Talk:Twenty-mule team

Mules cannot be ridden?
I'm going to suggest that the statement be reconsidered; there is plenty of evidence that mules have been and continue to be excellent riding animals (see the wikipedia article on mules (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mule) for more information on their uses as riding animals ;))

There may have been a cultural bias against mules being ridden at the time of using horses as the 'wheelers' for the 20 mule teams, but perhaps more research should be done before the statement is made that horses were always used. It's possible that the only evidence of the horses being used in a 20 mule team comes from one or two photographs. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Thatcaptjim (talk • contribs) 21:18, 17 February 2007 (UTC).


 * The museum - linked at the bottom of the article - says the teams were 2 horses and 18 mules, but doesn't say why horses were used. - DavidWBrooks 22:24, 17 February 2007 (UTC)

I located two reference articles in "Proceedings Fifth Death Valley Conference on History and Prehistory" discussing freight operations, including the referenced Borax teams, which supported my general knowledge on the topic. The horses could take a beating from the wagons better than the slighter-bodied mules, and had the capability of starting the wagons on their own when breaking them free at the start of a pull. There are large draft mules, but availability was likely limited, and the smaller mule was cheaper, easier to find, and highly suited to the climate conditions. Mules will not drink themselves to death, and will generally refuse to work themselves into sunstroke. Horses will work until they drop. Regarding the documentation of horses in the mule teams, if you visit the Visitor's Center at the borax mine in Boron, CA, the original wagons, which have since been used in parades, are on display, complete with fiberglass animals in harness. Two draft horses are in position as wheelers; the rest are mules. Their information is not based solely on a coupe of photos. Display teams assembled for special events are usually all mules, but they are using well-trained animals pulling lightly loaded wagons, and in short performances on good terrain. One of these exhibitions is included on Video-Mike's DVD series of the Bishop Mule Days activities.

I attempted to cite the book I am using as my most complete reference, and apologize that it doesn't seem to be in the right place. Could someone please fix the format accordingly? I tried to provide as much information as possible. Patroo (talk) 22:11, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

Why two horses?
Where were the horses? Why not all mules? Klosterdev (talk) 06:29, 8 March 2008 (UTC)


 * I was told this in person during a trip to death valley, so I don't have a citable reference, but include it here to maybe help future searchers: when the team was untied from the wagon at night, the two horses were roped to a fixed object, but the mules were left free to roam. On their own, untied mules will wander away, but for some reason, if there are horses present, they will take their cues from them and not leave.  This saved time.  Once again, it would be really nice to have a printed reference for this.  75.85.1.178 (talk) 19:07, 19 February 2015 (UTC)


 * A mule's mother is a horse, so the mule may see horses as "Mother! There you are!" this, in the mule's mind, is enough reason to stay near a horse. Horses are generally not so pleased with mules. Snezzy (talk) 11:12, 20 May 2015 (UTC)


 * This was added to the article after the original question in this section, which was written more than seven years ago:
 * Horses were the wheelers, the two closest to the wagon. They were ridden by one of the two men generally required to operate the wagons and were typically larger than their mule brethren. They had great brute strength for starting the wagons moving and could withstand the jarring of the heavy wagon tongue, but the mules were smarter and better suited to work in desert conditions.
 * - DavidWBrooks (talk) 18:11, 20 May 2015 (UTC)

What's a 'jerk line'?
This term needs to be defined. Too Old (talk) 11:28, 19 November 2009 (UTC)
 * Good point - it is, now. -DavidWBrooks (talk) 14:09, 19 November 2009 (UTC)

Youtube video link deleted
I added this link which I thought relevant https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_Thvbp0rPo but a bot deleted it. I do not know the reason or policies here. Maybe someone more experience can have a look at it. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 88.25.168.131 (talk) 02:10, 11 December 2018 (UTC)