[Paulk]

Just wanted to give a little update on my progress. I continued to work the problem mule single and he is starting a little better. I neglected my older mule for a while and when I decided to get him out, we would get a few hundred feet from the house and he would want to turn and go back to the hitching post. I would have to stop and turn him back around and head back out. I took to riding him every day because it is easier for me to correct him in the saddle. Every time he turned to go back to the house we would do a few circles and head out in the right direction. We done this for about a week and he started showing less interest in turning to go back home.

I finally bought a new team harness but the wife had to have surgery and there was a bout two weeks I didn’t get to do much with them other than ride the one. So this past Sunday I got to hook them together and they didn’t do as bad as I thought. They started good stopped good but didn’t steer too good. I have managed to hook them the last three nights and go for a short sled ride but my steering isn’t getting any better. My younger mule will turn his head and keep walking straight ahead when I tighten the lines. I have tried steady pressure and even short pulses to send a better signal but it doesn’t seem to work. The older mule will try to push him or pull him but he gets frustrated and stops or just goes with him. Any thoughts? Should I just keep driving and eventually it will get better? I would like to graduate to a wheeled vehicle but I want to be able to make better turns first. Here is a couple pictures with my neighbor holding the lines. Thanks Paulk.

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[Paulk]

Great discussion. I hope others will ad their designs in here too. I am still in the process of building a fore cart/logging arch and hope to finish it later this fall. I have a start from an old portable air compressor we used to use. I am torn though whether to keep going or to just save a little money to buy one. I found an Amish Pioneer dealer near me that has a draft size fore cart with brakes, bench seat, new tires and has only been used a couple times and is asking $1000. He has had it a couple years and used it as a loaner and demo unit. That is a lot of money but time I gather the stuff I need and spend endless hours trying to perfect one it may be worth it. Anyway pictures, pictures, pictures, I would appreciate them as well as I’m sure others would to. I have searched through the past posts and there is good discussions but no picture previous to the switch to the new site. Thanks, Paulk

[Paulk]

Donn, Patience is one of the things I need to learn myself. I seem to always be in a hurry because the aren’t enough hours in the day but I’ m working on that. The idea behind the stick was to hold it into place so that when he went to slow down or stop he would feel a little poke and get the point to keep moving but it didn’t work. Early I tried giving him a tap with it and that doesn’t affect him either. With my old mule I can barely touch his rear and he gets the point to move on. As far as the pat on the butt my neighbor is a little more aggressive than me but he has been raised with horses and has a couple nice riding horses and a buggy horse so I value his help. I do agree it isn’t the best thing to do.

I went out last night and worked with a lead rope some more. I took your advice and every time I noticed that he was going to stop I give a whoa and stopped him. We worked on turning and such also. The part about letting him stand until he decides to move maybe harder to do because he is good at standing when you stop him. He will stand and not move for a long time when I’m harnessing him or even when I tie him but I will work with that in mind.

I am using a twisted wire snaffle and he seems to respond to it. I think as soon as my new bridles come in I’m going to get Liverpool bits so I can have the option of leverage or no leverage.

TCM, it makes me feel better to hear that it took someone else a long period to get a broke team responding to them also. It’s hard to keep from getting discouraged some times.

[Paulk]

TCM, I bought him from Jerry Craig at Craig farms in Tennessee. If you are thinking of Jonny Kelso in Missouri I did talk to him a few times but all he had was teams for sale. I bought my original mule from his sale he has in Mayfield Ky. but he too came from Jerry.

I worked the new mule off and on Saturday all day. We worked on leading, standing and ground driving. All in all it went well. Sunday I ground drove him and he was responding good so I decided to hook him to the sled. As soon as he starts and feels the load he will stop and if you get after him he will go a little ways and stop again. I have tried a stick and give him a poke and the neighbor even give him a good pat on the butt and all he does is clinch his butt checks. We hooked him to my golf cart and made a few laps around the pasture and he will pull the sled and for the most part not let the lead rope get tight. This sled only weighs around 200lb so it shouldn’t be much of a load.

I am really starting to think this guy is a follower and not a leader. I was told that he could have been part of a big hitch and just followed the others lead. It has also crossed my mind that the Amish got rid of him because he is lazy but I wouldn’t think he would have made it 12 years if that was the case. Once I get my other harness I hope I can hook him with my old mule and he will come around but I would like to get him to work single especially since I only have one harness right now.

I am going to keep reading through old posts to get more ideas and keep working with him in the mean time. Paulk

[Paulk]

Update on my progress. I took some of the advice I was given and have spent the last several days of working the new mule with just a lead rope and have had great improvement in him. Last night I decided to put the bridle and lines on and try to drive and I had success. We drove probably a half mile or so with me just walking behind with the lines encouraging him. We stopped and started several times and he stills hesitates on starting a little but once going responds well and has a good whoa. I think if I spend the next couple days doing this I may be able to hook to the sled and try pulling it empty and then maybe we can move to starting a load. Paulk

[Paulk]

That is great! A lot of people would have got rid of her when they found out she was blind. I know a guy that has a blind riding horse and says it’s the best riding horse he has. It relies solely on his commands and has the ultimate trust with him. He was an unruly horse that he was training and like to run off when you tried to catch him. He slipped on ice and ran into a post. It fractured his skull and he still has a big indention from it but after it heeled and he realized he was now blind he decided to continue his training and just changed how he done it. He claimed he never had trouble out of him again. He has been blind for over 15 years now. Paulk

[Paulk]

Mlelgr, I took your advice last night and haltered my mule got a 10′ or 12′ lead rope and had the mind set that the only thing I would ask of him was just forward and reverse with concentration on rewarding him with just the slightest movement. I was satisfied if he only moved one hoof in the direction I asked. It was only about a 20 minute lesson but when I was done I could get him to move forward with just voice command and if he balked it was only briefly instead of a firm feet plant like when we started. Backing up took a little pressure and coaxing but was able to do.

