Barnyard Basics: Health concerns for donkeys and mules

This interview was conducted in 2016 before his death.

“A mule has the advantage of hybrid vigor,” he said. “But mules need the same care in terms of things like teeth floating, routine vaccinations and deworming. They also need good hoof care. All this is the same, whether it’s a horse, donkey or mule.

“One of the things most neglected in donkeys is care of the feet. We see many slipper-toed donkeys if they are out at pasture and not trimmed. If they are ridden all the time, they keep their feet worn down, but otherwise the feet grow too long. Most people don’t shoe donkeys; they can be ridden or packed without shoes as long as their feet are kept properly trimmed. Mules, like horses, need to be shod if they work in rough country or are ridden or driven on paved roads. Otherwise they often get by without shoes. Most of them have tough feet and do well barefoot if they are properly trimmed.”

LInd says that mules today are much easier to work with than they were in the past.

“Today most mules are much better — with better breeding and handling — and are usually not difficult to handle,” he said. “Forty years ago they were a real pain to work on. Many were very challenging and we had to be careful handling them. You still have to be careful because they are a lot more protective of themselves than a horse.”

Mules are always paying attention to what’s going on around them, probably more than a horse does.

“There are some spooky horses but I think mules can be more challenging,” Lind said. “It’s not so much that they are spooky or do something really bad; you just have to pay attention because they are always thinking about what’s going on.”

Regarding health aspects, one thing donkeys and mules seem more susceptible to than horses are sarcoid tumors.

“Horse sarcoids are usually not too difficult to clear up with modern treatments. Mule sarcoids, by contrast, have a tendency to come back or recur in the same place, or spread,” Lind said. “If you get a sarcoid in a mule, you need to be aggressive about getting rid of it early on.”

Summer sores (caused by tiny worms that get into small wounds, carried by flies) are another health problem that donkeys and mules seem more susceptible to than horses, but these have largely disappeared since people started using ivermectin dewormers.

Lungworms are another problem that tends to be unique to donkeys, but isn’t as much of an issue today if people routinely deworm their animals. In Lind’s practice on the high desert, humidity is low and there are not a lot of worms, even on pastures, but he recommended deworming horses, donkeys and mules two to four times per year, depending on where the animals are kept.

“If they are in drylots, twice a year is adequate; if they are on pasture we try to deworm at least four times a year,” he said. “Donkeys and mules have no natural resistance to internal parasites. They still have to be treated for worms.”

Taking care of their teeth is also important.

“Donkeys and mules also need their teeth checked and floated, just like horses do,” Lind said. “Since donkeys and mules tend to live longer than horses, teeth may become an issue. If you take good care of the teeth, however, and don’t let them develop abnormally, they tend to last forever. I’ve seen horses at 30 years of age that don’t have a tooth left in their mouths because the owners haven’t taken care of them. If they have abnormal growth patterns, pretty soon they get loose molars and out they come. Dental care becomes especially important in older donkeys and mules. I think the oldest mule on record was an Army mule that lived to be 46 years old.”

He continued, “You can’t check the mouth of a horse, donkey or mule without opening it, and this is why it’s important to have a veterinarian do this. To properly float teeth we need to use a mouth speculum, and to safely use one it’s best to sedate the animal so he’s not fighting it and doesn’t hurt himself or a person. Mules, especially, will try to protect themselves. I’ve seen them fight through sedation more than a horse will. You may have to use a little more sedation than you might for a horse.”

Lind said it’s especially prudent to use common sense around mules.

“I love mules but you need to use common sense around them, and know how they are different and how they might behave,” he said. “They aren’t any more needle-shy than a horse, or more difficult to worm or float their teeth, or to shoe or do any other routine things, as long as you’ve handled them properly — with good experiences rather than bad ones. They remember the bad ones and are less forgiving than a horse. If someone walks up and pokes a needle into them and doesn’t try to do it with the least possible pain or doesn’t rub the pain away afterward, they will remember and eventually do something about it.”

You want to keep bad experiences to a minimum, or the mule/donkey will become more difficult to handle for routine treatments in the future.

“So-called ‘natural horsemanship’ has improved the way people treat these animals, thinking more about the animal and not rushing things,” Lind said. “With mules it pays to be even more patient than you would with a horse. The most seriously I’ve ever been hurt by a mule was because I got in a hurry and didn’t take the time to do the job carefully, when giving an injection. You have to slow yourself down.”

Lind noticed a change in the demographics of people who own horses and mules.

“When I was first in practice, most of the horses and mules were owned and ridden by men but today about 85 percent are owned and ridden by women,” he said. “I think women are often more patient and compassionate. Many of these animals are overly spoiled and babied; however, they do need to be respectful. You have to watch out for the ones that don’t have respect — the ones that try to walk over you. With the new sedatives, however, there’s no excuse for treating them roughly.”

Regarding medical issues, mules and donkeys are usually less likely to injure themselves or suffer from bowed tendons and torn ligaments.

“We don’t see navicular disease as much, either, as in horses. We do see more ringbone in mules, however,” Lind said. “This is partly because of where we ask them to go and what we ask them to do. Some mules are good jumpers and some of them jump very high, such as 4-foot jumps with a rider. I think they may suffer more concussion because they are not built with a big round foot like a horse. There may be more concussion on the narrow foot and it hurts them more.”