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What is the difference between a donkey and burro, other than size? Is there a genetic/parent difference, or is a burro a small donkey?

They are the same animal, but according to this site which may have more information than you are looking for,

"The word “burro” is a simple translation of the English word donkey. Burro is to donkey as hermano is to brother. Both words reflect the same meaning. In the United States, we use the term burro to differentiate between the domesticated donkey and the wild free ranging burros. Therefore a burro is wild and a donkey is domesticated. There are no physical differences between the two."

http://www.donkeyrescue.org/donkey_faqs

Donkeys come in all sizes from miniatures to some pretty good-sized mammoths that stand close to 16 hands. When I think of burros I think of the Brighty of the Grand Canyon type which I believe would be considered a "small standard" donkey.

If you ever have the opportunity to attend a mule and donkey show, do it. They come in every size and color, and the saddle mules and donkeys compete in all types of classes with the same animals often shown hunter hack, western pleasure, trail, and driving. Lots of driving classes, and sometimes you'll see zebra crosses which can have really interesting markings.

ejm wrote:Donkeys come in all sizes from miniatures to some pretty good-sized mammoths that stand close to 16 hands.

I think they may have them up to about 17 hands now, although why anyone would want a 17 hand donkey I don't know? The tallest ones are often spindly with long backs and legs, and small bodies, so probably can't carry as much as some of the shorter, solid ones.

kande50 wrote:I think they may have them up to about 17 hands now, although why anyone would want a 17 hand donkey I don't know? The tallest ones are often spindly with long backs and legs, and small bodies, so probably can't carry as much as some of the shorter, solid ones.

Just guessing, but crossing them with good-bodied warmblood or draft mares to produce sport-bred mules and big draft mules, hoping to overcome the lightness of body and get something big and pretty?

ejm wrote:
Just guessing, but crossing them with good-bodied warmblood or draft mares to produce sport-bred mules and big draft mules, hoping to overcome the lightness of body and get something big and pretty?

I think that mules usually end up bigger than either the mare or jack, so a big mare has the potential to produce a good sized mule with even a small jack. Course she also has the potential to produce a mule that's smaller than either her, or the jack, so I suppose if one is breeding for size they'd want to try to up their chances by breeding a big mare to a big jack.

Back when I bought my jack (14 hands) there were a lot of 15 hand jacks, but very few bigger ones and the ones I saw were pretty ugly.

My 13.2 Halflinger mare produced a 14 hand mule and a 14.2 hand mule with the 14 hand jack. The jack is drafty too though, so both mules are drafty.

To get a refined mule one usually has to breed a Catalonian type jack (finer boned, smaller bodied) to a finer boned mare, although one of my mules is much more refined than the other so it can be quite the crap shoot.