She’s a Lady Mule Skinner Yup, you read it right—this woman gave up a desk job to raise mules.

AFTER 27 years as a government budget analyst, Diana T. traded her desk job for life in the country as a mule skinner. “I retired at 52 from a paying job, so I could work harder,” she laughs.

Diana owns Mule Action Ranch in Weiser, Idaho, where she raises, trains and sells mules.

A mule skinner, Diana explains, is someone who drives mules. “When you drive horses, you’re called a teamster. But if you drive mules, you’re a mule skinner,” she says.

First Mule

Diana purchased her first mule, “Rhoadie”, about 25 years ago. “When I moved to Idaho on a job transfer, I met a rancher who had mules. I went on a pack trip and just fell in love with mules because of their intelligence,” she explains.

Rhoadie is nearly 30 now, and she and Diana have been on numerous pack trips.

“I love to pack in the wilderness areas the West provides. I always feel that’s as close to Heaven as I can get. And I’ve never gotten into a situation where Rhoadie couldn’t get me out safely,” she says.

While working for the federal government, Diana moved frequently to advance her career. And just about everywhere Diana went, her mules went, too.

“I didn’t take mules to Boston when I worked there in the 1970s, but when I moved to Cody, Wyoming, I had some mules. Later, I moved my mule operation from Cody to Payson, Utah, and then to Weiser. Each one of those moves was about 500 miles,” she recalls.

Mules are hybrid offspring of a mare horse and a jack, or male donkey, and since retiring, Diana has expanded her herd. “I used to have only three brood mares, but now I have 10. That includes three mustangs I adopted 1-1/2 years ago, and a Percheron draft horse mare that weighs a ton. Altogether, I have about 25 mules, the 10 mares, my jacks and two miniature horses.

Intelligent Animals

“I like raising my own mules, so I can start training them from birth to avoid having them pick up any bad habits. Mules are very intelligent and love to test you to see what they can get away with, so you have to be a disciplinarian. Yet, they crave attention.”

Diana has lived in Weiser for 7 years. Initially, she owned 77 acres on Monroe Creek. Later, she had the opportunity to buy an additional 200 acres of adjoining mountainside pasture.

“It gives us lots of space for the mules…and a lot of fencing to do,” she chuckles.

Currently, the market for a good mule is fairly strong, says Diana. Depending on the animal’s age and experience, a mule that’s trained for riding and pack use is worth $2,500 or more.

One-in-a-Million

“I sold one for $4,500, but that’s a one-in-a-million kind of mule,” she relates.

To make a full-time living raising mules, Diana says she would need a much larger operation than she has now.

“I wouldn’t recommend anyone go into raising mules to make money. You have to do it for the love and the satisfaction that you receive. Money is great, but it isn’t everything,” she says.

Along with raising mules, Diana also trains draft horses to work in harness and sells alfalfa hay. She presently has 26 acres of alfalfa, but plans to put another 21 acres into production.

“It’s a good life living in the country,” says Diana. “I can’t imagine living any other way.”