[whoamule]

You all have covered every possible comibnation I could think of but I thought I’d just add my personal preference to the mix. In the corral I always use the “get over” command to side step them away from me while grooming, feeding, trimming and vetting. When driving or logging “Gee over” and “Haw over” mean to fan, to swing sideways not stepping forward or back. I just use lines while driving except use “Gee” of “Haw” to sharpen the turn.
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[whoamule]

Two of mine are QH/Percheron X mammoth and I like ’em fine.
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[whoamule]

Jennifer, Your trip to Quebec City sounds awesome! In skijoring, you tow from the saddle horn, right? A friend of mine drags his seven year old son behind his horse over little jumps behind a walking horse gelding. Your horse is a cross of Arab and what? In response to your question of ‘happy horse vs. agenda” I say AGENDA trumps. Sometimes my livestock and I come up agaisnt some rough jobs. In my working life I’ve always had to buckle down and get the job done. One of my first jobs as a teenager involved scraping chicken manure out from under laying hen cages. Am I going to wimp out and mollycoddle my livestock? I think not.
Being more stubborn than my mules ( and they know it) I always manage to cajole them into working through the difficulty, of at the least making an effort in the right direction before calling it a day. I don’t subscribe to the ‘dog obedience school’ style of training, where your animal will obey you ‘if it happens to FEEL like it’ . The way I look at it, I give my beasts a good life. Good feed, medical care, entertainment, hair care, pedicures. I don’t feel like an abusive meany to ask them to WORK for a living. There will be consequences for disobedience as well as rewards for compliance. That’s discipline. It’s not a bad thing. There are plenty of times we go on rides that are fun for the beasts. If every outing isn’t a walk in the park for my horses and mules, that’s life! I’m sorry to hear that you’ve decided not to return to the fair. If your arab cross is anything like a mule he will have learned that Quebec, while being nervewracking, didn’t kill him……. I like Neitche’s angle: “that which doesn’t destroy us sacks us out better”… or something like that, ….. anyway, your horse lived through the experience, maybe he will be better next time. Thanks for sharing your adventure and concerns,
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[whoamule]

Hi, Dave. You’re getting quite a herd, it seems. I’ve read of your experiences on the muleskinner’s forum. I go by ‘hammerhead’ on that site. Are you still planning that trail ride in June?
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[whoamule]

That reminds me of a muledeer hide, with head still attached, that I draped over the fence a few years back. I would feed close to the fence and stand way down the fenceline. As my fence wires are loose I could just press on the top strand of barb wire and the ‘buck’ would do a little dance. The mules got the joke soon enough but the mustang gelding always kept a keen eye on the ‘danger’.
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[whoamule]

I, too think they’re playing, or trying to initiate play. One of mine has been doing it for ten years now, still waiting for him to grow up.
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[whoamule]

Exellent philosophical and technical discussion, folks.
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[whoamule]

Hi, Carl. Just got six inches of wet snow this morning in the valley. Poor animals are in ‘drylot’. It’s gonna be a mudbog. “Earthwise Farm & Forest” – sounds like you’re living the dream, eh?
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