No Good Deed goes Unpunished...  

So, what does that mean anyway.  Well, until recently, I have never given that statement much thought.  However, I am thinking of it more and more these days.  This is why...

When we go about our lives, we all seem to follow a similar sort of moral code.  We drive carefully on the streets, stop and go when the light allows, park in one spot at the store and not the handicapped spot, pay for our groceries and don't eat them while shopping (except the grapes, that's a grey area).  We don't tell lies we can't back up, we generally don't slander or badmouth people.  We try to pay our bills, we keep our heads down and our eyes open. Sound familiar?  It does to me...  It seems that people generally do all of this and try to stay out of the line of fire.  Right?  Now, what if your faced with a situation that requires you actually do something to make things right?  To take a stand?  For example, maybe your kid is in school and they see someone being picked on.  What is your advice to them?  Just keep your head down and stay out of it?  This will guarantee your kid doesn't become the object of ridicule.  It is the safe path.  You know saying something will make them a target, right?  No one wants that, hmmm...

Ok, now assume for a minute that you are faced with a moral decision that will cost you a lot of money.  What if you know that the likelihood of hurting someone has increased tremendously over the years in your business.  However, you also know that you will make more money if you just keep your head down and your mouth shut.  What if you know that saying something to change it could cost you your business?   What if you know that the general public is not aware of the danger that has developed due to existing factors.  What do you do then?  Hmmm.... 

Now, apply all this to Winterhaven  Rides.  So, everyone seems to want to blame someone for the changes that have developed in Winterhaven.  Who is to blame?  Who did it?  Why change if there hasn't been an accident?  Why?

Well, lets look at it a little closer.  What is more lucrative, change or keeping the mules in Winterhaven?  Of course, the mules are a great draw... that is a no brainer.  Mules are definitely more lucrative than any other possibility.  The bonus is that mules are very cheap to maintain!  This is one more reason we love them.    So, financially... mules are definitely the best choice.

Ok, what about accidents?  Why change if there hasn't been accidents?   To start with, there is always a public view and an insiders view.  Who says there hasn't been any accidents?  Hmmm...  maybe we should do a little homework on that one people.  I'm sure there are plenty of you out there who know more about that.  Still, assume for a minute that it was true?  What justifies waiting until someone is hurt?  When the streets are completely full of people we look like fools trying to keep our teams in there.  Anyone educated in driving teams knows this.  We look ridiculous keeping our mules in an event that has simply outgrown them. 

Now, what has changed?  The teams have been in there forever??  Why change now?  Lets look a little at how the Festival of Lights works.  The committee in charge of this event are volunteers.  This was a little Festival years ago.   It was manageable and fun for them.  When the economy changed, funding of this event became the responsibility of the Winterhaven Neighborhood.  The City of Tucson was no longer able to fund.  In order to keep this event alive for all you guys, they used vendors and sponsors to pay for the expense of the event.  They placed Kettlecorn, Hot Cocoa, and Cupcakes in the center of Winterhaven.  They invited the Tombstone Trolley to be a vendor to help chip in.  Then, of course, us mule vendors.  Although the mule vendors had been there for many years, the new vendors were a great addition to the atmosphere of the Festival.  They are also helpful in paying for the police, barricades, and insurance for the event.   They are helping to keep your Festival returning year to year.  So, what has changed?    People are making an evening of the beautiful displays, the goodies available at the square, and the fact it is free to walk.  Therefore, the number of people inside has increased with the arrival of the vendors inside of the event. 

Ok, so... knowing what has changed over the course of the last few years... what are we to do?  We kept our heads down and played the game.  How long can we keep up the façade that it is no different than years passed?  We have been kidding ourselves.   Is it fair of us to subject the visitors walking inside the event, the Winterhaven committee, and the Residents of Winterhaven to the liability of our mules inside an event that has simply outgrown them.    Well...  we tried.   Morally, we just couldn't keep the cat in the bag.  So... who is to blame?  Us for standing up and saying that driving teams through thousands of people is becoming a problem... what can we do about it?  The Winterhaven Committee, who are volunteers trying to provide an amazing and fun event for Tucson, for requiring that we go mechanized?  The mules for being mules?  The families for walking inside and enjoying the hard work of the Winterhaven Residents?  The Winterhaven Residents for having displays that are so good that they get crowds of people around their house... aka "dangerously great displays"?  The vendors in the center for being there, but actually helping to keep this festival a possibility?  I guess it's us....  because we let the cat out of the bag. 