Donn thanks for the words of encouragement. Sometimes I see guys handling their animals so effortlessly and forget all the time and troubles that I’m sure they experienced also.

I hope to get in some good lessons over the long weekend as well as some fence building. That’s always good work for my old mule as I can load all my tools and supplies on a sled and he will move up when asked and is happy to stand and patiently wait while I’m working. If I could teach him to drive posts I would have it made! Paulk

[Paulk]

Hi Donn, thanks for weighing in. I don’t take offense to any advice offered or questions asked when I come to the forum for help. I would like to keep this mule as I have bought a few now that haven’t worked out from auctions. I finally just bit the bullet sold my project mules and went to the guy that I got my first mule from. I spent a small fortune to get him but he is near identical to my other mule and has a good personality so I would like to make this work. I am just a little disappointed that I am having these issues as I have the interest in training and working but lack the time and knowledge. I work a full time job and have 30 head of goats and about 20 chickens so when I get home I start chores eat supper then if nothing is broken or no emergencies then I try to work with my mules. It maybe nothing more than haltering tying them then picking out there hooves and putting on fly spray, leading and rubbing on them but I try to do something everyday.

Maybe I have fanaticized about owning a team and working them so long that I expect too much too soon. Plus my first draft mule was and is a treat to work with so maybe that spoiled me. I have spent a fair amount of time with this mule since we had our run away and can really tell a difference in his attitude in a good way. I have got him to a point if he bulks on a lead rope I can give it a couple quick easy tugs and he will start again. Should I just keep up with the basics? Paulk

[Paulk]

Most post I have seen rotted off was at the ground level or maybe an inch or so below. Every time I set a post I try to make a dome around the post at ground level to make the water run away from the post. I don’t know if the caps help but I have seen people paint the top of the posts to keep water from pooling and soaking in as much. Paulk

[Paulk]

I would google ring worm and lice/mights in horses but if the mother has no symtoms could be an allergy. My mule had a terrible problem this winter with hair loss but it was coming out in patches and it ended up being an allergy to something. The vet give him a shot and a medicine to sprinkle on his feed once a day and now he looks amazing compared to before. I battled this for months and bought numerous products treating him for all sorts of things I thought it could be and none worked. In the end a $45.00 vet bill took care of it and Im sure I spent more than that on self diagnosis. Good Luck

[Paulk]

I had the same problem with my newest mule recently with wrinkling the skin. she didn’t have any hair loss or visible blisters but wrinkled skin for several days. I just figured it was collar size. I was going to try to take her to the Amish harness maker for advice but can’t seem to get time. My old mule also got blisters from the collar that I had been using for several months but it is from too small of a collar. I didn’t realize how much bigger his neck got from being fed well and some exercise. He was severly under weight when I got him. I too would like to know why the wrinkled skin. I have only been pulling a stone boat with my 230lbs and fencing supplies another 100lb or so.

[Paulk]

Peyton have you thought about doing something to supplement your farm income? I don’t know about your area but in my area portable welding and fabricating provides income for a lot of guys. Maybe you could find something to do in the off time to make extra money. I have been building a small business and working a day job in hopes that one day I can run my business and farm my few acres for my day job. Worst thing is I’m getting to the point that it will be hard to give up a good salary and security if the time comes. Paul

[Paulk]

One good thing about this mule is that he doesn’t get excited about much. I couldnt ask for a better animal, he will stand patiently while tied and to harness, when you walk out in the pasture you can’t get him to run from you and just well mannered. I only get to work him a couple times a week right now for a short period and I think we just need to work together more.

As far as stopping goes I usually make him stand hooked to the sled or tied in harness for awhile and sometimes I will lead him around. i just dont want him or myself to get aggitated and futher complicate things.

I need to work on some fence this week and I plan to hook him to the stone boat. Ifigure I can pile my stuff on it so we can go some short distances and practice in smaller increments.

[Paulk]

Well I finally tried my new rubber bit out over the weekend and the first trip around the property went great. He didn’t seem to be chewing on it as much and fighting with it like with the other bit. I hooked him to my new stone boat I built and he started good and made good turns so I decided to take another lap and couldn’t get him to turn when I wanted or sometimes he would go the oppisite direction. This mule is 15yr old and an old Amish mule so i know that he knows what he is doing. I wonder if he senses my inexperience and is using it against me. I get frustrated and we stop so I don’t become angry and I usually end up leading him or just putting him away because I don’t want things to get worse. I am going to try double checking my harness to make sure nothing is rubbing or pinching but other than that I’m at a loss on what to try next. When I first brought him home he wasn’t this bad but I didn’t get to hook him but a few times over a couple months and it was just to haul manure a few hundred feet with a small wagon.

Any thoughts? Paul

[Paulk]

O it has an elec. over hyd pump.  What does the chains drive that are coming from the wheels?  I thought they were driving the hyd pump.  Do they drive a PTo?  I have only seen a few pictures of the teamster 2000 and doing an internet search didnt give ne much info.

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