Trekking with the mules in Umbria, Italy

I was traveling in Italy on May. We had a mule and donkey themed trip there with 7 other donkey and mule lovers from Finland! Most of us had our own mule or donkey. One Finnish lady who lives in Italy organized three visits for three days and the best visit was to the mules that were working in the mountains. These mules are used to bring down the wood from the hills that are too steep for the forest machines. We had a small demo with two mules how they are loaded and how they walk down by themselves and park next to the horse.

Roberto (the owner) told us that he always takes one horse with him and the mules are coming free behind the horse.

Roberto also organizes rides and treks with the mules so all of us who wanted to ride got a change to ride up the hill. Mules had only their pack saddle on so we literally sat on the wooden barrel!
The saddle weights 40-50 kilos and their load of wood is around 100 kilos!!

The mares used were mixed breed mares but a bit heavier that the mares used in riding in Italy. The father of all mules is Martina Franca, a big italian donkey breed that can also be used for working.
In the middle of the day we had a lunch and mules roamed free during that time. Only the horse was tied to the tree. We had delicious local treats, sausages, meat, honey, Pecorino cheese.. And off course bread and wine!

Check out Roberto Canallis home pafe of his mule and donkey treks! http://www.lamulattiera.it/