New Orleans Carriages and Mules

       

December, 2016.

                               

Who wouldn't enjoy a carriage ride around new Orleans?
Being nosey curious by nature, I had to investigate.      

The clip clop sound of hooves is audible everywhere, 20 carriages are constantly rolling through the French Quarter and area. All are pulled by mules.  Which makes perfect sense because mules are strong, intelligent, hard working creatures.  Our friends have one, his name is Josh and he's the sweetest guy ever.

We had conversations with two of the drivers.  One told us there's a Mule Farm less than 20 minutes from the city where all the carriage animals reside.  Four carriage companies operate the tourist-popular business.  

                                    

           Resting.  

        

There are strict rules governing the carriage business.  All animals must weigh in at 1,000 lbs or more.  Doug and I were really impressed at the physical condition of the mules (not like we're experts but we know a little bit).  They are shiny, nicely groomed and clearly well fed.  

                       

The carriages can only operate for 6 hours a day in the summertime, 7 hours in the cooler months.  A lot of that time is spent standing, waiting in line for the next tour.

Old stone watering troughs are available to keep them hydrated.

The mules were friendly when petted, but it's obvious they have somewhat checked out emotionally.  They're on auto-pilot.

I'm not a fan of carriage rides, personally.  (Yeh, you were waiting for that).  

#neworleansmulescarriages, #joshthemule,