A new mule has arrived at my barn. His name was Big Spot. Yuck! I just can't do "Spot". The people I got him from called him Mr. Big. While that's certainly better than Spot I just can't do that either. For some reason Buckshot got in my head and wouldn't leave. I'm not even sure I like that so much but it stuck with me and sounds a bit like big spot so that is what he will be called now. Shots for short.
Shots came up for sale here in Maine. I do not need another mule at this point in time BUT, the last time I didn't look at a mule that came up for sale here in Maine it was Luke............. and we know how that worked out........ sigh........So, I decided I was going to go look so I wouldn't kick my self later. There were actually 2 Appy mule for sale down in Cape Neddick. I talked Fred into taking a ride down with me to look at them. It was our weekend with our granddaughter Madison so we made a day of it. The owners of the mules are very nice and it was wonderful to meet them after only knowing them via an internet list. Both mules are lovely looking mules. The leopard spot molly is eye popping pretty but she is only barely 15 H and has a very light build. Just too small me. Shots is a big built 15.3H mule and a nice size for me. I could see right off his feet had some problems as his heels are underslung and contracted. He has windpuffs too but that's not normally a serious problem. We saddled him up, for which he was a very good boy and I hopped on him. Again, he was a perfect gentleman but it was quickly apparent that he was lame so I only rode him a few minutes and got off.
I went home and tried to forget about him........I could not.........I just had to go look at him again. The next week my friend Susie and I went back down to look at him again. This time I decided I'd try out both mules just to be sure and so I could give an honest opinion about both mules to help the owners sell them. It was kind of a rotten day when we went down but when we got there, the sun was actually starting to peek out so we saddled up both mules. I hopped on the leopard spot molly and one of the owners got on Shots. The molly was a good girl. She tried to test me by not wanting to go through puddles but after a few discussions at the first few puddles, she quit her fussing and walked through them. She didn't do anything wrong at all though I did feel her training was pretty basic. On the way back, the owner and I switched mules. As soon as I was on Shots, I could tell he was still lame and he was very ouchie over the rocks. I could also tell that his training was very, very good. And about this time the sun was gone, it started to pour and we got soaked on the way home. All 4 of Shots legs were stocked up and warm to the touch that day also.
Susie and I talked it over on the way home. She liked Shots but could see he had some potential problems. I just couldn't get him out of my mind. In the end I decided I had to get him and see what I could do with him. I tracked down his trainer and had a few conversations with him that confirmed my feeling that Shots was a very well trained mule. I also now had more concerns because those conversations with the trainer revealed that Shot's was trained as a 2 yr. old and sold to a heavy weight rider and put to work. In my opinion, riding 2 year olds is just setting them up for problems later in life. Just the kind of problems I was seeing with Shots. Why can't people let their equines grow up first before riding them.......
Anyway, a week later, I found myself heading back to Cape Neddick for the 3rd time but this time with my trailer in tow to pick up Shots. My friend Brooke went with me and I became the owner of one very sweet handsome 11 yr. old blanket Appy john mule. My head kept telling me I needed to walk away from this one but my heart wouldn't let me. Something about this mule just gets under your skin. I was happy to see that his legs weren't stocked up when I picked him up. He loaded right up in my trailer with no fuss and never made a peep even when we stopped for a quick bite to eat at the Kennebunk rest area. He did nicker to us when we came back to the trailer......
Shots settled into my place very easily making himself right at home. Luke's nose was quite out of joint. Luke is used to being the center of attention and was not happy about sharing the spotlight. My mare Marie was picked up the same day to go stay with a friend for a while. Luke was heartbroken by Marie leaving and even Shots missed her though he'd only known her a few hours. They both bellowed all night for her. Silly boys. I picked Shots up on a Friday. The vet came to check him out on Monday. I took him over to Upper Pond Stable for the vet as she was coming there for several other people. Again he loaded right into my trailer with no fuss at all. Though when I unloaded him and was standing in back of my trailer talking with Mary-Jo, something did startle him and he spun around deciding to vacate the area. When he spun, Mary-Jo was right there and in his effort to avoid her he managed to mow me down instead. No harm done to either of us though my glasses ended up getting broken and Mary-Jo's got bent. While waiting for the vet, we turned Shots loose in the indoor arena and he had a ball in there trotting around and bucking. The vet quickly found that Shots was lame on the right front with a flexion test. She x-rayed that hoof and pastern which revealed that Shots has ringbone in his right front pastern. This was very disappointing to find out. I had really hoped that his lameness had been due to his feet having some problems. I now knew I was dealing with more of a problem. But, it is what it is and I was glad we were able to find out what was wrong so I'd know how to deal with it. Shots left eye is also cloudy from a previous flare up of Uveitis. And he has mild bog spavins in his hock. The farrier also came later that afternoon. Shots was an absolutely angel for him. We got the long toes off him and gave him as good a breakover on his feet as we could so there would be less stress on Shot's pasterns. That should help his pastern with the ringbone. The farrier also found a spot on his left front hoof where an abscess had blown out and he had bruising on all 4 feet. He also has white line separation on all 4 feet in the heel area. So, there would be no putting shoes on him as the hoof wall is too weak where the nails would go. No wonder he was ouchie when we tried to ride him. Poor boy and bless his sweet mulie heart he'd made no fuss and tried to do everything we asked of him. Ringbone is such an unknown. While there is no cure for it, with the proper foot care, Shots may stabilize and do well for many things. And he may do well for a long time, or he may not. There is just no way to know. He certainly would not be appropriate for endurance riding. But, his heavy build didn't make him ideal for that anyway.
Wednesday I took Shots over to Upper Pond Stable for Brooke to ride. I'd hurt my back so I wasn't up for riding but now that his feet were trimmed, I wanted to see how he went in the nice soft footing of the arena. He again loaded up into my trailer like a pro. Brooke saddled him up but decided to lunge him first. He knew how to do that. He walked and trotted nicely. He had a hard time cantering. He's out of shape and a little sore so we didn't push it. Brooke hopped on and rode him for a little while. Shot's was a very, very good boy. Brooke said he definitely has good training. He tried to test her a couple times but his testing is very mild and he gives in right away. And I was also pleased to see he was not bothered by anything about or in the arena. He found the viewing room window to be fascinating. When my dog ran up into the hay loft, he just stopped and looked for a second. When we were in the barn aisle, Deb passed him in her wheelchair and he never gave that so much as a glance. And when a cart was rolled out of the storage closet into the arena, he didn't care at all. It didn't take long though for him to start favoring his right front leg that has the ringbone and we stopped riding then. All in all I was very pleased with how he had done.
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