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This story while not in its entirety has been reproduced with permission by "Mules and More" please visit their www page @
By: Molly Chandezi - Moab, Utah and photos by the Larry and Laura Amos
It has historically been an ccepted “fact” that since mules are hybrids, they cannot reproduce. The scientific reason given for their sterility is that horses have 64 chromosomes, donkeys have 62 and their offspring (mules) have 63. Even numbers of chromosomes are required for reproduction.....almost always. Chromosomes are “structures” that serve as storage units for an organism’s DNA. DNA stands for the unpronounceable name of a chemical that tells organisms how to grow. For example it tells the mule’s body how long to make its ears, how to build its brain and to put the skin and hair on the outside of the body. It is theoretically impossible for mules to be sires or dams.
Mule fertility is so rare that the Romans had a saying, “Cum mula peperit” meaning “when a mule foals,” or in modern terms, “when hell freezes over.”
Mule fertility is so rare that the Romans had a saying, “Cum mula peperit” meaning “when a mule foals,” or in modern terms, “when hell freezes over.”
When they were doing research for the recently released book on mules, The Natural Superiority of Mules, John and Sena Hauer tried to find documented cases of molly mules giving birth. There were numerous rumors of mules giving birth in China, Albania, Estonia and other exotic places where DNA testing is not available. For some reason, the Hauers did not uncover information about mollies in Texas and Nebraska that had foals–-more about that later.
The Hauers were excited and very interested when Colorado residents Larry and Laura Amos called on May 3, 2007, to tell them that one of their molly mules, Kate, had given birth to a little male equine. The baby would not technically be a mule (half horse and half donkey) since it would have to be either one-third horse and two-thirds donkey, or two-thirds horse and one-third donkey. Editor's Correction: The new foal could not be 1/3 horse and 2/3 donkey (or the reverse) as indicated above. Because a mule is one-half horse and one-half donkey, a foal from a mule by a donkey would be 3/4 donkey and 1/4 horse.
John immediately made arrangements to visit the Amos Ranch in order to photograph the mother and baby and take hair from each of them for DNA analysis.Larry and Laura Amos own Winterhawk Outfitters in Colbran, Colorado. They guide elk hunters, take pack trips, and fishing trips to remote lakes and streams in the Flat Tops Wilderness. They have taught American soldiers the fine art of mule packing for use in Afghanistan and Iraq. (Read more about Winterhawk in The Natural Superiority of Mules.)Larry said, “I worked Kate all fall, and turned her out in early December in to a pasture by the house, along with about 50 other mules, and 50 horses. At the time, we had two horse mares that were due to have horse babies in the spring. On April 27, at about midnight, I woke up hearing a commotion in the corral. I went out to check, and didn’t see anything unusual, and the horses and mules settled down. At 3 a.m. the horses were whinnying and the mules braying and stirring around. I went out again and looked around and didn’t see anything of concern and went back to bed.”
Larry continued, “I got up at 5:30 a.m., looked out the window, and saw Kate in the pasture with a foal. She and the baby were both worn out from fighting off the other horses and mules. Mares and geldings will sometimes steal babies from their mothers, and john mules may try to kill them. I went out and picked the little fellow up and carried him to the arena. One of the wranglers led the mother. The foal was shaky, but obviously nursing and getting nourishment.” When asked what he thought when he saw Kate with a baby, Larry said, “I thought ‘holy s#%!’” Laura Amos said, “When Larry and I looked out the window and first saw Kate standing in the pasture with her baby, they were right in the center of of a group of about 100 horses and mules. I turned to Larry and said, ‘Where did THAT come from?’ There was a definite commotion and Kate was defending the baby. I woke our daughter, Lauren, and we went out to see the momma and her new baby. Lauren skipped school and we looked at our miracle mule all day.”
