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 for you to get to really know your Longears and strengthen the bond between you.
Mules are remarkably strong and durable animals, making them excellent mountain partners. The cupped shape of their hooves allows them to track the rough mountain terrain with much more surefootedness than their counterpart, the horse. A mule’s superior intelligence and strong sense of survival help him to carefully negotiate the placement of his feet, insuring the safest ride possible. This is both important and comforting to know when heading for the mountains. The mule’s strength and endurance are sometimes unbelievable, but always dependable. On a hunting trip, he will take you through rough mountain terrain for days then pack out the “elk of your dreams” with the greatest of ease.
Around the campfire, he is wonderful company on those lonesome mountain nights. His blatant curiosity can make for some fun—and funny— situations, and his loving ways will win your heart. But first and foremost, he is a reliable companion when the going gets tough.
A few years ago, some close muleskinner friends of mine decided to take a hunting trip into the Rocky Mountains. Packing in, the weather was beautiful with warm temperatures, calm breezes, and not a cloud in the sky. After setting up camp and tending to their horses and mules, the hunters set off tracking elk. Hunting was good, but after a few days, the evening brought with it an unpredictable snowstorm of incredible intensity. The hunters crawled from their tents the next morning to discover their camp buried in more than four feet of snow!
With no chance of the storm lifting, the hunters packed up what they could on their horses and mules and quickly got under way. Since time was of the essence, tents and much of their gear had to be left behind. As they left the campsite, the snow deepened and the terrain underneath was steep, rocky and treacherous. They had gone only a short distance when the snow became so deep and the terrain so hazardous that the horses refused to go one step farther. Anxiety was high when the horses could not blaze a trail out. The hunters were worried they wouldn’t make it off the mountain alive.
In the face of this great danger, my friend asked his trusted mule, Goliath, to break trail for the others. With slow, careful, deliberate steps, this well-trained, loyal mule led them all down the mountain to safety. Once there, they freed their trucks and trailers, which were buried in snow, loaded them up, and made their way back to the lowlands to safety. The storms on the mountain worsened and it was spring before the hunters could return for the rest of their gear, but they were eternally grateful to Goliath the mule for leading them safely down the mountain!
There are many stories like this one, where mules and donkeys have emerged as heroes in precarious situations. However, if you prefer not to take risks like my hunter friends, there are other less daunting activities you can enjoy with your donkey or mule.
Why not take your longeared companion along to the mountains for a hike or a picnic? He would thoroughly love just being with you in those beautiful surroundings. While you walk the trails, enjoying the marvels of nature, your donkey or mule can carry the lunch essentials. While you enjoy the wildflowers or try your hand at fishing a mountain stream, you can be confident that your Longears will enjoy the peaceful solitude and be able to stay out of serious trouble at the same time.
If you question taking excursions such as these with your longears because of a lack of training, there are fellow Longears lovers who can help you. All over the United States, excellent mule trainers are available to help beginners. A Longears lover once told me that his love for burros and mules began years ago when he found Dusty, a three-month-old wild burro caught in a blizzard. He took her home and cared for her, and, a year later, he entered her in the National Western Fall Classic Donkey and Mule Show. He and Dusty were awarded the title of Reserve Champion Donkey of the Show! Ever since, he has sought to help others enjoy Longears and horses in any way he can. In addition to breaking and training wild mustangs at his Medicine Bow Stables, he has included free clinics for burro owners to teach them how to handle and care for their animals.
We are fortunate to be able to share our time with such intelligent, tough and durable equines as our beloved mules. But you should also remember to do your part in the relationship. Be patient and willing to take the time to allow your relationship to grow and for training to become solid before you indulge in the challenges that trail riding can present. Plan ahead and scout the locations where you desire to ride. With the growth of urban populations, open areas that welcomed riders in the past are not as numerous as they once were. Many areas now welcome hikers and even bicycles, but not equines. Find the designated trails and camp grounds that will accept equines when planning your treks.
Even a ride that is planned to be short can turn into challenge if the weather changes suddenly, so be sure to plan for the worst case scenario. Tack up your equine in comfortable tack and equipment that fits like a glove. I like to ride with a crupper because it will hold the saddle in the correct placement when adjusted correctly and will allow for full range of movement, particularly behind when climbing uphill. If you use a breast collar, make sure it is loosely fitted so it does not pull your saddle forward and into the shoulder blades. Be sure to pack your saddle bags with the barest necessities for any ride far from home: Compass, water, rain gear, a Swiss Army knife, buck knife, hoof pick, lighter, fence pliers, Granola Bars or Trail Mix, a sleeping bag, a warm coat, Bear Spray and a First Aid Kit (at the very least Gauze, Vet Wrap and Neosporin).
