Appreciate you taking the time to go over the #'s, you are pretty much dead on with the break down. You covered a few things I hadn't even considered good insight on your part. Yes, it is worth it to get out and be a part of life we find horseback riding very rewarding. So toss the TV, get going (only watch your favorite KZread channel). It's doable give up going thru the coffee drive through's 🙂its cheaper to own a mule or horse.

@MTN_BUILT

3 ай бұрын

Haha exactly! Thank you so much for taking the time to watch and leave such a nice comment, it’s appreciated! ☺️ and yes, they are SO worth it! ❤️

Good video I just started wanting y'all. My grandfather back in 1927 had 200 mules he was the largest road builder in Texas and they did it all with mules.

@MTN_BUILT

3 ай бұрын

Wow! That’s incredible! I would love to hear some of the stories I bet he had! 😊 Thanks for watching and God bless you as well! 😊

Thanks for the information, watched a sheep hunt you guys did… I like your channel 👍

@MTN_BUILT

3 ай бұрын

Thank you for watching and taking time to leave a nice comment 😊 We really appreciate it!

Well done! Good Job!

@MTN_BUILT

3 ай бұрын

Thank you!! 😊

Love to watch the Mules.

@MTN_BUILT

3 ай бұрын

Thank you! 😊

That dun mule is the prettiest I’ve ever seen 😍

@MTN_BUILT

3 ай бұрын

Thank you so much! We’re so thankful for our little herd 😊🙏🏼 They’re so fun!

@thistles

3 ай бұрын

@@MTN_BUILTi can see why!

Great video!!!! So similar to what I have going on with 4 beasts. It actually wasn't as bad as I thought as I've never broken it down for fear of the unknown. Haaaa. I clean houses for a living and I can barter with my vet which is unbelievably cool. Although a big ticket repair would be more difficult ,at least that covers teeth and Coggins etc. If I was going to therapy because I had no equine, it would cost alot more. Heeeeheee.

@MTN_BUILT

3 ай бұрын

Haha I like your logic!! 😂 we hadn’t broken down the cost so specifically, and we thought the same… well that’s not as bad as I thought! Haha

@jennyrosd2003

3 ай бұрын

@@MTN_BUILT so much else not mentionable cuz it bridges over into multi purpose. But for equine specific......not bad at all! 🤑🦄

Very informative ❤️

@MTN_BUILT

3 ай бұрын

Thanks for watching ☺️

@bobbiemayers354

3 ай бұрын

@@MTN_BUILT love watching you guys

Had I watched this a long time ago I might’ve opted for some pet rocks!😂 Glad I didn’t, they’re worth every penny.. Great show..

@MTN_BUILT

3 ай бұрын

Bahaha!! Us too!! I was thinking we need to start feeding less grain 😂

So, they're only a bit more expensive than two cats kept on a species-appropriate (non-grocery store sludge) diet. 😅 (I'm serious, I spend $100+ a month on food and litter for my two boys.) If I ever manage to adopt a horse I'm going to invest in learning how to trim my horses' feet to save on that farrier bill - and also choosing a sturdier breed that has better harder hooves in the first place.

@MTN_BUILT

Ай бұрын

Haha! Thats awesome! At least they’re well cared for 😊 And that’s a great idea, because that cost really adds up! We need to do that ourselves

Thank you for another informative video! A lot of people don’t figure in the maintenance when they purchase an equine because they got such a great deal🥴

@MTN_BUILT

Ай бұрын

Thanks for the kind words! And it’s so true… there’s no such thing as a free horse (or mule)! 😅

I'm glad that my two Arab mares and stallion only cost me around 5k total to care for in a year. They eat a lot less hay as they are a very compact (yet very very strong!) breed.

