page_title: Mule
section_title: Color and size variety
hierarchical_section_title: Mule / Characteristics / Color and size variety
caption_attribution_description: Mules leisurely enjoying the sun and the snow
context_page_description: A mule is the offspring of a male donkey and a female horse. Horses and donkeys are different species, with different numbers of chromosomes. Of the two first generation hybrids between these two species, a mule is easier to obtain than a hinny, which is the offspring of a female donkey and a male horse.
  The size of a mule and work to which it is put depend largely on the breeding of the mule's female parent. Mules can be lightweight, medium weight or when produced from draft horse mares, of moderately heavy weight. Mules are reputed to be more patient, hardy and long-lived than horses and are described as less obstinate and more intelligent than donkeys.
context_section_description: Mules come in a variety of shapes, sizes and colors, from minis under 200 lb (91 kg) to over 1,000 lb (454 kg), and in many different colors. The coats of mules come in the same varieties as those of horses. Common colors are sorrel, bay, black, and grey. Less common are white, roans, palomino, dun, and buckskin. Least common are paint mules or tobianos. Mules from Appaloosa mares produce wildly colored mules, much like their Appaloosa horse relatives, but with even wilder skewed colors.  The Appaloosa color is produced by a complex of genes known as the Leopard complex (Lp). Mares homozygous for the Lp gene bred to any color donkey will produce a spotted mule.
caption: Mules come in a variety of colors and sizes; these mules had a draft horse mare for a mother
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