Silly mule...

Louie continues to slowly improve. Still not 100% but really the only time I notice anything is when he back up. He still swings his leg out sometimes when he backs
up but even that is not all the time anymore.

We are still working on bowing. He actually does very well at this now. He will now do it on a cue and I don't have to hold his leg anymore. Though he often puts his leg in a hundred wrong and odd positions before finally doing a proper bow.

Today the farrier was here. Louie didn't need anything done so I put in him the back stall/paddock to keep him out of the way. He stayed in the stall and watched while my horse was being shod. The, when it was River mules turn, I brought River up into the front stall where the farrier was. Well, Louie had a fit!!! River never come up into the front stall and Louie knows this and was very upset he was there. He was in the back stall (right behind us) pitching a total fit. There is a pipe gate separating the front and back stall and he was ramming it, pawing, snorting, rearing up, bucking.... I've never seen Louie get worked up like that before. He was so obnoxious I finally drove him out of the barn and closed the door. He fussed outside just a minute more then settled down as he could not see anyone anymore.

I have to say though that Louie has been such a good boy. He is getting left alone quite a lot now and he doesn't make a fuss about that. He will stand at the gate a call a little until we are gone, then just hangs out quietly (according to my husband). When I get home, he will walk to the gate and say hi and just wait quietly. Though he does get worked up when I put my horse back in with him and she rolls. Something about her rolling sets him off and he will run circles around her. Last week he atually ran right over the top of her as she was getting up. Gave me a scare and my horse didn't appreciate it much either.

Standing on his head

Louie is so funny to work with. A couple of friends were over the other day so I thought I would show them how Louie is doing with is "bow" training. Louie is definitely getting it. I don't ususaly have to hold his leg anymore, Though I often do have to direct it. Sometimes he wants to put it forward rather then back. But once it is back, he then will bow his head under him and plunk it right down on the ground with an audible thump! And then just stay there for a minute resting on his head! It's the funniest thing. I am wondering if he is doing that to stabilize himself because his hind quarters aren't that strong yet? Hummmmmmm. Or maybe he just doesn't care about his head on the ground and thinks that is what I want him to do. Now my horse, on the other hand, is still not all that intrested in this whole bowing thing. And she will NOT be putting her head on the ground, thank you.

Continuing to improve

Louie continues to slowly improve. I have been doing physical therapy with him every day. He is very tolerant of the "tail pulls" of 10 seconds on each side for 3 reps. He is ok with 30 seconds of stretching and holding his back legs forward. But, will only go about 10 to 15 seconds with his leg stretched out behind him. He is ok with holding his right ("bad") leg out longer, but not the left leg. I think he is more tolerant of the forward stretching as it is a more supportive hold.

Today his left rear was having a little bit of intermittent locking. It would be very brief and you could hear a little "click" I haven't seen that in a while but it was very minimal. And he continues to be much smarter then my horse in out bow training sessions.

Training the bow day 2

Well, I spent some time last night watching more videos on trick training and thinking over the results of my first training session and decided to try a new approach with my horse. After all, I am a believer that a poor training result is the fault of a poor trainer or training technique. Things went MUCH BETTER!!! No saddles, and no ropes. I just worked with Marie at liberty. She was much more relaxed and I finally got her engaged and willing to try and she did real well.



Louie did great again. I worked with him at liberty also. Louie remembered yesterday's lesson and immediately started picking up his leg when cued. He just wasn't sure what to do with it. But, I was easily able to get him to bow down and once he went down on both knees and scared himself a bit.

Trick Training

Well, I got this bright idea that since Louie can't do much else right now, trick training might be something fun for both of us. So, I figure the first trick we would tackle is teaching him how to bow. I watched dozens of youtube videos on how to train this trick. And, I figured the approached I liked best was somewhere between the war bridle and stick with a nail in it approach, and the clicker trainer who was getting mauled by her rude horse approach.

I decided to start first with my horse. After all, she is a pretty calm steady girl that has been with me for 18 years now and more likely to forgive me for any stupid mistakes I make. Well, I have to admit total failure at making much headway with her. She's a serious type of girl and was not at all interested in playing any games. Though she was interested in getting some treats. I did learn long ago that using treats to train her has always been pointless. As long as there are treats available, you can not get her to engage in any other activity other then mugging for the treats. And any disiplinary action ends in her stalking off and sulking. Her brain just totally disengages when food is around.