So, this is why I am beginning to understand that no good deed goes unpunished...    

Why do the mules factor into the decision of Safety inside of Winterhaven?

Hmmm.... that's a tricky one....  Lets start with a team of mules working happily together.  They are very strong and powerful.  Remember, they LOVE to pull.  They have all this muscle and now they have something to do with it!  When they work, we have to consider personalities and who they will work next to.  We drive either a 2 up hitch or a 3 abreast hitch.  If we put a team of mules together that have dominance issues where one is trying to be the boss, only one will pull and the other two will comply with the dominance threat and keep back a little.  This is a problem because you no longer have a "team", you have one pulling and two threatened.  Anyone who drives teams knows that you have to put together a team of mules that get along, like each other and work well together.    When they are working content, they are easy to drive, easy to catch to drive the next day, and altogether a joy to work with.  When you put them into Winterhaven and they are pulling their wagons, they love it.  They enjoy their work and everything is good.  When we add the crowds that are moderate, it isn't an issue because we can work our way around them as you have seen for many years.  Now add a stifling crowd.  This forces the driver of the teams to make a choice... they must try to negotiate safely through the crowd or they must stop in order to clear the path to travel through.  As we pass through Winterhaven, we do everything in our power to keep our teams rolling along as they should be.  Of course, we have obstacles that require our stopping.  This is a given.  When it is a minimal number of obstacles and stops, the mules let it go and don't become concerned.  If we begin to stop and go often, the mules become irritated with the interruption in what they believe is a destination they are heading for.  This irritation is exhibited in many different behaviors by the mules.  Some of them will rear up or jump when we stop too many times, communicating to us that they want to get going... they are excited to keep rolling and that they don't know why we are holding them back.  Others will start to goof around and mess up the harness, chew on the lines, hook their headstall on the hames of their neighboring mule, others will push the team from side to side simply communicating their displeasure at the hold up.  Still others will kick out to express their lack of patience.  Of course, this is normal and natural behavior.  This is their instinct and their only means of communication to their surroundings and handlers.  We, as being the people responsible for the safety of the visitors around our mules, have to accomplish a delicate balance between clearing the crowd so we can keep our stops to a minimum and stop when we have to but not too often as to maintain a good attitude in our mules.  This has been a reasonable request during all the years we have worked this event.  In December 2012, it had become clear to us that this delicate balance was becoming something that was more and more difficult to achieve.  We tried our best to ignore this problem.  We tried our best to "play the game" and say everything is fine and that this is a normal environment for driving teams.  When the season approached... we again faced the gravity of this situation.  What is the right thing to do?  Do we say something?  Do we risk losing our vendorship for the sake of asking for a better path for our teams inside the event?  Or... do we do what so many do... be quiet and grateful for the chance to drive inside again.  We decided to do the right thing and voice our concerns.  Clearly this was a difficult choice for us as we have all our teams, whom we have fed all year, ready for the event.  We have all our wagons rigged with hydrolic brakes for driving teams.  We have all our triple trees and double trees ready to hook our mules to.  We have all 21 sets of harness ready and waiting for the mules to wear.  We have trucks ready to haul our teams.  We have 2 20 foot horse trailers and one 28 ft horse trailer waiting for hauling 21 mules a night.  We have 24 diapers ready and waiting to be used.  We have all our mule shoes and borium purchased and ready to put on our mules feet.  Taking all this into consideration we asked ourselves....  what do we do? 

What would you do?

Seriously, does anyone care about the animals working anymore?

