A Mule Will Do

A Dictionary of Words, Phrases and Colloquialisms includes this entry for mule skinner:. And Stewart Sheldon, Gleanings by the Way, from '36 to '89 writes:. The crack of the lash, which sounded like a pistol under the manipulations of the expert, was sufficient, so that the terms "bull whacker" and "mule skinner" were anomalous, only as applied to less progressive and more brutal drivers, of whom a sufficient number still remained. The "mule-skinner" considers the "bull-whacker" quite beneath him, and will hardly associate with him upon equal terms, while the latter doubtless looks upon the former as 'stuck up' and proud.

The earliest mention of bull whacker I found in a Google Books search was in a January article for Hunt's Merchant Magazine and Commercial Review titled " Commerce of the Prairies ," by an uncredited author:. A close second is Thomas W. Five yoke of oxen is the motive power for each wagon, and these are urged forward by a 'bull-whacker' armed with a whip, carrying a lash from six to twelve feet in length, which makes its mark wherever it falls.

The Indian troubles of last year [in the Arizona Territory] have tended to make, not only every soldier, but every teamster, wood chopper, burropuncher, mule-skinner, bull-whacker and all other men—traveling arsenals; with a belt about the waist loaded with cartridges, a pair of six-shooters, a formidable knife and a rifle for long range. I haven't come across a comparable name for a horse driver, indicating perhaps that horses were more tractable than bulls, mules, and burros. You are correct insofar as the skinner of mule-skinner comes from the noun skinner that means "relating to skin".

The OED has an earliest citation for the use meaning muleteer being in J. Beadle's "Life in Utah". Skinner , according to the OED, can be applied to: I came across a site that claims that 'mule skinners' were professional mule drivers that could outsmart or 'skin' a mule into doing what they wanted, seeing as they were notoriously stubborn animals.

Mules as far as I know were exhausted by their drivers. Muleskinner could be a metaphor for that. You never talk about a horse like that. We used to say sometimes, He treats his horse like a mule. A good mule skinner was someone that was able to have all mules pulling the load. For example, if the mule train had 20 mules and the wagon full of ore they were very skilled in knowing wich mules were pulling and wich mules were not pulling.

So he had to skin the mule that wasn't pulling. If he skinned the the wrong mule that mule would stop pulling too. Then he would have 2 mules not pulling. Before long they would all stop if the skinner didn't know wich mule was not pulling. So a good mule skinner had to know wich mule was pulling and wich mule wasn't in order to not tire the team out.

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My dad called me a skinner because i broke my fist mule by myself. My dad was a skinner. I don't know the real term but have herd a lot of stories from my dad, one of which remember well is:. If you have a mule and you are in a bad situation with food, you can cut out some of his flesh and eat it, and the mule would not die.

SPANA treats thousands of mules each year through our centres and mobile clinics and works with their owners to provide better care and understanding of these misunderstood animals. Mules combine characteristics of both horse and donkey parents to create a tougher, more resilient working animal. A hinny, the offspring of a male horse and female donkey is much rarer and more closely resembles its mother with the long ears of a donkey.

This is due to an uneven chromosome count although in rare cases, female mules have been known to give birth to foals. Mules require less food and have more stamina than horses of the same weight and height, making them resilient working animals in some of the harshest environments. Over the centuries, owners have experimented with crossbreeding different sizes and breeds of horses — from miniature horses to draft horses — to create different sizes and strengths of mule.

This makes mules a dependable option for owners who work outside in harsh weather and strong sunlight. Although SPANA vets still see a lot of injuries as a result of poorly fitting equipment, mules are slightly less sensitive to the elements.

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Although the average lifespan for mules is between 35 and 40 years, some mules have been known to live until 50, especially if well looked after. For many owners around the world who may not be able to regularly replace horseshoes, this means that mules are cheaper to keep. In addition to whinnying like a horse and braying like a donkey, mules make sounds that combine both calls and have even been known to whimper when excited or worried.

China breeds more than seven million mules each year where they are commonly used on small farms and for transport. Visit China and help our work by taking part in our Great Wall of China charity walk.