October 2019 Issue of Mules and More Magazine

Published Monthly for Mule and Donkey Enthusiasts

Volume 29 • Issue 12 mulesandmore.com 1 • October 2019

October 2019 • $5.50

Mules and More Magazine

Availabe from Mules and More - mulesandmore.com The Mule Men: A History of Stock Packing in the Sierra Nevada

by Louise A. Jackson This book takes us inside the adventure, hardships, and joys peculiar to the packing trade. The book covers two hundred years, from the 1750s to the 1950s.

$14.00

Shavetails & Bell Sharps

The history of the U.S. Army Mule, by Emmett M. Essin.

The unsung hero of the 19th century American military finally gets the attention he has long deserved. The Army mule bore an honorable and significant part in our military history. Much less glamorous than the cavalryman's horse, the Army pack mule was a good deal more important.

$19.95

Jack Stock And Mules In Missouri

92 pages. Paperback. Published by the Extension Division, University of Missouri-Columbia, in cooperation with The Missouri Mule Skinners Society. Revised Edition, copyright 1987, originally published as History of Jack Stock and Mules in Missouri by the Missouri State Board of Agriculture, August 1924. Introduction by Melvin Bradley

$11.00

Donkey or Team Parking Only

$17.50 Red and white sign. 12”x17-1/2” aluminum with 2 holes for securing to your parking space.

Mules and More Caps $17.50 each A variety of colors with embroidered logo and mule.

See our website for full list of styles

Cloth High Crown Caps

Mesh High Crown Caps

Navy and red with sorrel mule

Orange with brown mule

Olive and khaki with dun mule

Red with brown mule

Trucker Caps

Cloth Snapback

Grey with neon green and sorrel mule

Black and grey with sorrel mule

add $5.50 shipping for books and DVD ($2 for each addition book or DVD)

“Love” Decals

5” x 6” $5.75 Both styles available in black or white.

To order online:

Visit www.mulesandmore.com To order by phone: (with a credit card) Call 573-646-3934

To order by mail: Send orders to Mules and More PO Box 460 - Bland MO 65014

2 • October 2019

Mules and More Magazine

Lester is a 13-year-old 15.1 dun john mule. He is easy to catch, clip and shoe. Lester won the Mule Race at the 2019 National Championship Chuckwagon Races in Clinton, Ark. He is an outstanding team roping mule. You can run three or 30 a day on him, he is the same every run. He leaves flat, runs hard, and scores good.

We have used him in the pasture to doctor cattle on and in the sale barn to pen back cattle.

Lester is a great ranch/roping mule with a big motor that can really walk out. $7,500

Pair A Dice •

•

Loren & Lenice Basham

MULE FARM

22801 Highway C, Belle, Missouri 65013 (573)308-2709 - Cell ∙ (573) 859-6793 - Home

www.pairadicemules.com If you have questions, please feel free to contact us!

Visit our Facebook page: facebook.com/pairadicemules 3 • October 2019

Mules and More Magazine

October 2019

Volume 29 • Issue 12 Published monthly for mule and donkey enthusiasts.

www.mulesandmore.com

7 Letters from the Otherside

Facebook.com/MulesandMore @mulesandmoremagazine

8 Stories from the Show Ring 10 Getting Down with Minis: Part 5 12 “The Odd Couple” B Y 14 Hooking On: Part 2

BY MEREDITH HODGES

BONNIE SHIELDS

B Y N AT E M E D C A L F

18 Granny’s Adventures Continue - The Story of Stormin’ Mary Lou 21 Scapegoat Wilderness

BY ANNA ARNOLD

B Y A N G I E M AY F I E L D

26 First Mule Attends Amberley Snyder Clinic 28 How I Met My Donkey B Y

B Y B R A N D Y VO N H O LT E N

M A RY W I N D E R

32 EQUUS Film Festival Has Mule Films In the Corral 34 Keep Them Honest B Y

J E R RY T I N D E L L

37 Classified Ads 39 Pack Burro Racing Debuts in Arizona with the Superior Burro Run 40 Calendar of Events 42 The Irish Donkey B Y

I A N S H E R RY

44 Mule Power! Midwest Trails Ranch Play Days B Y M I K E C H E R RY

47 When Mules Ruled the Farm

BY LONNIE THIELE

48 Introducing the NASMDA Ambassador Program B Y C A N D A C E 50 The Cook’s Corral B Y

4 • October 2019

SHAUGER

D E B B I E T ROT T E R

On Our Cover...

Cord and Ragen Tucker at a mule show in Licking, Mo. Sixyear-old Ragen, in the pink helmet, is riding Sapphire, and 7-year-old Cord, in the green helmet, is riding Bones. They are from Owensville, Mo., and are the children of Becky Hinson Tucker and Rob Tucker. For more on this show, and other stories from the show ring, see pages 6-7. Photos by Lenice Basham Mules and More Magazine

September 12-14 St Croix Falls, WI

October 10-12 Paris, TN

September 19-21 Clare, MI

October 17-19 Gloster, MS

September 26-28 Pedro, OH

October 24-26 Jacksboro, TX

October 3-5 Fort Valley, VA

November 7-9 Huntington, UT

5 • October 2019

Mules and More Magazine

Over the Back Fence

by Cori Daniels

www.mulesandmore.com

Editor : Cori Daniels, Bland, Mo. coridaniels@outlook.com (573)646-3934 Consulting Senior Editor Sue Cole, Bland, Mo. Subscriptions/Advertising Brianna Basham, Bland, Mo. Writers Meredith Hodges, Loveland, Colo.

Donna Taylor, Puylaurens, France donnalovesmules@googlemail.com Anna Arnold, Romoland, Calif. fastmule@live.com Capt. Joseph Vaclavik, Chicago, Ill. Capt.JoeV@Gmail.com Angie Mayfield, Loogootee, Ind. profmayfield@yahoo.com Tabitha Holland, Morris, Okla. info@signatureequine.com Brandy Von Holten, Mora, Mo., vonholtenranch@yahoo.com Photographers Lenice Basham, Belle, Mo. Diane Grimes, Oakdale, Calif.

Patricia Rustin, Springfield, Mo. Mules and More is published monthly for $36 per year by Mules and More.

Periodicals postage paid at Bland, Missouri, and at additional mailing offices.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to MULES AND MORE, INC., P.O. Box 460, Bland, MO 65014-0460.

Phone: (573) 646-3934 ∙ E-mail Address: mules@socket.net Mules and More Office: Mules And More, Inc. P.O. Box 460, Bland, Missouri 65014-0460 Shipping Address: Mules & More, 3934 Holt Rd., Bland, MO 65014

SUBSCRIPTION INQUIRIES:

(573)646-3934

(New subscriptions and renewals, address changes, subscription problems)

$36.00 One Year $65.00 Two Years First Class $60.00 Canada $65.00

(Canadians: Credit Card or PayPal only) NON-REFUNDABLE. Other countries please contact our office for subscription rates Printed by

OFFICE HOURS: Monday-Friday 9 a.m.-5:00 p.m. central time 24 Hour Fax: (573) 646-3407

Advertising Inquiries: (573)646-3934 mules@socket.net

Modern Litho-Print Co., Jefferson City, Missouri on recyclable paper, using soybean ink.

NOTICE: Please send in information and pictures and we will publish as many as we can each month, free of charge. (If you wish pictures returned, please write your name on the back and include a self-addressed stamped envelope.)

We also accept: Photography (anything mule and donkey related); Ranch Work; Mule and Donkey Care; Tack; Mule and Donkey Shows; Rodeos; Trail Riding; Spotlights on Mule and Donkey Owners, Promoters, and Important Mules and Donkeys; Historical Stories Disclaimer: Articles and letters appearing in Mules and More do not necessarily reflect the position or opinion of the magazine or its owner and employees. Nor does the publication of said articles constitute an endorsement of the views they may express. Accuracy of all material is the sole responsibility of the authors. Advertisements in Mules and More does not constitute a recommendation or endorsement of the goods or services offered therein.

Mules & More is mailed monthly, on or near the 25th of each month. ALLOW 15 DAYS for delivery of your magazine. No replacements sent before that time. NO MAGAZINES REPLACED DUE TO ADDRESS CHANGES. Claims for damaged/missing issues must be filed within 90 days of the issue date. If the post office alerts us that your magazine is undeliverable, we have no further obligation unless we receive a corrected address within one year.

Mules and More (USPS #008589) is published monthly for $36.00 per year or $65.00 for Canadian. Mules and More, Inc., 3934 Holt Road, P.O. Box 460, Bland, MO 65014-0460. Please contact our office for subscription rates for other countries. Periodicals postage paid at Bland, Missouri, and at additional mailing offices.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to MULES AND MORE, INC., P.O. Box 460, Bland, MO 65014-0460.

6 • October 2019

“If you can make it down our highway, you can make it to the show.” I think I repeated this to myself the entire three-hour drive from my house in Bland to Springfield, Mo. We usually go down to Ozark Mule Days together as a family - as in, my husband drives us in the truck and trailer - but this year Davey’s work schedule kept him out on the day I needed to leave for the show. He wouldn’t be home from work until late Friday night, and Alison had basketball practice after school on Friday, so this meant I would be pulling the truck and trailer alone, and Davey and the kids would meet me at the show Saturday morning.

This probably doesn’t seem like a big deal to most, but I had never gone anywhere with the truck and trailer farther than the distance from my house to my parents house (about a 10 minute drive). I have a watch that tracks my heart rate, and I am pretty sure the readings while I was driving looked like I was running a marathon.

I made absolutely no stops and managed to get through the spots I was most worried about with no problems at all. But when I pulled into Ozark Empire Fairgrounds and unloaded our three mules (who all made the trip safe and sound) I breathed a huge sigh of relief. I am not quitting my job to become a long-distance hauler, but I was very proud of myself for making it in one piece (and honestly for even attempting the trip at all).

I want to thank Don McGee, Full Moon Mule Company, Vian, Okla., for parking and unhooking for me. That was another task that was seriously stressing me out, but he jumped right in and made sure I was good to go!

We will cover Ozark Mule Days and the Missouri Mule Makeover in an upcoming issue, as well as the National Mules and More Magazine

Championship Chuckwagon Races that took place in Clinton, Ark., the same weekend. There are a lot of good stories to tell and photos to share from those events.

We love to hear about what you are doing with your mules and donkeys.

We especially love to hear about how you are representing longears while competing against the ‘short ears.’

There are a couple stories this month about just that. Keep sharing those stories with us! You can always reach us by email (mules@socket.net) to talk more about your ideas for future stories.

We attended a mule show in Licking, Mo., in September. I love fun shows like this one. It was a great evening spent on our mules with our friends and family.

My grandmother Sue Cole attended both Ozark Mule Days and the mule show in Licking. She had a good time catching up with her mule friends. She wanted to share another ‘tidbit’ this month. She says, “Have you noticed your equine dropping their grain? This might be a sign he or she has a dental problem.”

Alison and Cowgirl at the mule show in Licking, Mo., in halter 7 • October 2019

Letters From The Other Side...

Cushing’s Disease Treatment

After two and a half years of living with Cushing's Disease, Bailey’s quality of life is good. (Cushing’s Disease is also defined as Equine Pituitary Pars Intermedia Dysfunction or PPID. It causes the pituitary gland, located at the base of the brain, to become enlarged over time and results in the overproduction of hormones. A long, curly hair coat that does not shed properly is the most classic symptom of PPID, but other symptoms include excessive drinking and urination, laminitis, lethargy, excessive sweating, and muscle loss) At age 15, Bailey still has many years to go. She receives Prascend daily which is keeping her yearly blood test within normal range. However, she still keeps a little longer coat and a little larger tummy.

A word of caution: last year I cut her dose in half to save money. It only took two weeks for her to return to where she was at the beginning of treatment. I have resigned my self to a financial commitment for the rest of her life. --Ronita McGill, Camp Verde, Ariz.

Donkeys Needed for Salvation Army Red Kettle Drive

Donkeys are needed for the Salvation Army Red Kettle Drive on Saturday, December 7, the Day of the Donkey. Your donkey doesn’t need to ring the bell, but he does need to be docile and crowd friendly. You will do the bell ringing, while his job is to stand there and look cute! Only friendly, calm donkeys please.

Normally the Salvation Army assigns two hour time slots, but they are grateful for whatever you do. In most cases, you will have to provide a venue (we suggest feed stores, pet stores, farm supplies, etc), then call the Salvation Army to ask them to deliver a red kettle to that location at the time you plan on being there.

