Home Forums Gear Horses and ATV's So I started driving my Jewel mule last week

So I got the inspiration to start driving my Jewel molly mule last week. So I had to dig out some old single driving harness, then wash it up and oil it. Haven't had a mule to drive for over 20 years. Had to repair and improvise a little bit, but not too bad.

Then it was time to pull out my old breaking chariot, made out of a 55 gallon barrel and a car axle under it. When I built it years ago for a breaking cart my boys came home from school and declared that I had officially gone too far and that the men in white suits were going to close in anytime. That was 30 years ago and they don't have me yet!

The next step was to fit the harness on the mule and get her used to that. That all went really well, she stayed very quiet.

Jewel is 11 years old and been rode quite a bit, so it wasn't like I started with a renegade this time.

Then I tied her to the back of the tractor and hitched up the chariot. Then I led her with the tractor around the farmyard a couple of laps at a walk and then drove right into my arena. I shut off the tractor and shut the gate and untied her and climbed in.

All went really well,we walked some circles and figure 8's and whoad and backed up a ways. After all her riding the driving was as easy as I could have hoped for.

Next I threw the gate open and we went off into the fallow field across the road. We trotted 1/2 mile to the other end and back,then went down the road for a mile and back.

The 2nd hitch went really good as well. we went about 4 miles down the road before we got home. Not for a novice driver yet, but we gained a lot this last week.

I have started more than few in harness, but never had that experience. Runaways are such fun. Gets the heart to beating.

Good to hear you got her going.

I had sad new last week. I traded my haflinger Jewel mule a few years back to an outfitter in NW Colorado. She had her 10+years and the mule turned out to be her best packer.

The outfitter goes to Texas for the winter and a local rancher pastures them out.

All evidence suggest the mule was stolen last winter. It was there one day and gone the next with no trace. Branded Triangle R Triangle in left hip. Probably was taken out of state