George Washington was passionate about mules.

Among the many things George Washington couldn’t tell a lie about was his love of mules, which come from breeding a female horse (mare) with a male donkey (jack). Considered the best of both worlds, the humble mule can do as much work as a horse while requiring less food and water; it’s also less stubborn and more intelligent than a donkey. Washington believed mules were the future of agriculture and set out to breed them on a large scale — something that hadn’t been done in the fledgling United States.

But there was a problem with Washington’s plan of revolutionizing America’s beasts of burden: The best donkeys came from Spain, which wouldn’t export the prized creatures without a royal exemption from King Charles III himself. As the hero of the American Revolution and soon-to-be president, however, Washington was fairly well connected.

According to an account from Thomas Jefferson, Charles III eventually learned of Washington’s interest in Spanish donkeys and was happy to find “two of the very best to be procured & sent you as a mark of his respect.” Only one of them survived the long journey despite Washington’s detailed transport instructions (such as “let the Jacks be put separate & with no other Creatures, lest they should get kicked, & hurt themselves or hurt others”), but Royal Gift, as the mule-loving military hero named him, eventually arrived at Mount Vernon safe and sound. Within 15 years, Washington had nearly 60 mules working the land, earning him the title of “Father of the American Mule.”