Jack, the Bible Donkey, When you do your bell ringing, please send me a pic- ringing a bell ture of you and your donkey, so I can submit the pictures to the Salvation Army and at put them on Jack, the Bible Donkey’s Facebook page. Please message me at Jack, the Bible Donkey on Facebook if you plan to participate, as well. --Yvonne Kay and Jack, the Bible Donkey

Gregory Stables, Monticello, Ky., welcomed mule foals (left to right) Alli, born July 27, Stormy, born July 20, and Cleveland, born June 21 Mules and More Magazine

STORIES FROM THE SHOW RING

When A Dream Becomes A Reality

by Sue Robbins

Hayley Bacon, a 14-year-old from Pleasant Hill, Iowa, has competed for three years in Iowa Donkey and Mule Society events. Hayley and her mule Nina have missed winning a buckle by just a few points several times, missing it one time by less than half a point!

Hayley has been disappointed but did not allow this to break her spirit.

She continues to enjoy the people and events. This year, the IDMS State Show, held in Bloomfield, Iowa, started out good and just kept getting better. Hayley and Nina came in first in several events on Saturday. They were on fire going into the poles and barrels on Sunday!

Congratulations to the new IDMS State Show Grand Champion 11-18, Hayley Bacon and Nina!

Hayley Bacon and Nina

Pike County Fair

Riley Welch, a 16-year-old from Waverly, Ohio, had the only two mules out of 70+ equine when she showed in the Pike County Fair this summer.

Riley and Janie were first place in Contest Showmanship and Reserve Grand Champion in Ranch Pleasure.

Riley and Sadie placed third in Trail.

Riley and Janie 8 • October 2019

Riley riding Sadie and leading Janie Mules and More Magazine

Licking, Mo., Mule Show

The second annual Licking Mule Show was held September 7 in Licking, Mo. The show was well attended, with 24 mules and 139 entries. The show began with a presentation of flags, with Steve Dawson carrying the American flag, followed by the Navy flag, and Camri Jones on Hoosier Daddy carrying the Air Force flag.

Les Clancy and Oakley won a big halter class. Dusty

9 • October 2019

Armistead won the walk-trot, gaited pleasure and adult western pleasure classes on Jake. Cindi Slemp took first in adult barrels and poles. Joe Bufalo and Josephine won the keyhole class. Cole Basham and Betty won the egg and spoon and the trail class.

Following the conclusion of the mule show, a Hotheels roping was held. There were 12 entries and it was won by Adam Cummins and Steve Dawson.

Mules and More Magazine

MULE CROSSING: Getting Down with Minis, Part 5

by Meredith Hodges

In Part 1 of Getting Down with Minis, you learned how to begin the relationship with your miniature equine in a positive and natural way that fosters good behavior and a solid relationship between you. You also learned the importance of getting down to your mini’s eye level so that he can make eye contact with you, which discourages striking, jumping on you and other bad behaviors that are common when working with miniature equines. In Part 2, I discussed how important it is to successfully complete the tasks in Part 1 before moving on to Part 2 and explained why it is advisable to work minis in groups, as they perform better when they are with their friends. You also learned how to train minis to go over and around various obstacles. Remember that all of this is to be done with no expectations that may overwhelm your mini—it is better if you maintain an attitude of fun and games. In Part 3, we got down to some serious groundwork training so your mini can be used for the purpose of driving and showing in hand. He learned to lunge and to be ground driven in the round pen and in the open arena through the hourglass pattern and if part of a team, how to do these things as a team. In Part 4, you worked on obstacle exercises on the drive lines to increase strength and coordination.

The fifth and final part of this series will illustrate how you can keep things controlled and will help you to consistently set up an environment for success. NOTE: If you are training two minis, it is really just a matter of teaching each of them the same thing, but at each stage of the ground-driving and hitched lessons, you need to teach each mini separately first and then as a team.

These exercises will require an assistant, so ask someone you trust to help you. Make sure, each step of the way, that you tell your assistant clearly 10 • October 2019

and specifically exactly what you need him or her to do. To begin, take your mini back to the round pen and review your previous ground-driving lessons (“walk,” “trot,” “whoa” and “back”) with an “S” turn through the middle in order to change directions. NOTE: Do not use the “reverse” command during these lessons. Do use the “back” command, but only to loosen the traces when detaching your mini from the tire. Attach a tire to the harness traces as a drag so your mini can get used to pulling weight behind him. To do this, first thread some baling twine through the slits at the ends of your traces to create “loops.” The slits in the traces are usually too narrow to allow a line to slide freely back and forth through them, but the baling twine will work well to accommodate this.

Next, take a piece of flat nylon stripping such as a strip of lunge line and tie it to a tire with about six to eight feet of extra line. This extra line will be threaded through the baling twine loops and then be handed back into the hands of your assistant. Now ask your assistant to walk alongside and slightly behind you, holding on to the piece of nylon stripping as you ground drive your mini. Always make sure your assistant is walking on the side away from the fence so as not to trap him or her if things go wrong. If, for any reason, your mini bolts, tell your assistant to simply let go of the nylon stripping. Your mini will quickly be released from the tire. NOTE: If training a team, do the “drag” exercise with

each single mini first before exercising them as a team. Working one mini at a time first will help to avoid any major wrecks that can cause your mini(s) any anxiety or distrust.

Spend as many tire drag lessons as it takes in the round pen to be sure your mini is driving easily and smoothly before graduating him to the open arena with the tire. Just as you did with simple ground driving, once he is ready, let your mini drag the tire while ground driving him through two rotations of the hourglass pattern, and then cross the long diagonal and do two more rotations in the opposite direction. Make halts often so rewards can be dispensed for a job well done.

Do not make any abrupt turns or try to add speed before you are completely competent with the lines and your mini is responding obediently. Ground driving is as much for you to learn good Reinsmanship as it is for your mini to learn to drive correctly. If training more than one mini, just tie whichever mini you’re not working with at the moment off to the side and have him wait his turn before ground driving the two as a team. The frequent halts with rewards will teach him to stay clam and remain still when asked.

Before actually hitching your mini to the vehicle, be sure to check all harness straps and make sure they are correctly adjusted. While you do this, you will also be teaching your mini (or minis if a team) to stand still in the cross ties, which will make hitching much easier. Checking all harness Mules and More Magazine

straps can be done anywhere that your fences or hitch rails are close enough together to accommodate the cross ties and still allow enough room for a single mini (or team) and the vehicle.

During this lesson, all you need to do is put on and adjust the harness, hitch to your vehicle, have your mini (or team) stand quietly while being rewarded and then take everything back off. Before leading your mini(s) away from the vehicle, spend some time rewarding again for standing still and staying in position.

To begin the next lesson, first review the steps in the previous lesson and make sure your mini (or minis in the case of a team) is standing quietly in the crossties before harnessing to the vehicle. When ground driving a single animal, ask your assistant to stand in front and to the side of your mini with a lead rope attached to a ring on the noseband (not the bit) of your mini’s harness bridle. When ground driving a team, you will need to use two assistants. Ask each assistant to stand on either side of the team. Once your mini is harnessed, and when you are seated in the vehicle and ready to go forward, ask your assistant to unsnap the cross ties and release your mini while your assistant stands at his head. Now ask your mini to “walk on.” Let him go just a few steps and then ask him to “Whoa.” If your mini does not stop promptly, your assistant can help by pulling back on the lead rope with a pull/release motion while, at the same time, you pull back on the drive lines with a pull/release motion.

When he does stop, have your assistant give him his oats reward. Let your mini settle before asking him to back a couple of steps and halt again. Reward him for halting and end the lesson 11 • October 2019

there. The object is to allow your mini enough time to understand what you are trying to teach him and respond accordingly so he can be rewarded without spending so much time that he gets bored and sucks you into a confrontation.

Now your mini is ready to go to the open arena to be driven for the very first time. For the sake of safety, use your assistant (or, in the case of a team, assistants) during lessons until your mini (or team) is driving easily and responding to all of your cues and verbal commands promptly and calmly. Using an assistant helps to guide your mini through his lessons when he can no longer see you out in front. Your assistant will also help your mini to drive forward with confidence, as well as being on-hand to aid you if your mini has problems with turns and backing. Using an assistant also allows you more time to perfect your Reinsmanship and your ability to plan your movements in an organized and logical way.

When your mini is hitched to a

vehicle, make a very large hourglass pattern to accommodate your vehicle.

His familiarity with this pattern will help him to feel calm and gain confidence while being driven. Every time you end a lesson, keep your assistant at your mini’s head until your mini is fully unhitched from the vehicle.

NOTE: Always remove the harness bridle last. Once he is unhitched, make your mini stand where he is while you come to him, then reward him and lead him away. This is how he will learn to wait for you and will not become antsy and uncontrollable. Routinely practicing good manners, setting up an environment for success and approaching your mini with a calm and deliberate attitude will all help him to become a quiet, safe and reliable driving animal.

To learn more about Meredith Hodges and her comprehensive all-breed equine training program, visit LuckyThreeRanch. com or call 1-800-816-7566. Check out her children’s website at JasperTheMule. com. Also, find Meredith on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. © 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2019 Lucky Three Ranch, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Mules and More Magazine

“The Odd Couple”

by Bonnie Shields

Leroy’s my name and mulein’s my game, or it was ‘til they threw me this filly!

She’s pretty, of course, if you’re into a horse, but let’s face it - this poor thing is silly!

Although she’s a ZERO, she thinks I’m a HERO, so what’s a big mule ‘spose ta do?

I treat her real nice. (Only lied to her twice). And I let her pull my portion, too.

This was workin just fine until it was Fair time and the boss signed us up for the PULLING! So, it’s off to the town to put our names down and check all our collars and britchin.

The arena was full with the teams for the pull and the crowd was beginning to gather.

There were horse teams and mule teams but only ONE “other” and it threw off the bets with a bother.

Now, this mule is NO fool and I’d heard ‘bout the rule in the book says right there, “you can’t hit ’em!”

So, I was real sure my plan was secure and my lady was in for a lickin’!

The hotter it got, the harder she’d pull and the sweat was just rollin’ right off her.

While I was STILL cool (being no fool) and figurin’ no one was the wiser.

But, our driver WAS wise, though he couldn’t devise a way to correct this dis-order.

And the mare was no frantic and nearing a panic when it SUDDENLY all just came TO her!

She gave me the “stare” and turned just a hair and took aim with size 7 shoe!

The thump was dramatic. The experience traumatic. I knew it was over for sure.

So, I got down to business and she did the same and guess what? We WON the whole fracas!

Now she is wise to my tactic and I’ve mended my ways, but I do miss those days I was her hero.

Equality’s hard but now I’ve a “pard” and I know she’s a long way from zero.

But right now I’m not workin--my job I am shirkin--an I’m hanging out with the chickens!

Don’t give me away! They want to cut hay! And, I’m learning to cluck and NOT bray.

12 • October 2019

Mules and More Magazine

Dixie Horse Auction

LTD.

IREDELL COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS, Troutman, North Carolina

Horses, Mules & Carriages

Thursday, Friday & Saturday, November 28, 29 & 30, 2019

Saturday, Nov. 30

Friday, Nov. 29 9 a.m.

Field Items TACK -New & Used Antiques Horse-drawn Equipment Harnesses & Saddles

& Horse Trailers

200+ Wagons, Buggies, Sleighs, Carts, Vis-A-Vis, 3 Seated Surreys, Forecarts

Hip Numbers 1-200 100+ Draft Horses and Mules, 100 Mixed Horses

10 a.m.

12:00 noon Heavy Equipment 1 p.m.

4 p.m.

Carriage Auction

Horse Auction

TRAIL HORSE DEMONSTRATION

Thursday night, November 28, 5 p.m.

Music by GRAND PRIZE - $1,000 Cowboy Church 2nd PRIZE - $500 at 4:30 p.m. rd 3 PRIZE - $250 Entry Fee $40

For Horses in Auction only

8 a.m.

Mixed Horse Auction

Hip Numbers 201-End

500+ Horses MULES Driving Horses Ponies Amish Broke Teams Haflingers Miniature Horses Donkeys Riders Draft Horses

Terms:

Hip numbers are issued starting Nov 1 - call 330-893-3541

Fairgrounds are open Nov. 27 & 28 9 a.m. - 7 p.m.

Nov. 29 & 30 7 a.m. - 11 p.m.

Coggins & Vet services available Buyer numbers issued at auction - bring ID

Seats in the horse auction arena are sold at the auction office

Directions: I-77 South to Exit 45, Rt 21 South to Auction I-77 North to Exit 42, Rt 21 North to Auction

www.dixiehorseauction.com Auctioneer and Flyer: Bobby Beachy (NCAL #10326 PO Box 367 Berlin, OH 44610 Fax 330-893-3545 Phone 330-893-3541

Commission: Horses/Mules - 6% (minimum $60) Tack and Carriages (per item) 15% on first $1,000 10% on $1,001 & up (minimum $3)

Vendor Space Available!

Find us on Facebook!

Warning: Under North Carolina Law,

an equine activity sponsor or equine professional is not liable for an injury to or the death of a participant in equine activities resulting exclusively from the inherent risks of equine activities. Chapter 99E of the North Carolina Statues

Plan to attend our Spring AUCTION March 20 & 21, 2020!

Largest Tack and Equipment Auction in the Southeast!