Laura said that they had a good winter and all of their mules and horses were fat, so they had not noticed that Kate was more than just fat. Laura said, “This is all very exciting, and I hope we can breed Kate back, to a horse this time.” It was left up to Laura and Lauren to name the colt. They couldn’t think of a name they liked that is appropriate for a miracle baby, so they decided to have a “Name Kate’s Baby Contest.” Sue Cole agreed that her magazine, Mules and More, will sponsor the contest. For contest rules see page 11. The winner of the contest will receive a signed copy of Hauer’s book The Natural Superiority of Mules, compliments of Mules and More.
Larry and Laura didn’t know what to do or who they should notify about the unexpected event. They had recently read John’s book, The Natural Superiority of Mules, and decided that because of his obvious love for the long-eared critters, John should be the first to know, and that he could advise them about how rare mule motherhood really is, and what they should do about such an unexpected event taking place right there in their corral.
John and Sena were somewhat dubious. They had heard of several instances of molly mules stealing a mule baby from a horse mare. In some cases, the molly had actually produced nourishing milk for her newly adopted baby. Larry assured them that there were no horse mares in their area that might have given birth to the baby mule. When John got to the Amos ranch and saw the mother and foal and watched as the little one suckled the molly and had white, frothy milk all over his nose, he had no doubt that the almost impossible had happened there on the Amos ranch. He was convinced that Kate was indeed a momma and not just a foster parent.
Larry pointed to a large pasture containing about 100 mules and horses that were all gathered close to the fence watching the activity in the mule mother’s corral. Larry said, “John, do you want to check all of them to see if there is any indication that one of them might be this baby mule’s mother?” John politely declined the offer, being already convinced that Kate was indeed the mother of the long-legged, long-faced, and extra-long-eared baby. John had to do some research to locate a laboratory that works with equine DNA. The most obvious choice was the University of Kentucky (UK) in Lexington. Breeders of race horses frequently have DNA testing done at UK to prove the identity of the sires of their foals. On May 4 the hair collected from Kate and the baby was sent by express mail to the equine science lab at the University of Kentucky. Two weeks later, after thorough testing, the director of the lab called with the good news that the DNA of Kate matched that of her baby. The tests are extremely accurate, leaving no doubt that the molly mule, Kate, had conceived and given birth.
As further proof of Kate being the mother of the foal, John suggested having a vet draw blood for DNA analysis at a different lab. He also wanted to get a chromosome count for both Kate and her foal. Larry took the pair to Dr. John Harris in Grand Junction, Colorado, where a blood sample was taken from each animal. The blood samples were sent by Dr. Harris to the lab at the University of California at Davis. Again, the DNA analysis showed that Kate is a mother. Additional blood samples will have to be sent to the lab in special vials in order to get chromosome counts for momma and baby. The result of the chromosome analysis will be reported in an upcoming issue of Mules and More.
The Hauers were excited and very interested when Colorado residents Larry and Laura Amos called on May 3, 2007, to tell them that one of their molly mules, Kate, had given birth to a little male equine. The baby would not technically be a mule (half horse and half donkey) since it would have to be either one-third horse and two-thirds donkey, or two-thirds horse and one-third donkey. Editor's Correction: The new foal could not be 1/3 horse and 2/3 donkey (or the reverse) as indicated above. Because a mule is one-half horse and one-half donkey, a foal from a mule by a donkey would be 3/4 donkey and 1/4 horse.
John immediately made arrangements to visit the Amos Ranch in order to photograph the mother and baby and take hair from each of them for DNA analysis.Larry and Laura Amos own Winterhawk Outfitters in Colbran, Colorado. They guide elk hunters, take pack trips, and fishing trips to remote lakes and streams in the Flat Tops Wilderness. They have taught American soldiers the fine art of mule packing for use in Afghanistan and Iraq. (Read more about Winterhawk in The Natural Superiority of Mules.)Larry said, “I worked Kate all fall, and turned her out in early December in to a pasture by the house, along with about 50 other mules, and 50 horses. At the time, we had two horse mares that were due to have horse babies in the spring. On April 27, at about midnight, I woke up hearing a commotion in the corral. I went out to check, and didn’t see anything unusual, and the horses and mules settled down. At 3 a.m. the horses were whinnying and the mules braying and stirring around. I went out again and looked around and didn’t see anything of concern and went back to bed.”