After my abysmal failure at getting any results with my horse, I decided to quit as she was getting very frustrated and so was I. We ended with a real simple request that she could handle and get rewarded for and we called it quits. I do know I can teach my horse this, I just needed to back off and rethink for now.

So, at this point I am figuring it would be stupid to try working with Louie. But, I'm not known for being brilliant all the time and Louie was hanging with me, playing with my crop, carrying my rope off and just looking for something to do. So, I decided to go ahead and work with him. WHAT A DIFFERENCE from my horse. He was engaged with me right from the start. He quickly figured out the cue to lift his leg and easily and willingly lowered his head to the right position. He only did a very minimal "bow" but did great for the first time. He is going to be easy to work with. And it is easy to get him to understand that he only gets a treat if he earns it and to behave about it. I could work with Louie without even putting a halter on him. And while he did not mind a rope around his foot at all, I really didn't need it and quickly took it off and worked without it.

But, now I feel challenged to figure out how to work with my horse on this trick.....without resorting to throwing her and hog tying her.....(just kidding!!)

Beautiful weekend

Wow was the weather ever perfect this weekend!!! And no bugs yet (but soon I'm sure). Friday I had planned to ride with my friend Susie but ended up doing yard work in the morning then going out with my husband on his motorcycle in the afternoon. Saturday, I did yard work again in the morning then headed out to Palymra at 2:00 pm. to ride with Amy, Kyle, Traci and Allie Marie. What a great ride we had. Lots of hill work which is just what I needed for Marie. Marie was fabulous and led the way for a lot of the ride which is unusual for her. Kyle and I stayed for supper at Amy's. It was nice to stay and visit. I didn't get home until nearly 10 pm. Only bad thing is the electric brakes on my trailer aren't working for some reason. I didn't have any trouble getting home though. Today, I went to church in the morning. I love the Easter service! Then more yard work in the afternoon. Fred and I had to clean up some big hemlock trees that came down in our yard in the last storm.

Louie is definitely looking better. He is standing and bearing weight on his "bad" leg more and more. He is doing better with the physical therapy also. He will tolerate 10 seconds now with the tail pulls for 3 repitions. And today when I asked him to back up, he didn't swing his leg way out. And he is so good when we leave with Marie and River. He calls but doesn't make a fuss otherwise. He is just such a good boy!

The neighbors that are interested in him called me on Saturday. I didn't have my phone with me and did see the message until late. They called again Sunday but I was at chuch and missed the call again. I called them in the afternoon and left a message. We finally caught up with each other later in the day. Penny and her husband have talked with my (and their) vet. And they want to take Louie. Dr. Brown told them that it was very hopful that Louie would be fine. That he should be ok to ride in a few months and that he was looking much better already. I was a little surprised at this as Dr. Brown did Louie's x-rays but she never did a lameness exam on him and only saw him the one time. And Louie never had a second lameness exam for any of the vets at the clinic. So, I'm not sure why they would tell anyone that he was looking much better. Unless they were going by something I had said but I can't remember if I had told them he was doing better or not.

Anyway, I have decided not to let Louie go at this point for just the reason that came up with what the vet told Penny. (Yes, I know I am repeating myself a bit here from another blog entry). I am still not convinced that there is anything wrong with Louie's hips. I know there could be but I also know mule hips are different then a horse hip in some way, and maybe what the vet's are seeing on the x-rays are the normal difference from a horse in Louie's hip. If it does turn out that Louie has a soft tissue injury, and I give him away and he is ridden 2 months from now, he may reinjure himself because he didn't have enough time to heal. Soft tissue injuries take a long time and I want to give him that time just to make sure. Then, I will start riding him again lightly and see how he does. If he goes fine with no further problems, then, I will be ready to sell him. Not give him away. If Louie does come sound and ridable, he is just too good a mule to give away with his outstanding disposition and good mind under saddle. But, I can't sell him right now not knowing if he is going to be ridable. And only if I keep him can I be sure that everything that can be done for him is done. I've contacted a few vets from Texas A&M University that have done a lot of work with donkeys and mules and are themselves mule owner to see if they can say what the difference is in a mule and horse hip.

I have to say that I would be very happy if Penny and her husband were interested in buying Louie if he comes sound and ridable. Their three donkeys look great and very well cared for so I feel sure they would give Louie a good and loving home.