Hi! I am in the process of training my new(ish) 14 year old molly mule. Would love to hear from others doing the same and trading tips, etc. Not sure if there are many mule owners on here, though.
7 Likes
Not a mule owner- just someone who leases a horse- but I do like mules. Yours is a cutie! I believe there are a few posters on the board who have mules. There are interesting mule threads on here but theyâre old. (Still good reads though, taught me about mules).
2 Likes
Donât own one but adore them. Your girl is beautiful, looking forward to reading about otherâs mules.
1 Like
Yes, I have found some old threads and am hoping to create some new interest.
Maybe tell us about your girl to get the party started? Is she your first mule? What differences have you found working with mules vs with horses? Theyâre not better or worse than horses just different. I find those differences interesting.
3 Likes
i have two mules. Ollie is an 8yr ponymule and he is a great trailriding mount for me (heâs little so am i). He does equine SAR and is quite good at it. Heâs dog-tame and loves everything in life. Christine came to me via rescue. She had a great start in life, exceptional training at the ranch that bred herâŠshe was very expensive when sold to her first homeâŠthen fell upon ever-more rougher and rougher times. Sheâs 17 now and has been here not quite a year and a half. She arrived aloof, touchable/halterable but with the caveat that âsheâd just as soon kick you as notâ ground mannersâŠwouldnât tolerate me being above her head (like on a mounting block or a gate). She suffered some kind of huge trauma, (has a big divot on her side and scar or two to prove it). The story goes that bucked/tried kill two different âmule trainersâ that got ahold of her before she landed in the rescue. She has become quite gentle and serene and is a relaxed, obedient pet now. She lives in my at-large herd, comes when i call her out of a hundred acre pasture and allows everything i try with her. I will not be riding her or putting anything on her back. She gets to live the rest of her very long (i hope!) life at leisure right here. I took this pic of them just yesterday.
What i can tell you about mules is that they are COMPLETELY transactional about their people. They donât generalize âŠwell, thatâs not exactly true. Christine did generalize âŠshe didnât like anybody, but that was only a temporary condition. Something bad happened to her⊠Now she likes me. What you can or cannot do with a mule depends upon how much they (pick your word) like? trust? respect? you.
You need to be relative to their existence to tell them what to do. Which basically just takes time and their catalogue of experiences of you being âgoodâ to them (feeding, good communications when moving them around, etc) You can make a mule do something even if they think they might not want to IF you are a VIP in their life.
9 Likes
Okay! About 2 years ago, I had a horse rescue bid on a mule for me at an auction. She was only being bid against by the meat buyer. Basically, I got her sight unseen with no history. On my sales slip I found the previous ownerâs name and found him on Facebook. He explained that she was trained and used as a pack mule but he sent her to auction because she was âiffyâ around her hind legs. He has customers walking around his stock and just didnât want the risk of someone being hurt. My attitude was that I have always wanted a mule and if she is only used as a companion animal for my horses (2) for the rest of her life that is find by me. However, I would like to ride her for trailriding.
When I first got her she was âin your faceâ but once she was allowed out in the large paddocks with her horse buddies she quickly realized that with company, space, food and water supplied she really didnât need me⊠at all⊠and became very difficult to catch. I had a number of other things to deal with so I just let her do the companion thing.
I am now starting to train her. Step 1 was being able to catch her. Moved her into a much smaller paddock with a shelter and just let her realize that I was the food, water and company provider. I can now catch her easily in her paddock. Step 2 is ground work. I am going slow on this as I want to build a strong foundation of trust and I am recovering from a broken heel so I am slow going. She is a skittish mule but whenever I put too much pressure on her she never reacts aggressively (kick, bite, show her hind, etc.). She will just get a few feet away from me and I can reapproach her. She is starting to really enjoy being groomed and really seems to like my singing during the brushing sessions. Initially, she was very concerned when I brushed her right side but now is comfortable all over except below her hocks. So thatâs what we are working on now.
I follow Steve Edwards of Queen Valley Mule Ranch (heâs on YouTube) and that has really helped me with my plans on training. Mules are so different than horses!! Training one makes you very humble. 
2 Likes
eightpondfarm - those are some gorgeous mules!!
2 Likes
Youâll find working with your mule will make you much better at working with horses.
Ultimately, I have found every mule is different. That seems like an obvious statement, as every horse is different, too, but mules really are a different category of unique. They are incredibly intelligent and very compartmental about things, far moreso than horses. And I will triple down on what other posters have echoed about mules being very oriented to their handlers. Like donkeys (which is where I think it comes from) they become very attached to certain people and if you prove your are trustworthy, you can make all kinds of asks of them. Bring a new person into the mix and all the sudden they can act like a blank canvas until that person proves they are worthy.
I am sure that Steve Edwards will give you lots of good information on specifics: what I can say is break your training down into small segments. Mules can have a tendency towards depression/sulking if they are pushed too hard, and can become very resentful of being asking to do more than they are mentally prepared for. Go slow, think small lessons and donât work for too long. A few 15 minutes sessions per day is generally better than one 60 minute session IME.
