It has been held by some of our officers, that the mule was a better animal for Government service, because he required less care and feed than the horse, and would go longer without water.  This, again, is a grave mistake.  The mule, if properly taken care of, requires nearly as much forage as the horse, and should be groomed and cared for just the same.  I refer now to team animals.  Such statements do a great deal of injury, inasmuch as they encourage the men who have charge of animals to neglect and abuse them.  The teamster who hears his superior talk in this way will soon take advantage of it.  Animals of all kinds, in a wild and natural state, have a way of keeping themselves clean.  If left wild, the mule would do it.  But when man deprives them of the privileges by tying them up and domesticating them, he must assist them in the most natural way to keep themselves clean.  And this assistance the animal appreciates to its fullest extent.

How to Handle a Mule Colt.—­Owners and raisers of mules should pay more attention to their habits when young.  And I would give them this advice:  When the colt is six months old, put a halter on him and let the strap hang loose.  Let your strap be about four feet long, so that it will drag on the ground.  The animal will soon accustom himself to this; and when he has, take up the end and lead him to the place where you have been accustomed to feed him.  This will make him familiar with you, and increase his confidence.  Handle his ears at times, but don’t squeeze them, for the ear is the most sensitive part of this animal.  As soon as he lets you handle his ears familiarly, put a loose bridle on him.  Put it on and take it off frequently.  In this way you will secure the colt’s confidence, and he will retain it until you need him for work.

Speaking of the sensitiveness of the mule’s ear, a scratch, or the slightest injury to it, will excite their stubbornness and make them afraid of you.  I have known a mule’s ear to be scratched by rough handling, and for months afterward it was with the greatest difficulty you could bridle him.  Nothing is more important than that you should bridle a young mule properly.  I have found from experience that the best way is this:  stand on the near side, of course; take the top of the bridle in your right hand, and the bit in your left; pass your arm gently over his eye until that part of the arm bends his ear down, then slip the bit into his mouth, and at the same time let your hand be working slowly with the bearings still on his head and neck, until you have arranged the head-stall.