Learning to be a mule

I went for a nice ride with my friend Susie who was riding her horse Spark and Barbara riding my horse Marie. Susie and Barbara were both busy in the morning so we decided to ride at 1:30 pm. The weather forecast was for a hot day but we decided to give it a go anyway. Well, it was quite warm but not at all humid so quite nice for riding. And surprisingly, the bugs were't bad at all on the trail. We headed out from my house. We headed out on the trail that goes up to the Litchfield fairgrounds. The last time Barbara and I rode the trail, we had trouble with a bridge crossing. My farrier owns property near the bridge and said he know of a way to get around the bridge. He had emailed me to tell me he had marked the bypass trail for us. So, we were anxious to try it out.

We had to go over the highway overpass on Rt. 197 which is a busy road. We usually go over the one on the Acadamy Rd. as it's a quite road but it is closed right now and under construction. Louie has never minded the overpass itself but has had grave concerns about the metal expansion strips on each side. Susie was in the lead as we approached the overpass. But, Spark balked when he saw the expansion strip. I cued Louie to pass Spark and go first. I was so proud that he did it with little fuss at all. He certainly eyeballed the expansion strip and did not let a hoof touch it but he went and led the way over the overpass. GOOD MULE! Once back in the woods, we easily found the trail my farrier had marked for us. Good thing he marked it as we'd never had found the way just by description. We came to a spot were the trail was in a low marshy area and there was a little stream crossing. The stream was no more then.........2' wide but it was muddy on the approach, the steam was in a bit of a ditch with lots of brush around it so it was hard to see the ground. And of course no idea what the footing was like on the other side. Susie was again in the lead and Spark absolutely refused to cross. He fussed around churning up mud until Barbara offered to try to get Marie to cross. Marie to absolutely refused to cross. And she's usually pretty willing to do what ever you ask. So, I figured I might as well see if Louie would go. I was sure he wouldn't as he's not fond of water crossings in general and he's just watched both horses refuse to go. After a bit of difficult maneuvering in the mud to get in front, I pointed Louie at the stream and cued him to go forward. He put his head down, assessed the situation and much to my surprise, he crossed the stream beautifully with no leaping or thrashing. He did it in the way that make riding mules so great. Mule 4 wheel drive as we call it and it is something he is just learning to do. Louie is learning to be a real trail MULE! The horses then decided they would cross following Louie. Unfortunately, the crossing was much worse them Louie made it look. Both horses sunk in the mud. Susie was last and Spark really sunk and struggled to get through nearly losing Susie. After, when we know all was well we laughed saying if any shoes had been sucked off our equines feet, our farrier couldn't complain as HE was the one that marked the trail!

We had an uneventful and lovely ride the rest of the way. We took some trails off the Plains Rd. that Susie and I have only done once and that was years ago. LOVELY trail but it is a snowmobile trail and in the winter continues across a cow pasture that is fenced and closed the rest of the year. So, to get off the trail you have to come out across someones lawn and down their driveway.When we got to this place, I went to the house to see if we could get permission to do this. The most lovely older woman lives at the home and she said she didn't mind us riding out of the trail across her place at all and she chatted with us for a while. Some people are just so nice. As usual, a fun ride and what a great trail mule Louie is turning out to be. He gets more confidence with every ride.

Pine Tree 30 mile LD Endurance Ride Waterford Maine June 2011

Louie’s first endurance ride had arrived, the Pine Tree. I had only entered the 30 mile LD ride but still a big step for Louie. My friend Ival McDermott was coming to this ride from NJ. I was so excited about seeing her and looking forward to riding with her if Louie and her horse Clover were paced well together. I had to work Thursday night. I planned to come home Friday morning, take a nap then head out to the ride. Ival and her group came up Thursday. I called her Friday morning to make sure they had made it ok. It had rained all day Thursday, through the night and was still raining Friday. Ival and her group were at the ride and she said they were doing a great imitation of drowned rats. She said they had gone through all the dry shoes and most clothes they had and were heading to Wal-Mart to purchase some dry items to wear. I headed out around 10:00 am. Louie was a little reluctant to load on the trailer but not a big deal. Though he started fussing right away once in with pawing and moving around. I got caught in some construction work on Rt. 26 on they way and had to sit and Louie was pitching a fit the whole time and rocking the whole truck and trailer. Bone head! When we got to the fairground, I wasn’t sure where Ival was parked. I had to get out and look for them. The whole time Lou-ASS is again pitching a fit in the trailer. I finally found where Ival’s group was parked, and parked fairly close to them. Just as I got parked, The NJ group arrived back from their exertion to Wal-Mart. I unloaded Louie and tied him to the trailer with a bag of hay. He was much happier once out of the trailer. After joyful greeting with Ival and Wendy, I was introduced to the rest of the NJ group.

