Today was a success! The weather was cloudy and cool. The sky was very dark all day to the West over the Rincon Mountains, in Arizona. The rain from the night before has settled the dust and it is Beautiful today... a perfect day to be training mules!
The plan today for Ceasar was to have him lead behind the wagon while under harness. When you lead a mule and have them under harness, with a bridle and bit on, you need to be sure to have them collected. So... what does that mean? Collection is the description of a mule that keeps their head in a vertical position from the ground. The purpose of this is to teach them athletecism. Everyone is always talking about collection... but why? When an equine is collected, they put their weight on the hindquarters. This will lighten up the front end of your animal, enabling them to rein lightly. Also, allowing them to be atheletic. By tying them down in collection, this teaches the mule to seek the bit, also it teaches the muscles to bend in the manner required to begin collection. Collection is not something that is learned or achieved overnight... this is a long term commitment in teaching this, but well worth it when they are under saddle. It makes reining a dream! More on that later!
Ceasar followed the wagon well. The most interesting thing was that he was at the gate to come out this morning. He was ready to do the whole thing again! That is typical of the geldings... they are so curious that they can't help but want to go again. We were very pleased by this and he was a happy guy when his drive was complete... and he wasn't the only one happy. I was happy, and relieved!
More later!
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