1st Ride on a Mule

I was excited today, I was getting to go riding for the second day in a row! Susie, Linda and I planned on meeting in West Bowdoin to ride at 9:45 am. I called Cierra the night before and asked if she'd like to join us. She is the young lady that rides Marie when she can. She is 13 years old and a wonderful girl to ride with. Both of my saddles for Marie are broken right now. So, I had called my friend Bonnie the previous night also to see if she still had her treeless saddle and to see if I could borrow it if she did. Bonnie did still have the saddle. It was was at the local feed store as she was trying to sell it. She told me to go over and pick it up and try it out on Marie. That would work out well as the feed store would be right on the way to pick up Cierra.

So, I headed out to pick up Cierra, get abut 3 miles from home, out onto Rt. 197 and find the road it closed!! AGH! The road was still flooded at Pleasant Pond from the recent rains. So, I had to turn around and head back. Now, this is almost a case where "you can't get there from here". Ok, you can but it is the LONG way around. 2.5 miles back to Lewis Hill road. 5.5 miles down Lewis Hill Rd. to Rt. 125. 1/2 mile down Rt. 125 to Rt. 201. Then 5.5 miles up Rt. 205 back to Rt. 197 where I was to begin with, just now on the other side of the flooded spot. And, to add insult to injury, they are paving Rt. 201 so I has to stop and sit twice where it was down to 1 lane traffic. Needless to say, I was a bit late picking up Cierra. Then of course, I had to track all the way back around the long way back to my house to get the horse and mule. Again, needless to say, I was late meeting Susie and Linda. Good critters that Luke and Marie are, they were quickly caught and loaded into the trailer. We got to our meeting spot at 10:15 am. Not bad all things considered.

Linda and Susie were already tacked up and ready to go so they took a little jaunt down the trail and came back while Cierra and I tacked up Luke and Marie. I had Luke groomed and tacked quickly. It took just a bit longer with Marie as we were putting the treeless saddle on her and had to adjust everything. I tightened up the saddle but when Cierra went to mount, it slid around Marie's side. So, I tightened it again as much as I could and it seemed ok then. Soon we were ready and all on our way. We started out on the gas line and right off there is a very steep descent to a stream crossing and a very steep climb out. Cierra has not done all that much trail riding and I knew this might look a bit scary to her. She did great though and just followed us through without a word. She did later tell me that she had never done anything like that but she trusted us and felt we would not ask her to do anything that was not safe. She is right, I would definitely not do that.

I could see fairly quickly that Cierra was struggling with the saddle. She kept losing the stirrups. We stopped once to shorten them and that helped. But, the saddle wanted to keep rolling around on Marie if Cierra put weight on one side more then the other. She never complained but I knew it couldn't be much fun for her. And today Luke was a little tender over the rocks. DARN! So much for being able to keep him barefoot. So, we slowed down to take it easy on him anywhere it was rocky. As we were riding down a section of the West Rd. I spotted a dug well right beside the road that would provide a perfect mounting block. So, I took the opportunity and asked Cierra if she would like to switch mounts. She stared at me uncertainly for a moment then tentatively said sure. Though I've only had Luke a short time, he has already proven to me his steadiness and dependability and I had no worries about Cierra riding him. And she is a good rider. So, we quickly adjusted stirrups and made the switch.

Wow but the treeless saddle did not fit me at all. It was WAY too small for my ample behind. And I too kept loosing my stirrups. And though I tightened the cinch yet again before I mounted, the saddle did want to roll around my barrel shaped horse. Cierra seemed immediately at ease on Luke. Once back on the trail and where the ground was soft, we picked up a trot and Cierra just loved the way Luke moved. She started out trying to post but ended up just doing a sitting trot because his trot is so smooth she said there wasn't enough bounce to post to. Then once out on the gas line, we picked up a canter and Cierra was in heaven. She was grinning from ear to ear and was completely at ease with Luke. And Luke was taking very good care of her. When we did the steep climb up the bank, she just loved how easy and smoothly he handled this. She was disappointed that her ride on Luke came to an end so soon. Once off him she hugged and patted and scratched him and he soaked it up like a sponge. Cierra had definitely fallen in love with Luke. I can understand that as there is simply nothing not to like about Luke. She wanted to try riding him bareback, and sometime maybe try him over some jumps (Luke was formally used for Eventing) and maybe she could take a lesson on him and maybe....... Lets just say she was bubbling over with her excitment over riding him. Cierra said she'd never felt so relaxed on an equine on a first ride as she had on Luke. Once we got back to my house, Luke got more hugs and scratches. When Cierra's mom came to pick her up, Cierra excitedly told her all about her mule ride and then had to take her mom out back to meet Luke and he received even more hugs and scratches and Luke continued to soak it all up with pleasure.

It was so much fun seeing Cierra have such a good first experience with a mule. I just wish I'd thought to take my camera so I could have gotten a picture of her first ride on a mule.

