Showing posts with label saddle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label saddle. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 25, 2019

Sundance in Training...

I know this has been a long drawn out effort for training a mule. Sundance is 10 yrs old now. So many things have interfered with getting her under saddle that the last 5 years have flown by.

She was supposed to be a project for Rich. I didn't want to train another mule. I'd worked with Badger as my very first full blown project in 1998. Sunshine in 2002 and Siera in 2006.

Anyway. Cancer, stroke, and other health issues took away Rich's desire to work with Sundance. I thought she was too wild and crazy at first to work with. However since she is here, I decided that she should be useful. So last year I started working with her. She made great progress and then...winter happened. The round pen got filled with large square bales for the winter and the training there stopped. I had good intentions of all sorts of work with her...but didn't.

Now we start up again. And the intense human contact has made an impression on all of the mules.
The red headed sisters always come to the gate and stare at me when they see me outside. Sunshine is the older of the two and has years of riding under her girth.
Sundance evidently loves the challenge and work. She will spot me anywhere and find me.

Even in the forest she hears my footsteps and comes on the gallop. She reminds me in a way of her half brother Badger. Her sister Sunshine is very similar. I've been blessed with some very fine mules in my life. Sundance may be one of those special ones and I may not have known it.

Here she is at the gate with her sister. Demanding to be noticed.

I made her wait though until I was ready.

In the round pen I just decided to start treating her like any mule I'd take riding.
No ground work first.
Brushing and picking the feet.

Blanket and saddle. This is the second time she has had a saddle on. She twitched her body when I brought it out but then stood still as I put it on her.
Bridle.
She really is not sure about having a snaffle bit in her mouth and kept inching backwards.
I did not have her tied, she was at Liberty and could have chosen to bolt away. However I stood quietly and spoke to her, explaining how I felt she needed to trust me on this.

She took the bit and let me adjust the straps. The bit and bridle really bugged the crap out of her. So I added a few jugs with rocks to her saddle and asked her to trot around me.
She shook her head and bunny hopped in protest. She went faster, slower, faster, then stopped and became a mule statue.

I put the crinkly dog food bag on her next and she listened to it as she walked around and then stood quietly again.

I attached reins and we worked on feeling the bit on one side and another and giving to the bit. It only took a few minutes for her to figure this out. I stopped as soon as she responded.
I then put a foot in her stirrup and laid across her, first on one side, then another.

A huge thunderstorm started moving in so I decided to end our session. I unsaddles her and did it as if she were a seasoned mule. She just stood quietly.

I'm looking forward to another session hopefully today.
One thing I have going for me, is that I am not like a paid trainer. I don't have a time limit on her work. I don't have to produce results in 30 days. I can take my time and do it how I like.

I will be moving the herd back to the forest so they have lots of shade as the weather is turning very hot and humid.

I'm pleased with Sundance's progress. They say you need to train them very young. I'm thinking that Sundance is more like her sister and half brother Badger. They needed time for their mature brains to kick in and accept things.
This work would not have gone well when Sundance was two or even five years old.

I guess things happen for a reason.


Friday, May 11, 2018

One saddle


In 2011 I had a friend who rode Endurance call me up on a saddle she found on Craig's List. The saddle was missing the fenders and most of the other parts of the saddle were quite worn.
However, it looked much like an old Cavalry Saddle and weighed next to nothing!

I drove over and looked at it and realized that it may in fact be an old Stonewall Saddle.

The first photo is of Sunshine with the saddle on her.
Here is a shot of Siera after we outfitted the saddle with new straps ordered from Stonewall and English synthetic leathers along with synthetic stirrups.


It really doesn't look like much does it? With mules we use a crupper on the tail and a breastcollar. These items keep the saddle from sliding forward or backward while negotiating our steep hills.


Sunshine's back with the saddle again. You can see the breast collar is also sort of an Aussie style collar and not the typical western breast collar. We found that the typical western breast collar could choke the mules on a really steep hill.

Then here is Mica wearing the same saddle and you can see how the crupper fits.
Excuse the hair all over the yard, it is shedding time and I cut her mane with a pair of scissors.


When I first started using this saddle, I was sure that I'd fall right out of it with the least little bolt or spin that a mule would make.

One afternoon I took Opal [she's gone now] out to pick black berries and wild yellow raspberries.


She was by far the quickest mule we'd ever owned. She was my husband's Team Penning and Gymkhana mule. Eventually she retired from speed work and I would take her on solitary rides.
A doe burst out of the corn field we rode by on our way home. Opal leaped into the air and did a 180 turn and began to gallop in the other direction. Spooks happen.
How I sat that event out is still anyone's guess.

