Author: Cindy K Roberts

Dear Cindy,

I recently purchased a 10-year-old gelded mule; he rides or he did stand for the farrier and seems to go through groundwork well as I see it. He had a problem keeping his tongue on the wrong side of the snaffle bit or any bit . I purchased one of your whoa mule bridles, and we were doing great with it. Now he started being very ansy and moving off for mounting, by moving backward and sideways. He trys to move forward and I won’t allow that. Got on this am worked in round pen for 30 min. Went to go for a ride and had a tough time getting back on then he bucked me off. I caught him again and got bucked off again, can you help me?

Thanks, Darrel 

Darrel,

Make sure you are not pulling on the saddle when mounting on your mule – this would cause soring him in the shoulder. I don’t know if you are a heavy guy, but if you are, you will want to focus on your balance when mounting. Make sure the saddle fits. And the saddle pad. Any discomfort to your mule and he will certainly let you know about it. I think there is a saddle comfort or balance issue. When habits or behavior issues develop, there is a logical reason for it.  Your mule is uncomfortable; and, it could be the way you ride, or the saddle may not fit, or maybe he doesn’t have near the training you thought he had.  I need to know if the saddle and pad are fitting and if you are in balance with your mule then I can address your issue further. Send me pics if you would like Darrel, I will be glad to help.

Thank you, Cindy   

Hi Cindy, I have a  mule question for you if you have a minute.

I have a young mule, he is around 7 months old. I got him from my father who bought him from a horse sale. What is the best way to get him to calm down and stop being so jumpy? I have never been around mules; my limited experience has been with horses, which was long ago. This mule will not let me touch him, he will smell my hand but that’s all if I reach for his halter, he bolts. If I grab his halter he jumps around like he is crazy and I have to be careful not to let him kick me. once I have him he calms down until I release him. Then we start all over again. I have tried to lock him up in a stall and hang out with him, he gets a little curious but will not let me catch him. What should I do? I don’t want him to get too old and still be like this.

Thanks, Steve

Hi Steve,

Everything you mentioned about your young mule is typical. My book, “Training the Hard to Catch Mule” has a lot of info in dealing with young mules that require halter breaking or additional gentling such as developing that partnership. The book reflects on how the mule perceives events and people in his world. 

For more info click here: MULE TRAINING – THE HARD TO CATCH MULE – BY CINDY K ROBERTS (everycowgirlsdream.com)

Remember, the mule is a whole different animal and your training program needs to be effective and to the point if you want to succeed in working with your mule.  Good luck and keep me posted on your progress – thanks for writing.

~Cindy K. Roberts

Hi Cindy,

I hope you will give me some encouragement and direction. Today I was leading my molly mule (2 years old) down to some green grass.  She was haltered.

Then the jenny donkey came lumbering down the hill and as I was trying to get out of the way Cinnamon reared up and struck out at me! Or so it seemed.

Maybe she was doing this in response to the donkey, I don’t know. All I know is she got my shoulders—not bad enough to cause serious injury—thankfully. 

I was so flabbergasted I yanked on the halter and just stood in shock; thinking how serious it could have been and wondering what am I to do??? As I caught my breath and my heart stopped pounding (the hit was much too close to my head), I lead her to the grass area; she was throwing her head and acting unruly.

I got them both into the grassy area and left her and the donkey to graze.

The moment is gone now, but is this just ‘one of those’ and forget it? We’ve had her for about 5 months now and I’ve not experienced anything like this before.

She is constantly exerting her dominance over the donkey, so maybe this is the root cause. And I just happened to be in the way…would you give me your thoughts and any suggestions?

Thank you much,

Carolyn

Dear Carolyn,

It is a scary moment when your mule strikes out at you.  It happened to me once many years ago and it was a life lesson that has kept me on my toes ever since.  Your two-year-old is so very young and this is typical behavior coming from a youngster.  I wasn’t there to see it, but I am wondering if the donkey was coming from behind where you and your mule were…and anything approaching from behind (at any angle) appears to the mule to be traveling up to three times faster.  So visually, animals, people, and objects approaching from behind give the appearance that something is coming near.  Mother Nature allows this keen sense to the mule and horse for their protection from predators.  I am not sure if your mule struck out of fear or from being playful.  Young mules exhibit playful (kicking out) behavior in the barnyard or pasture with their playmates. 

However, you are not a pasture buddy so you have to enforce boundaries here.  Do not allow your mule to crowd into your space at any given moment.  When working with young and/or unruly mules, always carry a crop or buggy whip as an aid (to reinforce boundaries) when you need it.  It is spring time and therefore, playful and rowdy behavior can be expected.  Also, your young mule is establishing dominance simply because she can.  Her hormones are raging and your mule is developing physically and mentally.  When your mule is seven years old, you will notice a considerable change in her maturity level and that is when you realize, the time you invested into your young mule was well worth it. 

For more information on my books that offer mule behavior and mule training go to:  http://www.everycowgirlsdream.com/store.html

Thank you for writing Carolyn and keep me posted on your mule’s development.