@MTN_BUILT

3 ай бұрын

That’s awesome! And yes, the cost can vary quite a bit depending on the specific animal and your location. How much hay/day do you feed them? (I may not see your response, because I don’t get notifications for replies, but hopefully I’ll remember to check later). Thanks in advance! 😊

@Lythaera

3 ай бұрын

@ILT In western WA hay can be anywhere from $10 to $33 a 2-string rectangular bale depending on quality/weight. Anything worth feeding to horses is around $17 to $25 on average. I have gotten really lucky and found a local guy who sells grass hay for around $15, $11 if I collect it myself from the field. Only problem is it's so humid that the hay needs to cure in the barn for 2 months before it's safe to feed to the horses because of the bacteria in it. With my 3 and my mom's gelding, we're going through around 60lb a day between the 4 horses. I'm also not dealing with hauling out of state though so I don't need to pay for coggins and health certs very often.

❤ You are fortunate to live in a fairly wet climate. Hay is more reasonable as its probably grown near you and you have some lovely pasture. Here in the Gila Wilderness area (SW, US) its Very dry so no pasture for most of us. Irrigation is not an option as there is short supply of water. Our feed stores get $23/$25 per (90/100#)bale bermuda grass hay - 3 string. Feeds one mule 5 + - days. Hay is trucked in from southern AZ / CA.. a few hundred miles = $$$.. Also grain / sack feed is more costly as it to is not locally grown. Standlee is in ID. I like their sack feed. Having mules is costly but equine is my "drug of choice". Life long habit that I don't plan to change.❤❤ Your videos are realistic and good information And much appreciated. Sure envy all the Green you live in and awesome trails.

@MTN_BUILT

2 ай бұрын

Yikes! Yeah, I’ve heard it’s spendy down there… that country looks amazing though! We would love to explore the Gila some day. And we’re totally with you! They’re our drug of choice too 😊 It seems like it’s easy to waste money on things that don’t enrich your life, and for us, horses/mules are absolutely worth the financial sacrifice. They bring us a lot of happiness 😊

Well that was very informative I saw a whole lot of sheds behind you I watch all your videos so I saw the fence and the debt paid do you think of your mules as pets since they're cared for so we'll do you keep a close eye on your own expenses as well as that is admirable not many young people watch those numbers just curious how much did your mules cost you said 6 to 25 thousand I enjoy your videos always keep living the life you've chosen it's a good one thanks kray

@MTN_BUILT

3 ай бұрын

Thanks Kray! We definitely think of them as pets/family lol And yes, we definitely try to keep an eye on our finances to make sure we’re spending money on things that we really value 😊 We’ll probably do a full video on what our mules each cost, but Cedar (the red one) was 1,000, Reata (the Dun) was $2,700, and Clyde (the white one) was $5,500 😊

@kraymississippi4388

3 ай бұрын

@@MTN_BUILT that's excellent it's very important that you don't overindulge when your young but always enjoy the time you have short as it is here on earth and the reward awaits you later as a child I collected bottles to turn them in for pennies but once in a while I'd find a bottle that paid me 25 cents life is kind of like that thanks kray

@MTN_BUILT

3 ай бұрын

@@kraymississippi4388 that’s awesome! And I agree… there’s a lot of value in hard work and delayed gratification 😊

I commend people who have the time, patience and money to own and keep up with the demand of training these animals. I know for a fact I couldn’t. I think I’ll stick with my Kawasaki Mule lol. Really informative video!

@MTN_BUILT

Күн бұрын

lol thank you! And a Kawasaki mule is fun too! And like you’re saying, you can park it in the garage and forget about it for months if you want to lol 😊

This Is Kool. Thanks For Sharing ❤

@MTN_BUILT

3 ай бұрын

Absolutely! 😊 We’re so glad you enjoyed it!