If planning an overnight trip, you will probably need a pack mule, or horse, to carry the extra food and additional necessities you will need like tents, blankets, sleeping bags, more food, extra clothes, High Lines and extra halters, and food for your equines. Lots of places will not allow your equines to graze in the parks, but some do. I do not like using picket lines where the equine is tied low with a halter, or with a rope around a foot. I do not like to use hobbles either (Mules can run off in hobbles with no trouble at all!). It is too easy for equines to get tangled up or injure themselves when they are restricted this way. They can get sprained tendons and ligaments, or severe rope burns that will leave them scarred for life. I prefer to bring their favorite horse “friend” along and tie the horse, and mules that tend to wander, to a High Line. Most of the mules can be allowed to run free and won’t leave your camp with the horse there, but do not leave halters on them. Again, they could become tangled up and injure themselves. If you have spent adequate time during training to build a solid relationship with your mules, they are much less likely to wander off and get lost. They will choose to stay near you.
If you can, choose a place where you can establish a base and park your truck and trailer. You can then tie them on a High Line during the evening and put them back into the trailer for the night. This might be better if you are an area where there are a lot of large predators. Just don’t leave the truck and trailer windows open so a predator can get in. Stock trailers are the best for this purpose since they also have more room in them and are fully enclosed. Any food that could be attractive to predators should be mounted high in a tree, at least 50-100 yards away from your camp and your equines.
Getting the proper in-depth training for your donkey, or mule, can only enhance your relationship with them and in turn, they will enrich your life. This year, why not take the time to really get to know these remarkable animals by letting them share in the fun, be it hiking, hunting, packing, or picnicking. The life you enhance may be your own!
To learn more about Meredith Hodges and her comprehensive all-breed equine training program, visit LuckyThreeRanch.com, MEREDITH HODGES PUBLIC FIGURE Facebook page, or call 1-800-816-7566. Check out her children’s website at JasperTheMule.com. Also, find Meredith on Pinterest, Instagram, MeWe, YouTube and Twitter.To learn more about Meredith Hodges and her comprehensive all-breed equine training program, visit LuckyThreeRanch.com or call 1-800-816-7566. Check out her children’s website at JasperTheMule.com. Also, find Meredith on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.
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Long before the Founding Fathers drafted our constitution, America began as a religious nation under God, and the mule has his roots in religion just as does the country he has helped to build. The mule of today’s ancestor is the donkey, mentioned in the Bible numerous times as an animal respected by God and blessed by Jesus Christ. The donkey was even chosen to bring Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem and, later, acted as the mount Jesus himself used for his ride into the city of Jerusalem.
Mules are the true professionals of slapstick humor and professional psychotherapy! When you get into an altercation with a mule, you will seldom get hurt, but you will surely be set straight in a most humiliating way.
“Mules are the living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the West. Mules were the pack animals of Spanish padres and grizzled prospectors. These animals have a dominant place in frontier history. From 1883 to 1889, the 20-mule teams moved 20 million pounds of borax out of Death Valley, California, to Mojave—165 miles away—traveling 15 to 18 miles a day. The 20-mule teams, the dramatic solution of a transportation problem, soon became a world-famous symbol, the trademark first of the Pacific Borax Company and, today, of the many products made by U.S. Borax.” 2 So began the mule’s vital contributions to industry and the economy.
Although he is often confused with his sire, the donkey, the mule is the symbol of neither the Republicans nor the Democrats. During past political campaigns, certain Republicans actually declined to have their picture taken with a mule, because they were either ignorant of the difference between a mule and a donkey, or they were afraid that the mule would be mistaken for the Democratic Party’s symbol—the donkey.
Mule stories from the past are numerous in this great country of ours. The number of mules (and horses) in the U.S. peaked in 1919, at 26.5 million. The United States of America was quite literally built on the backs of its mules—they pulled supply wagons in the cities, forged west with the early settlers across the vast prairies, packed hunters’ gear in the mountains, plodded underground with the coal miners and plowed the Southern cotton fields. They have participated in war alongside our brave soldiers, and have found their place in the field of entertainment. They even helped with the excavation of the Pasadena Rose Bowl.
After the onset of the Industrial Revolution, the number of mules in the U.S. declined, and in 1967, there were less than ten thousand. But happily, in recent years, renewed interest and public awareness have sparked a steady increase in the mule population.
Obviously, I have one of the worst cases of “Mule Fever” ever suffered! But then, here I am—older, wiser and without any broken bones due to my association with mules. In fact, I can say my life was saved by one of my own mules. I was on my mule, Mae Bea C.T., leading a group of four trail riders on horses up a switchback in the Rocky Mountains, when the trail began to get very narrow. It was 100 feet straight up on the right and 100 feet straight down on the left! I could not see very far ahead because the two-foot trail wrapped around a huge boulder and blocked my forward vision. As I rounded the boulder, with the horses right on my rear, I was faced with a trail that disappeared into a wide landslide of small rocks. I couldn’t go forward and, with the horses directly behind on the wider part of the trail, I couldn’t back up. The horses could turn around where they were, but I couldn’t. I waited for the horses to get turned around, and then indicated to Mae Bea C.T. that I wanted a tight turn on the haunches. She sat her rear back on her haunches and swung her front legs over the 100-foot drop in a smooth and effortless 180-degree turn, facing next in exactly the opposite direction. She then stopped and waited for my next cue to lead the horses safely back down the trail. I shudder to think what could have happened had she been a nervous horse.