 

We too are saddened by this required change of events. For all of you who do not quite understand why this could be safer, please read on... Our motto is "give your mule a life" We have been training mules for over 14 years. What do you suppose this means? It means that people should educate their mules and use their mules. However, is it reasonable to put a mule into a crowd of thousands of people.  Hmm... that is the question. That brings us to thinking about how the mules work. When animals pull a wagon, they are built to get the wagon rolling, which requires a lot of energy. They are then required to keep it rolling, which is easier for them using momentum. When a wagon can roll along without conflict, it is good for the mules and they enjoy their work. Now add thousands of people in their way. This re...quires that we demand our mules either walk slower, which is difficult and much more work for them, or stop and go, which sores their shoulders and makes them unhappy in their work. In order to avoid them stopping and going, we place two people walking in front of the wagon to clear the road. Our employees have been required to pick up small children and baby carraiges and move them to avoid conflict with our teams. Because of these two factors, and the fact that we actually care about the wellbeing of our mules, we asked the Winterhaven Committee what they can do to make this a better and safer driving environment. They deemed that it become mechanized.    We are happy to have anyone who has information on how to better drive teams safely through huge crowds, come on down and give us some ideas. To all those naysayers, we are open to suggestions and insight, not just blind judgement. Now, the question is, why would it be safer to be mechanized? Because we can stop and go and not be concerned with the well being of the mules who are working under our care. So, we welcome all of you in the vicinity to come on over, give us some information on a better plan! Welcome! We will hook up a team and let you help us with this problem. All of you are invited! Finally, to anyone who believes it is fair and just to put mules inside of and event of this magnitude and call if fair to the animals and the people walking inside, please explain to us how. We are happy to change back if you find a way to make it safe and fair for our mules and those visiting winterhaven!

Ok, I'm finally back!  Does time ever fly by in this life we all live.  Just a blink of an eye and the weeks turn into months... well, you all know the rest.  Funny, we never get any more mature though, do we?  haha

We have had a pretty busy year.  We have trained quite a few mules and have met lots of really interesting people.   Of the mules we have recently trained, one mule sticks out like a sore thumb.  Of course, this is Leroy. 

Leroy came here from a great little family in Arizona.  He met him just after he inhaled a pellet and was wheezing, coughing and drooling enough that we were worried whether he would make it though the next 5 minutes!  Still, this tough guy managed to survive.  We had placed him in a quarantine pen when he arrived and it was large.  After he was here about a week, and had appeared to recover from his drama, we went to catch him.  By this time, he had gotten his wits about him and his plans were not the same as ours.  There was no way to reasonably catch him.  After we tried cornering him, coaxing him, and every other trick we could come up with to catch him, we decided that we had no other choice but to rope him.  We would rather not resort to this, however, it was what needed to be done.  We worked together, Red with the lariot, me on the ground trying to stop 1000lbs of adamant fury from galloping away long enough to get a halter on him.  In the end, we managed to get him caught and that is when our next challenge began.  Uh oh!  Catching was easy!  It was the leading that became the more interesting event of the day.  We had put a halter and lead rope on him and also left the lariot on him to ensure not to lose him between pens.  With me leading and Red following with the lariot in hand, we felt that things were pretty well under control.   Leroy, however, had tried quite diligently to run away in spite of the lead rope, halter and lariot.  After a few convincing bluffs on our part, he decided that going to the new pen was a great idea and one he managed to be sure was his own. 

Leading was quite an effort with Leroy.  It didn't matter if it was from his pen to the hitch rail to get tacked.  Or from the hitch rail to the round pen, or wagon.... He wasn't game to go anywhere he didn't decide to go on his own.  We had to double lead him, (one of us leading and one of us pushing) everywhere we went for about 2 weeks.  After driving Leroy in harness with two other mules, he realized what all the fuss was about and from then on, he led like a champ.  No more problems there.  He loved pulling the wagon.  He found out he was good at something and loved it!  He became proud of himself.  It was quite the sight to see... a mule who NEVER went where we wanted easily becoming such a great partner in work just by enjoying his job. 

So... what is the moral of this story?  I don't know.  Guess we just don't know how great something can be until we try it.  Maybe even kicking and screaming we stop things in life that could turn out to be the most rewarding thing ever.  Who knows...  Leroy seemed to figure it out.  Winterhaven is coming again and the work has begun.   Although it is a mountain of work, I will not approach it kicking and screaming!!  I'll jump right in....


 

So... Halters in pasture?? Haven't we learned our lesson??

Don't leave halters on when your mule/horse/donkey is out in pasture or turned out anywhere without supervision... THEY HANG THEMSELVES!! Beware!!

Just a thought!

So, they say the cage has to be strong enough to hold the lion, right?