God bless y'all

hi there. just came upon your channel. i have a story on horse vs mule. i am 59. i realized my life long dream in march, 2021 and purchased my first horse, a then 15-year old "fully trained" icelandic mare. i live north of you, in vancouver, bc, canada. between the purchase price and tack, i laid out about $18,000 CDN. i full board her for $750 CDN/month, about 5 miles away. into my fourth year now, and i can say i have spent less than 5 hours in total in the saddle. i had undertaken a lot of training prior to this, i would like to add. i won't boast of being an expert rider, but i can manage. what i have learned so far, is this 'fully-trained' icelandic mare is not that. she is a sweetheart until anything, even as innocent as taking your jacket off in front of her, will send her into hysterical fear. within a month of owning her, even the sight of her tack freaked her out. it took 6 months to gentle her enough to take a saddle, and even now, she is in 'i-am-about-to-freak-out' mode. and then getting into the saddle, she will refuse to go forward. and even when i get momentum, anything that is unusual we come across, her flight mode kicks in, and that i am on her back, is of little concern. she only wants to run. i would be happy to have her walk me and her through the rest of our lives. now, i am afraid to get on her. 59 year olds dont recover from falls as well as my 20-something self did. i reached out to the seller, a well-known breeder of icelandics here in BC, to talk about my experiences. he flipped me off and told me i ruined her. sadness. i didn't. i have spent hours and hours, days and days, month-in and month-out for years to find the riding horse i thought i bought. i would be afraid to take her anywhere off property with an expectation that i would come back unscathed. since acquiring my horse, i have stumbled across many mule videos. had i known what i know now, about what i ultimately wanted for an equine friend, i think i would have went the mule route. i kind of feel trapped now. i don't want to give up on her and me, but at this point, neither one of us is progressing. and i don't want to give on my childhood dream. yes, i am 59, but i do not want to give up. thank you for hearing me out, and thankful that your channel popped up in my feed today. there are no coincidences. peace. EDIT: the icelandic horse culture is very specific. i think for the die-hard icelandic breeders/trainers/owners, their main goal is to train icelandics to ride their 'gates', using a variety of weighted boots and shoes, tack, and bits. and the more i have learned about icelandics and the culture, this seems to be true. so, maybe what i got, when my horse was sold as "fully trained" was only fully trained to be that. i remember when i approached one breeder when i was starting to look, i mentioned, innocently i thought, that i was not going to shoe my icelandic. well, her reaction set me aback. she went up one side of me and down the other that she would NEVER sell me any of her stock if i was going to let it live its life barefoot. wowza! my plans for any horse of mine was to live a life on the soft trails of BC. and with proper and timely trims, i think that shoes are not necessary. and the boarding facility where my horse is, and i had already picked, is a barefoot facility, and the owner is a well-known and respected barefoot trimmer. my horse has great feet to this day, and remains barefoot. the one thing i get caught up on though, is the faciltiy owner is ANTI-bit. he frowns upon riders who use bits. my horse was trained and raised on a soft bit. yes, the facility owner says me riding with a bit would be OK, but i have not, and i think that might be part of my challenges with her. i ride her in her rope halter, with snap-on reins.

@MTN_BUILT

Ай бұрын

Good evening! First off, thank you for taking time to reach out. I actually understand your situation very well because Alyssa and I are going through a similar one right now with our quarter horse, Timber. We’ve had her since she was a baby, and she’s always been treated very well, but when a saddle is involved she becomes very fearful and highly reactive. We’re in the same situation as you, where we REALLY want to work with her through these trials, but we don’t want to get injured- especially since we ride in the mountains a lot. So I don’t know the right answer for you necessarily, but riding should be fun- especially for a relatively new rider. My gut is telling me that you’d be better off selling your Icelandic and getting a truly finished horse or mule. I don’t know you, but my hope for you is that you can achieve your dream of owning and riding your own horse- and smile when your saddling up- not be fearful and stressed out because I know from experience, that is no fun! As far as the bitless deal, people mean well, and our goal personally is to be able to ride our mules in a hackamore. However, some horses aren’t to that level (our mules certainly aren’t yet), and it’s good to have control- especially if your horse is prone to running off with you. The main thing is to ride with soft hands and a good heart (as weird as that sounds). I hope this helps. We made a video titled “Buying a horse or mule? Watch this first” you probably already know everything in that video, but it might be worth watching if you do decide to purchase another equine. 😊 A lot of times I don’t see “reply’s” on here, so if you reach back out, and I don’t respond, feel free to email me (it’s listed on our KZread home page) or just leave a fresh comment, and I’ll get a notification 😊👍🏼 And if you do decide to sell your current horse to get one that’s a better fit, don’t beat yourself up about it… it sounds like your heart is in the right place and it may just be the right decision.