~Cindy K. Roberts

Cindy,

Thank you so much for your quick and thoughtful response!

I spent a lot of time thinking about the incident and I do believe it was in response to the donkey coming up so quickly, causing wild disruption—for all of us.

And yes, it has made me decide to be more aware and careful around both of them.

Cinnamon and I have a good bond, so I don’t believe it was to hurt me.  If she had wanted to hurt me, she surely could have at that moment.

Today is a new day!

Thanks again for taking the time to encourage me!

Carolyn

Dear Cindy,

Although I’ve owned a TW horse for years, I’ve only now become a mule owner too, and have a couple of training questions for you.  My mule is a five-year-old gelding and was used by his previous owner for extensive trail riding.  He is a pleasure to ride, but his ground manners need a lot of refining, and I’m having trouble getting him to do what I ask on the ground.  My two problems:  first, he refuses to stand still / stand by a mounting block for me to get on.  And second, sometimes when I lead him, he either refuses to be led and plants his feet, or tries to push ahead of me. 

The methods I used to teach my young TW mare these things don’t seem to work with my mule.  Can you make any suggestions?

Thanks very much,

Jodie

Dear Jodie,

It is natural for a mule to want to step away from a structure such as a mounting block.  Then to have someone step up on a block, you are now towering over the mule and this makes the mule nervous.  This is what predators do, right?

There are several things you can do…I will suggest one for starters.  If the mule is not too nervous, you can give a handful of oats as a treat to “distract” him just enough while you step up into the saddle.  However, after mounting, you should pet him and encourage him to stand for a minute before walking off.  Too many riders, mount up and take off and the mule never forgets what is going to happen next, so they take off before the rider is ready. 

I have trained nervous mules to stand quietly at the mounting block.  It takes time and patience.  I quietly move the block, place it by the mule’s shoulder, give the mule a handful of oats to reward him, and next, pet him. There’s no reason to rush this along, I mean, where’s the fire anyhow?

The next phase, I step up on the block, reward the mule at the same time for reassurance, pet him, and tell him how good he’s doing. Sing a little song at the same time if you really want to get his attention. I mean, how many handlers sing to their mule? Ha!

After your mule becomes comfortable in accepting the mounting block with you standing on it, (and if your song was cheery) you should be able to mount up quietly on your mule.  After quietly mounting, encourage the mule to relax and stand for a minute.  It’s not rocket science, it’s just merely taking your time to work through this process.   

This and more groundwork information is available in Answers To Your Mule Questions available here.  Thank you for writing and let me know how things progress for you.

~Cindy K. Roberts

Cindy hope you are well. My mule is still having trust/come-to-me issues. I spend as much time with her as possible. She still will not walk up to me
unless I have a treat and then only to be able to get a treat and
retreat. She sees how we treat the other horses and pays attention to
them. No matter what I do the only way I can catch her is to verbally
” Lunge” her around the corral. At first, it took about 4 laps and then
she would stop and turn to me and let me walk up and rub her neck and take
her halter. The first time I just rubbed her neck and talked back to her
and released her. Then I put the lead rope around my neck so she could see
it. She moved off again but then stopped after one lap and let me catch
her. I then brushed her, led her around, checked her feet, talked to her,
and released her. I have altered my routine every time I catch her, she
never knows if I am only going to give her a rub and pat or if I am
going to lead her or brush her or ride her. She is riding great but
has some bridling issues that I will discuss later. That is the only
process that has worked for me. Any suggestions? Enjoyed the
book “Answers To Your Mule Questions” and plan on reading it again. You have a talent for writing.

Does your mule hackamore come in different sizes? She has a pretty large
head and a regular bridle is tight. She still puts her tongue over the bit so I
plan on ordering the hackamore soon.

Blessings,

Name Withheld

Dear Sir,

I have worked with older mules that were very hard to catch.  I found it better to place the oats inside a bucket, then place the nose of the halter over the bucket, when the mule dips his/her nose into the bucket, scratch her neck (to desensitize) her at the same time.  Quietly and calmly, secure the halter and continue to feed her.  It is OK to have this routine established because the previous owner(s) have neglected to work with her with hones intentions.  This technique may take several tries to where the mule willingly will dip her head into the bucket and wait for the halter to be secured.  With older mules, it can take longer in repetitious handling/gentling techniques before they feel secure in forming a bond with their handler.  This is OK; remember, the mule doesn’t forget ill-treatment or deceitful techniques used in their schooling.  Feeding a treat, slapping on a halter then going to work is viewed as dishonest coming from the mule’s perspective.  There has to be a relationship.

Early in the relationship, by walking out to the corral, rewarding the mule for approaching and walking away is good.  Repeat this process. Always reward with a handful of oats, that way your mule can’t do the dine-and-dash maneuver by grabbing what’s in your hand and running away with it.

I have tossed oats on the ground to encourage a mule to approach me.  It takes more time with older mules to decide that you are OK, but with a positive and honest approach to their training, they do look for you to be their friend. 

Keep in touch — I want to know how this works out for you. 

~Cindy K. Roberts