Our pony mule is the only been there, done that mule we have and was the most expensive animal we've ever gotten purchase-wise. She has been worth every penny and is still my favorite to ride. My husband's mule is a good animal and was a major 'steal' but she never really had any formal training and can be a real pita sometimes. As fond as I am of the colt and of the 4-yr old who is not yet started under saddle & still has issues from not being handled his first two years, I sometimes wish we'd just forked out the $$ at the beginning so I could have a trustworthy animal I could ride NOW without the time (which I do not have have) and expense of training hanging over my head. Seriously, I'd trade those two for a bigger version of the pony mule in a heartbeat but my husband probably wouldn't let me. :-/