A good mule stands her ground

If you are like me you like a good mule tale. If so read on.

Like most of us in New England we have lots of ice. Our farm driveways are
sheets of the stuff and getting around on foot is a challenge. Marilyn and I
have rubber pullover cleats for our boots that helps but it’s still a little
chancy sometimes, especially on steep grades.

When our barn fell in I moved the donkeys and mule down to my calving pens
temporarily while their regular pen was occupied by some rescue donkeys we were keeping for their quarantine period. Those donkeys are now home in New Hampshire, the pen is cleaned so Sam, Blue and my mule Jenny needed to go back to their regular pen allowing me to clean and prepare the calving pens for calving next month.

Jenny my mule has shoes and cleats for ice but the two donkeys do not. Marilyn and I haltered them up this morning so we could walk the up the driveway to their clean pen. It was ice all the way. Right out of the gate the Blue who was being led by Marilyn went down and needed help to regain his feet. I took Sam’s lead rope away from Marilyn so she could help Blue and walked him and Jenny up the driveway. Sam stuck to the side where their was some snow and a few bare spots for traction while Jenny and I walked up the center with our cleats. We reached a spot where it was necessary for Sam to cross over the driveway where we were standing and in the process he slipped down and slid to a stop under Jenny’s belly. As he struggled to get up he hit her legs with his feet and bumped into her underneath parts. Jenny is such a peach, she stood still, let Sam brace and bump on her to get his footing and feet under him all the while just looking at him with her big brown compassionate eyes. The rest of the trip went fine and they are all installed safely in their old pen.

Occasionally I see Jenny do those exceptional things and it makes grateful and proud to own such a special animal.