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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Blessings, <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Name Withheld<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dear Sir, <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I have worked with older mules that were\u00a0very hard to catch.\u00a0 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,\u00a0scratch her neck (to desensitize) her at the same time.\u00a0 Quietly and calmly,\u00a0secure the halter and continue to feed her.\u00a0 It is OK to have this routine\u00a0established because the previous owner(s) have neglected to work with her with\u00a0honest intentions.\u00a0 This technique\u00a0may take several tries to where the mule willingly will dip her head into the bucket and wait for the halter to be secured.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
There is another way that I prefer to use on haltering hard-to-catch mules. Having the mule in a corral or paddock, I will keep oats in a small cup tucked inside my jeans, walk up to the mule with the halter on my shoulder. Approach the mule, and for as long as he stands there, tell him what a good mule he is. Shake the cup of oats, to let him know you do have something for him. Offer the oats with your hand, by doing this, nibbling from your hand is a connection the mule makes; offering treats will often develop the bad habit of being able to dine and dash. They grab the “treat” and off they go. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some mules are so unsettled they will not put their head in a bucket to eat. It just takes time for your new mule to feel secure in his new surroundings, but you will have to work with connecting with your mule, because after all, YOU ARE IN A RELATIONSHIP. So, make it a good one. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
With older mules, it can take longer in repetitious handling\/gentling techniques before they feel secure in forming a bond with their handler.\u00a0\u00a0This is OK; remember, the mule doesn’t forget ill-treatment or deceitful techniques used in their schooling.\u00a0 Feeding a treat, slapping on a halter then going to work is viewed as dishonest coming from the mule’s perspective.\u00a0\u00a0There has to be a relationship.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Keep in touch — I want to know how this works out for you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n ~Cindy K. Roberts <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 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 meunless I have a treat and then only to be able to get a treat andretreat. She sees how we treat the other horses and pays attention … Continue reading “Trying to Connect with His Mule”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[13],"class_list":["post-424","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mule-advice","tag-mule-training"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.everycowgirlsdream.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/424","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.everycowgirlsdream.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.everycowgirlsdream.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.everycowgirlsdream.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.everycowgirlsdream.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=424"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.everycowgirlsdream.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/424\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":972,"href":"https:\/\/www.everycowgirlsdream.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/424\/revisions\/972"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.everycowgirlsdream.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=424"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.everycowgirlsdream.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=424"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.everycowgirlsdream.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=424"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}