I love my mules!

I haven't had the mules out for a ride since October when I took my neighbor along for a ride down to the creek on my other neighbor's land.

With everything I have going on, I really haven't been able to do a lot with them other than brushing, cleaning their feet, and doing the chores.

I've got some great friends at our CrossFit gym. Last year two of her little girls came out to ride. Admittedly, I was a bit nervous because I didn't know how they'd act around the mules and how much riding knowledge they had.

They were actually pretty good and followed directions well. Gracie and Tory rode in September last year. 

Kids and Equine

I had such a great time with them ... and well, they've been asking about it again. You know girls and equine. There is something that just makes them 'horse' crazy.

Well, today I brought them home with me after our work out. Their littlest sister came along. They are 10, 8 and 6. I figured it would be a handful and maybe even a bit of crazy. But it wasn't. The girls were careful and got to work on cleaning up Sunshine and Siera.

Please excuse the yard, I haven't mowed this section again this week. [Mr. Pony will deal with trimming it first.]

Aside from trimming hooves, this is the first time since last year they were pulled out of the pasture.

[I go out to them to curry and clean their hooves]

The rest of the Motley Crew watched.

The girls wanted to ride bareback because after all they had learned to ride on their old pony that way. 

So we compromised and put a saddle on Siera and kept Sunshine bareback.

Gracie decided she could get on by herself.
And ...
she did.
I was pretty proud of Siera for 
not walking off.

[Yeah, I haven't given them spring haircuts either. But these young ladies did not mind one bit.]

The kids struggled a bit with figuring out how to operate turning, and the mules gals really wanted to be with their pasture mates. Neither mule put up a fuss.

With some encouragement and a little bit of work, Tory and Gracie got with the program. They still gave the mules a bit of mixed signals, but for what it is worth, the mules didn't really care.

Leesie on her first time on Siera....

There is a trick to this. My mules will follow me where ever I walk. So I walked ahead of Leesie and asked her to make Siera follow me. The confidence boost was amazing. She had no fear because in her head she was doing it just like her big sisters.

Eventually I had her walk about on her own. 

And then we switched things up.

We went to the bigger pasture. Big sister helped her little sister.

And they kept switching things up and taking turns until....the girls asked if they could ride double on Siera.

And Siera never batted an eye about it.

One sister slid off, the one behind got in the saddle and then I helped the other sister back on so she too could take a turn in behind.

And so it went.

In the long run, everyone got along fine. My mule girls figured out what their riders wanted even if it was communicated a bit differently than they are used to.

13 seconds:

I used to think, that allowing this to happen would totally ruin an animal. And I suppose it could. But the girls are open to learning how to be softer with their hands. After all, they learned on a hard mouthed and hard headed pony with no real guidance.

The sorrel mule is 26 and was trained by us to deal with the shenanigans of children. While riding and training her we'd grab branches and yell, squirm in the saddle, and do all the things kids will do. She is a solid equine. Will she ever show? No, but she'll do what is asked.

I got Siera when she was 3 and she'd been handled but not ridden. We spent a long time working together. She is great on the trail.  Unless of course a bicycle showed up in the woods or...even worse yet, a baby stroller. [She knows they eat mules]

Tory asked Sunshine to trot and when she started to jog, Tory got scared and slid off Sunshine by hanging onto her neck until her feet hit the ground.

Sunshine stopped and stood stock still next to Tory who tearfully told me she had gotten scared and slid off. 

I told her it was okay and that she did the finest emergency dismount I'd ever seen. She was more afraid that Sunshine would trot away and leave her. 

I kneeled next to her.

"Has Sunshine moved since you came off?"
"Um. No."
 

I reached out and put my hand on Sunshine. "She knows it is her job to take care of you and stay by you."
Tory tearfully nodded.
"Did you know that Sunshine loves you?"

Tory's eyes widened, "She does?"
"She does."

Sunshine took that very moment to nuzzle Tory softly.
Tory wiped her eyes and then asked, "Can I get back on her?"

"Absolutely."

The mules finally got tired of riding in circles and I called an end to the riding.

The girls brushed their mounts and cleaned them all up. 

It was time to put them away.

Tory's reaction?

A picture is worth a thousand words.

I do know my mules since I raised them and trained them. They are solid equine. They don't get fussy and they absolutely adore attention and young folk. They don't mind mistakes and they almost never get stupid.

They have worked all of their lives to be just like this. Good quiet, and patient. I attribute that to their donkey side.

The girls and the mules filled my heart up today.