Sunday Morning Ride

The barn is progressing well. At least for a barn being built by just two people that both work full time jobs. We finished putting the metal roofing on the 2nd floor so that is all done! (Doing a happy dance) Anyway, no barn building today. Andrea came over today with her fiance to ride. Andrea's fiance has not ridden in a long time so I put him on dependable old Marie. After making some adjustments to Louie's new tack, we headed out. We rode the loop that starts from my house, comes out on the road just below the alpaca farm then back into the woods past the alpaca farm by the interstate overpass. Luke an I took the lead for the ride. We also acted as the clearers of spider webs across the trail. (shudder.....) Andrea's fiance did great with Marie. And Andrea rides Louie so nicely so we had a great ride. I think Andrea's fiance was a bit sore by the time we got back but he said he had a good time. I hope so, I hate to scare people away on the first ride........ 

Riding at Upper Pond

I had planned to do an adventure ride today with Susie and Barbara. But that was not to be. I stayed home to work on the barn with Fred. When Fred left for work this afternoon, I still wanted to ride but it was getting kind of late to head out on a trail ride. So, I called MaryJo and we agreed to meet over at Upper Pond to ride in the indoor arena. So, I loaded up Luke and headed over.

I arrived before MaryJo. I unloaded Luke and groomed and tacked him up at the trailer. Luke was curious and alert when he came off the trailer but quiet and well behaved. While I was grooming him, MaryJo arrived. She had brought her 7 year old Mustang gelding. He is not used to standing tied at the trailer to be tacked up so he was a bit fidgety. We went into the arena and I mounted right up on Luke. Once again Luke was curious but still quiet. Just after I had mounted up, I heard a commotion behind me then suddenly MaryJo's horse went running by. I turned around and MaryJo is sitting on the ground holding her leg. Her horse had gotten excited and pulled away from her. When he spun around to run, he kicked out and nailed MaryJo in the shin. OUCH! She was ok but her leg immediately started swelling and showing a good bruise. She limped over to the mounting block to examine the damage and her horse slowly walked up to her and put his nose on her. Obviously aware of and now sorry that he had hurt her. He was very quiet and well behaved after that.

We had a wonderful ride. I don't usually enjoy riding in an arena that much but with Luke it's actually fun. He is so well trained and it was fun discovering all that he knows. He is so good at his transitions. Walk to trot, walk to canter, canter to whoa. Learned you better be ready when you tell him to whoa as he will stop on a dime from any gait. He will back up lovely just by shifting your weight. He is feather light with both leg and rein cues. We attempted one flying lead chance. We didn't quite manage it as Luke broke to a few strides of trotting before changing leads but I can assure you it was my less them perfect cues and not any lack of training or ability on Lukes part. And he seemed so willing to work in the arena. So, I had a really nice evening with him and it was nice to see MaryJo.

Silly Mule Boys

Luke and Louie in Pittston

Today Louie got to go riding with Luke. Our schedules aligned and a group of us met at Lorax in Pittston to ride. Andrea with Louie, me with Luke, Bonnie with her mule Dolly, Kathie came and she had her granddaughter also who was riding her pony mule Blossom. So, there were 4 mules all in one place at the same time! Yahooooo! Linda also joined us riding Gus as well as Diane and her daughter who has a new horse and it was only their second trail ride. This was only Andrea's 2nd ride on Louie also.

The boys loaded up well and we arrived on time. When Louie first got out of the trailer, he saw all the horses and lost his head just for a moment but quieted right down once tied up. This is the first time's he's been out in a while. We took our time grooming and tacking up. We had to fit a saddle and bit to Louie. Andrea bought Bonnie's SE mule saddle. Kathie had her dog alone and that critter is nearly as big as an antelope! Right after Andrea and I got mounted, the dog came bursting out of the brush and spooked both our mules. Luke mostly just jumped sideways a little. The dog came out behind Louie and Louie bolted forward. Andrea was able to stop him right away so it was no problem.  We had a very nice ride. Louie was a bit anxious at first and walking out fast. Andrea did great with him and held him back where she wanted him. Eventually, he relaxed, dropped his head and there was some ear flopping. After about 1 1/2 hours, Andrea and I split from the group as they were going slow and Andrea wanted a chance to try Louie out at the trot and canter. The Lorax trails are lovely and you can move right along on them. Once again Andrea did great. Louie got a little excited when we first sped things up but Andrea handled him perfectly and settled him right down and he did some nice trots and canters for her with real nice transitions. We eventually joined back up with Linda and Bonnie and rode back to the trailers. Luke was wonderful and I had a great ride. I think Andrea had a good time too. I wish I hadn't left my camera in the truck!

Phippsburg ride with the MTRA's

Today I went to a ride in Phippsburg put on by the Maine Trail Riders Association. It's been a long time since I've ridden with this group. The go slow at a walk but sometimes I like to do this kind of ride as I think it's good for the equines so they don't think all rides are fast. Poor Luke, he though yesterday's ride was a bit too fast, today he thought things were a bit too slow. He was a wonderful boy though. I took my horse also and my friend Barbara met me in Phippsburg and rode her. My friends Linda and Bonnie also came. So, there were too mules on the ride!