Thought I would comment again on these appaloosas. We have grass everywhere which is amazing for Arizona. The monsoon has been kind to us this year and the rain has brought grass and mesquite beans. Of course, we like our mules to enjoy a little freedom and have multiple pastures for them. Most of our mature animals go out in a 50 or 340 acre pasture. They spend the summer out there. Our new or younger animals stay home. I thought it would be nice to let them out individually to enjoy the goodies around. So... I let Pecos and Yoyo out. Well, after a few hours they disappeared! The entire property is fenced and there is no way out?? After some investigating, we found that they had jumped the fence into the 50 acre pasture to visit the other mules! We decided to leave them out for the night and woke to find them home agan! I put them up for a few days to let others out. Well, let them out this am... it didn't take long for Pecos to start yelling for Yoyo... who again left the property and jumped into the other pasture! If you have been to our place, our fences are very tall. 5-6 foot! How they are managing this is beyond me! Still... I know Bob, their owner who passed, is getting quite a laugh out of this!

Life is short, SMELL THE ROSES!!

Today I am thinking about how short life is. Really, the time seems to go slow and things happen. We work, pay bills, cook dinner, all that good stuff. We always wait for something... What does that mean? I mean that we are always waiting for "this" or "that" to happen, then things will be alright. Well, things are alright TODAY. Right now. We cannot waste the beauty of NOW for things to be perfect. Guess what, they never are. And that is what is perfect. Look outside... if it is sunny... it is BEAUTIFUL. If it is raining... it is BEAUTIFUL. Snow? Well, a little cold but BEAUTIFUL too! Remember, things won't be what we anticipate so cherish right now!!

Riding... well, I'm having a blast with my Pecos... my Appaloosa mule who is relearning everything. He is the fairest, most amazing mule I have worked with in a long time. I am relearning everything which I love. He is challenging and yet, completely fair. Creating a relationship with a mule like this is special and only happens once in a great number of mules. I'm blessed!

Fourth of July Parade

This is a shout out to Jean. I'm so proud of you that you rode your mule in the Fourth of July parade in Benson with us. You are an amazing and accomplished rider and I hope to ride with you again someday, my friend!

Update on Pecos...

I am thrilled. Pecos is GREAT! What a beautiful and outstanding ride. I'm hoping he is having as much fun as I am!

Why do we work in circles?

So, my friend was here and has been working a horse. He has his horse going quite well. After a trail ride, I went to work in circls in the arena for just a few minutes. Our goal was a trot in a 60 foot circle without too much difficulty. At this point, my friend asks why? Surprising, he has never tried to work in circles!

Why do we work in circles? What is the point? Well, we work in circles for multiple reasons. First off, our goal is to strengthen the hind quarters. As you bend in a circle while walking, the inside hind leg steps under the body. At a walk, it should be pretty easy to walk in a fairly round circle. It is good to keep an eye on something central and focus on EVERY step as you go around. Try to bend each step as an individual. Strengthening the hindquarters helps lighten your front end which will aid in creating collection.

A second reason we work in circles is to bend and flex our mule. Every step bends them and this stretches the backstrap. Stretching and flexing will assist in reining.

Finally, we work circles to build rapport between you and your mule.

Remember this though.. the most important part of working circles is that we only work about 10 to 15 minutes. It's important that when you are getting bored, so is your mule. Reward yourself and your mule with a fun ride in the hills!!

Happy Trails!

The Fires of Arizona

We are praying for rain! The fires in Arizona are so sad and we are praying for rain.

Pecos... Wow!

Well, I have started Pecos.  He is around 10 years old and 16 hands.  He is an appaloosa with a full blanket.  He is a real looker.  We acquired him from our friend, Bob, whom passed away in May.  Well...  We started him by driving him.  To start him driving, we put harness on him and let him get accustomed to it.  Then we hooked him up to a wagon with an experienced mule and his brother, Yoyo.  They drove great.  We did train them in 2002 and we expected good results from our drive, however, we know they were not driven since then.  Fortunately, they drove beautiful. 

After driving him a handful of times, it was time to saddle him up.  We saddled him up and put him behind the wagon.  He did just fine.  Finally, I climbed up there.  We start all our mules in a 60 foot round pen, regardless of their experience.  We want it to be fair to the animal.  He didn't mind me up there, however, he would stop.  Serious stopping.  This is usually due to confusion.  He would also throw his head up.  This could be a dental issue.  I went ahead and demanded movement, simply walking in a circle both directions.  We had a successful ride and have had major improvements since then. 

