Mule Meltdown

[Mulie]

This weekend my husband and I attended a clinic. I had the only mule at the clinic. I've taken my mule to a couple Brad Cameron clinics before and she's been really good, but I hauled her alone. We work to the best of our ability to try and keep her and my husbands gelding from becoming too bonded and she's been fairly independant. I thought. At one point the instructor said "this mule is the best horse here!" I should have heeded the saying "pride goeth before a Fall" . Anyway. We were working on some "leaving the group" type of exercises. At first it was just alone or with one other horse at various gaits. She was a little balky, but we worked through it. At the very end we did an exercise where basically everyone was trotting or loping around the arena in different directions, kind of pandemonium. She just kind of totally lost it. She was a braying bellowing hunk of out of control mule. I guess my plan of action with this was to just try to ride her forward try to focus on some spots and ride her forward to them and keep from running into anyone. At first I was trying to circle her, but the instructor said to ride her forward. I would momentarily get her back and then a horse would go by and she'd lose it again or bolt off bucking. I'd push her forward just trying to keep her moving in some direction.
The instructor kept saying I was doing fine. I was never so relieved to hear someone say "Everybody, whoa" as I was then. That was basically the end of the clinic. I didn't really want to end on that note, so I rode her around at the walk on a loose rein and asked her to do a few things I felt pretty certain would be easy for her and then got off. So here's what I THINK happened. I think she is probably alot more bonded to Max then perhaps I thought. I think when the pandemonium started she just couldn't keep track of him. She was definitely not finding me to be a source of strength or comfort. I was trying very hard to stay focussed on offering her a direction to go, I wasn't mad at her, but I guess I was just into damage control. I'm appealing to the thoughtful folks on here for some feedback. Thanks!

[Titania]

I think you did a great job, you raised the bar and challenged your self by going to the clinic and in the meantime you found something that need to be worked on. You rode through it, and most importantly you see now something you didn't see before. Hind sight is always 20/20.

I'm not experienced enough to offer any pactical advice, but I say kudos for keeping your head and working through it with her and not picking a fight. i personally don't know many people that would have been able to handle a situation like that, with that much skill. :)

[RockinCircleC]

You did the best you could in the situation at hand. Maybe the instructor didn't give you the support you thought you needed, but it sounds like you learned a great deal from it. And yes, it may not have been an ideal quitting point, especially if your mule never learned to settle in that situation, but it sounds like you weren't quite settled yourself. All things to work on with another group of like-minded folks at another time and place.

[lmullen]

Mulie,
I had similar problem last oct. 2006, at a roping clinic in E-burg.
In Oct. 2005 I had attended the same clinic at the same place.
I had hauled both horses, but was requested to ride only one.
The other stayed tied to the trailer and pitched a fit the whole
time.
2006, only hauled the one that had been tied the previous year.
He was a little bit of an ass, it took me 'til the end of the clinic
to figure out he was still looking for the other horse.
He worked fine, but when not working, was a pill.
No solution, just thought to let you know.
I don't have to go back there, and don't feel a burning need to
resolve the issue. Just disgusted it took ME so long to figure it out.

[red]

you done gooooood...for those of you who don't subscribe to the magazine, Eclectic Horseman, I would like to encourage you to...I was feeling pretty down in the mouth over my abilites...and I read this in the letters to the editor section, by a gal named Julie, I will read it over and over again...here is part of it, and I hope it helps.."We all do our best, and yet I think many of us feel we fall short of what that best could be. I've wondered what it would feel like to not vacillate between believing in what I know.... and doubting myself because of what I don't know...In that gap between my knowledge, and my ignorance, the world changes little by little...if I let it.....

Clinics are about process, and processes take time..I 've come to realize, that if I dwell on the failures, I take away from the joy of the illuminating moments where I feel like I've touched the center of the Universe"..

I say, you may not have touched the center of the Universe, but you sure did reach for the stars...and that counts...