Thanks for the info… 👌

@MTN_BUILT

Ай бұрын

Absolutely! I hope it was helpful 😊 Thank you for watching!

How much land do mules typically need? If I were to ever get into equines I'd want to keep them on my own land and let them graze, is there a difference for how much space they need compared compared horses?

@MTN_BUILT

3 ай бұрын

There’s not much difference between them and horses. They say you need 2-4 acres of pasture per equine. We’ve always had to buy at least SOME hay, but we’re thankful we have a little pasture so ours can get out and graze through the summer 😊

@alberta1980

15 күн бұрын

Typically the more pasture the better. I have 80 acres and 6 of my own horses and mules, and 4-5 more horses of people that board on my place. On wet years like this year, I have more grass than I could ever need, but on super dry years like last year I’m almost at my limit of equines with 10 acres per horse. You can do rotational grazing with electric fence to allow grass to recover from heavy grazing. But as a general rule of thumb, I would say get as much acreage as you can possibly afford. It’s much easier than having to feed all the time and worrying about overgrazing.

You are an amazing lady and beautiful too. Your husband is a lucky guy

@MTN_BUILT

3 ай бұрын

Super blessed! 😊

@mattshanks2604

3 ай бұрын

@@MTN_BUILT Amen brother love the videos🙏🏼

Round here a horse or mule can be had for no cost. Good animals. The cost is in the keeping.

@MTN_BUILT

Ай бұрын

It’s so true! The purchase price is only the beginning 😬 We’re sure thankful for ours though! 🙏🏼

I Like the way you present Information . I Don't Think people are prepared for the Expense , I Think it's a Lifestyle. The Time, Clean up, Keeping Equines, Healthy, Happy, Clean, Well Balanced in Feed , I Tell people to Volunteer somewhere, see how much work it is. I have 2 Appendix Q. Horses, 2 Mules, 2 Jacks , 1 Jenny, You need Covered Stalls, Really a Turnout, or more, Animals Suffer without Exercise, Boredom. Having a Good Equine Vet that Will Show Up Now, Laying your Eyes on Them Daily, Fresh 💦 Water Daily, Having the Money to do All of it. Farriers. It's is Serious Business Meeting Equines Needs. Even 1 , or 2 , They get Lonely by themselves. I'm Sorry to Come on Strong, I See Alot of Equines not Cared For. By the way Are you Using Psyllium

@MTN_BUILT

2 ай бұрын

Yeah, you’re spot on! They take a lot of care, but they’re definitely worth it in our eyes! We’re fortunate to have them 😊🙏🏼 We don’t use psyllium and I honestly don’t even know what it is, but I’m going to look it up after this 😊

@winner33660

2 ай бұрын

@@MTN_BUILT Psyllium husk, Fiber , I Noticed your Mules Eating off the ground, which is Hard to Keep them from it, as you know. My Vet is a Man from W. Texas in his 60s, He Always has Insisted, 7 Consecutive Days a Month, Cleans Sand, Debris Allows to Move Through Gut, Bowel. I have Checked with Other Senior Vets. they Concur. It's Hard to Find a Good Vet, Farriers, that you Like and is Dependable. Plus the Internet can have Mis Information, Some Horse 🐴 People Can Mislead. We are Always Learning, For me it's working at it, and Worrying Over their Welfare. You. Guys Obviously Live this,and are Extremely Knowledgeable, I Look forward to Learning more from you. Be Safe . Good Luck 🎉

2:54 I'm dying now, lol! Replay that again and again, lol. Let me say any animal you get is an ongoing expense. IDK, just get a Jeep 4x4. You can always park that Jeep (or Toyota, if you like). It won't require any food while it is parked. Okay, if you're going to get these animals, they're really for a lifetime, and you really need to be basically obsessed, because it's going to take up hours per day, every day. You will live barn life. You will need to be always learning more and more to build your expertise. Even if you have someone else do the daily care work, it's going to cost upkeep. When you have them on your land, you end up buying a ton of equipment! Good management keeps your costs down. How about a stick horse (or mule)? How about Breyers, lol? Ha ha, Im just saying all this because I really don't like when people get animals they only see sometimes, or worse, sell off to anyone. I say keep them for life and know that those you are moving to another human go to people you vet well, and keep track of. This is a fantastic video that hit the basic nuts and bolts to give someone an idea.