To date, we have had his dental issue addressed.  We are now exploring the trail as well as working in the arena.  We are still battling the stopping issue, however, it is almost extinguished.  He has personality that is awesome.  He even shows desire to go on trails and up in the hills... I love it!!

To our Friend, Bob...

Bob... you are gone!  We saw you a week ago and now you have ridden off into that great trailride in the sky.  You loved your animals.  You understood your animals.... and they were your life.  We know you wanted to take them all with you.  Still, we are blessed with Pecos and Yoyo and will take care of them. 

To all who read this... Bob was a friend of ours who visited on Thursday a week ago and was feeling fine.  He unexpectedly passed Thursday night.  Remember, tell everyone you love that you love them while you have the time.  We never know when we will be riding our last ride. 

Ride like the Wind, Bob

There is many roads to Rome!

Ok, so what does that mean??  Well, of course I'm going to tell you!  haha.  I've been busy training mules and catching up from Winterhaven work in December so I just didn't have anything to talk about.  Now, however, I have a topic of concern, and let's face it, that is actually what inspires our most passionate blogging! 

There are many roads to Rome, meaning, there are many ways to accomplish success.  One method isn't necessarily the "only" correct way to a finished product.  Now, relating this to mules...   Mules are smart and sensitive creatures (horses too ie: Khuster!).  When we have them come here, they take some time to transition into our environment and our demands.  They take some time to get used to us as handlers.  When we finish with them, there is a period of transition for the owner to take over the continued training.  This means that when you take your mule from us, you can expect about 3 weeks of them not quite trusting your judgement.  After this transition period, providing you make trustworthy choices that warrent your mules trust, your mule will start to show a change in their personality towards you.  For example, you may notice they won't stand easily to mount for a week or two, and then it will mysteriously resolve.  Or, they may not leave your property easily under saddle and it too will suddenly change.  This is due to their transition to YOUR choices.  Now, if your choices don't appear trustworthy to your mule, this may take a little longer.  Every little success you have with them builds their trust in you. 

Now, when you take your mule/horse home after training from ANY trainer, ask the trainer what you should be doing?  We suggest a regimen of riding in 60foot circles every day working on bending, flexing, and rapport with your mule.  If you go home with your animal and follow this suggestion, you will find your animal will respond quicker to your requests.  After this transition period, you can begin to apply your own personal techniques.  However, if you skip this transition period, you are only asking for trouble.  Maybe you may not want to do things quite the way your trainer may suggest, however, you must transition your animal to another method over time... thus, many roads lead to Rome.  It doesn't mean your methods are not good, it just means you should follow the methods taught to your mule until you have the time to add your own techniques in their routine so that the mule can understand them!

That said, it is in your best interest to put your invested training to work for you. Continue the work when you get your animal from any trainer as it ultimately is a relationship between you and your mule that will make them do whatever you want! 

Ride with the wind my friends, as it is Spring!!
Julie

Ceasar update! Hold on and shut your eyes!

Guess what?  Ceasar can pull a wagon!!  If you don't know Ceasar yet, scroll down to my first entry and you surely won't forget him!  We have been driving him SUCCESSFULLY providing a POSITIVE EXPERIENCE over the course of the last 10 days!!!  We are especially pleased with Ceasar's help in this matter.  I attribute his entire attitude adjustment to jealousy...  Jake (our 10 year old son) has been driving his donkey single and the donkey is Ceasars' best buddy.  Ceasar has been watching, green with envy,  for 3 weeks or so and has been quite disturbed about not being invited.  Well, we hooked him up again with a 3 abreast hitch after leading him behind the wagon with his harness on and he did fabulous.  He trotted off straight as an arrow and pulled like a freightrain!  I'm so proud of him.  Have faith, sometimes patience is the best training technique of all! 

Julie!!

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

Discipline? Do mules hold a grudge?

Today I was talking to a friend of mine and we were discussing her donkeys.  She was concerned that if she disciplines them, are they smart enough to hold a grudge?  Well....   Of course I have to add my two cents as I have a lot of opinions on this matter.  I feel that it is like anything else... what are your credentials?  If I were to tell you that you are running your business the wrong way and proceeded to give you advice, your first questions should be "what are your credentials?"  Why should you think anything I say is good advice, unless I am an expert on running businesses.  Well, equines are the same way.  This is even more so with mules and donkeys.  When you discipline, you are essentially giving your mule advice on how to act.  Discipline is absolutely necessary in training and developing a relationship with your mule.  There are many forms of discipline and we can touch on that later, however, discipline is essential to creating a trusting relationship. 

