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