You done good...you addressed the issues, and that is THE success...
the outcome, we can not always control...but the way we reach to our horse/mule is a direct reflection of that hidden person that lives in our heart..when the going gets tough, you responded with not only appropriate behavior, but did not throw the day away...it may not have been all of what you had hoped, but it was, a success, beyond your wildest dreams..when it gets hard, is when the best of our souls come forward..

love,
red

[kennewman]

yeehaw, ya did great kiddo. you sound like you have a really good grasp on your mulemanship. your deal with your good ''best horse out here'' mule just reminded us all that mother nature merely has a better 'bond' as some call it than you do, specially under that fun set of conditions. you couldn't have bought a better learning scenario. now the bittersweet truth is liable to be this;
your pretty little mule just brayed to us, '' sorry, there is still a kink in my basics'' at every oppurtunity,, and we the human being , was not understanding the bray. it is not that unusual, it now means more to us because you, mulie, were kind enough to think about it , then bring to the e h bulletin board for other thoughts. damng, just think if you were just riding in to a competition , or riding a cavalry charge, or riding to get your husband doctor, or riding to save your
best friend. a good woman wouldn't want to have her mount fail her there. so you sure were 'blessed' to find the rough part under controlled 'pandamonia'. even though it may not have felt like you were 'blessed' in all the noise and dust. you have me convinced that the basics will be reviewed, rehearsed,and appreciated by both of you, good on you and your happy mule, canoe.

[FrancaV]

Wow, Mulie - I think you did an amazing job in that situation. It can't have been much fun but you hung in there for your mule. And I liked that you tried to give her a better stopping point than the one she got when the clinic ended.

I'm sorry I'm kind of brain dead at the moment and don't have much to offer in the way of suggestions. I like Liz's idea of setting up a similar scenario with some friends so that maybe you could work on the "pandemonium" exercise with a bit more support than you had in the clinic setting. With any luck it will challenge you and your mule but won't feel like pandemonium to either one of you. You could work up to it by practicing some separation exercises just with your husband, and when that's going well, add to the group. Your mule needs to keep track of you and where you're directing her, not where her horse pal is and where he's going. When she figures that out she'll feel better in all sorts of circumstances. :)

The trick for us in the saddle is to actually be directing, instead of reacting (doing damage control). I think we all know that's what we need to do when all heck breaks loose, but we don't all have a million miles on our butts in the saddle and it's just not second nature for everyone. Certainly not for me! We just keep working at it and, bit by bit, more pieces become part of our body's memory and we don't have to work so hard to recall them when we need them. I think you're doing great, Mulie!

[Mulie]

Well, first off, thanks for your support on this. It really means alot to me. It does show there's a "kink in the basics" there. I can't say it's a big surprise,and it's been something I try to work on all the time, but in much smaller doses. Sometimes though I think I might work in doses so small they aren't challenging ENOUGH. She's been a shy, suspicious, and un-confident mule and I try to set things up so she can have successes to build her confidence. I won't lie, I do it to build my confidence, too. Hey, I know the "power of mule" and I always want it working in my favor. She is a very kind and willing mule and sometimes I am really touched at how hard she'll work for me. Other times she might be bothered and bracey, and I really have to work hard to not get bothered and bracey, too. But at some point you need to keep pressing that comfort zone (both of ours) to grow. I think this pressed it way too far, but I guess all you can do is deal with it and go on. I'll be thinking of more ways to work on this in some smaller chunks. Maybe the next time I have to lead a cavalry charge I won't be riding a runaway.
When I'm riding with my husband I try to take opportunities to seperate them. If I weren't thinking of this I would probably unconciously do things like ride side by side all the time, tie them together, etc. I try to be aware of these things and mix it up. When we get back to the truck after riding I keep riding past it while my husband ties his horse up and head down a different trail for a ways. My goal with that is to have her heading down the trail willingly and not bothered by leaving Max behind. After the first few balky times she's been real good with this I just keep building up the distance. Last time we did that I rode quite a ways and she seemed very happy and relaxed, I was real pleased. I got off give her a big rub, un bridled, loosened the cinch and we walked back together. I've felt this is a pretty good thing, but I'm sure there's more I could as well. Well, thanks again for the feedback.

[Titania]

It also occurs to me that this is a lot like the time Exy and I went to Equine affaire. JL was working with his two horses - Charlie and Preacher that weekend. One would be back at his stall and the other working in the clinic, the one in the ring would be calling and calling to a friend that wasn't there.

John admitted he hadn't had much time recently to work on them being "buddy sour" b/c they travel all the time togther they have a pretty close bond.

So he just kept working and eventually the horses settled down. but it left a BIG impression on me...WOW even a guy who makes his living off his horses, who travels to expos and clinincs with them all the time needs to reschool the basics constantly. That was a big life changing moment for me.

[Mulie]

Well, that was interesting to hear. You always figure the big guys horses will always be perfect. It is good to be reminded that everybody has to continue to work on things.

