Mules in Finland: Kaisa and Muuli
Kaisa and Muuli Photo by Emmi Jormanainen
by Cori Daniels
When Kaisa Määttänen attended the Horse Fair in Finland, she spent most of her time answering countless questions about her mule. “I was constantly speaking about mules,” said Kaisa, who lives in Järvenpää, Finland, “and it was great! The Horse Fair attendees had a good reason to be curious about mules. Though there are about 70,000 horses and about 400 donkeys in Finland, there are only 26 mules in the country. Finland is a Northern European nation bordering Sweden, Norway and Russia, with a population of about 5.52 million. In comparison, horse-back riding is more popular in Sweden and has a population of about 300,000 horses. Mules made their debut at the fair this year when Kaisa and her friend Anu 28 • June 2019
Koivisto brought three for a weekend of demonstrations in conjunction with the Finnish Donkey Society. “The mules were in their boxes during the weekend, and so many people came to see them and ask questions about them.” said Kaisa. The small group put on demonstrations both days, speaking about their mules and their feeding, care, riding, and driving. They also spent some time setting right some common misconceptions about mules. “Here we call all equines ‘mares,’ ‘stallions,’ or ‘geldings. We don’t have different terms for ‘jennet,’ ‘jack,’ ‘molly,’ or ‘john.’ Many thought there was no need to geld mule stallions,” said Kaisa. “Of course, we corrected this.”
The three mules highlighted at the Horse Fair were Kaisa’s mule, “Mulli,” and Anu’s mules: a smaller black mule with socks who’s pedigree is unknown, and a big grey gelding who is out of a Percheron mare, both of which were bred in France. It was a two-hour drive from Anu’s barn to Tampere where the Horse Fair was held. “Anu just bought a new trailer for four equines, though usually in Finland we use small trailers with space for two equines. Trucks and big trailers are not popular here,” said Kaisa. The small black mule wore a traditional wooden collar and demonstrated pulling. The Percheron cross was ridden by a Arvi Martikainen in a mule saddle imported from Brazil. While the mules certainly became Mules and More Magazine
