Mule

Mules are tameable mobs that can be ridden when tamed.

Spawning
Mules do not spawn naturally, but they can spawn through cross-breeding a horse with a donkey. Mules cannot breed with other mules.

Appearance
Mules are the offspring of horses and donkeys, and are closer to (but not quite) the size of a normal horse. Their ears, coats, and manes are like those of a donkey, though mules’ coats are darker and reddish-brown. Like donkeys, mules cannot be equipped with armor, but can be equipped with chests. Mules cannot have foals, much like the mule in real life.

Unlike almost all other mobs, mules with equipped saddles or chests will not render these when under the effect of Invisibility. This is a bug, but Mojang decided not to fix it.

Drops
Upon death, mules drop: If chested or saddled, they will drop anything equipped.
 * 1–3 experience when killed by a player or tamed wolf.

Using a weapon enchanted with Looting increases the maximum amount of drops by 1 per level of Looting, up to a maximum of 5 at Looting III.

Usage
Mules can be equipped with chests and used as pack animals.

They can be pulled along and tied up using a lead, and can be towed, swimming behind a boat by using a lead.

Equipment
Tamed mules have the following slot available:


 * Saddle Slot: For equipping a saddle. Available for every animal detailed on this page.

Mules can also be equipped with chests, however these do not have a dedicated inventory slot. Foals cannot be equipped with anything.

Equipment can be placed on a mule by holding it and then right clicking on the horse, or by accessing its inventory. A mule's inventory can be accessed by mounting the mule and opening the player inventory or by ing and then right-clicking on the mule. A mule will only have a saddle slot originally, but if it is given a chest, it will acquire 15 more inventory slots that can hold anything the player wishes.

Chests can only be given to a mule by it with the chest in hand, and afterwards the chest cannot be removed, except by killing the donkey or mule. Upon death, the mule will drop the attached chest and its contents.

Riding
Once a mule is tamed and saddled, the player can control it with standard directional controls,, and the mouse. The player dismounts using the control.

When riding a mule, the hunger bar is replaced by the mule's health in survival or adventure mode. $$, the mule health bar will still be visible on creative. It uses a slightly different heart texture than the player's health bar. The experience bar is replaced by the mule jump bar.

A player can use any item while riding a mule, including drinking or throwing potions; activating doors or redstone devices; using chests, crafting tables, and furnaces; breaking and placing blocks; and attacking with melee weapons or bows.

A ridden mule will automatically run up any one block high slope. The mule and rider can safely fit through a space as low as 2.75 blocks high. Lower clearance risks suffocating the rider if the rider's head enters a non-transparent block. The mule itself can enter gaps as low as 1.625 blocks high, but may itself take suffocation damage when clearance is less than 1.75 blocks. Mules cannot fit through a 1-block-wide gap.

The maximum speed of mules, when created by breeding a horse and a donkey, varies between 4.8375 blocks/second and 14.5125 blocks/second (compared to the player's walking speed, which is about 4.3 blocks/second). About 68% of mules are able to go faster than a minecart. Any mule spawned with its spawn egg will always have a speed of 7.525 blocks/second, which is slower than a minecart at full speed. A fast mule can be combined with speed potions and the Nether to make the horse easily the fastest practical way to travel in Minecraft (around 130 m/s Overworld-equivalent in the Nether). The speed of a mule has no relation to its outward appearance. Mules are very slow moving backwards, and about as fast as the player when moving sideways.

A ridden mule can be made to, and holding the control charges for a higher leap. Mules are not affected by jump boost beacons or potions. The standard control dismounts from the horse, as does going in water deeper than two blocks. Like the player, mules take fall damage when falling from heights.

It is impossible for a player to use a Nether portal while on a mule. It is possible however, to enter the portal on the mule and then dismount, sending the mule through the portal on its own, or use a lead to position the horse, then push it through the portal.