Ival, Dom and Christine.


I set Louie’s pen up right beside Clover’s pen. I’ve never put Louie in a portable electric pen before and hoped all would go well. As I suspected, the batteries in my fence charger were dead. But, there was a store nearby so I could buy some if needed. I put Louie in the pen with water and some hay. He walked around the pen, checked out Clover then went to munching grass. He was very calm and relaxed much to my relief. I was still raining and though I was wearing water proof shoes and rain coat, my pants were getting quite wet and my socks were starting to wick the water from my pants. I put a rain blanket on Louie. He’s seldom ever had a blanket on but didn’t seem to mind wearing it at all. I then set up camp. Margaret Farnum had generously offered to crew for me and was bunking in my trailer. Ival brought me a chicken sandwich, granola bar and soda. (I have such good friends…) Ival wanted to see Louie fetch so I got out his rope bone and he was very happy to fetch for us. He did not want to bow with the blanket on though. He tried but seemed to feel too restricted in it for bowing. We all went up to get vetted in at 3:00 pm. Art King vetted Louie in. Louie was quiet and well behaved and did a nice trot out. His pulse was 32 so he was obviously very relaxed! He had all A’s on his vet card. A woman I’ve seen at other rides approached me and asked me if I would possibly sponsor her 11 yr. old daughter, Kayla, in the 30 mile ride as she was riding in the 50 mile ride. I had seen Kayla ride at the Crooked River CTR and knew she was a good little rider with a nice horse. So, I was happy to do this as long as our equines got along well. I just wanted to check with the rest of the NJ group I was riding with. They were all more then happy to have Kayla along with us.

Louie in his pen Friday




Louie, Clover, Jimmy and Razor in their pens Friday evening


We all went out for supper at Melby’s and as usual, had a wonderful meal there. When we got back, I fed Louie, picked out his pen and then visited with friends. The riders meeting was at 7:30 and was in a building out of the rain. After the riders meeting, Ival asked me if I’d fed Louie as he was mewling at her most pitifully trying to convince her that I was neglecting him. I told Ival he was making up stories. We didn’t stay up long as we were all eager to settle into our trailers and get into dry clothes for the night and stay there. Margaret had brought a bottle of wine which she shared with me and we chatted for quite a while. During the night I woke up numerous time to the sound of pouring rain on the trailer roof as well as thunder and lightening. I felt so bad for the animals having to stand outside in it.

Cindy with Louie just before the start of the ride


Cindy, Dom, Kayla and Ival ride start



I was up at by 5:00 am. I was relieved to see the rain had stopped, at lest for the moment. Louie looked no worse for the bad weather over night and was calm and happy to see me. I fed him, picked his pen, then went and had breakfast. When I came back to the trailer, Ival was up and about and asked if I’d fed Louie as he was once again telling her sad tales of how badly I was neglecting him. It still was not raining but we dressed for rain as it looked like it might very well do so. The 100 mile riders went out at 5:00 am, 50 mile rider at 6:00 am and we were going out at 7:00 am. I got Louie to saddle him up around 6:30 am. He wasn’t bad at all about being separated from his new NJ friends. We mounted up about 6:45 am and checked in with the timer. As it is a mass start and we had several newbie equines and a junior with us, we were going to hang back and let those that were going to race go out first. But, it was quickly apparent that everyone else was doing the same thing so we went out right away with only one other rider ahead of us. Louie was a ball of fire right at the start. He was strong but he never locked up and he was listening to me. For the first 3 or 4 miles, it was like riding Ruby! Yeeehaaaa! Kayla was doing great but it was apparent she could easily go faster. Dom was also pulling ahead of us. Within 5 miles, Dom left us and Kayla went with her. Ival, Liz and I rode the entire ride together with Louie and I leading the way. Louie did great. Once he settled down, we were no longer setting any speed records but he was steady and willing. He had a couple spooks at downed branches (his new phobia) but they weren’t big spooks and caused no problem. The rain held off and it was turning out to be a good riding day being cool with no bugs. The ride was much more challenging then I expected. But the trails were in much better condition then expected also. I though it would be bad with mud with all the rain we’d had but the trails weren’t bad at all.

