[ExI] reasoning in beasts

BillK pharos at gmail.com
Mon Jun 16 08:35:53 UTC 2014


On Mon, Jun 16, 2014 at 5:46 AM, spike wrote:
> One of the most interesting things that came out is from a display regarding
> mule teams running harvesters and combines.  I asked why they always used
> mules.  She offered this explanation.
<snip>
> According to my niece's 90 yr old great grandma, who was a firsthand witness
> and tells the truth, mules are the choice for work beasts: they have most of
> the horse's strength and most of the asses stupid; ideal combination.
>
> BillW, I see no clear explaination besides the notion that the horse is
> using his version of reason but the ass is not.
>


You've got it the wrong way round, spike!

Mules are more intelligent than horses.
Try getting a 20 horse team to turn a waggon around and chaos ensues.
But mules can be trained and called to by name so that those near the
waggon pull in the opposite direction to get round the corner.

<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mule>
Quote:
The mule possesses the even temper, patience, endurance and
sure-footedness of the donkey, and the vigor, strength and courage of
the horse. Operators of working animals generally find mules
preferable to horses: mules show more patience under the pressure of
heavy weights, and their skin is harder and less sensitive than that
of horses, rendering them more capable of resisting sun and rain.
Their hooves are harder than horses', and they show a natural
resistance to disease and insects. Many North American farmers with
clay soil found mules superior as plow animals.

Mules exhibit a higher cognitive intelligence than their parent
species. This is believed to be the result of hybrid vigor, similar to
how mules acquire greater height and endurance than either parent.
-------------------------

Horses are faster, but more delicate than mules.
That's why the Amish generally use mules for ploughing, but horses for
pulling buggies on the road.


BillK



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