Ralphie,
One thing I have learned over the years from being around Mules and Mule men all my life is that it won't do any good at all to try and reason with them, they like those long eared demons because they both have the same qualities and dispositions!
I will put money that my well bred 14 year old registered rope horse, cow horse, hunting horse, that will catch the fastest steer out there in a heart beat, will pack a large deer in my lap 5 miles and can top any mountain in Idaho or Arizona in record time and when all the horses around me are foaming with sweat, he might be wet under the saddle blanket and instead of heaving he wants to eat grass..That is what he is, smart, tough as wang leather, and well trained...and at the end of a hard day I can go team rope steers until dark or I can rope 50 steers at a jackpot and he will run the last steer just like the first steer..I have never had a mule come close to this kind of ability and don't believe their is one.
BTW, the mule that was ridden by Buddy Heaton is all those old movies and rodeos was born and raised on my dads ranch, I broke and trained that mule, buddy taught him all those neat tricks..I had to teach him English as the dumb sob could only speak Spanish. His name was Hollywood and he was a really good mule, I hunted off him and could pack a deer in my lap on him. He was a smart mule and I hated to sell him but the money was too good.