Although the therapeutic value of the mule goes back as far as his own history, the idea of intentionally using mules for actual therapy did not come until much later. One of the most successful therapeutic stories involving mules is that of the Vision Quest Wagon Train. Vision Quest founder, Bob Burton, had a dream to use mules and the discipline and hard work of a real wagon train to help troubled kids. So, in 1976, the first Vision Quest Wagon Train was launched. In this life-changing program, 36 at-risk teens were required to spend one year traveling with six mule-powered wagon teams that went south in the winter and north in the summer. During the journey, the kids learned positive social skills and responsibility in caring for themselves and for their animals, with a solid success rate of 60 percent. (Mules really do make the best teachers!) Today, plans are being made on Facebook for a Vision Quest Wagon Train Reunion in 2012. Clips of the Vision Quest Wagon Train journeys can be seen on YouTube.
By Meredith Hodges
In 1967, concerned Paul and Betsy Hutchins founded the American Donkey & Mule Society, designed to spark the fires of interest in these longeared animals. The A.D.M.S. quarterly journal continues to remind the American public of all the extraordinary things that had been accomplished in history by donkeys and mules. They plowed the fields, pulled the covered wagons and worked in the coal mines. They pulled barges on the canals and packed munitions for the military. They built the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. Wild Bill Cody rode a mule named Mouse that put General Custer’s fancy Thoroughbred to shame over long distances and rough terrain. The crowned heads of Europe rode mules as a statement of class and Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the back of a small and humble donkey! Although the horse was revered and given the credit, mules and donkeys were always right there, too – strong, steady and humble!
Thanks to Paul and Betsy Hutchins, we have been reminded of Longears’ great legacy and there are those, including myself, who would find a way to appreciate their efforts and would help to make donkeys and mules an important part of modern-day society.
Mules and donkeys are becoming the equine of choice in many areas today. The California Sierra Nevada Pack Stations are populated with mules trained to take tourists on pack trips through the scenic mountain areas. The only equines safe enough to carry tourists down the steep rocky trails at the Grand Canyon and at Molokai are mules! Hunters are using mules as riding and pack animals due to their incredible strength, endurance and intelligent nature. They can handle rougher terrain and adverse weather conditions better than can the horse. Donkeys are finding new uses in guarding sheep from unwanted predators. Mules and donkeys are used in handicapped riding and driving programs, and molly mules are being used for embryo transplant. Third world countries are being educated in the care and feeding of their donkeys and mules to enhance economic growth. Mules and donkeys have even become viable 4-H projects for young people who enjoy the challenge. We are finding that there are actually very few things these longeared equines can’t do!
Skeptic that I am I have always attempted to find the limitations of these incredible individuals. Here at the Lucky Three Ranch, we continually challenge our mules and donkeys with new and innovative tasks. They have continually met these challenges with success! With each new success, our mules and donkeys have brought many new and wonderful friends into our lives, making life full and very rewarding. To this day, I am still amazed when an animal has met his challenge and accomplished what I have asked. I suppose part of me would still like to believe that if they could have done all these things, then they would have already been done. But I can see now that that isn’t necessarily so. Need has a lot to do with it. No one ever NEEDED an upper level Dressage mule before! But I did!
Since we have yet to find any serious limitations in these Longears’ ability, at the Lucky Three Ranch we concerned ourselves with documenting these three unique successes. Training Mules and Donkeys: A Logical Approach to Longears is a book documenting the training techniques we have used that led to the ultimate success of our mules and donkeys. It will was first released in May 1993 and was revised in 2013. As far as I know, it is the only book of its kind with training from foal to adulthood and has subsequently been supported by more books, DVDs and television shows and our extensive and comprehensive website at www.luckythreeranch.com. The intent is always to help mule and donkey enthusiasts to get the best from their animals and to avoid the common pitfalls that would sour an otherwise stimulating and rewarding experience with Longears. It just goes to show that MULES CAN DO, AND DONKEYS, TOO! Seeing IS believing and dreams really CAN come true!
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looked after well,” says Hulme (pictured, right). “They need to be well fed, well looked after and not cruelly treated.”
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It is estimated that at least 100 million equines are supporting more than 600 million people in the developing world. The majority of those animals are suffering from exhaustion, dehydration, malnourishment, crippling injuries, lameness, and/or contagious diseases, nearly all of which can be prevented with proper training for their owners.
US donors had also contributed to the year’s success, through its American fundraising affiliate Brooke USA.