LTR Blog – Mule, Donkey & Horse Training with Meredith Hodges

“The passion that Meredith Hodges feels for the equines that she has fought for all her adult life is still as fresh, inspiring and infectious as it was when she first discovered the world of horses, donkeys and mules. She has never wavered in her devotion to them and in her mission to carve a lasting and honored place for them in our world. They are lucky to have her as their champion, but Meredith actually sees it a bit differently. She feels honored and privileged to be a part of their world.”

View Posts By Category:

Breeding | Donkey Training | Farewells | General Interest

Hearts & Horses | Historical | Interviews | Jasper

Longears People News | Longears Videos | Lucky Three Ranch

Military Mules | Mule Talk! Podcasts | Pack Burro Racing

Showing | Statues & Exhibits | Training | Training Tips

Merry Christmas From Lucky Three Ranch!

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM ALL OF US AT THE LUCKY THREE RANCH TO ALL OF OUR FAMILY, FRIENDS & FANS.

Click here https://youtu.be/9rGWCwvw2bs for a special video gift for you. Wishing you all the best now and in the years to come!

Meredith Hodges Interview for the 2024 Hearts and Horses Gala Part 1

Part one of Meredith Hodge’s interview for the Hearts and Horses 2024 Gala. Lucky Three Ranch was a presenting sponsor for the Gala. Meredith talks about the importance of being of service.

Meredith Hodges Interview for the 2024 Hearts and Horses Gala Part 2

Part two of Meredith Hodge’s interview for the Hearts and Horses 2024 Gala. Meredith thanks those who join in supporting Hearts and Horses and talks about the importance of developing the positive in people.

Ground Breaking - Raising the Barn

Hearts and Horses broke ground on a new arena where they will continue to change lives through therapeutic riding. The new arena will be called Lucky Hearts, as much of the funding for the arena was given by Lucky Three Ranch.

Hearts & Horses Virtual Tour

Haven’t made it out to the Hearts & Horses ranch yet? Here’s your chance, thanks to our brand new virtual tour! Discover all of the state-of-the-art facilities designed to heal minds, bodies, and spirits at our 23-acre ranch in Loveland, Colorado.

Latest Podcast

MULE TALK! PODCAST: Why Mules are Exceptional

Why Mules are Exceptional –

Across the United States and around the world, as mules are given more and more opportunities to perform in many diverse situations, they are exhibiting their exceptional beauty, athletic ability, endurance and intelligence. There are definite physical and psychological reasons for these outstanding abilities. It has been proven that the mule not only inherits the mare’s beauty, but is also more athletic than the mare out of which he came. The mule is an exceptional hybrid not only because he inherits these qualities from his dam, the mare, but he also inherits the best qualities from his sire, the jack who is responsible for his muscle structure, thickness of bone, strength and intelligence.

LISTEN NOW

Learn more on Mule Talk podcast.

For more training info: www.LuckyThreeRanch.Com and click on the Training tab.

Mule Talk is an Every Cowgirl’s Dream production – www.EveryCowgirlsDream.Com

All Posts

LTR Training Tip #106: Stadium Jumping

See more Training Tips ...

MULE CROSSING: Donkey Training, Part 6

By Meredith Hodges By walking your donkey through all the different phases of training, and before going on to the trot, you have given yourself and your donkey an opportunity to learn to negotiate and perfect your movements before you ask for speed. This allows for a lot more perfection of coordination to take place, so things are less likely to fall apart when you do add a little speed. This is the most obvious difference between mules or horses and donkeys. Horses and mules are difficult to slow down ...

MULE CROSSING: Equine Behavior: Look Who’s Talking! Part 3

By Meredith Hodges In Part 1 of Equine Behavior: Look Who’s Talking, we discussed the evolution of man’s self-discovery and how he applied this to his approach to equines. If we want to manage our equines in a healthy way and accomplish even the most basic performance with them, there is much to consider during the training process. In Part 2 of Equine Behavior: Look Who’s Talking, we learned that equines are honest in their nature, and produce quick and honest reactions to a stimulus. Therapeutic Riding provides and ...

MULE CROSSING: Equine Behavior: Look Who’s Talking! Part 2

By Meredith Hodges In Part 1 of Equine Behavior: Look Who’s Talking, we discussed the evolution of man’s self-discovery and how he applied this to his approach to equines. If we want to manage our equines in a healthy way and accomplish even the most basic performance with them, there is much to consider during the training process. In the not-so-distant past, the prevalent belief was that, if you had a reasonably large patch of grass with a fence around it, you could have a horse. We now know it ...

MULE CROSSING: A Bit About Communication with Your Equine

By Meredith Hodges Over the past few decades, through trial and error, we equine owners and trainers have discovered that, when communicating with our equines, harsh bits are not really necessary. Rather, it is safer and more beneficial to use milder tack and equipment, to concentrate on learning correct body language and to give clear cues with our hands, seat and legs to elicit the desired response from our equines. Nowadays, at the beginning of training, more and more riders are learning to ride “by the seat of their pants;” ...