13 • October 2019

Mules and More Magazine

Hooking On: Part 2

by Nate Medcalf In Part 1 of this topic (in the September issue of Mules and More) I discussed the importance of ‘hooking on,’ and why it was important. (As a refresher, hooking on is the process through which the mule chooses to be with the human willingly and staying focused on the human).This is not a connection that relies on physical contact or direct actions.

Then, how do we influence the mule if not by a direct feel? Where “direct feel” is something you have at the end of the rope (a halter for example), with the mule reaching for a hypothetical place of agreement with you, rather than moving away from the pressure.

But how do you offer a feel if you don’t have some direct communication line?

Visualization Mostly everyone acknowledges that mules can sense fear or confidence, or tell the difference between aggression versus assertion. Why wouldn’t they be able to feel your focus? I know they can. The first cue you offer is simply visualizing what you want the mule to do. I don’t mean just a vague idea, I mean a plan with some clarity. Not just, “I want him to move off,” but “I want him to step with his inside hind leg first to move left at a walk.” You can only influence the outcome if you know what that outcome should be.

Energy Mules feel our energy level and respond to it. When people are working mules in the round pen, I often see one extreme or another: a mule that doesn’t want to go, or a mule that doesn’t want to slow down. I see both of these scenarios often, and they’re really both the same thing. It comes from within. The mule won’t go for the person who is standing there with no energy and won’t slow down for the person whose movements carry tense, nervous energy.

Body Attitude Your body attitude—upright or slouched, relaxed or tense, facing the 14 • October 2019

mule or sideways to him, rigid or fluid, eyes soft or hard, motions smooth or jerky—communicate volumes to the mule. You can bring up the life in your body to move him off, let the air out and soften your posture to draw him in. You can invite him with smooth, fluid attitude and movements, drive him away sharply with crisp, insistent movements and body position.

Hands Your hands and arms can reposition or signal a mule by either leading or driving. A leading hand sweeping forward from the mule’s shoulder invites him to move forward. A driving hand pointed or waved at his hip asks him to move off or step across. A finger pointed toward his eye can push him away to change eyes and ‘pick you up’ with the other eye. A hand drawing in toward your body can draw him back to you after changing eyes.

Body Position Relative to the Mule When the mule is traveling around the round pen, for instance, you can align your body toward his shoulder to slow or stop him, or toward his haunches to encourage him on. You can step sideways toward his haunches to encourage him to disengage behind, toward his shoulder to get the front end to step over, or almost hide behind him to draw him off the rail. The mule will follow the feel of your location, and you can adjust from moment to moment to shape up the movement.

Advance or Retreat Combining body attitude and position, you can advance toward him with energy to ask him to move off, and back away with relaxation to draw him to you. These simple non-physical cues persuade the mule to willingly be with you, to ‘hook on.’ The very simplest mental connection we get working is when a mule draws to you in the round pen. That’s often the first time we notice him reaching for a feel rather than moving away from pressure. Most everybody gets a real feeling of elation the first time or two they do that. I’ve had people cry.

You can compare the connection with a ‘hooked-on’ mule to play-

ing with bubbles. Dip the little stick with the ring into the bottle of bubble stuff. Blow a bubble, then another.

You can use one bubble to catch the other bubble. You can push the second bubble and pull it, but if you move very fast and very hard without allowing the bubble to follow the feel, you burst the bubble, you lose the connection. That bubble gets more resilient as your unity with the mule gets stronger. When you first explore drawing and hooking on with your mule, you can lose him if you move off too fast. Once he understands, you can trot off, switch back, and stop, and he’ll be right with you.

How do you initiate a mental connection with your mule? The following guidelines will help you build connection with your mule, no matter what you’re doing—whether it’s targeted groundwork in a designated training session, or simply handling him around the house. Acknowledge that you’ll probably be starting with some sort of physical cues. You’ll likely start the process by doing groundwork with physical, direct cues and having the mule move away from pressure. You do need some way—a halter rope, and a round pen— to keep the mule from leaving before you’ve established the connection. You do, after all, need to have a way to ‘make the wrong thing difficult.’

Your progress won’t be very gratifying if the mule can find relief by leaving you, before he discovers that he can find relief as well by being with you.

Very quickly though, often in the first session, you can progress to doing the groundwork with no halter or rope.

The secret to moving quickly from halter to halter-less is to use indirect feel first for every request (visualization, focus, energy), and follow up with direct feel only if the indirect feel didn’t work. You’ll have the halter and rope available at first, but you’ll be steadily using them less and less, to the point where you can sling the halter rope over the mule’s neck and keep on working without physical connection.

For every request, clearly visualize what you want. Whether using direct Mules and More Magazine

feel or indirect feel—whether doing this with a totally green, unaware mule or a connected one—for every request every time. Always have a picture in your mind of what you’re going to ask for and the end result. That’s the whole key to making this thing work. It’s a thought process first, before anything else. I see it so many times where the only indication the mule has to change anything is some physical action: the reins, the kicking or whatever; there was never a picture in the person’s mind of what they wanted.

If we have muddy visualization, we can only develop muddy responses.

The clearer you get with your plan, the clearer the mule gets with his answers.

That’s also what keeps you from losing them. Many of us get this connection working sometimes but not all the time, and that’s because we still don’t have a plan we can follow through with and aren’t very specific with our requests.

I certainly experienced this recently, when I lost my allegedly connected mule to a pile of manure. It’s humbling to rank lower than a pile of manure in interest to your mule. But at the moment I lost him, I was basking in a side-by-side stroll with no real plan.

Reward the slightest try. This principle holds true in all our work, but it’s all the more critical when you’re trying to influence a mule without direct cues.

Since the figurative ‘pressure’ is miniscule, compared to physical contact, the training relies more than ever on the mule searching toward release. You can go slow to go fast here, in a ‘warmerwarmer-colder-colder’ game where you reward tiny hints of compliance and adjust to head off tiny signs that something is going astray.

For instance, when you’re first asking the mule to hook on, you reward (retreat, soften) when the mule does nothing more than flick his inside ear back. Later, we’ll look for more, but we started by rewarding a seemingly trivial connect. Everybody who has experimented with hooking on has done this. Carry that concept to other exercises. Look for and reward the first hint that things are going in the right 15 • October 2019

direction.

For instance, when asking the mule to back on mental connection, you might first reward something as simple as his weight shifting back, even though he didn’t lift a foot. When teaching him to take the forequarters across on a non-physical signal, you might first release him just for shifting the weight back, preparing for the movement. When teaching him to follow you with no lead rope, you might first stroke and praise him for simply looking in your direction and reaching toward you with his neck as you moved away from him.

Follow up if necessary. Things may not work out exactly as you’re picturing. You may step in behind the mule to ask him to come off the round pen fence, and he doesn’t. You may turn around and find your buddy sniffing a pile of manure. You might want him to step the hindquarter over and he walks over you with his shoulder. You might have given him an opportunity to ‘soak,’ and instead he whinnies to his barn friends.

If you had a picture in your mind of what you wanted, you can adjust to fit the situation and keep shaping the mule toward that outcome. Start your ‘correction’ with the 1-2-3 progression of non-physical cues—visualize, focus, energize—but don’t be surprised or disappointed if you may have to add some different or direct follow-up. For example, if the mule doesn’t understand that your energy, leading hand, and driving hand are saying “move,” you might have to follow up with a twirl of the halter rope or a verbal cue.

If the mule’s attention drifts off, you might have to recapture it by slapping your hand on your chaps, kicking up a little dust, slapping your rope against your leg, waving your flag, or snapping your fingers.

Trust the mule. One of the key things mules learn from us is whether we trust and believe in them. Along with this mental picture you have to carry into this deal is the need to believe in your mule and believe in yourself. Even if I have it in my mind that I’m 100 percent

sure that the mule is not going to understand this mental connection that we can share… he’s been taught to ignore any mental energy and focus; and I’m almost positive that it’s not going to work… I still always go there first.

If you don’t offer him the chance to follow a feel, he won’t make progress in that direction. Be aware when you’re losing the mule’s attention, before you lose him. When you have a tangible connection to the mule—reins or rope—we can allow his attention to drift and still get him back anytime. After all, we have the rope; he can’t leave us. Not so when working the mule with no physical connection. We have to keep him with us mentally. That means being keenly aware of when we’re losing him.

The greater our awareness, the more this understanding will come from within. But at first, physical indicators will be key. The mule’s inside ear is tipped in our direction, his body arc follows the shape of the circle he’s traveling, his strides are fluid and relaxed, his eye is soft and looking in our direction, he is stretching through his topline, he disengages the hindquarters by stepping through and in front with the inside hind… these are good signs that he is with us mentally.

Different story if you see a bulge where his jaw meets his neck, ears pinned or set hard in some other direction, head tipped away, neck up, back hollow, strides short and pinched, body arc bent away from the path of travel, hind leg stepping to but not through when disengaging the hindquarter. This mule is not mentally connected. He’s distracted, defensive, and keeping open his options to leave. Since you know what he’s thinking, you can shape it up your way before he ships out.

Trust him again. So, you trusted the mule, you took the halter off and started testing your connection, and he left you.

What now? That doesn’t necessarily mean you need to go and put the halter back on. Try it again. Instead of saying, ‘Oops he left me, I better put that halter back on,’ move him around, get him hooked back on, and go from there. One Mules and More Magazine

of the most effective ways to bring back his attention is to move his feet and you could do any of the things we described earlier for follow-up.

Any of these things are effective as long as you stop when you get the mule’s attention. You should be able to feel the mule coming back to you, without relying on physical cues. Why not just put the halter back on and go back a step? We progress further in developing feel and awareness if we move out of our comfort zone and experiment. Doing the groundwork with no halter or rope really is different from having those aids in hand and believing you’re not using them. It’s quite a different experience, for mule and handler both—like the difference between riding on loose reins and pulling the bridle off altogether. Not the same at all.

When the mule is connected, he feels your energy and pace, and stays connected even through rapid transitions. Start simple and build on the foundation, naturally, but you should be able to do the full gamut of ground-

work exercises with no halter or lead.

The difference is you’ll need greater awareness, and instead of direct contact you’ll rely on the indirect aids described earlier. For example: • You’ll get the mule hooking on by visualizing what you want, advancing toward him with energy when he’s unconnected or ignoring you, retreating backward with passive body language when he’s starting to connect and draw toward you.

• Once hooked on, you could lead the mule around with no lead rope by believing that he will stay with you, adopting the right energy level in your body (enough to hold his attention and have a plan, not so much that you break the bubble), being fluid and inviting when he’s walking along with you, and snapping your fingers or slapping your hand on your leg when his attention wanders.

• You could disengage the hindquarters by visualizing the inside hind stepping across and in front of the outside hind, stepping toward his hindquarters,

and perhaps pointing or waving your driving hand while keeping your leading hand (on his head side) close to your body.

• You can then ask him to drive off by picturing him marching off at a walk, picking up the life in your own body, opening up your leading hand, and waving or pointing your driving hand at his hindquarter.

• You can slow and stop him by picturing it, letting the air out of your body, slowing your stride, relaxing your hands by your sides, and slowing to a stop yourself.

• You could back the mule by picturing him shifting and then stepping back, standing in front of him and pointing at him, softening for an instant when he starts to shift his weight back, then pointing again or advancing toward him with positive energy.

• You could step the forequarters across by imagining the mule shifting his weight back, standing at his shoulder, pointing your fingers in an imaginary line toward his opposite hip,

The 31st Annual Pea Ridge Mule Jump

Saturday, October 12 Opening Ceremony 9 a.m.

Held in Pea Ridge, Arkansas - The Mule Capitol of the World!

Over $4,000 in Prize Money

Events include Halter, Barrels, Pole Bending, Jumping, etc...

Location:

E. Hwy 72 in Pea Ridge, Arkansas Located just East of Bussey Lane WATCH FOR SIGNS!

$500 for Adult, Senior (ages 50 and over) and Youth Division

Variety of Food, Merchandise and Local Vendors Admission - $5 per person entry fee at gate No entry fee for participants $2 Ages 6-12, Children 5 and under FREE 16 • October 2019

$1,250 Top Prize for the Pro Jump

Fun for the Entire Family!

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Pea Ridge Mule Jump, PO Box 10, Pea Ridge AR 72751

Phone (479) 451-1122 ext. 104 Email Nathan_see@cityofpearidge.com

pearidgemulejump.com Mules and More Magazine

softening your posture and backing off for a second when he shifts his weight back, then picturing one foreleg stepping clearly across, then the other, following up with an upright body posture and pat at the air with open hands near his jaw.

• You could turn him toward you by visualizing the path you want him to take, and either drawing in his eye and pulling his front end toward you or focusing on his hip and signaling his hind end to move away from you.

Working without a physical connection is a great way to assess whether the mule is with you by willing choice. Without physical contact, you not only influence the mule to do something, but you can influence qualities or degrees of that movement. For instance, you can define: • How deeply a mule bends or turns, by where you position your body relative to his.