Behavior
All mules will roam idly, occasionally stopping to rear, swish their tails, or lower their heads as though eating the grass. Unlike sheep, the eating animation does not actually cause any grass to be consumed. If a player comes near, the mules may turn to look at them. Any mule, even a wild one, will allow itself to be attached to a lead without protest. However, if the player attempts to saddle an untamed mule, it will rear and flail its front hooves. Mules will remain passive, even when hit.

Mules will also make braying noises.

Mules, like most mobs, can ride in a minecart and boat. Unlike other passive mobs, mules will slowly regenerate health.

Taming
Adult mules can be tamed: with an empty hand, mount the mule repeatedly; when it no longer bucks the player and shows hearts, it is tamed. It is necessary to tame a mule in order to give it equipment or ride it for any length of time.

Taming depends on the mule's "temper". Mules begin with a temper of 0 out of 100. When a player is riding the mule, a random number between 0 and 99 is chosen. The mule becomes tame if this number is less than the temper, otherwise the temper is increased by 5 and the player is bucked off. Temper can also be increased by feeding the mule.

While riding an untamed mule, a galloping sound will be audible, more or less rapid. This gives a good general idea of the mule's speed. It is unknown whether there is any indication of jump height before taming.

Breeding
Mules cannot breed at all.

Food
Feeding a mule food can alter its behavior, cause it to grow (if it is not yet an adult; foals normally take 20 minutes to fully mature if not fed), and/or restore its health. The table below lists the effects of the various foods mules will take.

To feed a mule, hold a valid food item and press on the mule. If the food is invalid, the player will simply mount the mule. Mules can only be fed when feeding would have an effect, similar to other animals.

Statistics
Mules have three "equine stats" which vary from horse to horse: health, (maximum) movement speed, and jump strength. These stats are created once the horse is born or spawned, and are not affected by food.

Spawned values
When spawned in any way except breeding – for instance, using commands, spawning naturally, spawning as part of a skeleton trap, or using spawn eggs – mules are assigned their stats within certain ranges, specific according to their horse type.

Health
Mules' health ranges from 15–30, but tends towards the average of 22–23. Displayed hearts are health, divided by two, rounded down. A mule with an non-even number of health points (15, 17, 19, etc.) will not show the last half-heart. If the mule has lost one fewer health point than the inflicted damage and did not regenerate, it has an odd number of health points, otherwise it has an even number of health points.

Movement speed
Mules' speed is always 0.175; the player's normal walking speed is 0.1. The speed listed does not include any status effect that affects the speed of a horse or a player.

See transportation to compare the speeds of various transportation methods.

Jump strength
Mules' jump strength is always 0.5, which is enough to clear $1 9/16$ blocks.

Bred values
When breeding two horses, the foal's stats are determined by averaging both parent's stats with a third set, randomly determined as above (i.e. add both parents' stats with the random value and divide by 3). Random values are used for the third set even when the value is not normally randomized for the type of horse being bred.

Data values
Mules have entity data associated with them that contain various properties of the mob.

Trivia

 * If a player picks up leather dropped by an adult mule, they will receive the “Cow Tipper" achievement. This is due to the achievement being given when a player picks up any piece of leather instead of being given when one kills a cow.
 * If a player pulling a mule with a lead enters a boat, the mule will swim after them at the same speed as the boat.
 * A player riding a mule will be dragged along if their mule is being pulled by a lead, and can even be lifted up in the air in the same way.
 * On multiplayer, it is possible to easily figure out which of two mules (owned and ridden by different players) is faster. Each rider needs to apply a lead to the other mule, then play 'tug of war'. The stronger mule will be faster.
 * In the Bedrock Edition mules can be transported in a boat by riding the mule and jumping into the boat then dismounting (leaving the mule behind in the boat) and activating the boat from underneath / underwater. Attempting to activate the boat in order to pilot it from above will result in the player being mounted on the mule again rather than being placed inside the boat to pilot it.
 * In real life, a horse/donkey hybrid is only referred to as a mule if its parent were a jack (male donkey) and a mare (female horse). If its parents are a stallion (male horse) and a jenny (female donkey), it is referred to as a hinny.