And then there is Siera. The least spooky critter I have. If she gets frightened, she generally freezes up solid. [Unless it involves farm machinery or baby carriages]


Well, back to the saddle. It works on all of these mules and is super lightweight. I like riding in it. The English stirrups require that I wear half chaps to keep my lower legs from pinching.

It wasn't until two days ago that I realized that I've used this saddle on every mule I ride and it works wonderfully.

Of course I have other saddles but when the grand kids show up to ride I have to let them use my Western saddles.

This is the end result of all the work I do to keep these mules in tip top shape.

What is nice?
I can just use one saddle for all these mules.
It is a terrible job, but someone has to ride them right???


It is riding season again!

Monday, September 30, 2013

Yes She Does!

Just before hubby left to see some folks in Missouri, he and I talked about Morris and Opal.

I wondered out loud if she would ever give Morris a ride in the saddle.  Both of us figured she wasn't of the temperament to try new things.
Especially at her age.

But Sunday morning I got her out for a ride.  I tied her up to the hickory tree in the yard and let Morris loose.  He ran circles around her and stopped to smell her hooves.

Now Morris has gone on rides with Opal before and she is fine with him running under her, behind her, and in front of her.  She seems to be actually calmer when he is along and we are going solo.

He seems to sooth her for what ever reason.  I did notice that effect on Siera also when he went along.

I attached the bell to her breast collar and then put Morris on the saddle.  Morris acted terrified.  Opal turned her head and looked at me.  
I handed her a treat.

We stood there for a moment or two.  Then I lifted Morris off the saddle.
Doing that at home and doing that on the trail was two different things.  
I started out the ride with Morris in the saddle.
Both mule and dog were content.

Morris had a blast.   He ran ahead of Opal.  Then he would stop and smell and sniff.  We'd ride past him  ~ after a moment or two I'd call and he'd come blasting down the old logging trail on a dead run.


Being a mule, Opal kept a close eye on her little buddy.

And she didn't mind it when he scrambled to stay on while I mounted.



Just before we crossed the creek to head home, I stopped to let Opal eat some nice luscious grass.

Morris waited patiently and stood back watching Opal eat.  When I lifted her head and put a foot in the stirrup, he came up and put his paw on her front leg.  
Opal didn't move.
I put the tired Jack Russell on the saddle and mounted up.

She carefully carried Morris and I home.

I guess the answer to our question has been answered.
Yes, Opal will let Morris ride in the saddle!






And...he likes it!

Monday, July 22, 2013

Dead Broke doesn't mean Dead




One of the things I like to caution people who start horse back riding is that even if you have a 'dead' broke horse, it doesn't mean that horse [or mule] will never spook or do something stupid.

You need to put hours and hours in the saddle.  You need to find your balance and reaction time.  You have to react to things in a split second when they happen.  A horse or mule can have a reaction time nearly 100 times faster than a human can.

Case in point.  Today I rode Opal.  She is 28ish years old.  She has been in parades, in shows, on hound dog trials, she has done barrel racing, and all sorts of cattle events.  She has god knows how many miles and hours of riding under her belt.  She didn't spook a couple of weeks ago when hen turkeys flew up nearly in her face.
In short, she is a broke animal.  A 'been there done that' kind of animal. 

We rode without incident solo ... to the berries where I picked and picked.  She was happy to graze while I did the work.  

On our way home we headed back up the field road.  Next to this track in the grass grows field corn.  This was the easy trail.  I saw her head pop up and tense.  Next thing I knew we were doing a half airborne 180 degree turn and she was off to the races.

I said whoa, and drew a rein to steer her left away from the fence hidden in the brush.  All I saw and heard was the thunder of a deer startled in the corn and the ass end of the thing as it bounded over the fence and was gone.  This all out of my periphial vision.

I never thought about what I was doing.  After close to 25 years of constant riding it becomes second nature to stop a runaway or a spook. 
Nice thing is we didn't spill any of the berries I had in the bucket.  That was my big concern!

Opal eyed the field corn as if it were full of hatchet wielding deer that were going to cut her heart out.  She kept an eye on the corn as we traveled back towards home.
These things happen.  It is in the nature of equine to spook at times.  A bit less for mules as they are part donkey.  But this doe blasted out of the corn 2 ft in front of us. 

The berries made it home safely and I discovered that Opal is a very good berry picking partner.  We may have to go back to the old logging road and pick and walk together.

This morning was a wonderful peaceful time.  In the woods and on the nob with Opal.  Just her and me.  You know, I never even think of that world outside when I am with an animal...riding or hiking.  It is like reality is here and now and all that outside stuff.
Is just stuff.