Discipline... what is the right thing to do?

So, discipline... what do you do to discipline?  This is a HUGE question.  I have been asked many times as to what is the proper time to discipline and what do you do?  Well... discipline should start the moment you go out to catch your mule, donkey, or horse...  So, we all know that discipline builds rapport and instills confidence in your mule's opinion of you.  Now the question is, what do we do?  Well, when we go out to catch a mule, the moment we approach them, we expect good manners.  When we put the halter on them,we expect them to be respectful of our space, be respectful of our demands, and trust in our judgement enough to follow us out to work.  We achieve this through repitition.  Still, what do we do?  It's a hard question to answer.  Well, I'll tell you exactly what we do.  First... when we put the halter on and they try to rub on us, we do not let them.  We start everything with a verbal command... a growl (yes a growl, it works with dogs, cats, kids and even husbands!), then we push their head away, and then rub them on our terms.  Why?  Rubbing shows they love me, right?  Well....   we want to show them that the choices as to when things occur are ours.  This will transfer later in your training to every other thing you try to do with your mule.  The point isn't to deny your mule love, it is to make them do what you want... when you want to... then rub them.  Same goes with eating... when you lead them out and they want to stop and eat, it isn't "love" to let them stop and have a snack. We disrupt their plan before it is in motion.  We are aware before they even drop their head and verbally warn them with a growl, then bump the leadrope in time with their footing to give them incentive not to stop or eat.  (This is timing and we'll get to that another day).  We want them to look to us to choose when they are allowed to do things to show them that we are in charge, thus building rapport and trust between you and your mule.  Being in charge starts as soon as you lay hands on them and follows through everything you do until you turn them back into their pen. 

When we have them at the hitchrail,we expect they stand perpindicular.  To achieve this takes lots of time and repitition... again... what do we do?  We make them stand correctly in order to make our saddling, grooming, etc. easier.  When they move to look at something and get out of position, we stop everything and growl at them, then physically put them back into position.  We make it no big deal, then move on with the saddling. 

We discipline riding too.  How do you do this?  First off, we always ride with spurs.  If you are not educated with spurs, then you should not use them until you have lots of practice because they can cause lots of troubles for the uneducated rider.  Spurs are for both discipline and bending and flexing your mule.  Ok, discipline while riding... Well, it is the exact same thing as when you are on the ground.  If you are riding your mule and they start to look at something or spook at something on the left, you need to warn them to keep their attention on YOU.  How?  First we verbally warn them with a growl.  If they don't heed our verbal warning, then we must do something to back up what we say.  This is followed with snatching of their mouth to redirect their attention back to us.  If that doesn't work and they are pointing with their ears and focused on something on the left, we then spur them on the OPPOSITE side as they are looking at.  In this case, you would spur on the right side, right in the cinch area.  You also want to join this spurring with a growl.   This will let them know that you are in charge of looking out for danger.  As Red would say... "you are the biggest, baddest thing in the forest and you will protect them".  This entire disciplining should last about 2 seconds and should be a smooth action.

Another example would be when you mule is spooking all around,  such as in a parade.  I have seen people time and time again rub their mule that is spooking all over the place.   Well, a rub should be a reward.  Why reward your mule for bad behavior?  This drives me crazy because it is unfair to send mixed messages to your mule which will lead to more problems and increase anxiety in your mule... and this is the riders fault.  Instead, they should growl and show displeasure at the bad behavior.   This growl should again be followed with snatching of the mouth and spurring if they don't heed our warning.  If we don't show our mules/ horses/ donkeys the proper behavior, how can they ever look to us for confidence?  How can you ever build a relationship without discipline, respect, or trust?  This goes both ways between you and your mule. 

Finally, disipline should be justified and fair.  This is especially true with mules and donkeys.  Remember, discipline should be used as a building block to improve a relationship.  I know many of us get nervous disciplining under saddle, however, it is one of those things you must work through with your mule to achieve a trusting relationship.  If you don't discipline under saddle, you don't have the right to discipline on the ground as well.  It is a two fold endevour, like it or not.  Therefore, when you discipline, you are doing your mule a favor which will translate into confidence in your mules opinion of your judgement... and that, my friends, is why we ride! 

Discipline for Confidence and Ride like the Wind!  Julie