Larry continued, “I got up at 5:30 a.m., looked out the window, and saw Kate in the pasture with a foal. She and the baby were both worn out from fighting off the other horses and mules. Mares and geldings will sometimes steal babies from their mothers, and john mules may try to kill them. I went out and picked the little fellow up and carried him to the arena. One of the wranglers led the mother. The foal was shaky, but obviously nursing and getting nourishment.” When asked what he thought when he saw Kate with a baby, Larry said, “I thought ‘holy s#%!’” Laura Amos said, “When Larry and I looked out the window and first saw Kate standing in the pasture with her baby, they were right in the center of of a group of about 100 horses and mules. I turned to Larry and said, ‘Where did THAT come from?’ There was a definite commotion and Kate was defending the baby. I woke our daughter, Lauren, and we went out to see the momma and her new baby. Lauren skipped school and we looked at our miracle mule all day.”
Laura said that they had a good winter and all of their mules and horses were fat, so they had not noticed that Kate was more than just fat. Laura said, “This is all very exciting, and I hope we can breed Kate back, to a horse this time.” It was left up to Laura and Lauren to name the colt. They couldn’t think of a name they liked that is appropriate for a miracle baby, so they decided to have a “Name Kate’s Baby Contest.” Sue Cole agreed that her magazine, Mules and More, will sponsor the contest. For contest rules see page 11. The winner of the contest will receive a signed copy of Hauer’s book The Natural Superiority of Mules, compliments of Mules and More.
Larry and Laura didn’t know what to do or who they should notify about the unexpected event. They had recently read John’s book, The Natural Superiority of Mules, and decided that because of his obvious love for the long-eared critters, John should be the first to know, and that he could advise them about how rare mule motherhood really is, and what they should do about such an unexpected event taking place right there in their corral.
John and Sena were somewhat dubious. They had heard of several instances of molly mules stealing a mule baby from a horse mare. In some cases, the molly had actually produced nourishing milk for her newly adopted baby. Larry assured them that there were no horse mares in their area that might have given birth to the baby mule. When John got to the Amos ranch and saw the mother and foal and watched as the little one suckled the molly and had white, frothy milk all over his nose, he had no doubt that the almost impossible had happened there on the Amos ranch. He was convinced that Kate was indeed a momma and not just a foster parent.
Larry pointed to a large pasture containing about 100 mules and horses that were all gathered close to the fence watching the activity in the mule mother’s corral. Larry said, “John, do you want to check all of them to see if there is any indication that one of them might be this baby mule’s mother?” John politely declined the offer, being already convinced that Kate was indeed the mother of the long-legged, long-faced, and extra-long-eared baby. John had to do some research to locate a laboratory that works with equine DNA. The most obvious choice was the University of Kentucky (UK) in Lexington. Breeders of race horses frequently have DNA testing done at UK to prove the identity of the sires of their foals. On May 4 the hair collected from Kate and the baby was sent by express mail to the equine science lab at the University of Kentucky. Two weeks later, after thorough testing, the director of the lab called with the good news that the DNA of Kate matched that of her baby. The tests are extremely accurate, leaving no doubt that the molly mule, Kate, had conceived and given birth.
As further proof of Kate being the mother of the foal, John suggested having a vet draw blood for DNA analysis at a different lab. He also wanted to get a chromosome count for both Kate and her foal. Larry took the pair to Dr. John Harris in Grand Junction, Colorado, where a blood sample was taken from each animal. The blood samples were sent by Dr. Harris to the lab at the University of California at Davis. Again, the DNA analysis showed that Kate is a mother. Additional blood samples will have to be sent to the lab in special vials in order to get chromosome counts for momma and baby. The result of the chromosome analysis will be reported in an upcoming issue of Mules and More.
