Home Forums Gear Horses and ATV's Damn mules

I get ascared when someone tells me about 'something cute' their horse does.

Cute is dangerous.

Cute is a lack of discipline a lot of the time.

Too many people treat them like pets instead of tools like they were bred to be. I was guilty of that at one time. A few cracked ribs and aches and pains that won't go away is a good learning curb. Some people aren't so lucky to get away with that.

I'll second that! A lack of discipline for the animal and a lack of self-discipline for the person handling the animal.


Watching these women who buy horses because of the horse's appearance instead of its behavior makes me crazy.

One woman in this area has four really expensive horses that neither she nor anyone else can safely ride because she bought them because of their appearance and then treats them like lapdogs. She thinks its cute when they try to bite the rider and has let all four of them have their opinion on everything, so they decide who and for how long they get to ride, where and how fast they are going, and when it's time for the ride to end.


Stupid.


Ed

Mules are a little different than horses. They are opinionated and at times think they have a vote in certain task you want them to perform. At times, it's best to figure that out because the mule is trying to tell you that is not safe, or it may be they just don't se the sense in doing it. An example is doing circles in around pen. Sometimes they will balk at a water crossing because they sense the bottom is not firm. Let them go 10 feet down the creek and they hop right in.

A john mule will tend to do this all it's life a molly not so much.

With a mule, you suggest it do something, if no response, you ask it.If still no response, you demand it, but the last, you need to be careful how you do that. If you get in a fight with a mule, you will lose every time. Then before you know it, the mule seems to know what you are thinking and you go down the trail with it's ears a floppin, if you treated it right.

Mules are basically honest animals. If you watch their ears and tails, you figure out right away what may be going to happen or not. Horse may be the same, but not many take the time to figure it out. If you use mules for any length of time ,you have to.

I'd bet a few seconds before Dennis's mishap, the mule had it's ears straight up or maybe a little back and it was switching it's tail.

With APDDSN0864's horse, it is possible that the horse had a little selenium or arsenic ( can't remember which one right now) poisoning from loco weed. The nodules attach themselves to the abdominal artery and every once in awhile, one of those modules break free a work their way to the brain. Usually this happens when the horse gets heated up from exertion though. Over time, it dissipates.

I like color in a horse, not enough to own a puke though.

look at that mules eye,,,what is he thinking,,,,

Because of the previous incident, I was watching him like a hawk. He gave no inkling that he was going to go off. He did it again an hour later as I was almost arrived back at the trailer. Again, NO warning signs and I was on code red alert. I had the reins this time and stopped him almost immediately. He was perfectly calm 2 minutes later when I pulled the saddle off. This mule has something not quite right. As knowledgeable people have said, there are two kinds of mules, good mules and bad mules; not near as much gray areas as there is with horses.

I suspect that this mule will not go hunting with us this year.

I'd pack the chit outta him. Not everything has to be rideable....

Dennis this is what I gathered from your opening post. Some animals and people as well seem to have a mental disconnect at times and are not readable as to their actions and are extremely dangerous because of the unexpected train wrecks that are not seen coming

Sure, would rather clean up gear scattered for a half mile over getting some broken bones if things go wrong.

A few mules I have ever encountered did this, one had gotten into some loco weed and would disconnect, the other had been hurt by a saddle fit some time in the past and if the saddle was too far forward, he would pitch a fit. Neither one was ever cured.

The formed went to the killers. I had sold it to a fellow and it was very calm/decent mule. He turned it out on 80 acres of loco and called me after 3 months and said the mule tried to kill him every time he enters the pen. I went down and saddled it up, got on and it was locked up. I kissed to it and it came unglued. After four bucks, I shucked the stirrups and let it send me up. I came back down about four feet away and looked over. The mules feet were off the ground and it was bellowing like an old cow. It stopped for about 3 minutes, took off, in the field and did the same thing all over again. When it quit I walked up to it and led it back to the pen and unsaddled it. It was again as calm as could be.

The latter ended up in an outfitter's string and they had to medevac a lady out the first time out. After I gave the mule away with a full accounting of it's wayward ways. After I gave it way, kids were riding it bareback. That guy then sold it to an outfitter, but thought it was broke of the bucking.

Another green broke mule I bought bucked me off in a split second when I reached down to adjust my foot in the stirrup. Next thing I know I'm flat on my back ,reins in my hand looking up at a mule's face.

Then the next incident was little palomino mule that didn't want to lope. I had spurs on and found out it didn't like spurs either. Another split second, it was up in the air, back half going out sideways, front half rolling the opposite direction and I was again staring up at the, mule's face with the reins in my hand.

Both of those times I didn't have enough weight in the stirrups.

The next time an Arabian mule went berserk on a hunting trip after it got spooked by a mule that had a blue poly tarp flapping about. I was prepared for that one and it didn't buck me off, but sure was a heck of a ride.

Except for the locoed mule, all gave me an inkling that bad things were about to happen if I had been smart enough to read the signs.

I'd lean that way too...

Anthropomorphism ... It'll getcha eventually...

Amen!!!


Ed

I see this on a weekly basis...

Mostly color... very few know what else to look for.

Our selling of horses usually turns into a re-education for the buyer.

Do they actually listen when you try to re-educate them? I have better luck getting my wife (who is a fine judge of horse flesh) to re-educate them than if I open my mouth. The ones I've met don't want to hear what a man has to say about picking out a good horse.


My grulla Paint horse isn't flashy, but he is a winner in everything I have tried him at.

Ed

I rarely am allowed to talk to the buyers. Unless I'm telling a sotry from real life. I'm not always politically correct especially when I hear a lot of what comes out of these people's mouths. Specifically in reference to what they know, how good they are and what they need.

There is a huge margin between what these people want and what they actually need.

I appreciate the winning of things. We have owned a few reined cow horses. We also grew weary of the political stuff. It made it not fun.

For me now. Winning is miles deep and above 5000' ASL.

The only things I have ever entered with Blue, my grulla, are a horse trailer, a pasture, and a barn.

I'm not into competition, just performance in what we try to do.

I try to keep my mouth shut while my wife is talking horses with some of these women, but occasionally the blood trickling from a bitten lip will cause one of them to ask "what's wrong?" Then, it's "game on".

Ed

The ones that can get you in and out of griz country under adverse conditions are the blue ribbon winners in my book.