• Whether the mule’s weight is forward or back, by where you signal with a driving hand, or where you stand relative to him.

• How fast he travels, by how much energy and activity you carry in your own body.

• Where he comes off the rail, by where he is when you retreat and invite him.

• How much or how many of anything, by how assertively you ask and when you reward.

The key is the release. Collection, for example. Driving around the round pen, the mule would likely be traveling along, relaxed, not collected at all. Position yourself toward the mule’s haunches, move him up a bit until he shows a little more engagement, and release him for that. Then build on that foundation, increasing the expectations each time, until the mule is volunteering collection without being physically held there at all.

Why work a mule with no rope if we never have to do this in real life?

• To offer more to the mule on his terms.

• To honestly assess the degree to which our relationships are willing and voluntary.

• To improve our awareness, feel, and timing.

• To elevate our communication with the mule to a higher level.

Once we have the mule really feeling back to us and responding to our feel, then all the other things that we have just enrich that vocabulary of communication with the mule.

Once he understands, you can trot off, switch back, and stop, and he’ll be right with you. We can achieve these things with direct feel—physical signals, falling back on mild coercion if necessary. But we advance our Mulemanship to an even higher plane if we can achieve these things through indirect feel—a mental connection forged on equine voluntarism.

If you do have questions on it, please let us know. We are happy to answer and guide you through learning this process.

Nate, with his wife Tara, operate Rockin NT Mules. You can contact him at rockinntmules@gmail.com or (623)6928600.

17 • October 2019

Mules and More Magazine

LaDonne Hatley driving Stormin’ Mary Lou at Bishop Mule Days 2019

Granny’s Adventures Continue

The Story of Stormin’ Mary Lou

by Anna Arnold photos by Porch Pig Productions With the popularity of donkeys on year or so, but she never really got to the rise, I thought it was a good time do much, as her husband was ill, so to tell you about a little donkey I used she came back to me. For another year to own. or so, she remained my yard ornament.

A number of years ago, I received a My good friend Sharon Gifford had call from a lady that was looking for seen Stormin’ Mary Lou several times a home for a baby donkey. She had at my place. She asked about her, and adopted a BLM donkey which, after little Mary Lou went home with Shaa few months, produced a little jennet ron. She later sent Mary Lou to a donand she didn't want it. I told her to key trainer and had some driving time bring it to my place and I would find a put on her. Sharon worked with her in home for it. halter and on the ground. My daughter Later that week on a rainy afterJulie even rode her a bit, and then Shanoon, she arrived at my ranch with this ron's daughter Danielle started showcute little donkey. She wasn't very big ing her. This cute little donkey won in and she was so cute. The lady's name games, halter and in-hand trail when was Mary Lou, and it was a really Sharon had her. stormy afternoon, so that’s how I deAbout this time, another one of my cided to name her Stormin’ Mary Lou. friends, Sioux Munyon, had a very This little jennet was a real sweetheart. serious accident with her big team Now a year or two had gone by and of Belgian horses. As she began her I couldn’t find a home for her. I let long recovery, it was suggested she a friend who loved to take her older get a donkey to start back with. So donkey to parades try her out for a Sioux and Peggie Wagner decided that 18 • October 2019

since Peggie’s grandchildren were not using their donkey Willie, he would live with Sioux. Sioux drove him for a bit then decided she needed a team.

She knew Sharon had my little donkey, so she approached her and, sure enough, Sioux had herself a cute little team. For several years now, Sioux has brought the team to Bishop Mule Days, in Bishop, Calif., and competed in the donkey classes and the parade.

LaDonne Hatley lives on Sioux’s ranch and trains horses and donkeys.

She was quite a show woman with the big horses and was now winning with a donkey in single driving. As LaDonne began to work with my sweet little Mary Lou, they felt they needed to drop Stormin’ from her name. (She is no ‘storm’...except for every once in a while when she is tired and she decides to leave the line up and take LaDonne for a little exhibition run around the arena.)

Not only has Mary Lou won at Bishop Mule Days in driving, but she also excelled at in-hand trail. She has won this event several times with different handlers, but none looks as grand as when Miss LaDonne shows her. I believe La Donne is 85 and Mary Lou is 23. What a pair. Keep it up girls! We all love to watch you work together.

Willie and Mary Lou in the parade at Bishop Mule Days in 2015 Mules and More Magazine

Jacci Gaines on Kaddo Oklahoma, Reserve Champion All Around Donkey

Following along with last month’s article featuring Dawn Marie Henderson, Mr. Ear E Sistable, and their World Champion Performance Donkey title win, there are a few more donkeys that also deserve recognition for their achievements at the 2019 Bishop Mule Days show.

Diamond’s Precious Jewel, owned

by Jody and Tom Lowrey, won Donkey Halter, 3 Years and Under, and also the World Champion Donkey title in halter. Jody Lorey was also first in Donkey Hunter Hack on Akin’s Choklat Pud’n.

Kadoo Oklahoma, owned and ridden by Jacci Gaines, took Reserve World Champion Performance Donkey, Donkey Trail and Donkey Dressage.

The Dozer Beaver Donkey Western Pleasure was won by Clyde’s Gallant Fox, as well as Reserve Adult Single Donkey Driver, shown by Tabitha Holland and owned by Dwain and Samantha Francis, Richards, Mo. This year’s class had 19 donkey entries.

Tabitha and Clyde’s Gallant Fox also won Gambler’s Choice Driving and Driving Timed Cones. (A much more complete list of class results and high point titles appeared in the July issue 19 • October 2019

Cheryl Greslie on Garrett’s Nacho Bravo, Reserve Gymkhana Donkey

of Mules and More).

Taking Reserve World Champion Donkey and first in Mini-Donkey Halter was Butch, owned and shown

by Marilee Goodwin.

Reserve Gymkhana Donkey was taken by Garrett's Nacho Bravo, owned and ridden by Cheryl Greslie, as well as first in Donkey Barrels. Not only did Cheryl ride and win in many of the donkey classes, but shortly after returning home, she had major heart surgery. Can’t keep a good mule girl down!

One of the cutest donkey riders at this year’s show (with quite a little attitude but lots of persistence) was Scooter Garrett. In one class, her donkey just didn't want to lope, and when they finally came in for the line up, her little donkey just took a look around and laid right down. Well, Scooter tried and tried to get her to get up, but to no avail. Finally, someone came over and helped her get her up and ride out. She told her Grandpa she had been a good girl right up to that point, and she hadn't said a couple of specific four letter words all day. I bet she wanted to use some of those words when her donkey wouldn't get up, but I didn’t hear it. Sometimes, no matter

Jody Lowrey and Akin’s Choklat Pud’n winning Donkey Hunter Hack

The Dozer Beaver Western Pleasure class was won by Tabitha Holland, Signature Equine, Morris, Okla., riding Clyde’s Gallant Fox Mules and More Magazine

how old you are, you just have to let it out.

The donkeys are always a hoot to watch. Bishop offers so many classes for them and they overlap from one arena to another. I hope the show manager finds a way for this to work better next year. It's a long way for donkey legs to run from one end of the fairgrounds to the other.

There were a few other problems with different events for the contestants and their animals. Driving was at 7 a.m., and I’m guessing whoever scheduled it that way has never cleaned wagons, harness or hitched in the dark. Only a few people get up that early to watch the driving, which is always a crowd pleaser. I would love to see them put the driving, farm and other hitch classes back in the main show.

Despite everything, it was nice to see full stands and campgrounds this year. But, while I’m on it, I would love to see an awards ceremony, or see the winners do a victory lap. It’s sometimes tricky to figure out who won events.

Look for me at a mule gathering, fairgrounds or out on the trail this Fall. I'm the granny with a big hat, a fine mule and some cool boots.

Scooter Garrett, Garrett Mammoth Jackstock, Stilwell, Okla., on Oklahoma Miss Chocolate

20 • October 2019

Mules and More Magazine

ScratchnAll Introduces New Scratch Me Silly There is nothing ‘silly’ about this amazing new product! Scratch Me Silly was designed with the comfort of animal and human alike!

This multi-purpose tool works great on humans and animals, not only horses but all kinds, whether you are providing relief to itchy backs, legs, feet or trying to reach high up or down low, your 32” long Scratch Me Silly tool will provide that needed sigh of relief.

Scratch Me Silly was originally created to assist in reaching those hard to reach areas for scratching.

Since its inception, so many more uses have come to light For people with mobility issues, this light weight tool can be used as an extension of their own hand and arm, so the individual can connect with their horse or animal they are trying to bond with. There are many who love horses but feel too nervous when getting close You now have a light weight introductory tool that gives you ease and convenience of being able to reach out and connect with the horse or animal, without having to get right up close.

In the case of colic and stress, after the vet has been

21 • October 2019

called, it can be used to stimulate the gut and helps with the rubbing action long after your own arms would have to give up.

Sometimes you might have difficulty applying medication to a hard to reach, unsafe area.

Just cover the small end with a cloth and apply the medication. Now you’re at arm’s length, another 32”which puts you into the safe zone. This is a musthave tool for every barn.

Try our ScratchnAll pads, too! ScratchnAll are a durable scratcher pad used by animals large and small.

The ScratchnAll animal scratchers are easy to install and they have the ability to bend over corners and interlock with each other. Due to its unique shape and features, you can create patterns that would best suit the animal’s enrichment needs. These pads are also the perfect self-grooming solution! It was originally invented for the horse but has been satisfying many animal species!

Or you can do the “Scratch Match,” which is a combination of one Scratch Me Silly tool and four Scratchn-All pads. You will be so glad you did! ScratchnAll products are made in the USA.

Mules and More Magazine

Scapegoat Wilderness

by Angie J. Mayfield

22 • October 2019

Mules and More Magazine

(left) Angie’s view of the waterfall at Scapegoat Wilderness

After a week of exploring the east and south sides of Bob Marshall Wilderness in July, we stopped at the Western Bar and Restaurant in Augusta for a cheeseburger and a beer.

The friendly staff obviously knew we weren’t from the little cowboy town and a conversation ensued about our adventures and our love of riding in Montana. It was then that an old cowboy interrupted. “The Chinese Wall is too commercialized these days,” he said. “Too many hikers in the Benchmark area. If you want to see a wall just as unique but only a mile or so long, with riding just as scenic but no hikers or tourists, you need to go to Scapegoat!” Intrigued, we invited him over to learn more.

Jim Lee, 84, has lived and outfitted in Augusta since 1949, and had story after story to tell about his adventures, mules, changes in the area and society, and his opinion on the forest service.

The wiry cowboy is quite the character and knew all about the best and most secluded places to ride and camp in Montana. He said there were three ways to get to Scapegoat Mountain, but the fastest route if we were just seeking a long but beautiful day ride

23 • October 2019

Mules and More Magazine

The Mayfield’s morning view at Smith Creek trailhead

Jim Lee at the Western Bar in Augusta 24 • October 2019

was to go up Smith’s Creek trail head. So we followed his directions a few miles out of town to Smith’s Creek Road until we weren’t sure the curvy gravel road was a road. The sign that said “road is unmaintained from here” cued us to put the truck in 4-wheel drive and dodge the holes and rocks along the narrowing dirt path. Mud covered the truck, and I kept waiting for a tire to blow, but we held on and pushed forward. “I don’t think anyone’s been up here for years,” I pointed out, “including Jim Lee.” Doug agreed, but we’d come too far to back out now – and besides, there wasn’t a place to turn around anyway.

But sure enough, we could see the limestone wall Jim Lee promised running along the mountain in the distance and two miles later at the top of the hill on a dead end road, was the trailhead to Scapegoat, complete with an outhouse. So we camped for the night, tied the mules to the hitching rail, and enjoyed the breathtaking sunset over the mountains.

Lee was right. It was gorgeous – and unlike Benchmark, there wasn’t a soul around.

The next morning, we saddled and followed the trail through a private ranch for a mile before reaching Lewis & Clark National Forest and then Scapegoat Wilderness a mile later. We saw grouse, marmots and deer, with snow-streaked mountains on each side of us, Smith’s Creek running beside us, and wildflowers blooming everywhere. It was a hidden oasis. The riding was relatively easy but very diverse with rock canyons, prairies, forests, and mountain streams. I was sure we’d get lost with Jim’s confusing directions, but it was really just one giant loop from 215 to 214 across Jakie Creek and left on 206 to Welcome Pass, where we stopped in the valley for lunch, then 217 to the Cave Creek loop, right to 234 then back right to 206 to head back that evening.

A breathtaking waterfall captivated our attention for awhile and we stopped to allow the mules to snack and Tucker to play. He wanted to explore a cave in the hillside, but the canyon was too steep and the creek too deep.

However, he continued to beg, so we rode further down and found a shallower crossing.

