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Us old farts do get a few things right every once in a while I guess.

I believe I just read it in maybe Western Horseman that Rocky's are one of the breeds with some of the best feet. Walkers were one of the others.

There is a significant amount of Mustang blood in the Rocky's. Our Mustangs have some of the best and hardest feet I've ever worked with. Interestingly enough they have traced some of the blood lines of the Rocky's back to the horses in the Pryor's... cool stuff right there.

This fella just turned three (calendar years) he's still got some growing to do. Big personality. We have had this one since he was six months old. First time for us raising a baby.

Well, ya got the colors right ;-) everyone wants the Chocolate/Flaxen. Very nice and conformed very well.
Blood?
We've seen on average they have finished growing up by 4 and filled out at 5.

Oddly enough when I first saw him I did not think he would be a Chocolate. This picture at two months old was from a visit to the farm where he was born with a friend who wanted us to see the set up. I said to myself I like that one.



Several months later I had heard that the farm was offering several Rockies that were available including the colt I had thought would be one I would like to have. It was a situation of too many horses and not enough grass. We had the onset of some very dry conditions. This is what he looked like when I revisited the farm months later and brought him home still not knowing how he would turn out but his mane and tail were starting to show/retain the flaxen traits.

I don't have DNA results but I'm pretty sure about #2 being a TW.

Funny how they change coats...

Good looking pony...

Thanks Cocadori,

As far as bloodlines go: His Sire is Owen's Choctaw and the Dam is out of Nick. He has Sewell's Sam on top and bottom.

Hoping the rain holds off so we can get some riding in tomorrow.

I like mules and mustanos for good feet and lots of self-preservation. They are smart and you have to win them over.

I respect your perspective and that a Mule can recognize limitations. Some here on the Forum have said Horses are Stupid and I respect the people who post those comments and their limitations as well.

There is no doubt about where a Mule stands and I value them for their abilities.

I ride a Horse 'cause I appreciate a friend committed to me that will get me back Home.

Have/had many of both ..both have their place. Both take different approaches. Hard to beat the smoothness of a long earred horse ;-)

Truth be told.. we're thinking heavily on breeding 2 of our personal Rocky mares with a Mamoth Jack. ;-)

Maybe the best of both worlds.

There are dumb horse and there are smart horse. I prefer the smart ones.

This is probably hijacking this thread, but I'd be sure interested in knowing how that cross comes out. Best of both worlds I'd bet.

Most people who can't get along with mules usually turn out to be only mediocre horsemen or horse women. Women can usually get along better as they are softer in their approaches ( not all).That is why the old saying that horses should be trained like mules have to rings true.

Simple fact is horses, compared to all farm animals are at the bottom of the list for smarts. Maybe only topped by turkeys. Pigs being the smartest. The donkey imparts the intelligence to the cross, although some horses seem to have more smarts than others. One being the Arabian, but generally that crosses makes a pretty poor mule. Treated right a mule will make a lasting companion and bond more to a human than most horses.
Treated badly and they can be a train wreck. Trained right and treated right a good mule can be 10 times better than a good horse, but if not, they can be 100 times worse than bad horse.

I will keep you and everyone else posted on this outcome. We are weighing the odds and our time right now.

Everything you said is spot on. We've trained as well as "re-trained" mules for many.

I will say this though. This breed (Rocky's) are without a doubt the "smartest" (consistently) breed we've ever worked with.

So in fact we are looking for the best of both worlds in the Mamoth Jack breeding.

I have heard of gaited Mules, are they the outcome of a cross like this or a naturally occurring trait?

Usually a cross out of gaited mares, but some do advertise their jacks as being gaited.

Mules are usually smoother gaited than horses, although I have ben on some rough ones

When do you expect result to be in the mail?