MULE CROSSING: My Favorite Christmas Tradition

By Meredith Hodges My favorite holiday of the year has always been Christmas! The sights, sounds and smells of Christmas transport me to a magical place for the whole month of December, and the excitement and joy of yesterday still ring true today. I cannot think of a more deserving holiday than one that celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ and promotes so much hope and serenity throughout the world, if only for a day. Christmas reminds us all that the spirit of sharing and giving is timeless and takes ...

MULE CROSSING: On the Trail with Mules

By Meredith Hodges With the hectic schedule of spring and summer slowly tapering into fall, thoughts of cool, refreshing mountain streams, the sight of a massive bull elk, or the quiet majesty of the rugged mountain peaks on a relaxing trail ride, mountain hunt or pack trip begin to ease their way into our minds. What better time to share with your mule or donkey? What better place for him to show you what he was born to do? A mountain trail ride or pack trip are both perfect ways ...

MULE CROSSING: Do Mules Need to Be Shod?

By Meredith Hodges Do mules need to be shod? Those who are familiar with mules might be tempted to say, “No,” but the answer is a little more complicated than you might think. Although the mule generally has a tougher and more durable foot than the horse, all mules do not have the same feet, nor do all mules apply the same kind of stress to those feet. Therefore, each individual animal has to be considered when answering the question, “To shoe or not to shoe?” It is commonly known ...

MULE CROSSING: Basic Training for Foals Includes Common Sense

By Meredith Hodges “Imprinting” is a natural process by which an animal (most typically, when young) comes to recognize another animal or a person as a parent or other object of habitual trust. Imprinting is also the way any equine is touched when he is a foal and handled throughout his entire life. It is never too late to use imprinting with your equine, and the way you do it will determine whether or not he develops a lifelong confidence and trust in you. NOTE: Imprinting should not be utilized ...

MULE CROSSING: Fitting Tack Equipment

By Meredith Hodges Whether riding or driving, the comfort and fit of your tack and equipment is an important consideration if you wish to get the best performance from your equine. Any piece of equipment that does not correctly fit your equine can cause less than optimum performance. Consider, for instance, the bridle, which is such an important communication device. Do not select a harsh bit for control. Control comes from logical and sequential practices during training and not from force. The bit should be comfortable and be fitted correctly ...

MULE CROSSING: The Round Pen

By Meredith Hodges The Round Pen originated as a useful training aid for Western trainers who were trying to “break” the wild mustangs that were brought in off the range.

1. There has been spirited debate between English and Western trainers as to the real value of the Round Pen as a training aid, since it can produce undue stress on the fragile joints of the equine-in-training.
2. Do not BEGIN training your equine in the Round Pen, because an unbalanced and inexperienced equine in uncontrolled flight, in ...
  Read More

Equines of a Certain Age

Lucky Three Ranch knows a thing or two about elderly equines—miniature mule Lucky Three Franklin just celebrated his 40th birthday on April 1, and we've been happy to celebrate many of our other equines through their 20s and 30s. That's why we're very happy to acknowledge Tootsie, a resident of the wonderful Donkey Sanctuary in Ireland, who is an incredible 54 years old—making him one of the oldest mules ever. The Donkey Sanctuary rescued Tootsie in 1992, and he is part of their "Super Grannies" group of equines that are all over 30 years ...

MULE CROSSING: Living with Longears

By Meredith Hodges In the beginning, my home, Lucky Three Ranch was a 10-acre sheep ranch with a small house and hay barn, an old Quonset hut, a feed barn, four three-sided sheds, and a perimeter fence made from sheep fencing with barbed wire on top. It was crossed-fenced around the sheds with some heavily chewed board fences and anything else the previous owner thought could be used for fencing. I’d already had experience with horses, but it wasn’t until my first mule, Lucky Three Sundowner and my first donkey jack, ...

MULE CROSSING: Making History with Mules, Part 2

By Meredith Hodges As we track mules through history, we find there is a reoccurring theme that paints the mule as both a companion and adversary of man. Those of a certain temperament seem to be able to befriend the mule and those who would be combative suffer at his mercy. Man would rather blame stubbornness on the mule than to claim this stubbornness as his own. Clearly, there is no doubt that the mule is and always has been a hard-working and valuable beast of burden throughout history. His ...

Longears Music Videos: Up, Up and Away: Jumping

See more Longears Music Videos ...

Breeding

No posts found.

Donkey Training

No posts found.

Farewells

No posts found.

General Interest

No posts found.

Hearts & Horses

No posts found.

Historical

No posts found.

Interviews

No posts found.

Jasper

No posts found.

Longears People News

No posts found.

Longears Videos

No posts found.

Lucky Three Ranch

No posts found.

Military Mules

No posts found.

Mule Talk! Podcasts

No posts found.

Pack Burro Racing

No posts found.

Showing

No posts found.

Statues & Exhibits

No posts found.

Training

No posts found.

Training Tips

No posts found.