However, he and Doug had to hike up a long, steep incline and then back down the mountain to get there. I waited, taking pictures, but then rode back to the trail and waterfall where we first saw the hole in the side of the mounMules and More Magazine

tain and found a much shorter path to reach it. They arrived a half hour later, out of breath and shocked to find me sitting there waiting on them. “What took you so long?” I laughed.

If you’re headed through Montana or going to Bob Marshall Wilderness, you must stop by the Western Bar in Augusta. The food is awesome and the locals are the friendliest I’ve seen. Those old cowboys always know the best places to go. And for some riding just as scenic but more secluded and fewer tourists, check out Scapegoat Wilderness Area. Designated as wilderness in 1972, Scapegoat has 259,756 acres and borders the Bob Marshall to the north. The cave was Tucker’s favorite, the waterfalls Doug’s, and for me, the quiet solitude of the snow-capped mountains. It felt like we were the only people on earth. Happy Trails! I’ll see you out there.

Angie J. Mayfield is a professor, farmer, and lifelong mule lover who has trail ridden in all 50 states and 6 countries. To share your favorite riding destination, email her at profmayfield@yahoo.com

25 • October 2019

Mules and More Magazine

First Mule Attends Amberley Snyder Clinic

by Brandy Von Holten

Amberley Snyder and JoJo

26 • October 2019

Amberley Snyder is a professional barrel racer from Utah. Some of you may know her from the Netflix movie released earlier this year called Walk.

Ride. Rodeo. In 2010, Amberley was ejected from her truck after she overcorrected from going off the road as she was looking at her map. Amberley’s body hit a fence post and she immediately lost the feeling of her legs.

After five hours in surgery, the doctors told her she would never regain use of or feeling below her waist. The accident left her paralyzed from the waist down, and she was also told that if she would have had her seat belt on, she would still have use of her legs.

That one mistake has now shaped her life. The movie is called Walk.

Ride. Rodeo. because when the physical therapist asked what her goals

were, that was her response.

Amberley comes from a highly competitive family, with her father being a Major League Baseball player for the Dodgers. Since the accident, she graduated from college with a bachelors and a masters degree.

Amberley has returned to the rodeo scene and even won a new 1D buckle.

In addition to competing in rodeo, she also travels with her sister Autumn, and teaches horsemanship clinics and presents motivational speeches.

Von Holten Ranch in Mora, Mo., had the pleasure of hiring Amberley to present her story on Friday, August 30, followed by two one day clinics.

The ranch was full of trail riders in for Labor Day, which kept me from being able to attend the clinic on Saturday, but Sunday was wide open.

As JoJo, my Missouri Fox Trotter mule, and I entered the arena for the clinic, there were some concerns from Amberley. She explained that she

Mules and More Magazine

had never had a mule in a clinic, nor had she ever even been around one. Her first question was, “Can a mule even do barrels?” She wondered if mules were even fast enough to do the barrels, and if they were like a horse.

I explained the genetic makeup of mules and gave examples of fast mules.

She welcomed JoJo and I into the clinic.

Several horses that others were riding had not been around a mule. My experience is that horses will either love, hate, be super curious, or be scared to death of a mule the first time they are around one.

Lucky for us, there was a combination of horses that loved or were super curious about JoJo. After the horsemanship section it was time to move on to barrel work. By the end of the clinic the crowd, other participants, and even Amberley had found room in their heart for a mule named JoJo. If you were wondering how we did, I can safely say that you will never see us at the finals of the NFR, but if there is ever a 6D barrel race, we will be the first to sign up!

27 • October 2019

Brandy and JoJo in the clinic

Mules and More Magazine

How I Met My Donkey

by Mary Winder

My donkey came to live with me as a result of a classic case of empty nest syndrome, along with a touch of midlife crisis and a dash of serendipity.

I was nearing my 50th birthday in the spring of 2005, and the youngest of our three daughters would soon be leaving home to embark on her college career. I was feeling more than a bit wistful about my life and about my children growing up.

It was in that gloomy frame of mind that I found myself one evening at the school where I taught, using the computer in my classroom to complete coursework for a college class I was taking online.

When I finished my assignment, I gathered my materials and prepared to go home. Then, for some reason, I began thinking about how I had yearned for a horse ever since I was a little girl. My practical side pointed out that there was no room for a horse on our one and one-half acre rural property in Northeast Kansas.

But, then the whimsical side of me countered with the thought that though it is true there was no room for a full-sized horse, there would perhaps be room for a miniature horse or a miniature donkey. My practical side added that with my daughters grown and on their own, I would have plenty of time to care for an animal.

Suddenly, I was very excited and my fingers were typing words on the keyboard to search for miniature horses or miniature donkeys for sale in Kansas. In seconds, I had found a handful of promising leads.

One ad in particular caught my eye.

It read: “Wanted—A good home for my friend, Eeyore, a four-year-old miniature donkey.”

I thought this sounded ideal and glanced at the telephone number given in the ad, expecting it to be 28 • October 2019

Eeyore’s expressive face

from somewhere halfway across the state. (Here’s where the serendipity-or something like it--enters the story.) I immediately realized that the prefix on the phone number was for residents of a town just east of me, a mere eight miles away. It was fate!

I hurried home to tell my husband how I had been feeling and how badly I wanted that donkey. He was taken aback and none too enthusiastic about the idea of adding a donkey to our lives, miniature or otherwise. But, he is a kind man and he wants me to

be happy, so he agreed to go with me “just to take a look” at the donkey.

Not wanting to give my husband (or myself) time to have a change of heart, I quickly dialed the phone number in the ad and made arrangements to visit the donkey the very next evening. Sharon, the owner, told me she had a small herd of miniature donkeys and needed to find a new home for Eeyore.

You can perhaps guess what happened when we visited the donkey.

As soon as I met Eeyore, I was utterly Mules and More Magazine

smitten. He was friendly and curious with bright eyes, tiny hooves, and a fuzzy, mouse-colored winter coat. I looked into those large, expressive eyes, and I was in love. He was upto-date on shots and Sharon had his vet records. She told me he led well, would let small children sit on his back, and was agreeable about lifting his feet to be cleaned or for the farrier.

He looked healthy and fit.

I had not one iota of doubt in my mind. I wanted that donkey for my own.

“Can we get him?” I asked my husband.

“Well, I’m not going to tell you no,” he replied.

I took that as a “yes” and told Sharon we would buy him.

There was one sticking point, however. She did not want Eeyore to go to a home where he would be alone, without other animals. Donkeys are herd animals, she explained, and they do much better with a friend or more.

I was devastated, and for a fleeting moment I thought that I wasn’t going to be able to have Eeyore after all.

“Tell you what,” Sharon said, “I have this female goat named Misty that has been living in the lot with Eeyore, and they get along well. I will sell Eeyore to you if you also take the goat so Eeyore will have a friend. I’ll throw her in for free!”

A donkey and a goat? Why not? I was elated; my husband less so. But momentum or something stronger than us seemed to be carrying us along for a wild and crazy ride into the world of donkey (and goat) ownership.

We explained to Sharon that we wouldn’t be able to take Eeyore and Misty right away, because we had to prepare a place for them. It was certainly true. We had no fence, no shelter, no supplies, and no real idea of where to even begin.

Sharon asked us to hurry as quickly as possible. It seems that she had purchased Eeyore in Missouri several 29 • October 2019

Eeyore takes a “grazing walk” in our yard

months before, thinking she would use him for breeding. Then, she had changed her mind about the breeding part and had gotten him gelded.

Eeyore still had some hormones left that spring, however, and he and her donkey jack in a nearby corral were braying back and forth at each other at all hours of the day and night.

Human neighbors lived close by, and Sharon did not want to test their patience with all of that cacophonous hee-hawing.

We told Sharon we would do our best to hurry our preparations. Then, we set to work.

I ordered a 10-foot by 20-foot metal shed from a company that constructs agricultural buildings. It would be large enough to provide shelter for Eeyore and his goat friend, with space left over to store about 40 small square bales of hay. The shed builders told us they would deliver it in about two weeks.

I bought two books about donkeys and their care and another about goats and read them from cover to cover. Sharon had also given us good and complete instructions about the animals’ care and assured us that she would be available to answer ques-

tions any time. That was reassuring.

With a list in hand, I visited the farm supply store and bought buckets and feed pans, brushes and combs, a hoof pick, salt and mineral blocks, and wood shavings for bedding in the not-yet-delivered shed. We also located an area farmer who would sell us hay.

We waited eagerly for the arrival of that shed. Finally, the day came when it was to be delivered. What we naively thought would be a very simple operation of dropping off the shed, suddenly turned rather complicated when the driver who was delivering the shed informed us with a sad smile that he could not take it to the spot where it needed to be. He simply could not maneuver the large truck and trailer through our narrow property and around the various trees, the house, and the other permanent obstacles in the way.

I was upset and unsure of what our next step would be, but my husband, bless his heart, was unfazed and merely instructed the driver to drop the shed off where the truck stood, and we would get it the 135 feet to its final destination. My husband, who is a bit of a master at using simple Mules and More Magazine

What an easy-going donkey! Eeyore doesn’t even mind it when his new friend, Paisley, jumps on him with her cloven hooves while trying to reach a tasty morsel.

machines, had a plan.

He went in search of his come along tool and several long metal pipes, while I contacted the daughters to see if anyone could come help us in our hour of need. Two of the daughters arrived, a bit leery about what role they would play in this shed-moving adventure. That 135 feet seemed like five miles to me as we began this operation.

If anyone had been filming us, we might have won a prize on one of those funny video television shows.

But, by golly, we got that shed moved. My husband utilized various structures along the route, such as the clothesline pole and trees, as anchors for the come along. By attaching a cable to the shed and using the come along to pull it forward, we rolled the shed through our yard on the metal pipes, moving the pipes to the front of the shed as the shed rolled off of them at the rear.

While my husband managed the come along, our daughters and I had the important job of moving the metal 30 • October 2019

pipes from the back to the front as the shed moved ahead. We also helped with steering, which was tricky because at one point we had to make a hard righthand turn to get the shed into the correct position.

It was a very slow, very cumbersome process, and it probably looked rather ridiculous, but we were successful. We maneuvered the shed right into the exact position it needed to be. Whew!

We had been getting regular calls from an anxious Sharon to check on progress with our preparations to house Eeyore and Misty. The braying at her place had increased and so had its volume! When I called to let her know the shed had arrived, she was thrilled with that news and urged us to waste no time in accomplishing our final task—building the fence to create a pen for the animals.

Sharon had told us Eeyore would do well in a dry lot if we provided daily hay rations. In fact, she assured us, he would probably do better in that situation than he would in a pas-

ture where he might tend to become overweight on the lush grass that grows in our fertile soils.

We used cattle panels for the fencing with large wooden posts at the corners and on either side of the gate, and metal t-posts everywhere else.

My husband, who had never built a fence before, learned quickly and worked on the fencing project as often as the Kansas springtime weather and his work schedule would allow. I served as his enthusiastic but not-sohandy assistant.

Our three daughters, by the way, were only somewhat astounded by the news that their mother was getting a donkey and a goat, and they pitched in to help with the fence when they could. After serious effort on the part of the fence-builders, we felt confident that we could let Sharon know we would be finished with the fence on an upcoming date, so she could make plans to transport the animals to their new home then.

On the designated date, she wasted no time in loading Eeyore the donkey and Misty the goat into a trailer and driving them down the road to our place. Meanwhile, we were frantically working to finish the fence before she arrived with my new friends. It is not an exaggeration to say that my husband was attaching the final piece of cattle panel to a fencepost when Sharon pulled up in the driveway with the animals.

I was ecstatic as Sharon and I led Eeyore and Misty up the driveway toward their new home. I remember I kept saying to myself, “I have a donkey and a goat!” as if to convince myself that this wasn’t a dream. I also recall the clip-clop sound of Eeyore’s hooves on the gravel driveway that day, a sound that entrances me to this day.

When Sharon saw the shed, the pen we had constructed, and the shady oak trees overhead, she said, “These animals are going to be in hog heaven!” It felt good to have her approval.

Mules and More Magazine

And that’s how my miniature donkey, Eeyore, and his friend, Misty the goat, came to live with us. It turned out to be great decision, even though some may have doubted my sanity at the time. Those special animals have enriched our lives, and I can hardly remember what life was like before they were ours. Eeyore and Misty even completely cured my empty nest syndrome and my mid-life crisis.

They have been the best therapy in the world for me!

I enjoy taking care of them, and my husband helps, too. Nearly every day when the weather is fine and there are green plants to eat, we put their halters on them and lead them around the yard for what we call a “grazing walk.” The animals take those walks very seriously and act as if it is their important job to nibble grass and weeds enthusiastically.

Sadly, Misty the goat died of a heart-related ailment at the age of 10, but Eeyore is still going strong at 18 years of age. For months after Misty’s death, Eeyore would sniff her halter—inhaling deeply with his long ears cocked forward and his eyes half-closed, as if he were remembering his dear, old friend who had lived with him for so many years. My eyes filled with tears when he did this.

