Market booming for Qld mules to campdraft, do stock work and trail ride
Buyers from across Australia are planning to use Queensland mule foals for campdrafting, mustering, endurance riding and more.
About 80 mule foals have been sired by the imported jack Moses since he arrived at David and Di Scholl's place at Dallarnil in 2021.
Moses' progeny are now waiting to be broken in before commencing duties anywhere from Cooktown to Adelaide.
The Scholls have grown their mule-breeding business at a time when researchers are more interested in donkey genetics.
A research group led by the University of Queensland claimed to have performed the world's first successful donkey-to-donkey IVF in 2022 to help save endangered species.
Other researchers have published findings on donkeys' welfare, evolution and breeding practices in prestigious journals such as Nature since 2020.
Mr Scholl said disposition was key when selecting both the mare and donkey jack to cross.
"We run about 27 or 28 broodmares of different breeds, from pure Clydesdales to Quarter Horses, station-bred mares and thoroughbreds," he said.
"We had two Arab horses, but haven't quite got them to the right disposition to breed."
"I had a criteria list when looking for Moses: good disposition, not too heavy, not too thick, nice head, longer neck and a shorter back to avoid bowing."
The Scholls bought Diamond Creek Moonwatch Moses from his third owner in Kentucky, United States, to get higher-quality bloodlines than they had found in Australia.
His first two mule progeny sold in 2022 for an average value of $8500 plus GST each.
Moses now sires about 10 mules bred at Dallarnil per year and provides semen for sale.
Mr Scholl said the potential market for mules in Australia has not yet been sized, but people are learning more about the crossbreed.
"We have thicker-set mares to give their progeny a more horselike structure because Mules have a more slender muscle structure than, say, Quarter Horses or Clydesdales," he said.
"I have learnt from my own experience and mulemanship clinics in the United States that mules need baby steps and shorter sessions in training," he said.
"We find a mule eats 75 per cent of the food a horse does, is 25 per cent stronger, and will work for an extra 10 years."