[Two Cents]

Hi Mulie....Glad to hear your molly didn't melt ALL the way down.

A couple of things came to mind reading your note. You described your leaving the herd exercises, but they were apparently done in a way that made leaving the herd YOUR idea, and molly and the others just had to accept it sooner or later, like it or not. So there never is a true breakthrough or change way down deep inside where the horse really does feel OK about leaving. Some of you may have seen Buck or Bryan or Ray have a group work on this. The rider and the rest of the group simply make the horse a bit uncomfortable staying with the herd. There is no directing, reining, kicking, no cuing, no urging, no nothing. At some point, when the horse glances toward the other end of the arena, or flicks an ear in that direction, everyone instantly eases up. Start over. Lather, rinse, repeat. Soon the horse will make the decision to try out the other end. They will head out, and feel good about it, and know that it was indeed their own idea. They can get really comfortable and quiet and calm about being away from the herd. The rider is just there to reassure and soothe.

So, maybe since this kind of change never really occurred, and your molly was still a bit upset about it, when things got a little more interesting she just couldn't handle it. Maybe they are not that closely related, but with a mule, EVERYTHING is related. If you get a chance to be around a bunch of willing riders, you might give this a try.

The other thing that struck me was that if this sort of thing was going on, no way should the instructor simply call it a day. Maybe your molly made it through with no real long term effects, but that may not always be the case. Doesn't matter if it's getting dark and supper is getting cold. THe instructor needs to hang in there. Everyone there may have missed one of the most valuable opportunities of the whole clinic.

[reata]

Hi Two Cents, welcome back!!!
Ya know reading Mulies post what you have written above is exactly what went through my mind..but i didn't know how to start putting it down in words.. You have done a pretty good job and I hope mulie can get the gist of what you tried to explain. Sometimes its much easier to just show people.
As for your last comment about the instructor, I couldn't belive that part of it either..What a time to finish!!. Look at the spot he/she has left our Mulie!!! not to mention her mule. Troubled enough to write in here for help. :eek:

[FrancaV]

The other thing that struck me was that if this sort of thing was going on, no way should the instructor simply call it a day. Maybe your molly made it through with no real long term effects, but that may not always be the case. Doesn't matter if it's getting dark and supper is getting cold. THe instructor needs to hang in there. Everyone there may have missed one of the most valuable opportunities of the whole clinic.I agree - that was not a good place to stop the clinic. Whether the clinician or the owner is the one working with the horse/mule, for the sake of the animal it's essential to finish what's been started. It's very unfair to leave the poor critter in a state of fear or confusion, and it's the clinician's responsibility to make sure things end right. Seems like this clinician dropped the ball and left Mulie to try to help her mule the best she could under the circumstances.

I don't know if this is going to make sense but I think there's sort of a parallel with humans as well. I rode in a Peter Campbell clinic in May. There was a mare (I think a former barrel racer, but I don't remember her whole story) who was still pretty tight and bothered at the end of the day. As the session ended and people were heading out of the arena, Peter asked the young man riding her if he wanted him to work with her a bit, and he did. Peter said everyone else might like to watch.

As it turned out it took quite a long time, first on the ground and then in the saddle, because Peter asked more of the mare than her rider had done and the mare showed everyone just how stuck she really was. Peter, of course, was not about to quit the mare without finishing what he started. In the end Peter rode her and she was able to respond softly and willingly. Her rider also rode her briefly so Peter could help him adjust his hands, seat, and legs to better communicate with his mare. The rider hadn't realized that he was braced in the saddle and helping to perpetuate the brace in the mare.

Interestingly, of all of the people who stayed to watch, not one left before Peter finished. Peter talked some about what he'd done with the mare and then he thanked everyone for watching till the end. He said many times people leave in the middle while the horse is still struggling to figure things out, when the most important part for those watching is to see the horse come through his trouble to understanding. When observers leave in the middle, it's very much like quitting on the horse. It's cheating the clinician and themselves as well, because they've learned nothing from the experience, or worse, they've learned the wrong thing, and that's what they take home from the clinic.

