Maybe someone neck/shoulder twitched him at some point?
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Update: We are now able to consistently get touching during mealtimes. All of Sal’s grain was taken away and replaced with a low-carb option designed for horses with severe metabolic issues. He’s much easier to handle now. I was able to get a halter on him Sunday and sort of lead him around a bit.
We also had a horse leave the property so my thoroughbred gelding is currently in his pen with him. Yesterday he ‘helped’ him with his breakfast through the fence and got a little cuckoo again. I came out for lunch and he decided he did not want to be petted, and this is where I discovered the kind of psychology we use on toddlers works quite well on mules.
I went ‘alright then’ and brought his bucket of low-carb grain over to my TB and started feeding him and patting him and telling him what a good boy he was. Didn’t take more than thirty seconds before the mule came over because that’s his grain, damn it, and then decided actually, petting was okay again.
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Adding another post…I think I might actually be a mule person. I haven’t had this animal that long, but I have to say I really appreciate his style. He’s not easy at all, and we’ve had a few days of one step forward two steps back even in the short month I’ve had him.
But I really like that he doesn’t do half the dumb, reactive stuff a baby horse does. He’s way less explosive. People who told me the threshold for handler error was way lower, you are correct, he has the potential to learn naughty things SO quickly. However balance that with the fact that he is actually far more predictable than a horse of the same age and handling experience. I find myself being fairly certain what he’s going to try next when he’s been presented with a new problem because he actually stops to think about his options instead of YOLOing himself into a gate/the fence/me.
Also, you know that thing young, green horses do where you present them with a new problem, they don’t get their way, and they start throwing a damn tantrum? And the tantrum is usually some degree of dangerous? Yeah, that doesn’t happen. He’s too smart for that. He finds some really ‘wow I can’t believe he thought of that’ ways to try to get around what he’s being asked, but he so far doesn’t actually win these kinds of arguments.
All in all I’m really enjoying working with this guy. My trainer hasn’t had to get involved yet, but we’ve got her in the wings if we need to. She already offered to steal him for awhile if we start struggling.
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He sounds like my donkey, temperament-wise.
Glad you are enjoying him.
Sometimes they will protest enough that it looks like a tantrum.
I had to sell my one mule ( 10 yrs old) due to an upcoming move and he decided he was not getting on the new owners trailer. He just did not want to go in and had some pretty big dramatic episodes.
I just kept trying despite his obvious protests( i raised him so I knew him). The new buyer ( experienced mule owner himself) was about ready to leave him behind, when suddenly after 2+ hours he just let out a sigh , calmly walked on the trailer and started to eat.
I think they are the biggest challenge of the equine world to own.
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Honestly given my prior experience level I was shocked when my trainer’s response to me getting this animal was ‘oh, you’re totally capable of handling this’. Granted, said ‘prior experience level’, meaning the last time I got a green animal, was like eight years ago. A lot of it is documented on this forum actually. I guess things change as we get older. I also don’t buy animals if I don’t have the money to involve a professional anymore 
Trainer came by yesterday for something else and interacted with him a little. Said he’s totally, 100% fixable, very smart, but someone definitely hurt his feelings and expect it to take a year at least for him to come around all the way. So far I’m apparently doing a good job and doing all the right things. She said not to rush him and that he’s very cute. She loves mules, though.
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Glad to hear that Sal is doing well. Do you sing 15 Miles on the Erie Canal to him?
We’d love more photos when you have a chance.
I used to help a cowboy with starting horses and getting his English h/j type horses going. He did a lot of colt starting, a bit of fox hunting, and some trail competitions. He had a couple of big mules that were his personal mounts and they were the. absolute. best. Rock solid, so sweet, and an absolute blast to ride. If I had the opportunity I’d love to have a mule one day. This guy was an absolutely brilliant horseman and was the closest thing to a “horse whisperer” that I’ve ever seen, so his mules loved him (as did all the horses).
Enjoy your mule, he looks like a sweetheart and I’m sure you guys will be really happy having him!
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If this were my new fellow, i’d bring him home asap. I would not send to a trainer/hire somebody else. My goal would be to do as soft as introduction as i possibly could, with a minimum of other people injecting into the process.
Just give him time to relax…and learn to begin to open up to the idea of it is OK to not be onguard. It would be OK to allow into his life good things. (i say it like this because it can be a long process with some animals. They don’t just land somewhere good and snuggle right in. If they are the sort that has learned to guard themselves, protect themselves, than GOOD THINGS are as scary as bad things…maybe even scarier). Sometimes it takes a year.
I would keep him really really comfortable and bring him a bucket full of nice fresh grass a couple times a day and just sit there and feed him a handful at a time. I would ask NOTHING except calm, easy compatibility. As soon as i could, i would introduce him to his new pasture/barnmate.
I have two mules. Both came from bad situations. Both have grown to be dog-tame. Mules are very much like horses. One has a fondness for ‘other people’…visitors are FINE by him. Other one has put all her eggs in one basket: Me. (and her herdmates, one mare in particular) She trusts me all the way into her bones.
OH…and another thing i do with all the feral mustangs and all the adopted animals i acquire from here and there… i do not pressure them to accept hands-on. I do not force myself on them. I work on quieting down those impulses as much as i can. And try to find enough satisfaction in sharing their company without getting in their space. I let them come to me. (of course i shamelessly lure them with food…but they are ALL, ALWAYS at liberty to walk away at anytime). For me, it’s all about giving. Not taking.
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OP brought her mule home last month.