This morning Luke loaded up into the trailer real well. I had loaded my mare first so that might have contributed to his willingness to self load today......... I got to the ride early before any of my friends so I unloaded Luke and Marie, gave them each a hay bag (though Luke was sure Marie's hay was better) and groomed them. Soon, everyone had arrived, we tacked up and headed out pretty much on time at 10:00 am. Luke wanted to walk faster then the group was going but it was no trouble slowing him down. I'd just keep having to reminding him on and off. We stopped for lunch down by the basin along the tidal river. We tied everyone up to trees in the woods. Luke was a good boy and was quiet. Marie screamed the whole time as she was in heat and had fallen in love with my friend Linda's gelding Gus. And Gus was not tied near her. She stayed put though and that's all that matters. We rode for about 3 1/2 to 4 hrs. in all. Luke and Bonnie's mule Dolly were both wonderful and we got several comments on how well behaved the mules were. I was very proud of them both. It was a fun time with a nice group of people.

First Trailer Outing with Luke

Well, I might have to change the blog name from LBM, Little Brown Mule to Large Black Mule. I have sold Louie. Though I've given his owner a 30 day trial of which there is a few weeks left. And he is still here with me as his new owner is in the process of building a new home and barn so needed to board him here until August.

So, today was my first ride with Luke that I trailered him out. He came to me with I went out with his halter but when I went to load him into my trailer, he said no. I was a little surprised as his owner, Kyle, has a slant load step up like mine and Kyle said he loaded and trailered very well. And Kyle hauled him in the last stall as that one has a bit more room. I asked him to load a few times and Luke said no each time. I tapped him with a whip and that kept  him from backing up but did not convince him to go in the trailer. He was willing to let me lead him in but if I did, I would not be able to get back out by him as he's too big! I was meeting two friends in Durham and didn't want to be late so I did lead him in but that put Luke in the first stall. He does fit in the stall and was quiet and relaxed once in the trailer so that was fine. So, off we went.

I met Linda and Susie along the way and followed them to our parking spot. Luke was quiet in the trailer and unloaded nicely. He was interested when he saw Susie and Linda's horses tried to Susie's trailer but stood quietly to be groomed and tacked up. And was he EVER dirty! We all mounted up and headed out along a dirt road. We walked for quite a bit to warm them all up, then did some nice longish trots. Luke was perfect and did just what was asked of him. We had a truck with a rattly flat bed trailer pass us and Luke didn't pay much attention to this other then watch it go by with interest. We did pass a house with a fence along the road and a very large owl pin-wheel type of ornament on the fence and it was spinning like crazy. Luke was a little concerned about this. It didn't take much to persuade him to go by though. About 1/2 way around the loop we were planning to ride, we came out onto Rt. 202. A VERY busy road. We only have to ride about 100 feet down the road and cut through a business parking lot to connect to the trail. There was so much going on here and once again, Luke was just fine with it all. When we were cutting across the parking lot and getting ready to cross a watery ditch at the edge, two women came out of the business to see the horses and mule. They were both horse owners themselves. They let us know that the trail we were heading for was now blocked and we would not be able to get around the block. RATS!!!! One of the women took us around the building. Luke eyeballed a parked fork truck but made no fuss. We then had to cross a ditch. Luke did this in fine eventing mule trained fashion and impressed everyone with a lovely jump. The woman pointed us across a lawn and told us to go straight through and we would find a trail to get us where we wanted to go. So, we head across the lawn and it was SOFT! We were horrified that we made quite a mess where we crossed. We then were into a field and this too was soft and wet. The equines were not impressed with the wet ground but were all went through without problems. We could NOT find any trail! We ended up turning around and going back though the wet field. At one point both horses refused to keep going and brave Luke led the way. The only thing that really worried Luke was when a big gust of wind caught my rain jacket,  which was unzipped, and was blowing it all around had and it was making a loud crinkly flapping sound. But, he still didn't do much other then speed up a little. When we got back on the road, we did NOT cross the lawn again, and were passing a sign, a gust of wind made the sign rattle on it's metal attachments and both horses freaked out a bit. Luke stayed nice an calm and walked on by ignoring both the sign and the horses.

We were now running a bit short on time as Linda had to be home by 3:00 so we did quite a bit of trotting  heading back. But, neither Luke or Susie's new horse Bayzen had much conditioning so we didn't push it too hard. Luke ran out of steam on the last few hills and I didn't push him. Bayzen stumbled and took a few bad steps that worried Susie but then I saw that he had over reached and cut himself on his heel bulb. So, nothing serious. When we got back to the trailer, I offered Luke some beet pulp. He took one bite, spit it out and wouldn't touch it. Darn, why can't I ever get an equine that actually likes beet pulp! Luke still was not eager to get in my trailer and once again I had to lead him in and put him in the front stall. He was fine with that though so good enough. So, I have to stay that I had a wonderful time riding Luke. He's a wonderful trail mount with a good head on him and really seems to enjoy being on the trail.... or dirt road.