@MTN_BUILT

Күн бұрын

lol you’re so right! It’s constant effort and expense, but for us it is definitely worth it! Spending time with them definitely enriches our lives 😊 We had to be horse-less for several years while we figured out our finances, and we are SO thankful to have them now 🙏🏼

Depending where you buy, auctions rescue or private

@MTN_BUILT

Ай бұрын

Yeah, there can be a ton of variance! 😊

The final number seemed way cheaper than I thought it would be this is the price of upkeep for a dog, cat, or rabbit

@MTN_BUILT

Ай бұрын

Oh that’s interesting! I’m thankful the number isn’t any higher! Lol

@ffxfgxsfxxxg2419

Ай бұрын

Oh obviously I don’t want this to be too expensive for horse owners I should have thought out my response a bit more

@MTN_BUILT

Ай бұрын

@@ffxfgxsfxxxg2419 I think your response was good! 😊 It’s really just a matter of perspective! And the cost that we came up with would be much different based on location… I’m sure owning a horse or mule in California would be about double what it is here in Idaho 😊

@ffxfgxsfxxxg2419

Ай бұрын

Yeah I just checked my area and it would be $8,700 in my area sooo a cat, dog, or rabbit would be way cheaper

@MTN_BUILT

Ай бұрын

@@ffxfgxsfxxxg2419 lol same here… thank goodness, because we also have two dogs! 😂

You forgot to say your not taking sixty thousand for Clyde

@MTN_BUILT

3 ай бұрын

😂😂😂😉

I have mules . For more than 30 years End they cost me to feed a year about 100 € a year . A mule . The male mules have seen one time in their life a veterinary two by castration . Bye prays one year old 800 € . Shoes I do my self . Now new fensy gear . Make End repair myself . Fencing 50 € a year . Don't have tracks and trailers . I read were I won't to go . Maybe

@MTN_BUILT

3 ай бұрын

That’s awesome! I don’t know the conversion to USD, but that seems really affordable! And yeah, it helps a lot if you can do farrier work yourself 😊🙌🏼

Do llamas and mules get along.? 😸

@MTN_BUILT

2 ай бұрын

I would think they would get along some of the time! I know surprise llamas on the trail can be pretty spooky though lol

@leif707

12 күн бұрын

Depends on the mule

I think that’s conservative if we were talking about out horses. I swear horses can get hurt on a balloon.

@MTN_BUILT

Ай бұрын

lol it’s really true! I used to have a horse like that- thankfully the mules are pretty hardy. Hopefully our filly will learn from them! 😊🙏🏼

? 350 a ton more like 1200

@MTN_BUILT

3 ай бұрын

Yikes! 😬 Thank goodness we don’t have to pay that much here!

Ahahhaha 60 000$. Girl for such money, you will import like 100/200 of them from ANY east eu country. Muricanos will never stop to amuse

@MTN_BUILT

Ай бұрын

lol I’m not sure where we said $60,000 in this video, but that would be too much for us! Our most expensive was about 1/10th of that. It’s pretty cool that they’re $300 to $600 in Eastern Europe though! 😊

@runkorko

Ай бұрын

@@MTN_BUILT 0:30

@MTN_BUILT

Ай бұрын

lol I gotcha! Yeah, that mule was crazy expensive… another couple went for over $50k at a sale last week as well

A Riding Between Horses and Mules in USA. 🏈🐎🫏🇺🇸🥤🏞️🎶🛻🟥🟨🟩

@MTN_BUILT

3 ай бұрын

😊🙌🏼