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Here he is in all his glory. Yes, that is an ozark trail canopy tent tied to corral panels. It’s four sides with a door. It’s already survived one 40mph windstorm but we plan to take the cover off should there be serious weather in the forecast.
We’re doing okay. I’ve managed to get a halter on him twice this week but have cooled it with that because he seems to be getting wise and I’m not sure we have ‘put a halter on’ level of trust established yet, honestly. We have however established ‘you can pet me wherever as long as it’s not my head you start with’ level of trust.
All meals are being fed out of a bucket I’m holding, when possible. He knows he gets food if he goes in the little shade shelter with me and lets me close the door. He’s also discovered that I have opposable thumbs capable of squishing horseflies and brushing stable flies off of legs. We’re still working on letting me put flyspray of some kind on him.
Every time I give him a solid opportunity to nail me he surprises me and doesn’t. He still has a bad habit of spinning away from me which we’re working on (I don’t like seeing animals’ asses) but I’ve discovered if I just keep my hand on him he stops and then turns back around. I suppose he always could decide he’s going to kick me instead but so far he hasn’t done that and it’s not like I’m that less kickable standing four feet away if he really wants to.
My biggest worry is if winter hits and I still can’t get him inside and outside, but maybe I can get him broke to put a blanket on before then.
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Update: We are doing well.
Yesterday I went into his pen and he self-directed into his smaller corral panel stall without me asking. He stayed in there on his own. The door was open. At one point he’d gotten a little nervous with something I’d asked him to do and put himself between me and the door, which again, was open. He had every opportunity to just leave and discontinue the training session, but he took a moment to think and then turned back around and chose to stay instead. I think this is really good forward progress because it means he made a conscious decision to stay and work with me rather than going elsewhere.
He’s smart enough some of the shaping I do with dogs that does NOT typically work on horses because they’re not quite smart enough works on him. It’s useful.
I can also pick up all four of his feet now, in the very sudden ‘I have decided this is okay’ form of progress that seems to be his MO. He will just decide one day he’s cool with whatever thing I want him to do and so far it’s seemed like the best way to do it is to just wait for him to decide he’s okay. We’re also learning about moving his hindquarters away if I put pressure on his hip. He’s not afraid of the pressure, and he doesn’t seem bothered by it at all, but he hasn’t quite 100% figured out yet he’s supposed to lean away from my hand instead of into it.
I think I moved a little too fast haltering him because he’s nervous about it. I can DO it, but have chosen to take a step back and work on making the halter a neutral object.
Yesterday I also attempted to sponge some emulsifiable fly spray onto him because he’s being eaten alive by stable flies and deerflies. Apparently that sponge is very scary. I did manage to get his hindquarters done from his tail to about halfway up his ribcage. I suspect in the next few days he will suddenly decide he’s okay with the sponge touching the top half of his body, but his rear and back legs are at least covered for now.
Still not sure why the new scary things are okay on the butt. I would never go straight for the butt on any of my horses, I’d be worried about getting kicked. But nope, that’s how he wants to do it apparently.
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Sounds like a cool guy, and that you are very much in tune with his “language” and how he chooses to communicate. I bet once he knows for sure that you are truly listening to him and he can trust you to continue to do so, he’ll move along quicker in accepting things he might not like right now.
That being said, I have never worked with a mule before, so I’m enjoying hearing about your progress!
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I’m enjoying hearing about Sal and his progress. It sounds like you’re having fun with him!
I have never worked with a mule, but I had a small donkey for several years. He never got to where he was OK with fly spray. If I put a halter on him and tied him up and went slow, I could fly spray him but he was always nervous about it. He was small so what worked better for him was getting fly spray roll-on and putting that on his legs. The flies also bothered his eyes but he didn’t mind wearing a fly mask.
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I am enjoying reading about your mule so much because I bought one about the same time as you. I did not realize I wanted a mule, until I laid eyes on Mr. Butters! He is green, 7 yr old from California. He has had a few training issues, but nothing I don’t expect from a green horse. Except- the ears and getting a bridle headstall over those big ears! I am borrowing a friend’s halter/bridle combo as a solution for now. They are super neat animals- and I as have read your entries, I have just nodded and laughed and said “YES!” a few times. If I can figure out how, I will post a pic of Mr. Butters.
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There are Mule bridles/headstalls. Makes life much easier!
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This is exactly what I need! Thank you! Now to track it down on the internet!
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We had a minor incident this week which honestly ended up being a good thing. I had him in his pen and was working on targeting his halter, petting him with it, etc. The neighbors came out, I think they were spreading fly predators, and started waving a bag about 15 feet away from us across the property line. I didn’t see what had terrified him at first but it was obvious he was. Nobody’s fault, neighbors are allowed to do property maintenance and he needs to learn to deal eventually.
I was standing in front of the door, which he of course knows how to open, I don’t keep it latched and so he can push it open and leave if he wishes. It would have been extremely easy for him to run me over in order to escape. Instead he chose to push himself hard into the wall next to me where I would not be harmed, though it isn’t really a route he can escape through.
He could have easily hurt me. He could have SO easily hurt me. I wouldn’t have blamed him if he did, even. But he didn’t.
Of course I realized he was scared and just opened the door and stepped out of the way because obviously I don’t want him to feel trapped in there with me and terrified. He went outside, snorted, trotted around, evaluated the situation and then decided the threat was gone. And then he came up to me (I still had his food bowl) and let me touch him OUTSIDE his 12x12 stall.
I’m going to call that a win because it’s the first time he’s let me do it.
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