3 Likes
Back when I got my first mule, a long-time mule and donkey guy told me that âyou have to train a mule the way you should train a horse.â The best mule trainer Iâve ever worked with was also the best horse trainer I ever worked with. His mentors/idols were all from the Tom Dorrance/Ray Hunt school of horse training.
This is so true. Iâve owned 4 mules over the years and each one was their very own special snowflake. 
You have to be adaptable.
3 Likes
I tell you my mule story.
Growing up in the mountains where everyone was farming with mules and horses, there was not one tractor to be seen, we had 8 mules to 2 horses of every 10.
Horses were great, but mules reigned in my little kidâs mind.
I really never have considered mules being different than horses, just each one their own individual.
Guess that I too was not good at generalization. 
We lived in a mountain clearing with two other farmhouses.
One neighbor and us shared one old smaller belgian that stayed in our house/barn.
The house was the middle, the horse barn on the left, is where the two seater was located.
You walked from the house to use the toilet into the horse barn, a larger area, the back, deeply bedded in straw, where the horse stayed.
On the other side of the house was the cow barn, goat and last pig ones.
The neighbor above us had a glorious young WHITE mule I adored.
He and his wife were old and little kid me was in charge of âexercisingâ that mule.
All I had was a halter, no other tack, so bareback and in a halter, woven out of sisal string, the lead rope end tied back underneath, is how we rode.
Since practically all mountain mules were brown with mealy noses, a grey one was very special, I thought unique and had to be an albino, I didnât know about color genetics.
I do think the mule liked me and going on our little expeditions, always seemed eager and stayed by me like a dog.
That white mule and I spend many hours riding all over, playing pony express getting it to run and hopping on it on the fly, jumping logs, going for walks to gather mushrooms, that mule was my pal.
Once grown and a horse trainer, I have not been around mules any more, but still grey may just be my favorite color and long ears an added bonus.
Decades ago, a local college equestrian director had two personal mules he competed with, brown of course, that were awesome.
One was Mule Days reining champion, the other roping champion.
They rode better than most horses in those days, were very well trained.
I still think that mules and horses are individuals first.
Nice to see the pretty mules here others get to enjoy in their lives with their own stories.
4 Likes
I donât have a longears in my barn but would like to share two mule stories. I volunteered (years ago) at a Pony Club Rally in another state which offered a couple of open-to-the-public cross country course competitions more as a learning tool than any for-real competition - the club was considering starting a pony club for grownups, esp. for the parents of pony club kids. One mule competed, a sort of red-chestnut mammoth sized mule whose size was needed to accommodate her middle-aged plus-sized rider who was clearly very much a beginner. This lovely mule carefully carried her rider through the pre-novice course, mostly trotting and hopping over the lowest level of jumps (usually small logs, 12 inches or so, slowing to a walk when her rider became unbalanced, and the picking up the pace a little bit once the rider gathered things together. The water hazard was narrow enough that a walkover without a bump was negotiated. I was so impressed by that mule and the owner was so very thrilled at completing the course with no, um, âdeparturesâ that I understand subsequently became an active participant in later activities and volunteer work. The other story: A friend who has now passed was in the late stage of her cancer battle but wanted one more combined driving competition before she couldnât lift another rein or crawl in or out of a battle wagon. My last view of my friend was driving her extremely well trained mule (well known in the Pacific NW, western Oregon people Iâm sure you know who I speak of). Her last drive, on a local course, was at sunset on a warm early August night and was, in one word, cinematic.
7 Likes
I have bred my mares and raised 2 mules. I donât have one now but what I can say is that they have to think about things when you are training. You arenât going to get them to do something they think will be unsafe. You cannot force them ( or you will be sorry).
Time and patience as you both learn together. I just went slow and steady with mine and we did fine.
Take your time to let things sink in and be learned before moving on. Once they get it they never forget it.
I adored my mules.
3 Likes
I just bought a molly mule today from an auction. She is six years old, 14.1, and as white as a pearl. She will spend a little bit of time at a friendâs place for QT before making the cross country trek home. Was used for packingâŠwe have another friend here who knows mules and will help us gentle her for riding.
I am SO excited. I have always loved mules and wanted to ride one. Iâm going to name this girl âPogonip.â 
I would love to contribute in a mule centered thread as we get to know one another! The mules already posted are all very elegant and good looking.
4 Likes
Love that image!
Congratulations!
Will we get to see a picture, please?
1 Like
On Monday! I will happily share pics once I get them! Just have a video from the yard, which was taken downâŠI asked if they could send it to me, though.
1 Like
Thanks!
2 Likes
I know a horse with a similar name. Heâs a grand old horse.
Here are two stills from her video. I know buying âunseenâ is a big No, typically, but I have some mule savvy folk who have looked at her, one of whom will help me gentle her to saddle and get us going on the right foot. Been researching longears and seeking them out for years.
I am smitten already. Going to call her âMochiâ instead.
7 Likes