[Mulie]

Boy, I sure appreciate your continued thoughts on this. I've still been rolling this around in my mind and just thinking, too, I wish we hadn't stopped then. even though I tried to do something I thought we could finish on a better note, even though she did it, she still wasn't feeling very good about things. Well, neither of us were. It's been so hard to earn her trust in the first place and she's been doing really well and now I just feel like I let her down here. I've ridden her since then and she is still bothered I think. So now I have to work to try and regain the trust I lost, which was pretty hard won in the first place. So Two Cents I really think your thoughts are exactly the way a mule in particular should be taught that exercise. I would love to be able to see that though because I'm not sure exactly how that would look. How does the group make the horse feel uncomfortable staying with the group? Do you know of any videos where this is shown? I'd sure appreciate if you could elaborate just a bit, or if anyone else could describe it too. Thanks!

[Two Cents]

Hi Mulie!

I don't know of anything on paper or in a video.....but here is one way of many that this could work out. Just be creative and use whatever situation or other horses and riders that present themselves....for instance, getting a horse that is barn-sour to leave home and go for a trail ride if you're alone.

Just start off with a bunch of horses standing around at one end of an arena. They might more actively be working on something of interest to them, like one-rein stops or backing or anything else....or they might be there solely to help your horse. But everyone just stays real busy and active whenever your horse or mule is thinking of staying with the group. If you have a rope tied on, flop it around. Wave your hat. Shake a flag. Ride like a sack of potatoes, clumsy and uncoordinated (that is one I have down real well myself). Screw around with the reins. The other riders can do the same things. Nothing agressive or really obnoxious, just make it a little uncomfortable for your molly to be there. Sooner or later, maybe by accident she'll tip an ear toward the other end. As quickly as possible, everything stops and gets quiet and calm. Give her a nice, long, smooth stroke on the neck. Ride smooth as glass. Even if it only lasts an instant, it is progress. When her mind goes back to the herd, everyone gets busy and annoying again. When her mind goes to the other end, the world is beautiful. It won't take long, especially if your timing and the groups' timing of the release is pretty good. Soon she'll look down there. Ease up. If you lose her, start over. Before you know it, her feet will follow. You are not to try to lead her, direct her, move her, anything. As far as you're concerned, you could care less where she goes and at what gait. Let her make the decision to leave the group. She will just decide to head on down there by herself. When she does, pet her, but stay balanced in the saddle. Be smooth and easy. If she changes her mind, no problem. It gives everyone a chance to start again. Next thing you know she'll just walk on down there and stay. After a little breather, join the group again. Start over. Should be pretty easy by now. Let her soak. Next time, take the initiative yourself. Suggest to her as subtly and nicely as possible that she leave the group. Trust her to come through for you.

[reata]

On the First Week Video they do show a little of this method..If you could borrow that it may help..and I remember watching some old footage of Pat P doing something with a cow that was along the same lines..
I have participated and seen clinics where Buck has done this with a herd bound horse but its hard to explain.. The other riders don't have to be super smart..just vigilant.
Maybe Parelli has something in his video collection because most of those guys are aware of the concept.. LOL but maybe they just don't like other horses near them ..they sure like to flap things in your horses face if you ride too close..

[Mulie]

Thanks so much TwoCents and Reata. That seems like a more fitting way especially for a mule. It may be a while before I can set something like that up, but we have helpful friends who I'm sure would be happy to give me a hand on it. When my husband and I ride together I try to leave alot maybe take a different side trail or something although we don't get too far out of sight. She does that pretty well ESPECIALLY when I don't make any big deal out if it. The part at the clinic that really got to her was all the commotion and horses going every which way at a fast speed. I've been thinking of ways to present something like that to her in more manageable chunks. Where if she could leave thinking "Well, I was alittle worried about that but it wasn't so bad" then kind of build up with it. I think she left the clinic feeling "I KNEW that was going to bad.....and I was right!" But I didn't really know how to tell her "Here just stick with me and it will be okay" although I was trying to stay calm and focussed, I was also pulling on her mouth, and I was probably letting her know I kind of agreed with her. Lots of good stuff to think about . Thanks again.

[reata]

Ahhh, sounds like she is not so much herd bound but just hasn't been exposed to a lot of things..Horses going in all directions was just too much for her..Ya know they get scared in those situations ..that is why they react like that..She needs to be able to find comfort in you in those situations..
I really don't know how to tell you how to help her get that sureness in you. I guess its something I'm still striving for in a couple of my horses..
(Two Cents if your still out there we would both be intersted in your thoughts.)
Sometimes I guess we just have to ride .. and have confidence in our horses.. and that is hard when we have visions of being bucked off.
Keep plugging away, your mule is very lucky to have somebody who cares.