The aim of this text is to reflect on the importance of mule raising in the region of São Borja Village, located on the west border of the province of Rio Grande de São Pedro in the southernmost end of the Imperial Brazil. The serial analyses of the post-mortem inventories of Vila de São Borja between 1828 and 1858 revealed that this activity was widely spread by the productive network of the region. Even though it did not attain the same economic importance as cattle raising, it represented one of the most practicable strategies in order to diversify the production.