Cindy, Ival and Liz on trail


Cindy on Louie on trail


Cindy on Louie out on Trail


We went over French Hill in the first loop of the ride. That is a tough hill but thankfully it was done the opposite direction then last year. It is a 600 feet elevation gain in less then 2 miles. They way we went up was good in that the up hill had some short flatter sections to break up the climb. The downhill side is steep all the way with no break. We got off and led the equines down to give them a break. I think Tom, the ride manager found every hill in Waterford and put the trail over it. It’s the kind of trail I enjoy riding. Not sure Louie was as impressed. Though I have to say that he seemed perfectly happy out on the trail. We got into the hold in 3 hrs. We rode in slow so we able to go straight to the vet gate for pulse. All three equines were good on pulse and vetted fine. Louie pulsed 44/52 with all A’s. Margaret had everything ready for me. What a luxury to have such an experienced crew person! Louie ate well and was still very calm and relaxed. I had a snack bar and some mineral water. When I was done drinking my water, I dropped the water bottle on the ground and I asked him to fetch it. He could not quite get his mouth around it but he spent the longest time trying. It was a good way to keep him occupied, silly mule. He munched some hay and grass, ignored the water Margaret had lugged from her car for him but did drink some of Wendy’s NJ tap water. There no accounting for taste I guess. I left my rain pants at the hold. I took my rain coat off also deciding to leave it at the hold. So, I had to empty the pocket and find a safe place for all the things I was carrying such as my vet card and cell phone. I have Margaret my phone to hold onto. Then I changed my mind and decided to wear my jacket and took everything back. Margaret was very patient with me.

Ival with Clover walking into the hold


The hold


Ival trotting out Clover at the hold


Cindy trotting out Louie at the hold


Ival and Liz ready to leave the hold


Cindy and Ival waiting to leave the hold


Cindy on Louie waiting to leave hold and her most excellent crew person Margaret



Cindy on Louie leaving the hold


We were out of the hold right on time. We continued to keep a very moderate pace taking it easy on the hills and in any rocky sections. A few riders passed us. Tom, the ride manager, had originally planned to have us cross a river. But, due to high water he decided for the sake of safety to reroute the trail to avoid the river crossing. This put us out on Rt. 118 for a mile or so. A very busy road. Louie is very good about traffic and none of us had any problem with this. Though when we turn onto a secondary tar road, Louie did spook out INTO the road to give a mule eating rock a very wide berth. Louie was doing very well and keeping a very steady pace. We were definitely not breaking any speed records but it was a pace that would get us to the finish in plenty of time. It was also a good pace for Liz's horse. Clover could have certainly gone much faster but seemed content to poke along behind Louie. 5 miles or so from the finish we spot a rider towards us. She asked us if we were riding the 30. We said yes and she thought we had missed the trail somewhere. I was quite sure we were on the right trail so we all continued the way we were going. Soon some 50 mile rider came up the trail towards us. They had already ridden loop 3, the loop we were supposed to be on and they confirmed we were ok. We did indeed finish the ride with time to spare. We did the last few miles quite slow so we wouldn't have to wait around long to pulse down. I went right to my trailer to strip Louie's tack. I was VERY pleased that he did not fuss about being separated from his riding buddies. He was fairly dry and not hot so I gave him a quick sponging just to clean him up a bit then got in line for vetting. There was a bit of line for vetting but it's always a good opportunity for socializing. One young man came up to admire Louie and he told me his dad wanted a mule. Louie just loves the attention. Louie's final vetting went fairly well. He pulsed at 48/60. He was reluctant to trot at first. I swung my lead rope behind me to smack him on the butt to get him to trot and he was absolutely outraged at the indignity! It is so funny how mules will humbly accept any correction that they think is delivered fairly. But if you correct them when they don't think it is deserved, they will be totally offended. So, he swung his butt away from me and did trot, but sideways with his ears back glaring at me something fierce. And while his return trot was much better, he still glared at me the whole way. SOOOOOO, on his vet card, he got a B for "attitude" and a B for "impulsion". He also got a B for "wounds" as he had interfered behind and dinged his fetlocks. But, he got an A- for the overall score. So, we had officially completed our first LD endurance ride! Yipppppeeeeee! I was very proud of my little brown mule. And thankfully he quickly forgave me for my unjustified (in his mind) behavior at the trot out.

