Muddin' with Siera

I promised myself I'd take Siera riding today.

I even put it on my 'to do' list. We've gone 36 hours without rain so I thought it would be a good time to take Siera on the 4 wheeler trail to the creek and all of the way down the valley.

Siera hates black muddy muck. She has told me that she is sure that the black nasty smelling stuff was only put there in the trail to suck her mule soul out through her hooves.
I have assured her that it is just mud. In the valley where the 4 wheelers have torn things up? Well indeed, it may just be sucking black muck that would pull you down.
However, since the trails those guys made are pretty decent except for low branches, I decided to take her to the end of the valley and back.

We slid down the first incline into a puddle of green slimy water that was at the bottom of a dry run. Well, it appeared more like deep rutted wash out with gobs of gunk in it. See Siera with her head turned? She knows that home is up over the ridge and to her left.

I told her how proud I was of her, she was taking on these slippery inclines and rutted ditches like a real trooper.
She was not impressed with my voice at all.

We made it to the creek and the path we normally use was partially submerged in ages old black dirt that had turned into quagmire.
She tried turning around to take the trail home and I asked her to go up and around.

She is a pretty good mule. Some of the branches I had to duck under had me laying over her neck and slightly to the side to avoid the saddle horn.

Here I gave her a choice. Walk in the soul sucking black muck or walk in the creek.

She turned her head again as if she'd rather go home. I told her that she couldn't head back until we'd gone to the end of the valley.
Hmmm.

Fine.
The creek, it was. We rode to the end of the valley and I made her stand still.
Normally she'd be a bit calmer with another mule along, but she was solo.

On the way back she was in a hurry and stepped over a tiny sapling that was bent across the trail. It slapped her between the hind legs and she did this buck/jump thing. Since Siera is terrible at bucking, it felt more like a trip than anything else.

I took the opposite side of the valley and intended on coming back a different route when we got stopped by a literal 'sea' of black sucking muck mud. I figured we could get around it by edging up towards the woods, but going through wild roses, thorny apple trees, and berry briers didn't look like an option to me.

Siera knew that she had to cross the narrow valley to get back to solid ground and we back tracked as she peered at the maze of gouged 4 wheeler ruts that were black and filled with smelly green oozing water.
I let her go along to seek a way to get across. It was if I could tell that she was really examining things or perhaps she was seeking the spot she'd safely crossed just a few weeks ago.

She made a decision and through the nasty stuff we went.

I could just hear her saying over and over.. 'Nasties! Nasties! My hooves are going to get dirty! Knee deep in smelly wet mucky muck!'

Her hooves did make sucking noises as she crossed the ruts and we got to the creek.
Big Sigh.
I like it when she sighs.
She is relaxed then.

We had two hills to go back up that we'd slid partially down. At the bottom of the hill I gave her her head and let her make her own way up the hill. I wished in a way that she'd had a luxurious mane to grab hold of ... but she doesn't. Up we climbed.

After the last climb we stopped. I wanted to let her catch her breath. The day had turned very humid.

When we got to the gravel road, I dismounted and loosened her cinch.

Siera sighed again and we stood in the road while a nice little breeze cooled us off a bit.
I walked her home.

She had really put out a great effort for me. Mud and water had always been a huge issue for her. Steep hills and tough terrain are also a bit harder for her than a mule out of a quarter type horse. She is gaited and doesn't have the incredible back end strength that Sunshine and Mica have.
On the open and flat terrain, she can really move out.

I tied her to the shade tree in the yard and took my time letting her cool off and brushed her until she was dry. She does like attention. I figured she deserved it after the hazardous adventure she'd gone on.

With dry weather coming up this week I hope to get some more rides in with Sunshine and Mica also. They handle the ditches and the mud in a different way, nearly a bored attitude.

The weather is to turn warm and muggy again so our rides will be early or late along with more round pen work with Sundance.

When I let Siera go she walked away slowly. The red headed sisters crowded me as if to ask for some attention. Sundance smelled my shirt which was spotted with black dried 'valley' muck.
Siera rolled in the dirt...
I took a shower.

...and I had to clean my saddle...
And it was a fine day.

Relax with a mule.

