Training for pleasure

By Meredith Hodges

We humans tend to complicate our lives – filling them with people, things, goals and tasks until we are too busy to even think about what we are doing. For a mule or donkey (and other equines), it’s different. The equine has no “to-dos,” no “ought-to-haves” and no “ought-to-dos.” He takes things as they come, considers his response in the moment and stays open to possibility. This year, why not resolve to be more like your mule or donkey. Consider your priorities and look at your relationship with him from his perspective. Stop to smell the roses, and during those inevitable challenging moments, put yourself in your Longears’ shoes. Try to think like he does and you might be surprised at the response that you will get.

No doubt, this is a tall order. After all, we humans tend to begin with the end in mind and the process is just a means to that end. Training, for example, is a process. We attempt to train with a goal in mind. Our goal at the Lucky Three Ranch is to simply improve the equine’s performance as well as our own. Most of us train with the expectation that improvement will occur, and most of us add the self-imposed pressure to improve within a finite amount of time. The notion that training, all by itself, could be a goal is foreign to many of us. But consider it. What if we trained for the pure pleasure of spending time with our equines while using the values we hold dear like respect, kindness, consideration and consistency in our behavior? How different would the experience be for us and for our equines?

Today’s modern horse training techniques do not generally work well with mules and donkeys. Most horse training techniques that are popular will speed up the training process, so that people can ride sooner. It makes the trainer’s techniques look more attractive, but these techniques do not adequately prepare the equine physically, in a good balanced posture, for the added stress of having a rider on board. Longears have a strong sense of self-preservation and need the kind of work that builds their bodies properly, so they will feel good in their new and correct posture. Otherwise, you will not get the kind of results you expect. Forming a good relationship with your equine begins with a consistent maintenance routine and appropriate groundwork. Most equines do not get the well-structured and extended groundwork training on the lead rope that paves the way to good balance, core muscle conditioning and a willing attitude. This is essential if he is truly expected to be physically and mentally prepared for future equine activities. With Longears, this is critically important.

No matter how old or how well-trained the equine, they still need time doing the simplest of things to get to know you before they will learn to have trust and confidence in you. The exercises that you do should build the body slowly, sequentially and in good equine posture. No human or equine is born in good posture. It is something that needs to be taught and practiced repetitively if it is to become a natural way of moving the body.

When the body is in good posture, all the internal organs can function properly and the skeletal frame will be supported correctly. Just as our children need routine, ongoing learning and the right kind of exercise to grow up into healthy and happy adults, so do equines. They need clearly set boundaries to their behaviors in order to minimize anxiety and depression in their attitude. The exercises that you do together need to build their strength and coordination in good equine posture. The time spent together during specified leading training in the Hourglass Pattern and in the Round Pen builds a solid relationship with your equine, fosters his confidence and his trust in you because you make him feel better than he ever has! A carefully planned routine and appropriate feeding program is critical to healthy development.

It is my experience that equines, particularly Longears, bond to the person who trains them. When they go away to be trained, they do not get the benefit of this kind of bonding. When they return home, they can become resentful and resistant. Can you honestly expect someone else to go out and make a friend for you? That relationship needs to be uniquely yours. You need to be the one that is responsible for your own relationships, even with your equine!

For this reason, I decided to put my entire management and training program on my website with a lot of free information under TRAINING at www.luckythreeranch.com, my books, videos and documentaries in the STORE at www.luckythreeranchstore.com and I am always available for comments, questions and concerns via Social media (MEREDITH HODGES PUBLIC FIGURE Facebook page). I always answer my “mail” and phone calls promptly because I know it is important to YOU! I am training people how to train their own equines with a program that is so simple that anyone can do it!

I embraced this philosophy long ago with successful results. Through a painstaking process that involved a fair amount of trial and error, I determined that my ambitions as a competitor made no impression on my equines. Rather, it was the level of respect, compassion and empathy that I brought to the relationships with my Longears that served us best, both in and out of the show ring. My animals will all do anything for me, not because they had the same lofty goals that I had. It’s because we truly enjoy being with each other regardless of what we are working on or what we are doing. Really, it’s because we have become close friends, and that’s what real friends are all about. Mine are very unselfish relationships with my equines and others.

The friendships I have with my Longears are integral to their outstanding performance and versatility during their physical training. In all of my books and videos, I explain how to build that kind of relationship as you develop your equine’s foundational training. Just as he learns to move in a balanced frame day by day, moment to moment, your equine also deepens his trust in you so you can take pleasure in your mutual effort. In fact, training for the pure pleasure of it is what your mule or donkey does naturally. He’s not thinking about the next show, the next task, or how much better he should be. He’s not even pondering what happened yesterday, or what might happen tomorrow. He’s just out there with you, in the moment, experiencing with you, good and bad…period. In that respect, he’s not so different from his ancestors that spent their days, roaming, grazing. drinking and resting. Why not assume a degree of responsibility and set realistic goals that are easy to achieve and that do not put your relationship at risk?

We love our animals, but sometimes we forget to enjoy them and respect them. My ultimate goal is to continue to learn from them. This can be a life-long pursuit with never a boring moment! Let them be who they are and give them the care they so richly deserve. That way, we both WIN!

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, Pinterest, Instagram, MeWe and Twitter.

Covered in TRAINING MULES & DONKEY: A LOGICAL APPROACH TO TRAINING, TRAINING WITHOUT RESISTANCE, EQUUS REVISITED and A GUIDE TO RAISING & SHOWING MULES at www.luckythreeranchstore.com

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