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5.2
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Journals
Animals
Special Issues
Current Research on Donkeys and Mules: Second Edition
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Current Research on Donkeys and Mules: Second Edition

A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Equids".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2025 | Viewed by 519

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Alejandro Pérez-Écija

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, Veterinary Faculty, Universidad de Córdoba, Cordoba, Spain
Interests: donkeys; mules; clinical pathology; hematology; pathology; internal medicine
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Francisco Mendoza García

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, Veterinary Faculty, Universidad de Córdoba, Cordoba, Spain
Interests: donkeys; mules; clinical pathology; hematology; pathology; internal medicine
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to open a new edition of this exciting and fruitful Special Issue, dedicated to the latest and most promising research on donkeys and mules. Although there is a growing interest in these species due to their more recent uses (milk and meat production, assisted therapy, and pet/companion animals), their traditional importance (packing and agricultural work), and the efforts to maintain endangered breeds all over the world, they are still neglected and forgotten in many scientific fields, with little to no specific information available on some topics. This brings new opportunities to researchers interested in characterizing their idiosyncrasies or specific attitudes. This Special Issue is aimed at highlighting species-specific findings in physiology, genetics, welfare, behavior, internal medicine, epidemiology, pathology, and pharmacology, along with any research showcasing new applications for these species. Comparative studies with other equids will also be of interest. Both reviews and original articles are welcome. By collecting manuscripts on a wide variety of cutting-edge topics, we hope to support these species and help to preserve and maintain their populations. We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Alejandro Pérez-Écija
Dr. Francisco Mendoza García
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • donkey
  • mule
  • internal medicine
  • behavior
  • pathology
  • clinical pathology
  • welfare
  • physiology
  • pathogens
  • milk
  • pharmacology

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Related Special Issue

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

10 pages, 3078 KB  
Article
Pilot Study: Heart Rate and Heart Rate Variability Indices in Mules Evaluated by 24-Hour Electrocardiogram
by Lauren T. Maas, Jessica M. Morgan, Jordan Case, David D. Chell and Amy K. McLean
Animals 2025, 15(16), 2438; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani15162438 - 20 Aug 2025
Viewed by 330
Abstract
Mules and donkeys are the 5th largest equine population in the U.S., yet basic information such as heart rate and arrhythmia prevalence in mules has not been described. Analysis of heart rate variability (HRV) provides valuable insight into physiologic and autonomic differences between [...] Read more.
Mules and donkeys are the 5th largest equine population in the U.S., yet basic information such as heart rate and arrhythmia prevalence in mules has not been described. Analysis of heart rate variability (HRV) provides valuable insight into physiologic and autonomic differences between mules, horses, and donkeys. We aimed to pilot the evaluation of heart rate and variability in a healthy population of mules using a 24 h electrocardiogram. Twenty-four-hour ambulatory electrocardiogram (aECG) recordings were collected from an athletic population of seven privately owned healthy mules in Northern California. Vision 5 Holter Analysis Software was utilized for ECG review and analysis. An average heart rate of 32–42 bpm, with a mean of 36 ± 3 bpm for 23.8 ± 0.2 h, was recorded. Minimum heart rate was 16–24 bpm, and maximum was 70–156 bpm. Individual mules had supraventricular complexes, sinoatrial heart block, and second-degree atrioventricular block during the observation period. Electrocardiographic evaluation of mules over 24 h found heart rate (HR) to be similar to horses and lower than in donkeys. Arrhythmias were consistent with the range of cardiac rhythms observed in horses and more frequent than reported in donkeys. Further investigation with a larger sample size of mules is warranted to determine if reference values for horses should continue to be used to assess mules and to investigate the prevalence of arrhythmias and their clinical relevance in the mule. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current Research on Donkeys and Mules: Second Edition)
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