4. You knew this was coming. Is there any truth to the stubborn stereotype (not counting studs, I know enough not to get one of those)? Is there any reason a beginner like myself should really start with a horse as their first equine instead of a donkey?
Donkeys do have "donkey moments" where you just need to be very patient and try different solutions. For instance my donk doesn't like to go through snow past his knees and we get some pretty deep snow, so sometimes he will go by himself but often he needs to be "rescued" and we need to find a path around the big drifts because there would be no forcing him into going somewhere he doesn't want to go. He also has some trailering issues and the trick is not to try to bribe or coerce him to get into a trailer, but to load his best friends first so he thinks he will be left behind and then he will run into the trailer himself. Trick is getting them to want to do what you want to do, which may mean a lot of adjustment on your end.

Perhaps the best description I've heard in regards to mules and donks is not that they are stubborn but they have more sureness, more clarity than a horse. They know what they want when they want and if you can make an accord with a mule or donkey they will work harder and longer than a horse and often be more reliable. But a person who lacks patience or appreciation could have a lot of trouble, I worked at a pack station for a while where some of the guys were rough on the mules and if you walked past the mules at the tie rail they would kick at individual people they didn't like. I never had any trouble, if a mule looked annoyed I could just put a reassuring hand on it and it would realize that I was not going to give it a hard time. Along these same lines there is a myth that mules and donks might need more severe equipment and this is not true at all, I can ride my mules in a halter and they are fine.


5. Would a mule be a better choice? Why or why not?

If you are looking into a saddle donkey, then yes, a good mule would be a great place to start. I would highly suggest taking a visit to Bishop Mule Days over memorial day weekend (or another large mule show) so you can see lots of mules and donks and all the things that they can do. Some individuals will be more versatile than others, you should try out different mules and donkeys and talk to mule and donkey people. There are some great gaited mules, I'd love to have one, but there are also mules that are non-gaited that are naturally smoother than most horses. And there are some with poor conformation that are not comfy to ride, go test some, learn all that you can from longear people:)