Well I have been gone for a week but I managed to find a trainer who will take my mule.
They are the coolest animals.
We say the mule is like the fog…she walks on little cat feet.
You can be working around the barn and BAM you turn around and she is RIGHT behind you. How a 16 hand 1200 lb animal can consistently sneak up on you is beyond me!
And teach her something once and she has it. No need to practice or repeat. Which is why I need it done right the first time!
I would like to suggest you go the the American Donkey and Mule Society for your training information. They have been around for many years, have a lot of very helpful information about the long-eared equines and the special training they need.
http://www.donkeys.com/ADMS.html
They have all kinds of books, articles, and I expect video in some form to watch. You might find some of that same stuff, used in Ebay or the used books places too.
Horse people get fooled by the long-ears that look like they should be horses, but think in an entirely different way! Cause and effect in training steps are very confusing, because horse knowledge DOES NOT transfer to the long-eared equines. We had always heard that there are “horse trainers” and there are “mule trainers” when you have a youngster to be broke to a new skill. You don’t take the mule to a “horse trainer” because mule gets confused and the mule trainer will be disgusted at how “slow learning” the horse is.
Personally, I like mules, but would not own one again. I do not think as a mule trainer does, so am not “worthy” to own a mule. She was managable, but it was probably a good thing for her, that we sold her when we did. She didn’t get ruined in our hands. The Mule Man who bought her LOVED her, thought she was a TERRIFIC mule and did we have any MORE like her to sell?
The mule folks I know say mule has to completely understand what you want him to do, before attempting to try. Confused mule is NOT stubborn, just does not understand you. YOU must adapt to new methods of training so mule is no longer confused.
Along with that you need to understand than mules and donkeys are different in behaviours. Donkeys may be used as guardian animals in herds of calves, sheep and goats. They will move thru a flock or herd easily, no problems unless a canine shows up to chase/kill.
A mule will harass or kill smaller animals, they are bullies in many cases. My Grandma warned me about mules going after smaller things and hurting them from her farm experiences. Chased calves, colts, ponies, bit and kicked, would NOT leave them alone if pastured together. Well that changed MY view as I watched the young molly out “playing” with my dog in the field! It was TRUE, the mule WAS trying to kill the dog, but dog didn’t know it, thought the game was Tag!! Good thing that dog was FAST. Well that was the LAST game of Tag they played! Our eyes had been opened!! Mule went when she started attacking the bred ewes, JUST missed them as they squeezed thru the sheep gate. Mule was striking from a full gallop, reared and bucked when they got away. We had a little kid about ready to come out to the barn, could not take the chance of him getting hurt, so she went down the road to another home that APPRECIATED her more than we did.
All the really good mules I know, came broke and trained. Owners just enjoy them, really don’t add to the training. They do seem to work their way north from the middle states area, broke the best for riding mostly. Go where aimed, work with you or the kids. One was the BEST diving board when the kids went swimming. He stood unattended in the water as the kids climbed on and dove off, for very long times.
Good luck with your training program on the mule.
One of the best driving single mules we’ve ever seen was started by Jerry Tindell, a dun molly that drove in an open bridle. We watched her win a huge gambler’s choice obstacle driving class, and after reviewing my collection of Mule Show videos, she’s won the same class at least once before. She was 28 years old last year but moved out just as smartly as a youngster.
We’ve seen a lot of farm-type mule teams in exhibitions, and watched shows on video. Last year we spent a week at Bishop watching 700 mules and donkeys doing everything. Throughout that entire time we saw only two mules that totally disobeyed and were withdrawn from their respective classes. Donkeys are a totally different animal to work with, as we saw many a donk, particularly the mammoth jacks, that did everything in slow motion.
One of the biggest selling points for us, if we are ever in a position to get a mule, is the long service life. One of the mini-mule driving pairs were 34 and late-twenty something, and they were winning in speed events against teams of all sizes. Of course they actually steered and moved out at full gallop, and the Belgian mules had a much bigger turning radius.
The only runaway we saw occurred when a driver in the chariot barrel racing threw his weight the wrong way and tipped over. His small pair (not the same as the little speedsters mentioned earlier) made several laps of the ring at warp speed until a man was able to grab the lines and wind them down. They calmed instantly and drove out as if nothing had happened, and they had no problems during the rest of the show.
One owner mentioned in the 2009 video of the show that he had prepared his team to pull a noisy mower (lots of clattering, rattling and banging as the equipment operates) by hitching them up to their usual vehicle. He had a tape of the mower in operation, so he put a boom box on the wagon, turned it up bit by bit, and the team got introduced to the ruckus safely. When they actually pulled the mower, it was not a problem.
When your mule comes back from the trainer, you’ll have a wonderful buddy for decades to come.
I’ve only “met” one mule with a dog aggression issue, and I can see where that would be a major problem and worry. I hope yours is a good lad in that respect.
Mules driving on the Tired Ass Ranch
We raise and train mules for all disciplines, ride, pack and drive. Each one is certainly an individual, but with the right training can be very dependable partners. Some take longer than others. There is a website alongthelines.co, yes co that there is a daily blog going on with starting 4 mules to drive. The aim is to have them ready for CDE this year. Good detailed infromation.