After a while, we got Eeyore a new friend. She is a young Nubian goat named Paisley. Eeyore and Paisley are good buddies now. And they are both very dear friends to me.

Available in the Mules and More Store Visit mulesandmore.com to view all of our merchandise!

Decals from Mules and More

Back in Stock!

Red Mule Suspenders $22 each

Praying Mule Rider Decal - Removable, can be reused. Great for vehicle windows, or decorate a window or mirror in your home or office. Be creative! Available in white in Western or English saddle. $5.75

The View is Better From a Mule Available in black or white 6 x 8” Small Decal $10 10 x 13” Large Decal $16

Park Your Mule & Stay A While $17.95 each

10” x 14” white aluminum with hunter green lettering. Will not rust.

Mule Head Bootjack $25.00 each (includes s/h)

This bootjack is made from cast aluminum and measures approximately 6” x 11”. It’s the perfect accessory for mule lovers, and will remove your boots easier without damaging them.

How to Order: Online:

mulesandmore.com In the summer of 2015, we took a family portrait that included Eeyore and Misty.

This is the year they came to live with us

31 • October 2019

Warning Sign

By phone: (573)646-3934

10” x 14” white aluminum with red lettering. Will not rust.

By mail: Mules and More, PO Box 460, Bland, MO 65014

$16.95 each

Mules and More Magazine

EQUUS Film Festival Has Mule Films in the Corral Mules in the movies? The EQUUS Film Festival has screened some very interesting and fun mule films in our festival over the past few years. From documentaries about 100 Mules walking the great Los Angeles Aqueduct in 100 Mules Walking to a Mule competing at the national level of dressage in Dyna Does Dressage, the common thread throughout all the films is the determination and heart of the amazing mules featured in these films.

A soldier, battle worn and suffering from PTSD, finds solace in a journey up the Continental divide with his mules and learns how to connect with them on an almost spiritual level in A Back-Country Recovery, directed by Ben Masters, the acclaimed filmmaker who brought us UnBranded, and codirected by Phillip Baribeau.

Bernie Harberts takes us on a totally different journey with his mule searching for the Lost Sea in the American

West.

The people who have made these mules their partners on these incredible journeys have documented their stories and are making them available to mule lovers everywhere.

We have corralled up the EQUUS collection of Mule films for you to enjoy this fall.

If you have a great mule story to tell enter it into the EQUUS Film Festival!

About The EQUUS Film Festival The EQUUS Film Festival is the leading showcase for domestic and international equestrian content including feature films, shorts, documentaries, music videos, commercials, training, educational materials, art and literature, and is now available On Demand and streaming to all devices.

The seventh annual EQUUS Film Festival will take place December 5 – 8, 2019 at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Ky. in the Wrigley Media Group Theaters. The EQUUS Film was founded in 2013 by Lisa Diersen, President/Director, an avid equestrian who has spent her life in the company of horses. Lisa’s mission is to show the world how horses can bring everyone together regardless of race, age, gender, abilities or disabilities. She presently raises, trains, and

loves Lusitano horses in Maple Park, Illinois, with her faithful companion, the spunky Jack Russell, Amore.

Diana De Rosa, an international equine photographer and journalist, joined EQUUS in 2015 as co-organizer of the New York City event. Diana is a veteran equestrian photojournalist, who has traveled the world and has recorded equestrian history for over 35 years. Her story and photography have taken her to over 30 countries.

The EQUUS Film Festival highlights and rewards the diverse and creative efforts of those who pay artistic homage to the horse.

Visit www.equusfilmfestival.net, or find EQUUS Film Festival on Facebook and Twitter for more information. Find EQUUS On Demand at horsenetwork.com/equus/

Some of these mule stories might seem familiar, as Mules and More has previously featured articles on Dyna and Laura Hermanson’s trip to the USDF Finals in 2014 (below at left), as well as One Hundred Mules Walking the Los Angeles Aqueduct. Also, we featured a monthly column covering John Sears, aka 3Mules, a few years ago (below at right).

32 • October 2019

Mule: Living On The Outside 2016 / USA / 11:00 min Directed by John McDonald

John Sears, aka Mule, has been roaming the western United States with his three mules for over thirty years. The 68-year-old and his animals sleep outside, insisting on their right to move freely. Bemoaning the loss of open space, the ever-increasing urban sprawl and our dependence on the automobile, Mule advocates a simpler way of life in harmony with nature. While many appreciate his nomadic lifestyle, Mule is not welcomed everywhere. Confrontations with law enforcement have resulted in fines, arrests, even institutionalization. This documentary takes an intimate look at Mule’s unique experience and his urgent message for contemporary American society. http://3mulesmovie.com/ Trailer: https://vimeo.com/88369879 Mules and More Magazine

The Lost Sea Expedition 2017 / USA / 93:00 min

Directed by: Bernie Harberts, Julia Carpenter The Lost Sea Expedition is the true story of Bernie Harberts 14-month voyage across the Great Plains of America in a one-mule wagon. Traveling without a film crew, sponsor or support team, The Lost Sea Expedition is composed of footage filmed by Bernie on his journey. The Lost Sea Expedition explores many elements of the Great Plains from the ancient sea that once existed there to the current drawing down of the Oglala Aquifer. It tells the tale of life and struggle on the plains. It’s a tale of agriculture, religious beliefs, emptiness, loneliness, kindness, generosity and plenty of hardship. A tale of harsh weather, rough land and kind hearts. A story of determination and survival.

Trailer: https://vimeo.com/ondemand/lostseaexpedition

A Back-Country Recovery One Hundred Mules Walking The Los Angeles Aqueduct 2016 / USA / 60:00 min Directed by Bruce Dickson

2016 / USA / 05:53 min Directed by Ben Masters & Phillip Baribeau

Green Beret and Army veteran Ray Knell was a broken man with PTSD and severe anxiety when he returned home from Afghanistan. His trust in humans was gone. A friend introduced him to backcountry horsemanship, and the wilderness and animal relationship gave him hope and peace of mind. To inspire others to use wilderness and horses to overcome their struggles, Knell embarked on a 1,000-mile ride along the Continental Divide with Mustang Sally and two mules, Top Gun and Magic. Filmmaker Ben Masters joined Knell through Yellowstone to see the grandeur of our country’s first national park and to witness the importance of conserving.

One Hundred Mules Walking the Los Angeles Aqueduct (Artist’s Cut, 2015) is a documentary of a journey with a string of one hundred mules, that drew a line, between Los Angeles and a major source of its water in the Eastern Sierra. This one-month meditation and artwork was undertaken by Lauren Bon and the Metabolic Studio to commemorate the centenary of the opening of the Los Angeles Aqueduct on Nov. 5, 2013. Mules were an important component of the labor force that made the building of the aqueduct possible. This artist action paid homage to the quiet dignity of the mule and the patient pace Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=Z_5kQgErF5A of its progress across the western epic landscape.

Trailer: https://vimeo.com/95479316 Facebook.com/OneHundredMulesWalkingtheLosAngelesAqueduct 33 • October 2019

Dyna Does Dressage 2017 / USA / 60:00 min Directed by Sarah Crowe

Dyna Does Dressage is a documentary about the first mule ever to compete at the national level in the competitive equestrian sport of dressage.

This underdog story follows Dyna and her owner/rider, Laura, as they defy odds to find their place among this elite world of horse riding.

Dyna was Laura’s first Dressage mule. Through her dedication and training, Laura’s passion for mules grew and she began dispelling the belief that mules lack grace and skill.

Dyna Does Dressage shares the story of Laura and Dyna as they win over the world of dressage with a unique (some would say stubborn) determination that has touched the hearts of audiences around the world.

Trailer: https://vimeo.com/121214984

Mules and More Magazine

Keep Them Honest

by Jerry Tindell In the last few articles, we’ve talked way. Keeping your mules honest can about the benefits of using my Six be challenging, but it is very necessary Step Program in the round pen work, and very doable. on groundwork, and the ride. We When I ride I want my mules to discussed how to be able to identify have a good forward walk, which good movement and softness and the teaches them more courage and allows benefits of good body control. We’ve them to step out and not to become also talked about lateral controls, leg distracted. If I build a good walk I controls, the stop and the backup. All know that the mule is more connected these are a good plan for a good ride, to me than to the outside world. I want but how well do you and your mule to have both legs active to keep my understand them? How well are they mule walking forward and giving to doing the steps? the bit/staying between my legs.

I hear a lot of people say, “My mule It is very important to have speed ‘use to’ do this, and they ‘use to’ ride control. I want to be able to have a good, but now I can’t get them to do nice slow rate of speed or to be able to any of these same things.” We might speed up if I asked for. There are three have the most well broke mule around gaits - walk, trot and lope - and there but unless you can keep them honest are three rates of speed - slow, mein their actions and movements, you dium and fast. I work on all gaits at all might not be able to keep them that levels of speed to help determine how 34 • October 2019

honest my mule is in each area. I want to be able to have all gaits at all rates of speed with softness and control. If things are good when they are calm and slow, but fall apart with speed, I know that I have more work to do to keep them honest in all areas.

We also need to be honest about our ride. If something else can take their attention from you, no matter what it is, we do not have their full connection or control. It is important for us as a rider to insist on the Six Steps of control (backup, shoulder control, forward flexion, hindquarters, stop and stand) effectively, accurately and at all times.

For example, if you are going down the trail and something grabs your mules attention causing them to stop, raise the neck or turn their head, then we don’t have them giving to the bit or forward movement. I would want to be able to keep my mule between my legs and giving to the bit for a safer ride.

If we can work on and fix all of these areas at home in a safe environment before going out in an uncontrolled environment, we are more likely to keep our mules honest at all times. Be sure to be thorough and effective. Like Ray Hunt would say, “If it is effective it is understood, if it is understood it was effective.” Don’t weaken or become complacent! Get the best you can out of each ride and if you’re not happy with your results, do it again until it gets better. If it was easy everyone would do it.

I hope this helps you have a safe and effective ride, and helps you understand the importance of having a plan. Please contact me if you have any questions, I’d be happy to help.

Jerry Tindell of Tindell’s Horse and Mule School is a professional horse and mule trainer from California. He offers private lessons, stock analysis, and clinics in the U.S. and Canada.

Call Jerry at 760-403-3922 or email info@jerrytindell.com. For see his series of DVD’s, see clinic dates, and more information, visit www.jerrytindell.com, or call 760-500-8129.

Mules and More Magazine

35 • October 2019

Mules and More Magazine

36 • October 2019

Mules and More Magazine

Cl-Ass-ified Ads

To place your classified ad online: mulesandmore.com/classifieds ∙ Mail to: PO Box 460, Bland MO 65014 ∙ Call: (573)646-3934 ∙ Email: mules@ socket.net RATE: 35¢ per word per issue with a $7 minimum. $1 for each tear sheet. Additional $2 per month billing charge for ads that are not paid by billing date. Deadline for classified advertising is the 1st of the month preceding date of publication.

MULES

BEAUTIFUL, UNIQUE, LOUD COLORED PAINT MULE. 11 years old. Very smooth moving. Has gone through our intensive training program, and has lots of extreme trail miles on him. Has been desensitized to everything.

Even does some tricks. Willing partner for anyone. This is a SPECIAL guy! Comes with our amazing three week class free, so you can bond and build confidence with each other and know as much as him. $7,500 Check out our website at: mnhorsetrainingacademy.com or our Facebook: Minnesota Horse Training Academy. Call 320-272-4199. Email: mntrainingacademy@hotmail.com 10/19

THE AMERICAN BEAGLER MAGAZINE – The Magazine Ahead of the Pack: Published monthly for Beagle owners and gundog enthusiasts as well as upcoming trials and results for competition hunters. The American Beagler is $24.00 for one year, $44.00 for two years, and $66.00 for three years. You may order the magazine on our website: www.theamericanbeagler. com with paypal, call 573-859-6866 with a debit or credit card, or mail your payment to: The American Beagler, PO Box 957, Belle, MO 65013. Find us on Facebook. WE WANT YOU IN THE PACK! tfn

Silver & Brass Mule Head Conchos $7.00 each (includes shipping) call for large order discounts

MULE FOR SALE: GAITED MOLLY MULE, 15 years old, 15 hands, great on trails, $5000 OBO, contact: Diane Scully 775-781-6247 10/19

TACK

16” ERICKSEN MOUNTAIN/HUNTING SADDLE with crupper, $1,500; Winesburg Carriage buckboard style show wagon, hydraulic brakes, 5th wheel, excellent condition, $2,500; 16” Colorado Saddlery trail saddle, $900; Dale Pack Station sawbuck packing saddle and panniers, $500.

Northern Indiana, 260-894-0458 10/19

Available in all antiqued silver OR silver with brass mule head and dots. Please indicate preference.