Cindy on Louie nearing the finish line



Once done with the vetting, I put Louie in his pen with fresh hay and gave him some grain. I packed up what I could. As I was heading over to pick out Louie's pen, Ival asked me if I had fed Louie. He was once again mewling pitifully at her trying to convince her he was starving. I assured Ival that he was not being grossly neglected but did relent and allow her to give him some dengie. He LOVED that stuff. After I dumped the manure bucket and was returning to go visit with Wendy and Ival in Wendy's trailer, I saw that Louie had eaten a hole in the ground to get every scrap of that dengie. When I got in Wendy's trailer I told Ival that. A few minutes later Ival went out to look and was amazed to see I was not kidding when I said he ate a hole in the ground so she gave him a little more dengie. We sat, rested and visited for a while in Wendy's trailer. Dom came in an joined us.

Margaret had offered to work the ride once that I no longer needed her so she was busy up with the vetting crew. When lunch was ready, the NJ crew and I all sat together and ate. What a fun group they are. After lunch Ival headed for the showers and I drifted around a bit visiting with people and taking some pictures. We all gathered for the awards around..... 5:30 or 6:00 pm. There really aren't any awards for the 30 mile LD ride. But we all got nice towels with "Pine Tree 30/50/100 stenciled on them. And they had the awards for the 50 mile ride. A man and his son had come over to Louie's pen to admire him and Louie was happily soaking up the attention. Ival told them that Louie could fetch and they just has to see that. So, out came the rope bone and Louie happily showed off his fetching and bowing. He is such a ham. Once he was done with his performance, I tied him to the trailer so I could pack up his pen. He was pretty good. Margaret was done with her job and came down to say goodbye. I had to make a circuit of the fairground to find Ival and say goodbye. I then loaded up a reluctant Louie and headed home. Louie was SUCH a good boy the whole time at the ride. He was only naughty on the trailer. He just seems to be having so much fun at the rides which I love to see. I is amazing to see the transformation in him as he is growing up and maturing. He is turning into a top notch trail mule.

Irving with Peaches and Teddy (of Running Bear Tack)


Margaret, my excellent crew person


The vetting crew


Char Jewell (riding the 100)


Janet Brunjes-volunteer worker


Louie resting after the ride


Louie resting after the ride


Clover after the ride


Ival with Clover after the ride
 

Deer Fly Seasopn Begins

Well, the deer fly are out in full force now. Blah! Barbara and I went riding this afternoon. She came over at 1:00. The weather was pretty nice. Warm but not too hot to be uncomfortable. The big gigantic flies are out also and around the horses at the barn driving them crazy and making them hid in the shelter during the day. The deer fly only seem to bother when we get into the woods. I spent the morning getting and putting away grain and supplies and then cleaning out my trailer's living quarters which was long overdue! I found some rotting carrots in my hold bag. Yeck! I have an endurance ride this weekend so had to get it done.

