Meanwhile Sundance Started School

Here is Sundance with my old mare Cheyanne. This is Sundance at a few days old.

Mom was 26 years old and we used her to tease a Jack Donkey to see if he'd breed a mare.
My husband assured me that no foal would result.

Ahhhh, yup! Cheyanne was a good mom and a year later she drifted over the Rainbow Bridge.

However we had another mule from her that nearly matched Sunshine.
She has grown into a very beautiful and correct looking mule. She is in the middle of the pack and her sister is the other sorrel with her head down.

Let's say that one thing or another has prevented us from really getting her started. She is great with her ground manners and handling. We just never got to the next step.

So I decided last night to take the dive into our first 'session' of school. Working with an animal can be as boring as watching paint dry. And that is exactly how you want to be.
No explosions or kicking.

This ratty old blanket was a monster, or she would like me to think it was a monster. I tossed it in the round pen and she made a wide berth. Then she came back and poked it with her nose.
She has pulled this blanket off the rail other times she has been in the pen waiting for a trim.
So I knew she wasn't really afraid.

She was more concerned with her pals out in the pasture. Oddly enough her sister never brayed or paid any attention to Sundance leaving the pasture. Fred however, brayed and paced and cried out a mournful song.

The blanket became no big deal. However her attention did wander towards the gate.
She didn't get worked up at all. Just stood and looked until I asked her to move along.

Then she trotted [no line on her then] around as I asked her too. She even stopped and walked into me when I stopped asking her to move.

She wore the blanket in various ways while doing this. Sometimes the blanket slipped off and she didn't seem to be bothered by it.

Our session was very short. About 15 minutes long. I just wanted to get a feel for how she'd react when asked to work.

She is mature enough to figure things out. And believe me, she is a thinker.

When I work with one of my mules, it is a long and slow process. I do have a friend in Missouri who has made quite a name for himself as a trainer. He is good. However I like to work with the ones I've raised as I think I understand their character better.

Does that make sense?
Anyway, I feel that Sundance may just well be the last mule I train anyway so I may as well take my time with her and enjoy it.

I feel it takes months and perhaps a few years to develop a good working relationship between mule and trainer...or rider.

I hope to have some more on this as we go along.