New Edition of The Book of Mules: An Introduction the the Original Hybrid

 

The Book of Mules: An Introduction to the Original Hybrid has just been released and is available on Amazon.com in paperback.

 

Some of you may have already bought The Book of Mules (Thank you!). If that is the case, you probably don’t need the new one.

When the The Book of Mules became out of print, I decided to republish it myself. I made a few changes. First, I changed the subtitle to “An Introduction to the Original Hybrid.” That has always been my intention in writing the book – to introduce mules to first-time owners or folks who are still in the “thinking about it” stage. I think you more experienced owners will find some useful information, too.

You will find chapters on the origin and history of the mule, types of mules and their uses, how to care for them, health issues, raising mules, and some training principles. While a good deal of what’s true of horses is true of mules, a good deal is different. I updated some of the back-matter. Websites come and go, and a few did go in the eleven years since first publication, as well as farms and businesses.

I added a new chapter at the end titled “Some Mule Tales.” The reason I added the mule tales is because back in 2009 when The Book of Mules first was published, I met folks who shared their stories with me at some of my book signings. These people had farmed and worked with mules back in the days before tractors were the norm. Some stories were funny, and some were bitter-sweet. Thanks to social media when I asked for stories, I got some response. I am happy to include their stories because they are an important part of American’s heritage. I hope you’ll enjoy them as much as I did.

I didn’t get back all of the photos used in the book first time around. So, there are some different pictures. The book looks different in and out, but the information is the same except for minor tweaks here and there. Another thing, I really wanted to have this paperback edition printed in color, but it would have cost folks nearly $30, therefore the interior is in black and white. The Kindle version has color. All that being said, I am simply happy to have The Book of Mules: An Introduction to the Original Hybrid available for future readers to add to their library.

PS If you buy the book please leave a review as all of the previous reviews disappeared when the old editions came off Amazon. And, if you will email me that you’ve bought the book, I’ll be happy to send you a signed bookplate that you can stick inside of your copy.

Find me on Amazon at amazon.com/author/donnacampbellsmith

 

Wild Horses at Island Farm, Manteo, NC

My daughters, Julia and Dineane, and I visited Island Farm in Manteo, NC this past Thursday. Island Farm is a living museum teaching about farm life on the Outer Banks in the nineteenth. We had a grand time touring the furnished two-story house, watched a weaving demonstration, and we invited to touch and pick up anything we wished to examine closer.

Outside, Gloria Abbs demonstrated how clothes were washed and my daughter was good natured enough to give scrubbing on a washboard a try and let me photograph her.

The farm is really a working farm, with chickens, sheep, and cattle. Crops include sweet potatoes and corn. There is a vegetable garden, herbs and a beehive for the sweet tooth. We took an ox drawn cart ride around the grounds and the driver told us about the history of the farm.

Before leaving we had a nice chat with Jennifer Frost, who we’d met on entering when we bought our passes. She told us that in the pasture across the road from the main farm were two of Corolla’s wild horses. The horses are descended from sixteenth century European explorers and colonists. The horse have been an important part of the history and culture of the area ever since.

The farm took the horses on because the wild herd needs culling from time to time to keep the herd at a healthy and manageable size. But sadly, one of the two mares is there because some evil-minded person shot her with an arrow. She is no longer able to survive in the wild.

I just cannot comprehend a human being doing something like that. And it not the only time the one of the wild horses has been injured, even killed, at the hands of some violent and evil person. There are reports of horses being run down and hit by vehicles on the beach and even shot by gunfire. Others have become sick or died from eating trash or inappropriate food left out by beach visitors. The wild Colonial Spanish Mustangs, historically known as Banker Ponies, have survived four hundred years on North Carolina’s Outer Banks. They have made it through hurricanes and very harsh living conditions, but it is feared human beings and the rabid development of the Outer Banks will be their undoing.

The two horses, both fillies, at Island Farm, are named Gracie and Bow. You can see them as you drive to Manteo on highway 64, in a pasture where an antique windmill has been erected. It is directly across the road from the Island Farm entrance. It cost $6 per person the tour the farm and is well worth the price. You can spend as much time as you like, and there are always new demonstrations and different things to see.

To learn more about the Corolla Wild Horses go to http://www.corollawildhorses.com/index.html

To learn more about Island Farm go to http://www.currituckbeachlight.com/islandfarm/