We headed out and did the Tarr's Mills loop. Some of it I haven't ridden yet this year so I was hoping there was nothing down blocking any of the trail. There wasn't. The trail could use some clean up but none was blocked. The deer fly were very bad in some spots. And of course the first equine always gets the most of them. And that was Louie and I for the most part. I did have his Cashal Quiet Ride mask on but his mane is a bit long and was making it gap at the top and allowing the flies to crawl in. Poor Louie. He was all bug eyed and snorty going up Ledge Hill Rd. There were recent signs of moose in dropping and tracks and I'm sure this is what he was smelling. He didn't want to lead but I pushed him along. I eventually had to break off a branch to use as a "motivator". This helped a lot. When we got to the river, I was hoping Louie wouldn't try to leap across it like he did the first time we crossed it. The river is WAY too wide to jump so he surprised me that first time and just by some luck I didn't come off him. He was concerned about it today but walked in nicely. At the second crossing, we walked up the river a ways and this caused Louie a LOT of concern. He reluctantly led at first but when the water got deeper then his knees, he froze and I had to let Barbara on Marie lead the way. Louie still wasn't happy but he did go. Louie is doing very well with the "scary" things. He still isn't all that bold but he does what is asked. Occasionally he will freeze up when really nervous but at least he doesn't act up or do anything explosive. I'm getting old enough to appreciate a lack of explosive behavior. We had a very nice ride.

Susie called me when we were out on the trail. She wanted Barbara and I to come over to her place when we were done riding. I did go but Barbara had some commitments that evening and had to get home. When I got to Susie's, Bonnie and Linda were there and it was a birthday party for Barbara and I. So, Barbara missed her own birthday party. We had a fun time and nice visit. Linda gave me $25 from what she was paid for the use of Marie for the Hindu wedding.

Crupper vs Britchin

Cruppers or Britchin? That is the question…

So, which is better, a crupper or britchin? This is one of those topics that is always being debated by mule folks the world over. Ok, maybe not the whole world but at least in my part of the world. It is a debate that never really has any resolution. Kind of like; what came first, the chicken or the egg. But mostly it is an unresolved issue because there is no clear cut answer to this question. There certainly are some strong opinions about each. Some mule folks are quite passionate in their particular preference. Most folks seem to fall somewhere in the middle like me in feeling that it really comes down to simply trying each out, finding out what works best for you, your mule with the condition or type of riding you do. So, if you want to know which one is better, you won’t find that answer here. This article is about educating and trying to answer questions about both pieces of equipment. And hopefully this will help those interested in making an informed decision on what they think will work best for them and their mules.

Before debating the pros and cons of either piece of equipment, I would first like to discuss a few things. One important item is tack quality and fitting. This is relevant to both cruppers and britchin as neither one is going to work well for you if it is of poor quality and/or does not fit your mule. If I bought cheap britchin and/or did not fit it properly to my mule, which resulted in rubbing and galling, it would be unfair of me to then say britchin doesn’t work. Another thing to keep in mind is the material of the tack you are using. Some mules have trouble with neoprene materials. Some may have problems with synthetic felt or fleece. Always try to rule out problem such as this before drawing any conclusion about either a crupper or britchin. Another thing to keep in mind is the fit of all the tack you are using. If your mule is rushing down hills, tossing it’s head or showing any other signs of discomfort, do not assume it is the crupper or britchen. Neither a crupper or britchin will fix a bad saddle fit. And you should not use either as a “band-aid” for a bad saddle fit. Consider all the tack you have on your mule. And also realize that some mules simply won’t tolerate one or the other though it seems most mule will accept either if it is introduced to them properly. I’ve heard a lot of both scenarios where someone was using britchin and having trouble but once they switched to a crupper, the mule was fine and vise versa. Also take into consideration your mules conformation. A mule with medium to high withers will likely do well with a crupper. A mule with little to no withers and/or a barrel shaped body may need more support for keeping a saddle in place. The last thing to consider is the kind of riding are you doing and where are you doing it. I do endurance riding. In a competition I canter where I can, walk where I must and trot the rest. So, there is a lot more rear leg action happening then someone that is riding primarily at a walk. In this situation, a britchin may cause some binding or rubbing. If you are trail riding in the mountains, you may simply feel more secure with britchin. In summery:

• Buy the best quality tack you can afford.






