Wildcat Mtn Ride

So I say...

Let's take a day and go to WildCat Mtn and ride.

Well next thing I know, I am rounding up Fred the older experienced pony mule and Siera.

The idea is that Fred will show Siera that things really aren't 'mule monsters'.

This generally works so well in building a 'green' or young mule's confidence. Siera has good confidence but needs exposure.
One of her real dislikes has been mud.

What a perfect day for 'mud' training. Many portions of the WildCat equine trails had muddy areas from a month of heavy rainfalls.
If she had a real issue, I took Fred and stood him in the mud.
She seemed at first to need Fred's experience to overcome the 'mud factor'.

By the end of the ride, she was hesitantly, but willingly ~~ walking through sucking yucky mud.

We had a nice picnic at an isolated spot...well, what do you expect when you go to a State Park in the middle of the week?

Siera hammed it up for the camera...as if to say...gosh do I have to do that steep trail???
Up and down hills, past marvelous rock formations, cool mushrooms, gorgeous flowers, and a glimpse of wildlife...[WildCat is a wildlife refuge].

Under the canopy of the forest, it was cool and inviting. In the sun...well, it was hot.
The skies were a perfect blue with fluffy white clouds drifting lazily across....
The thrill of the day was when we came to Billings Creek. It is wide and deep as far as creeks go in the area.
Siera does NOT like water.
Fred took a step in and dropped his head for a drink.

Siera was urged to go in.
To our surprise, she went without much of a fuss.
In fact hubby and Siera played in the creek for a while. Siera got into the deep part of the creek...she got her belly wet!
Fred watched with a ho-hum attitude, while Rich and I were ecstatic!

After a nice ride [and more mud holes], we headed back...and had to cross the creek again.
Siera showed us how much it bothered her...
Some things you just cannot control.
We both told her that it was not polite to pee in the creek.
She wasn't listening.

We made it back to camp to discover that a really nice and large horse trailer had caught on fire while we were riding.
No one was hurt, the owners too had been out riding.
The FD doused it then dragged it into a field.
It was still smoldering when we went by to look.
As we sat on our critters and talked to the 'camp hosts', Siera learned another very important lesson.

Word got around locally that there had been a trailer fire...so the locals kept driving into camp and coming to look.
Siera had one reaction to the vehicles...then simply stood quietly while they passed her.

I think it was an extremely wonderful and powerful 'training' ride.
Siera showed good common sense, a grasp of quick learning, and my husband enjoyed his first real ride on her.

[I just hope he doesn't want to keep her for himself...!]

Ride the Ride...

I got out of the trailer and began saddling up Siera for her first ever off our farm ride. We were at Wildcat Mountain State Park in Ontario, WI.

Funny, for some reason I wasn't nervous at all. I thought perhaps, I should be. But I had confidence in the ability and good common sense that this little 14 hand mule had shown me so far.

My hubby had brought his good seasoned mule, Mica.

We'd decided to take the easier trails offered at Wildcat.
Siera soon took the lead, walking with her ears flopping and eagerly looking ahead. Her pace was smooth as silk.

We rode the Red Trail, which winds up and down through the valleys and hills. In most places it is pretty wide open and two animals can ride side by side. Here is the view from on top of Johnny Cake.

When we got into some single foot tough stuff on a steep hillside, I let Mica lead the way. At first Siera seemed to want to rush going down steep hills. But this was a learning trip for her.

She learned that she could slow down and be careful on steep downhill grades.
She learned that we do NOT jump tree roots, logs, and other things across the trail. [she only had to be shown this once]
She learned to watch where her feet were being placed.
She learned poise.


WE learned:
Siera is very forward and curious.
She will lead or follow.
Strange items [such as the car in the gulley, the mule eating pine, other horses, a pile of wood, and fire rings] are worth a look, but not worth much else.

In short, she made some of our experienced mules look a bit foolish. She was quiet, well behaved, and she acted like an old broke mule.

...and finally, back at Day Camp~~she was eager to 'do it again'.


I think I am prejudiced...but oh my ~~~
I think I love this mule!!!