Rich Bradshaw driving mule team, Sadie and Susie, in an old stagecoach, both owned by Bob Barnard. Photo taken in the 1960's at the Ashtabula County Fair.
Photo provided by Rich Bradshaw
For the Love of Donkeys and Mules by Mandy Boggs Donkeys are known for being affectionate and often comical animals. With their long ears, charismatic personalities, and laughter-evoking brays, they have captured the heart and soul of America for centuries. Thriving on attention, donkeys are social and playful, offering many unique qualities, despite the fact that people are often not quite sure what real purpose they have in today’s modern world.
Their History in America Millions of years ago, both horse’s and donkey’s origins dated back to the same ancestors. Today’s domestic donkeys have developed from African lineage, originally becoming domesticated over 6,000
years ago. Fast forward to the 15th century, the Romans began bringing donkeys to Europe as working animals, eventually reaching North America thanks, in part, to Christopher Columbus. In 1785, mules made their mark in the United States with credit to George Washington. He projected breeding the revered large Spanish donkeys of Spain with his finest (horse) mares, hoping to create the ultimate animal for transportation and agricultural work. The donkey’s usefulness, durability, and strength, paired with the athleticism of a horse, would certainly create a powerful animal that could outperform the existing breeds of horses of that time. Gifted from King Charles III, a jack (male donkey) Washington named
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©Brooke, Action for Working Donkeys and Horses “Royal Gift”, and two jennets, or jennies (female donkeys), went on to create the American mule. By the early 1800’s there were approximately 855,000 mules in the United States. In 1883, William Tell Coleman’s company started using a 20-mule team to haul borax from Death
Valley, California to Mojave on 20-day trips across treacherous desert terrain. Over 20 million pounds of borax was moved and not a single mule was lost – an almost unbelievable feat – proving the heartiness of these animals. In 1894, a steam engine replaced the borax mules but wasn’t nearly as strong as