I’m glad to see this thread revived! I’ve done some groundwork to start my 18 year-old, 14 hand mule to drive but I haven’t hitched him yet (he’s shown some nervousness in harness so I’m waiting until I can afford a couple of months with a good trainer). I’d love to hear how things turned out for the OP!
After many years of wanting I am now owned by a mule. Having had horses for 50 years and donkeys for 20 years my ambition was always to have a ride and drive mule. As my lady is only 12 hands the ride part may have to wait for another animal another day.
I can see characteristics of both in her. She bolts first and then stops to study, however her flight distance is only about 25 feet. She is very slow to trust and new circumstances require to relearn that trust. I see where the patience comes in, I am finding reserves I never knew I had.
I do not know her history other than she has passed through at least 5 markets going by the lot numbers on her passport.
Having cracked the grooming, originally brushes were flensing knives, harnessing and pulling tyres about we now have to become traffic proof before graduating any further. She is on a working farm with cattle and tractors bedding and feeding every day but still she panics if one wanders off course. Fortunately the drivers are all doing their bit to slowly get her used to the monsters.
Otherwise she is the most affectionate lady around and loves to play with her toys.
Was googling “mule forum” and found this old thread — and was wondering how the lady and her trainer husband came out on the mule-training deal. <lol>
Mules are ---- very different indeed. A very wise mule man once told me they shouldn’t be born til they’re six. Wiser words were never spoken as far as I’m concerned.
Have you tried Meredith Hodges books and videos? They are all about training mules and donkeys.
I have two mini mules. Both rescues, both pets. Really great turn-out buddies for the horses when I need them.
Just really cute otherwise. One is pinto and one is appaloosa.
I drive Teddy, but I didn’t train him; the Amish did. Nevertheless, you would begin and practice by line driving your mule with no cart. The nice thing about Teddy is there is no “panic” to him. Therefore, the fact that a human is following him or a cart is following him is no big deal. He is somewhat flummoxed by the shafts, which prevent him from coming around to see what I am doing and if I need help.
You can start with just a surcingle and bridle and long driving reins. You’re going to want a driving bit, like a Liverpool, for some leverage and control. Put up some obstacles in the field so the mule has a destination and a challenge (logs to step over, cones to maneuver around and between) and change the pattern frequently. Make sure you have 100% control over left and right turns and stops before you attach to a cart.
My biggest issue is remembering to swing to the outside before turning to the inside. If you don’t do that, you wind up with your cart stuck on whatever you were trying to turn around (trees for me). Good thing Teddy is an ACE at backing up. Therefore, you might also want to get “Back” down pat before you hitch to a cart, as well. Could save a lot of equipment damage.
[QUOTE=Teddy the Mule;6179719]
The nice thing about Teddy is there is no “panic” to him.[/QUOTE]
I love my Fenway Bartholomule but this is one thing I envy. I hope my next mule has a smaller “panic” button!
Mules vs Horses
[QUOTE=nightmoves;4690895]
So what is it about mules that makes them different than horses? I want my husband to break one just so we can find out.[/QUOTE]
My take on it is that mules tend to be more timid than horses (not all, but a lot of them), less trusting of humans, and more physically stoic.
The ones that are both timid and stoic are much more likely to blow through the aids when they’re afraid, which I think is why so many mules are ridden in severe bits.
I’ve seen mules in long shanked curb bits just set their necks and open their mouths and go. They don’t always go that far, but will just ignore the bit until they can get enough distance from whatever it is that they fear, and then they’ll stop and turn and stare.
A draft horse trainer I knew noted that he might just as well have had the lines hooked to the hames when he started young mules, because that’s how little they’d respond to the bit.
We have 4 of the little buggers, and they have a lot going for them because they are so steady and stoic when they’re not afraid, but if they think they need to avoid something they don’t always respond to our suggestions that they do things our way. 
Mules love horses (Mama was a horse), so sometimes the best way to get them going in harness is to find someone with a draft horse (or even a broke mule) and hitch them double. Then, if they have the temperament for it, once they’re going well double they can be separated and driven single.
donkeys vs mules
[QUOTE=PRS;4691660]
I trained my donkey to drive. … I imagine that donkeys and mules have much more in common than donkeys and horses.[/QUOTE]
Depends on the type of donkey and mule. I have a Mammoth who I rode and drove as a jack for 15 years, and he was so slow and steady that breaking him to drive involved nothing more than hitching him and going. (He was already going under saddle so knew how to go, stop and steer.)
The mules however, were much more challenging. The draft molly would have been easy, but we thought we were going to hitch her single and just go, but she was so herd bound she’d just run back to the barn. And there was no stopping her once she got going. So we bought another mule that was green but had been hitched, and once we put the two of them together they were both happy and we drove them for years.
Thomas’ picture
I do believe that the mule in the picture that Thomas posted is Spook, driven by owner Peg Belvin of Loxahatchee, FL.
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