# silly question



## lisam (Mar 8, 2004)

My friend is trying to talk me into breeding one of my mares to the same jack she found for her mare. I was wondering--does a mare bred to a donkey have the same gestation period she would have if bred to a stallion? Is the labor just the same? I think it probably is, but I want to have all the information before I make a decision. Do mares easily accept being bred to a jack?


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## minimule (Mar 9, 2004)

Yes, the mare's gestation bred to a Jack will be the same as bred to a stallion. She is a horse and will follow the "horse rules". The labor is going to be a typical horse labor as well.

Some mares will easily accept a jack and others will not. I have one mare that says not NO but HE** NO. I tried to breed her last year and she let us both know she was not interested. She barred all her teeth (didn't know she had that many




), laid those ears as tight to her head as possible and backed her tail into the fence. Even Kilroy tried to talk to her, walked behind me and looked at me like "Mom, I don't think she likes me."

Some mares you have to "trick". Tease with a stallion til she can't stand it, then slip the "ready" jack in. Breeding for mules isn't always the easiest thing to do.


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## lisam (Mar 10, 2004)

Thanks! The woman who owns the jack handbreeds, and I will talk to her to see what her plans are if a mare refuses the jack. I doubt she has any stallions there.


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