To order, call 573/646-3934, mail check to PO Box 460, Bland, MO 65014, or visit www.mulesandmore.com

S. A. WALLS HANDMADE STIRRUPS, Spurs and Bits. walls_sa@yahoo.com, www.sawalls.net or 800/436-8199

WANTED

LOOKING FOR 14-HAND WELL BROKE MULE (preferably an Appaloosa mule) for 77-year-old lady. Have money down, but will buy on payments. Will love and give the mule a forever home. Portage, Wisconsin (608) 228-0369 10/19

LOOKING FOR: TEAM OF GAITED MULES that ride and drive. Between 6 and 12 years old. 15hh, light made. Will pay premium for nicely matched. Email or text richreid@reidhomes.ca, (519)222-9999 1/20

VIDEOS & PUBLICATIONS

MY LIFE WITH HARRY THE MULE by Lonny Thiele.

How a young girl and a mule helped save the family farm in the 1930s in Southeast Missouri. Based on a true story. Art by Bonnie Shields. $20 to Thiele, POB 884, Poplar Bluff, MO 63902. Phone (573)300-3085. tfn ENJOY VIDEO MIKE’S mule, donkey, horse training, Bishop Mule Days and more. VHS/DVD. See listing at www. video-mike.com, (707)226-9193 tfn 37 • October 2019

Canadian Donkey and Mule Association Canada’s only national registry and association for donkeys and mules. Our quarterly magazine, Canadian Donkey and Mule News, is included with membership and offers news and information for longear enthusiasts across North America and worldwide.

Editor: Jackie Dunham Email: editor@donkeyandmule.com

Annual membership in Canadian funds: Canada: $45 (family $55) USA & foreign: $55 For memberships, send international money order in Canadian funds to

Canadian Livestock Corporation, 2417 Holly Lane, Ottawa, ON K1V 0M7, Canada

Subscriptions now available! (no member benefits) $35 to Canadian addresses, $47 to US addresses.

Order subscriptions on our website at: www.donkeyandmule.com

Mules and More Magazine

Photo by GoatOGRAPHER

Pack Burro Racing Debuts in Arizona with the Superior Burro Run

On October 12, 2019, the Town of Superior’s Chamber of Commerce will sponsor the Superior Burro Run, the first BurroCross event in Arizona.

BurroCross is Arizona’s adaptation of Pack Burro Racing, a sport that has been popular in Colorado for over 70 years. BurroCross involves “burros” (the Spanish term for donkeys) that are led in-hand by human cross-country trail runners, thus forming a unique human-burro team. The Superior Burro Run will launch with a prerun ceremony at 9 a.m. on E. Main Street in the historic mining town of Superior, where burros once roamed freely throughout town. The runners and their burros will then depart, 38 • October 2019

traversing either a 6-mile introductory course or a 12-mile competitive course through Superior and the Tonto National Forest, before returning to the finish line on E. Main Street. Runners are required to pre-register and bring a burro.

Spectators are encouraged to attend this exciting, family-friendly event, which will also feature a beer garden and vendors. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will also be set up just off Main Street with burros available to the public for sale or adoption. One may either adopt an untrained burro or purchase one that has been trained through the Inmate Training Program. Those interested in leaving the Superior Burro Run with a new burro should review the BLM facility and eligibility requirements in advance (http://www.blm.gov/whb).

As a nod to the historic use of burros in mining, Pack Burro Racing began as a way to foster economic growth in Colorado’s small mining towns. According to Monique Wylde Williams, who gentles wild BLM burros for public adoption and is the founder of Arizona BurroCross, Arizona is a prime candidate to adopt the quirky sport — the state produces more wild BLM burros than any other.

Traditionally, Pack Burro Racing requires the animals to carry a pack containing a pick, shovel, and pan, with different weight requirements depending on the burro’s size. BurroCross, on the other hand, allows packs but does not require them, and there is no weight requirement. Instead, BurroCross focuses on cooperation between the runners and their animals, as well as a competitive yet fun atmosphere Mules and More Magazine

that prioritizes the burro’s welfare.

The Superior Burro Run is open to 50 participants and their animals.

Burros of all sizes and types — ranging from mini to mammoth, formerly wild to domestic — are welcome to participate, but mules and horses are prohibited. While Arizona donkey rescues, such as Forever Home Donkey Rescue in Benson and Lucky A Ranch in Alpine, have a few trained burros to lend, runners are encouraged to borrow or bring their own. In order to run the competitive course, the burro must be at least three years of age. Younger burros may run or walk the introductory course. All burros must be at least two years of age. Prior to the event, runners will be able to camp overnight at the Box 8 Ranch in Superior. After the race begins and runners depart from E. Main Street, they will weave through the scenic Tonto National Forest, past the historic “ghost townsite” of Pinal City and into the treasured Arnett Canyon via the Legends of Superior Trail (LOST Trail).

Offering an intriguing course for runners and a festive atmosphere for spectators, the Superior Burro Run promises to be a fun and unique event for the whole family (burros are friendly and great with children!). The organizers of the race ask that spectators leave dogs and other animals at home. For more information and to register, please visit superiorarizonachamber.org or the Arizona BurroCross Facebook page, or contact the Superior Chamber at 520-689-0200.

Photo by Brian Wanke 39 • October 2019

Emily Wolfe’s three-year-old daughter Eloise petting their three-year-old mammoth donkey Jack, as he sticks his head through the kitchen window at their home in Montana

Rebecca McVaigh, Illinois, shared this photo of her daughter Taleya “T” and their mule Buster. “Looks like they’re carrying on about something!” said Rebecca.

Mules and More Magazine

Calendar of Events See mulesandmore.com/calendar to see the full list, as well as submit an event to appear on the calendar Sept 26-29 Benson Mule Days, Benson, NC, www.BensonMuleDays.com Sept 27-28 - Baumli Semi-Annual Draft Horse & Mule Sale, Maryville, Mo. www.maryvillehorsesale.com (660) 6524454 Sept 27-29 - Jerry Tindell Mule/Horsemanship/Riding Outside Clinic, Gardnerville, NV (760)500-8129 http://jerrytindell. com Sept 27-29 - 4th Annual Mule Days, Livingston, KY www. redhillhorsecamp.com Sept 28-29 - OK Pinto Horse Association Club Show (All Breed, Long Ear classes offered) Stillwater, Okla.

(817)658-6390 oklahomapinto.com Oct. 3-5 - Ty Evans Mulemanship Clinic, Fort Valley, VA (801)598-7465 www.tsmules.com Oct. 3-6 - Georgia Mule Gathering, Round Oak, Ga Facebook Event Info (478)957-4097, (229)388-2350, (478)957-0813 Oct 4-5 - Oklahoma Mule Sale Catalogue Sale, Ada, OK (580)465-8727 www.facebook.com/OklahomaMuleSale Oct 4-6 - Harrison Mule Days, Woodbine, MD (301)674-3187, (443)375-2814 Oct 4-6 - Carolina Mule Association Whetstone Horse Camp Ride, Mountain Rest, SC (864)940-5886 Oct 4-6 - Mule Ride at True West Campground, Jamestown, TN (606)310-0828 Oct 4-6 - Jerry Tindell Mule/Horsemanship 2 Clinic, Herald, CA (760)500-8129 http://jerrytindell.com Oct 5 - Cuba Rough Riders Inaugural Mule Show, Cuba, MO (573) 205-5654, (573) 885-0114 Oct 5-6 - Mid-Missouri Horse, Mule & Ox Farming and Historical Days, Gerald, MO (573)764-2629 tenacity@ fidnet.com Oct. 10-12 - Ty Evans Mulemanship Clinic, Paris, TN (801)598-7465 www.tsmules.com Oct 11-13 Jerry Tindell Advanced Riding Clinic, Napa, CA (707)363-1661 http://jerrytindell.com Oct. 12 - Pea Ridge Mule Jump, Pea Ridge, Arkansas pearidgemulejump.com Oct. 12 - Mule Day - Southern Heritage Festival, Washington, GA https://muledaysouthernheritagefestival.org/ Oct 12 - Superior Burro Run, Superior, Ariz., Oct. 12 - Benefit Trail Ride, Auction and Meal for Logan Sommer, Fordsville, KY (270)775-8197, (270)925-9825 Oct. 12-13 - Country Tough All Around Cowboy, Mora, Mo. (660)668-0880 www.vonholtenranch.com Oct. 17-19 - Ty Evans Mulemanship Clinic, Gloster, MS (801)598-7465 www.tsmules.com Oct. 18-19 - S.C. State Fair Donkey & Mule Show, Columbia, S.C. (919)754-7568 https://stclairequine.com Oct. 18-20 - CT2V 2019 National Championship 40 • October 2019

Oct. 18-20 - Jack-O-Lantern Jamboree Iowa PtHA Show, Cedar Rapids, IA (715)760-2496 (515)835-9334 Oct 20 - North Carolina State Fair Mule and Donkey Show NASMDA “A” Show https://www.ncstatefair.org/2019/ Competitions/HorseShow.htm Oct. 24-26 - Ty Evans Mulemanship Clinic, Jacksboro, TX (801)598-7465 www.tsmules.com Oct. 25-27 - Country Tough 2019 National Mounted Archery Competition, Mora, Mo. (660)668-0880 www.vonholtenranch.com Oct. 25-27 - Jerry Tindell Mule/Horsemanship/Riding Outside Clinic, Romana, CA (619)729-1200 http://jerrytindell.com Oct 26 - The Blue Ridge Folklife Festival, Ferrum, VA (540)365-4412, www.blueridgefolklifefestival.org Nov 1-3 - Carolina Mule Association Uwharrie National Forest, Troy, NC (336)302-6853, Nov 1-9 - Long Ear Congress Show (in conjunction with the Pinto Color Breed Congress) Tulsa, OK (405)491-0111 ptha.net Nov 7-9 - Ty Evans Mulemanship Clinic, Huntington, UT (801)598-7465 www.tsmules.com Nov 9 - Buckle Bonanza Fundraiser Show, Reidsville, NC www.St.ClairEquine/BuckleBonanzaShow.com (919) 754-7568 Nov 9 - Reese Bros. Tennesse Mule Sales Mule Sale, Westmoreland, TN (615)452-2544, www.reesemules.com Nov 14-15 - North American International Livestock Expo NASMDA Mule and Donkey Show, Louisville, KY NASMA.us Nov. 15-17 - Carolina Mule Association Hard Labor Creek Ride, Rutledge GA (864)457-4254 Nov 28-30 - Dixie Horse Auction Horse, Mule & Carriage Sale, Troutman, NC, www.dixiehorseauction.com, 330893-354 Nov 30-December 1 - Country Tough Year End Awards Banquet, Mora, Mo. (660)668-0880 www.vonholtenranch.com Dec 1-7 - Caney Mountain Mule Ride, 870-688-8686 Dec 5-8 - EQUUS Film Festival, Lexington, Ky., www. equusfilmfestival.net Dec 7 - Salvation Army Red Kettle Drive Day of the Donkey Dec. 8 - Carolina Mule Association Muleskinner Christmas Party (336)349-4723

2020

Jan 10 - Reese Bros. Tennesse Mule Sales Traditional Colt Sale, Westmoreland, TN (615)452-2544, www.reesemules. com) Jan 25-26 Forth Worth Stock Show & Rodeo Donkey & Mule Show, Fort Worth, Texas (817)877-2400, fwssr.com Jan 23-26 - National Western Mule and Donkey Show, Denver, Co. NASMA.us

Mules and More Magazine

Max HARSHA MULE PRODUCTS BY Ma r k Roebuck Harsha Show Bit $140 5 1/4” wid th shape of show bit

Available in

4 sizes

The show bit is designed to follow up the Harsha bit and it, too, gets good response. Mules love this bit and I have sold this bit to ranches who have told me they have a barn full of bits but this is the only one they use.

Purchase the Harsha Show Bit, One Ear Headstall, and Single Rein: $200

Harsha Mule Bit, Headstall, and Reins

Max Harsha Mule Saddle Base model $2,100

Harsha Mule Bit: $135 One Ear Headstall: $35 Browband Headstall: $40 7-1/2’ Single Rein with snaps: $35 7-1/2’ Split rein: $40 Purchase the Harsha Mule Bit, Single Rein, and One Ear Headstall together for $196 The Harsha Bit is now made in three different sizes to accommodate regular (5 1/4 mouth piece) and larger mules. This bit is designed to give full control but is easy on the mouth and will give you self confidence when using it.

Heavy Harness Leather Breast Collar $55 Leather Hobbles $40 Britchen with Padded Butt Strap $200

Custom made to order for fit and comfort and to last a lifetime

Shipping is included in all prices (to US) To order Harsha Mule Products send Check or money order to:

Mule Skinner’s Bible $28 41 • October 2019

Buy britchen, breast collar and hobbles all for $290

Mark Roebuck, 278266 Hwy 53, Comanche OK 73529 Phone (580)251-5534 Mules and More Magazine

The Irish Donkey

by Ian Sherry

While there is evidence that horses were used for riding and traction in Ireland for thousands of years, the donkey is a relative newcomer, being here for merely hundreds of years. Yet he is ingrained in our culture and for centuries has been a fulcrum of our work.