• Make sure the tack is fitted properly






• Use materials that are compatable with your mule.






• Evaluate the fit of all your tack before coming to any conclusions.






• Keep in mind that your mule may have a preference for either a crupper or britchin.






• Evaluate your mule's conformation as that my well have some bearing on what works better for your mule.






• Consider the type of riding you are going to do and where you are going to ride.
  a crupper or britchin.






• If you find that both britchin and cruppers work for you and your mule, then choose what you find most convenient and/or pleasing to your eye. I use a crupper and think it is best for what I do with my mule, but I think a nice set of britchin looks very sharp on a mule.
  
  Cruppers:
  Ok, I’ll start with cruppers as that is what I have experience with. You can buy cruppers made from many types of materials, leather, nylon, plastic, biothane or a combination of these materials. The straps may be lined with neoprene, fleece or felt. And there is a variety of tail pieces to choose from. The two types I’ve used are rolled leather and neoprene. And though I am not personally a fan of neoprene, I’ve had no problem with the neoprene tail piece on my crupper. Leather filled with flax seed is also a popular choice. Cruppers can also have either one strap that is attached to the rear center of a saddle, or two straps that attach to either britchin rings or the back cinch rings on a saddle. I much prefer a two strap crupper as it will keep the crupper centered on your mule and eliminate the “sawing” motion that sometimes occurs with a one strap crupper as you go up and down hills and the crupper tightens and loosens a little.
  

Common complaints heard about cruppers:
1) Cruppers were made for harness to keep them centered and were never meant to hold weight.
Cruppers have been used with saddles for centuries. There are manuscript pictures from the 13th and 14th century that show saddle horses with crupper. So once again it comes down to what came first, the chicken or the egg.

2) You would never see a crupper used on a pack mule.

I think there is quite a bit of difference in how a pack works on a mule and how a rider and saddle works. A pack is dead weight that is centered differently then a rider. The bulk of a packs weight is most often more on the side of the mule. A pack will not reposition or rebalance itself to aid the mule. Nor will it know if a strap or cinch has become loose. A riders isn’t (or at least shouldn’t be) dead weight. A rider can shift their weight in any direction to aid the mule and its tack to stay in place. You also don't see cruppers on pack HORSES. But, you seldom see britchin on a riding HORSE leading a pack string over the same ground as the pack animals that are wearing britchin.

3) A crupper will injure or ruin a mules spine. “My chiropractor worked on my mule and it’s back was out of place”.

There are a multitude of reason a mule may have a back problem. A poor fitting saddle, poor conformation, a poor rider, being ridden too young, being ridden too hard for its fitness level, a slip or fall while being ridden or out in the pasture. The list goes on and on. What I do know is that I know of a huge number of horse owners that have needed to have their horses backs adjusted and none of those horses have ever worn a crupper. The one time I’ve had chiropractic work done on a mule, the chiropractor said he was amazed at how well adjusted this mule was. This mule had worn a crupper all her life, been ridden by heavy weight riders and in some very tough terrain. Watch videos of the Tevis Cup ride. This is a one day 100 mile endurance race through the Sierra Nevada mountains in CA. that you have 24 hrs. to complete. Note the number of cruppers you see being used on the equines. If cruppers were so damaging to the spine, surely all the equines wearing cruppers that do this ride year after year would be absolutely crippled by the end of this ride.........

4) A crupper would be uncomfortable like wearing a thong.

A thong fits into the crack of a persons buttocks. A crupper goes under the tail of an equine. It does not go into the crack of anything. If is does, you might be in trouble and are about to have a wreck…….

5) When going down a hill, my mules tail lifted right up and the crupper slid off.

I’ve only had this happen once and it was from my saddle being rigged up in a way it was not designed to be rigged. The problem was quickly solved by correcting the rigging. If your saddle is pulling forward hard enough for it to pull the tail up, you likely have a saddle fitting problem. And while a britchin might keep the saddle back on the same mule, it is pulling just as hard on the britchin as it was the crupper. The weight might be more spread out with the britchin but you have not solved the problem of the saddle pulling forward so hard. You are just putting a band-aid on and disguising the problem.