When you are catching your mule and you put your halter on your mule... that is when you need to expect that your mule behave properly and lead to the location of your choice.  This is done through discipline and it the first step in your training day.  When you lead your mule, he should follow you out.   If he chooses to stop and eat, or pull away from you, you need to discipline.  If he wants to eat on the way to work, it is your responsiblity to make him stop eating and continue on your way.   If you allow him to stop and eat on the way to work, you are allowing the mule to be the alpha and in charge of decisions.  This may not seem like a big deal, however, it is the BASIS of everything you choose to do with your mule.  When you allow him to make the choices, your telling him that the advice on how to act is his choice, not yours!  This responsibility on how to act is a big deal to your mule.  This puts a lot of stress on your mule because he realizes he is the one who is in charge of not only when he can choose to graze, but staying safe and alive suddenly becomes his responsibility too.  Remember, we need to instill confidence in our animals so that they don't spook, run off, or become herd bound.  This confidence comes from our discipline in telling our mules that we are in charge... and will protect them.  This needs to be consistent in building a trusting relationship.  They may want to graze right then, but by stopping them and moving on, you are telling your mule that you are in charge of the choices and we are not eating right now, we are going to work.  It is a very simple concept that is the primary most important factor in training and creating trust between you and your mule, donkey or horse. Give your equine good advice and back it up with everything you do with them... and they will thank you for it...

Ride like the wind, my friends!!  Julie

Happy New Years... Time to get back to work!

Happy New Years!  It is 2011!  Well, I suppose it is time to get back to work.  After our Winterhaven Event in Decemer 2010, the mules all look exhausted.  Then, to boot, it rained and even snowed a little... so they are completely covered in mud as well.  They look a little like the rest of us feel after such a big event.  Still, we are so glad it was a safe and fun holiday for all involved... the mules included.  Everyone came through with very little galling and wear and tear... Pretty good for driving 18 head of mules (let's not forget Moosegoose and Roy, the 2 special horses that get to participate) every night for 13 nights!  Time to get them in pasture to relax and get back to trainig.  We have Dusty, Sarah, and the big Jack... DuraMaxx to get back working bright and early Monday morning.  So...  Happy New Year from all of us!

Julie Wycoff

Winterhaven and Mules!

Winterhaven is an important event to the Tucson Food Bank, as well as the many fabulous patrons who ride with us.  There is one part of this festival that does get overlooked... and that is the mules who pull the wagons.  We have a herd of mules that we keep on our property to pull wagons for this event.  Many of these mules would not have a life today without the opportunity to work at this event.  By this we mean that a large percentage of our herd are mules that people no longer wanted.  Mules that didn't have a purpose that they were good at.  Mules that were not perfect and not what people want for their riding mule.  These mules have come to us in many ways.  Most of them are mules that their owners have found are simply are too much mule, or are too big, or too young, or too something!  With us they have found a life.  

We have Blanche... we refer to her as Apache.  She is a beautiful 16 hand white paint mule that came to us about 8 years ago.  This mule was unruly and generally unhappy.  She pretty well disliked everyone and every other mule.  After some time and many hours of work, we have turned her into an excellent driving animal.  She pulls our 20 person Constoga wagon with Kit, her partner.   With this event, Apache has a fabulous life.  She lives on 340 acres throughout the year and shares it with the rest of the herd!

We also have Mulie... Mulie is a new mule to our herd.  He is 16.2 hands and not the sharpest tool in the shed.  This will be his 3rd year in Winterhaven and we have high hopes for him.  His personality is that he isn't a mule at all, but one of us.  He doesn't understand why he has to stay in his pen?!!  Mulie was turned out in a 50 acre pasture with about 8 other mules...  and he got lost.  Mules don't get lost... he was working a little area of fence all by himself.  He is adoreable.  We love him.

We just want you all to know that this is a very important event not only to Tucson, but to Apache and Mulie... who without Winterhaven... may not be here today!

Julie Wycoff

A Beautiful Day as the Mule Trainers Wife

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!