home at Empty Saddle Club, Rolling Hills, California.