Quick summery on cruppers

Pros:

• Lightweight and easy to use.






• It will aid in keeping your saddle from sliding forward on your mule.






• Some mules are more tolerant of a crupper then of britchen.






• When riding at faster speeds for any length of time, a crupper may perform better due to less issues with rubbing.
  
  
  

Cons:

• If you are having trouble with your cinch moving forward and galling, a crupper won't specifically address this problem. Though just keeping the saddle back might be enough to keep the cinch out of the sensitive galling area.






• If a crupper strap breaks, you might find yourself in a bad situation. Britchin has a lot more to it and one broken strap is not as likely to cause a major problem.






• Some mules seem to tolerate britchin better then a crupper.

Now, as I do not personally have any experience with using britchin, I will turn this article over to someone who does and can give their own specific knowledge and experience on using britchin

(This isn't finished as I have yet to get anything in writing from someone that uses britchin)

Training the Sidepass

I figure it is time to start Louie on learning something new. So, I decided to teach him to side pass from the ground. The first day I fooled around with it Louie was really not sure what I was asking. I didn't spend too much time with him that first day. Then a few days ago I went out when I had time to take as long as I wanted to work with Louie. And I admit, I decided to short cut the training by putting a halter and lead rope on him. Immediately the fun went out of it for Louie. He just loves working at liberty. But, as soon as he was "restrained" by the halter and lead rope, he seemed to feel that he might now be forced to do things he was unsure of or didn't understand. Unfortunately, I didn't really reflect on this until later.

Anyway, on our second side pass training session, I asked Louie to side pass and he was both reluctant and unsure of what I wanted. And being restrained, he was not as willing as he is when at liberty to just try things to see what might earn him a reward. He would disengage is hindquarters but when I would escalate my cues to get his front end to follow the back end, he would just try to turn and walk away from me. I was correcting him with the lead rope so he did not have the option to work things out on his own and he was shutting down on me. I got a 4' long 2" x 10" board and placed this on the ground lined up with the fence to restrict what directions Louie could go. I eventually was able to get him to side pass over the board but it was done without much enthusiasm and I was having to make my cues "big" to get him to even try. I decided to end with some things that we do all the time so we would end on a good note.

This morning when I was done with the chores, I decided to try again with the side passing. I went into the barn to get some treats. Louie was at the door when I came out and when I asked him to back up out of my way, he didn't move. He got a swat on the chest for that as he knows better then to stand in my space like that. He jumped and galloped off shaking his head. He went to the hay feeder where Marie was and glared at me from there. But, when I called him to me he was immediately over his sulking and was eager to play.

After mulling over our last unsatisfactory training session in my mind, I decided to go back to working with Louie at liberty. I just needed to break the lessons down into smaller steps as I should have right from the start. I started by giving him the same cue I had been using on our last two training sessions. He still seemed confused and he moved his front end, and his hind end, and he walked forward and backwards and turned around. He moved every way but sideways. I paused for a moment trying to decide how to break this down into easier steps. We were standing in the middle of the paddock and suddenly a light bulb went off in Louie's head. You could just see it happen. He spun around and marched over to the board I had placed on the ground for our previous session, lined right up on one end of it in perfect position to side pass over it. He then turned his head and looked at me with an eager expression on his face that seemed to say, "is this what you want me to do mom?" I went right over to him and gave him my cue to side pass and sure enough he did quite a nice side pass over that board! GOOD MULE!

I was delighted with Louie for thinking things through like he did. And I can tell you he was sure pleased with himself for figuring it out. Had I haltered him and kept him on a lead rope today, he would never have been able to follow through with that thought process and show me when he figured it out. The way these mules think things through continually amazes me.