I won't go into too much detail about yesterday morning's frustrations about FedEx not delivering my package to the right place...and me looking and calling all neighbors trying to find my son's Wedding Book.
I talked to FedEx Customer Service and they will have the driver find it and deliver it to my place on Monday.
That is the best that can be done.
Blurb Customer Service refunded me my 'Special Delivery' rate. They want an update on the package asap.
All in all, I was pretty hot.  Today we are expecting quite a bit of rain and I hope the books are protected wherever they are sitting.

Anyway, a very important thing to remember is NOT to work with an animal when you are angry.  So I put off working with Siera until late in the afternoon when I'd calmed down.
No use getting all riled about something that is way beyond my control.

Siera has a habit of tossing her nose while riding.  This is the way she used to communicate her dislike I thought of what we were doing.
So yesterday I changed to a very mild 'gag' bit with a noseband.

Yes.  Siera started 4 yrs ago with a Snaffle bit.  She works very nicely in that until she doesn't want to.  She will stiffen her neck and no person can move her nose...not me at least.  

Regarding bits.  I only know that sometimes I have to to try a few different things before we find a good fit.  Each animal is different.

Anyway, she loved the sweet iron bit and played with it while we rode.
Yesterday was our best ride to date.
She had almost no head tossing, only twice while riding up the driveway and away from home.
 
Loose rein, no head tossing, neck reining, standing still...standing still for dismounts in the woods, on the road, and in a mule eating soybean field.

Last year she was positive that soybeans would EAT her alive.  Also certain tall grasses.
She is a slow maturing mule? 

If I were to take Siera out on groomed riding trails with another animal, people would see her as a broke, broke, broke riding animal.  And I have to admit, she really is well behaved.

Yesterday we reined through the dense woods doing serpentine moves with a loose rein.  She is now getting to trust me that I won't put her in a bad situation and I trust that she will take care of me over rocks, logs, and poor footing.
What a great place to arrive at.  

Siera and I have started to work as a team.  What a heady boost to my 'inner' spirit to have finally arrived to that place.

There is nothing in the world quite like having a big animal understand what you are asking and do it willingly...and without a word being spoken.
Just body language.

What a perfect wonderful way to relax with a mule.

 
 

Outsmarting a Mule

The last time I rode Siera it was October 29th. 

That means she was idle for nearly 5 months in the pasture, except for foot trims and worming.

She has led the life of luxury this winter, while I was too occupied with other things ... and taking Opal the experienced mule on rides that were a bit dicey in footing.

Welcome back Siera!

I took her out of the pasture and literally butchered her mane with a pair of scissors. 

Naughty me, but the clippers need new blades and I wanted to see where on earth her head was under that bushy mane!

I fitted her with my 'woods' saddle and mounted up.  At first Siera was full of refusals.  She thought a muddy tire track that my husband had left with his truck 3 weeks ago was a 'mule eatin' monster.  She didn't shy so much as decide that she didn't need to get near it.

She did a pretty good impression of Michael Jackson's Moon Walk.  That would have made me proud it that is what I had wanted.

I dismounted and walked her up to it.  She immediately began to eat grass around the monstrous track.  Okay, I was outsmarted.

I remounted and went off into the woods, Siera was fresh and feeling it.  I really wasn't afraid of a buck or a blow up.  Siera has proven time and again that though she can be silly she doesn't lose her cool.

We did fine.  She moved out with a purpose.  She even went through some of the 'lesser' ditches or ... runoffs with no hitch as she'd had last year.  Perhaps she was maturing.

Then came the Big Ravine.  I pointed her towards the trail and asked her to go forward.  She balked, she walked sideways [hard to do in soft loamy soil on a steep hill].  I finally got her to head up to the top of the steep washout.

We are talking about a 10 ft drop into a dirt and rock filled ravine here... not some little ditch.

At the top she walked through the prickly ash and berry briers and we headed down the other side of the Big Ravine.

When we got to the opposite side of the crossing I watched as a light-bulb went on in her head.  She 

knew that the way home was across that steep ravine.

Bless her boney little heart.

She slid down the steep embankment and climbed up and out as if it were a routine she'd done all along.  

I love riding and training Siera, she is a fresh mule with a fresh attitude.  She is a challenge with her intelligence, but a joy to ride with her Peruvian Paso gait.