Ride in West Bowdoin

Today was yet another absolutely lovely day. Sunny, 70's, low humidity and few bugs. It just doesn't get better then this! Susie, Bonnie, Linda, Trish and I went riding in West Bowdoin today. Trish rode my horse, Marie. We met in West Bowdoin at 8:00. We had the most lovely ride. It was great to finally get out riding with Bonnie on her wonderful mule Dolly. The trails are real nice in West Bowdoin a lot of which are quite flat and have nice footing so you can really move out. Louie is really starting to feel fit now. And he keeps up with Susie's Arab Spark very well even at the trot. All the equines were so good together. Even though we rode at a faster pace, they were all so good about it so it was yet another great ride.

Mom's 80th Birthday Party

Today I had a party at my house for my mom's 80th birthday. It was an absolutely fabulous day. Good thing as there were approximately 40 people at my house and I can not even imagine trying to get them all IN my house had the weather been bad. The party was great and it was so nice seeing some relatives I had not seen in such a long time.

Everyone wanted to see the bowing mule they had heard about. So, Louie put on multiple performances throughout the day. He is SUCH a ham and just loved all the attention. He also showed off his fetching skills and was just generally doing a great PR job for mules the world over. I did get a few such questions as, "What do you do with him?" and, "Can you ride a mule?"

Later in the evening when the party was winding down, I was sitting and talking with my cousin Pat and saying it would be fun if she could come up sometime to ride with me. She lives in CT. We are the same age and grew up near each other. She had a horse and pony and it was her pony that I learned to ride on. We have not ridden together since we were children. My wonderful sisters-in-law heard us talking and both told us to go for a ride and they would keep an eye on the party while we were gone! How lucky am I to have such wonderful sisters-in-law! So, Pat and I saddled up and off we went. Pat rode Marie who was as wonderful as usual. Louie led the was and was great too. We only went for a short ride but we had a wonderful time. Well, I did anyway and Pat said she did too.

Ride and Bridge Incident

I got an email from Linda last night saying she and some friend were planning to ride and she wanted to know if I'd like to join them. I said to let me know when and where and I would join them if I could. I've been working like a dog all week trying to get my house and yard all spiffy for the 80th birthday party I'm having for my mom on Saturday. I still had a lot of work to day but really needed a little play time.

Linda called about 7:30 am. The plan was to ride at 9:00 am. Her friend Diane was riding. Another friend Ann wanted to ride also but needed a horse to ride. I had never met Ann but was thrilled to have someone to ride Marie. So, it was decided that we would ride from my house. When they arrived I took Ann out back to meet Louie and Marie. Louie bowed for Ann but was not too keen on fetching. He knew something was up. Silly boy. It was cloudy when we headed out but turned out to be an absolutely lovely day. Low 70's, the sun came out and it was breezy enough to keep the bugs off for the most part. We did the Adams Rd. loop. We saw some very fresh moose poo but no moose. Nor did any of the equines indicate there was one near. All equines were very well behaved and we had a great ride. The sissor snap on Louie's breast collar that connects to the cinch broke towards the end of the ride. He gave no indication that the strap was flapping around between his legs. And just when we got back in my yard, Marie's bridle broke. Good thing it didn't happen out on trail! Yikes!

In the afternoon I decided to go out and play/train with Louie. He was eager to play so we did a bit of fetching and a few bows. Then I asked him to step up on the overturned watertub. He decided he'd rather step up on the bridge next to the tub. Well, I figured this was ok though I was quite sure he know I wanted him to step up onto the tub. Since he already had two feet on the bridge I then asked him to move across the bridge and as soon as he got all 4 feet up on it.........the bridge collapsed! It had 2"x10" supports under it and the supports gave out and collapsed sideways. I sure wish I'd gotten a video of Louie's expression when the bridge went down. I just love how mules tend to react to things. It startled him for sure but he just froze until the bridge stopped moving. Then he so carefully turned and tip-toed off it! Then scooted off a few feet and turned to look over what had happened. The decking was intact so he was in no danger of getting hurt. I didn't realize my bridge was in bad shape underneath as the decking was all solid. Guess it's time to build a new one.

So, I pulled the overturned watertub away from the collapsed bridge and asked Louie to come over and step up. I wondered if he would trust me after being startled in the bridge collapse but he didn't even hesitate. He came right over and stepped right up. Good boy! Hope he doesn't have bridge phobia now though.