As a child reared on a small hill farm in the Mourne Mountains we viewed donkeys as being kept only by those who couldn’t keep a horse.

They reminded us of the cold pinching survival of the great famine and the field - ‘The Horsewell Field’ where the crop failed.

On May 21, 1945, the Department of Irish Folklore recorded Mr. Gwynn, a Protestant gentleman of Rostrevor parish, aged 99 years. In his statement Mr Gwynn said, “I did hear of the Famine; certainly. There was a man named Hugh McAleavy lived, away back on the hills. He lived very high up. He had a donkey and two creels. If you wanted anything from the town and asked him, he would take it for you; and then you paid him a small sum, or you give him nothing, It was all the same. A very good man.

42 • October 2019

Ian with the donkeys that live up the road from him

He had one little house, and when you turned that way you went into the heather, and when you turned that way you went into two little fields he had in the mountain. He had potatoes set there and his were the only ones in the country that didn’t go bad. I mind him taking down to my mother as much as would make champ for a time called Hally Eve.” The Gwynns lived down the valley below us, The McAleavys in the mountains a little above. We associated donkeys with a frugal past and told tales about them.

Bohil Roe returned from the pub to find his donkey harnessed to the (reassembled) cart in his tiny kitchen.

It was considered ‘a bit of harmless fun.’

“A donkey locked its teeth in a child’s arm over at The Clornies and it took two strong men to pry its jaws apart.”

Dan Jack’s donkey was so vicious that he’d get a child to run up the Chapel Hill in front of it and it would tear after the child, teeth stripped, regardless of the load on the cart. On one occasion with no child to run in front of it, Dan was ‘giving the donkey a bit of encouragement’ in front of the Parochial house. “Dan, Dan,”

the parish priest reprimanded him, “Do you not know that Our Lord rode a donkey into Jerusalem?”

“Well he wouldn’t have got that far on this stubborn brute,” Dan replied.

I spent the summer of 1955 with McGoverns donkey on the mountain behind our house. I’d run through the heather and rocks to a little grassy corner where he’d stay. I’d make halters and harness with a thick, soft rope, and ride on his back and drive him in imaginary carriages and ploughs. He was the only donkey in our bailiwick, put up on the mountain out of the way. Looking back, curiously, I never brought him a carrot or anything like that, I just enjoyed his company and I think he enjoyed mine.

Then with the boom in our economy in 2008, to own a donkey became very fashionable. I was at the horse sales in Castleblaney when a small mare donkey fetched 800 pounds.

Coloured horses were also dear, I had to give 1000 pounds for an unbroken cob. Prices have fallen since then.

A nice cob is still worth money, but donkeys couldn’t be given away.

There are three donkeys in a field up the road above me. They are the best cared for donkeys in Ireland. And Mules and More Magazine

not a bit of wonder, they’re simply lovely. I like to tell them that I worked for the Ordnance Survey and donkeys worked for the Ordnance Survey as well. As late as the 1950s they carried mapping equipment to Irelands highest and most remote peaks.

I also remind them that the reason they have a cross on their back is because they carried Our Lord into Jerusalem. I ask them if it’s true (as I was always told) that at 12

43 • October 2019

Ian, pictured in the middle wearing the checkered shirt, taken at the vintage threshing day. “A fundraiser with oats grown, sheives tied, stooked, shigged --- that sort of thing,” said Ian

midnight on Christmas Eve, every donkey in Ireland gets down on its knees to acclaim Our Saviours birth? And then I give them each a carrot; sometimes an apple, and tell them I’ll be back.

Mules and More Magazine

Mule Power!

Midwest Trails Ranch Play Days, Norman, Ind.

by Mike Cherry, Hartford, Ky.

We traveled to Norman, Ind., with our mules Socks and Mr. Donkus over the Fourth of July weekend to attend Ranch Playdays at Midwest Trails. We had been looking forward to this trip all summer and had hopes of trying our mules out in several activities, like an extreme obstacle course race, soccer ball, and team cow sorting.

I knew my mule Socks had probably seen obstacles and cows before.

Lisa’s mule, Mr. Donkus, has virtually no fear of anything, so she was mainly worried about whether he would be interested in doing the obstacles or if he would just go through the motions with just enough effort to get the jobs done.

The weekend started for us on Thursday with trail riding in the Hoosier National Forest which luckily had just been reopened that day due to all the recent bad weather. The trails were muddy in several places, but overall they weren’t too bad considering all the rain this year. Midwest Trails has some very good maps and offers a taxi service for you and your mount so that you can see several areas of the forest.

On Friday morning, we took a short ride so that the mules could rest prior to the obstacle course race that afternoon. The course consisted of 10 obstacles: open a mailbox door, a fan with blowing streamers, a swimming pool cross (walk between pools and over a tarp), walking through a large tractor tire, a U-back around 4x4’s, an egg and spoon carry though poles, a pool noodle crossing, a tilting bridge, a shower curtain pass through, and then back to the mail box to put the flag up. You were awarded points for each obstacle you completed without faults. Each contestant had a maximum of four minutes to complete the course, or you would be disqualified on time.

There were close to 50 entrees in 44 • October 2019

Mike Cherry and Socks with Sara Anderson and Festus with their obstacle course ribbons

the class, but only three of them were mules: Socks, Mr. Donkus, and Festus, who is Sara Anderson’s mule. Everyone seemed to have a great time, and all did very well. At the end of the class, only six were awarded ribbons and two of them went to mules! Socks and I brought home third place with a perfect score and a time of 2:21. Festus and Sara also had a perfect score to bring home fifth place (but I’m not sure what her time was). Lisa and Mr. Donkus completed all the obstacles except for the tractor tire, so she was very pleased with her mule’s run, as well. It was funny how many people came over to us after the class and commented on how amazed they were that mules could do the course better than so many of the horses (and these comments were from the horse people, of course!)

On Saturday, the morning started with soccer ball practice and a game.

Soccer ball consisted of moving a 6-foot, 90-pound ball back and forth in the arena. Remember that earlier I

told you that Mr. Donkus has no fear?

This soccer ball was no exception. He and Lisa took to this like they were part of the U.S. women’s national soccer team. Socks and I had a little different opinion of this activity.

While Lisa on Donkus and Sara on Festus were in the pile pushing the ball, Socks and I kept a safe, cushy 10-foot distance from the giant mule eating monster at all times. Needless to say, practice was as far as Socks and I got in soccer ball, and I conceded to the roll of spectator. Soccer ball did seem fun and I have now purchased my own 6-foot beach ball that Socks is going to be best friends with before long!

Ranch sorting started Saturday afternoon. This was designed as a way for beginners to play with cows in a fun setting. Stone Creek Ranch provided the cows and organized the event for around 35 participants, including five mules. We were all assigned numbers when we entered, and teams of four were randomly Mules and More Magazine

drawn out for each run, and you got three opportunities to sort cows. The object of the event was for a team of four to cut out two specific cows and move them around the arena through a specified course of different gates.

Each time you were able to move your cows through a gate, your team would get points, however you only had four minutes to complete the course. Just like before, Mr. Donkus was more than eager to get his chance at the cows.

Sara and Festus were beaming with confidence, as well. Socks was a little

more cautions of the idea, but I was certain that if I was lucky enough to draw later in the event, it would give us both time to absorb all the chaos of 30 plus equines and eight cows moving around the arena. But, of course, I was the second team to go. As soon as Socks found out the cows would move away from her, the easier the both of us settled into the fun. Lisa and Mr. Donkus drew later in the first round, and her team did very well as they were able to push both cows through all but one gate for a good score.

We took a short break after each round to give us and the cows a break for water and rest. The next rounds got more and more difficult as the cows grew wise to the understanding that if they left the group then they were going to take a long trip around the arena. I, however, did not seem to get wiser to the movements of the cows and I could tell that Socks was beginning to wonder if I was using the ‘force’ to pick our direction, or if I maybe just had my eyes closed. I don’t think we even got our last group of Mr. Donkus watches as Mike and Socks move cows in the sorting competition

45 • October 2019

Mules and More Magazine

cows sorted out of the group to start our run, but we did have a blast trying. The day ended with everyone having a really good time and Lisa and Mr. Donkus getting a third place ribbon for their efforts.

Even though the number of mules in this weekends events were few, all did very well and it was a great learning experience for us and an opportunity for others to see and ask questions about mules in a fun setting. We are both looking forward to our next chance to try something new.

Socks at camp

Soccer ball

Lisa and Mr. Donkus with their third place ribbon in team sorting

How to subscribe to Mules and More: Order Online At:

www.mulesandmore.com

(573) 646-3934 - mules@socket.net

$36 - 1 Year Print • $65 - 2 Years Print $5.50 - Single Print Issue $22 - 1 Year Digital Check, Money Order, Credit Card Accepted $65 - a year Canada (US Funds only, no Canadian checks) Mail Information To: Order By Phone:

Mules and More, Inc., PO Box 460, Bland, MO 65014 46 • October 2019

(573)646-3934

with Visa, MasterCard, or Discover Mules and More Magazine

GREG CRIPPS

When Mules Ruled the Farm

by Lonny Thiele

Mules were used for farming in this country roughly 1785 to 1950 or 165 years. Mule numbers peaked in the US at 5.8 million in 1925, but there were still 1.9 million mules in 1940, that included 209,000 in Missouri. Quotes used in this column and most of the material used comes from stories in the book, “That Son of a Gun Had Sense: Mule Stories From the Bootheel During the 1930’s-1940’s Era.”

Catch a Mule: Pass a Threshold

Of the 80 people I interviewed for mule stories for the above mentioned book, Mike Cooper was the only one who talked about passing a threshold at age nine by catching a pair of mules in a lot.

Here’s Mike speaking: “In 1939 my mother and father puchased a farm through the Farmers Security Administration (FSA). There were 11 boys and one girl. Before that, we had sharecropped with my grandfather five miles north of Hayti. The FSA came out and interviewed Mom and Dad. They wanted to know if Dad knew anything about mules. My grandfather had 20 sharecropper families, and Dad was the foreman.

He was the only one who would break mules. They were approved by the FSA to buy a farm; that had 68 acres of cultivation, 12 acres of new ground, and 20 acres of hardwood, oak and hickory. Dad said he loved the farm because he could use the wood as fuel.

The FSA bought two pairs of mules, a younger pair and an older pair. The older pair, called Slim and Jim, had been broken.

The younger pair were named Rat and Rodie. Rat was a dark charcoal black. Rodie was a molly mule and was more brownish. They was so mean.

Both teams of mules responded to language. Every body of my generation learned the language of mules. The older team was easier to work. They had been used to the language.

My brothers and I learned to disk and harrow when we were 9 or 10. At first we were introduced to their language. Then we would go out in the lot and catch them. For the generation born in the 30s, that was just part of who we are.

If you could go in a lot and catch a pair of mules, everybody thought you were a man. You had passed the threshold.

Once you were able to work a team of mules; the young ladies, the teenage girls, they would just be thrilled to death.

They would tell their dad, 'That's someone we would love to marry.' And the mothers of these young ladies would watch young men doing that. And we'd get so much praise.”

The 298 page Son of a Gun book sells for $24 (includes postage). Mail check to Thiele at POB 884, Poplar Bluff, MO 63902. Ph. 573-300-3085.

47 • October 2019

Greg Cripps, 82 of Gentry, Ark., died July 18, 2019. He was preceded in death by his wife Emma. He was a member of the Gum Springs Baptist Church, Siloam Springs, Ark. Greg was retired after working for the phone company for over 50 years. He was the owner of Hitching Post Farms, where he raised beef cattle, horses and mules. He was a charter member of the Colcord, Okla., Riding Club, and known over northwestern Arkansas, northeastern Oklahoma, and southwestern Missouri for his top quality horses and mules.

Pastor Gording Topping, who performed the funeral service, explained how Greg had planned his funeral arrangements. After the service, he was transported to the Bloomfield Cemetery in Gentry in his covered wagon, pulled by his team of sorrel mules and driven by his long-time friend J.P. Curtis, along with his border collie dogs. Friends and family followed on horseback. Things were done the cowboy way. He will be missed.

Mules and More Magazine

Introducing the NASMDA Ambassador Program

by Candace Shauger, North American Saddle Mule and Donkey Association President I would like to introduce the NASMDA Ambassador Program, designed for our members to educate people about NASMDA’s role in promoting the longear, the associations work in educating people about them and the associations desire to enhance the lives of children by raising them up in a world filled with the delights of mules and donkeys. Our NASMDA members are entitled to participate in this program by simply contacting Jo Teter and requesting an Ambassador placard. Jo can be reached at (308)364-2601.

By following the program instructions, our members are acknowledged for their participation at the National awards celebration as a NASMDA Ambassador by receiving an Ambassador concho.

There is no cost to our members to participate in this program.

Program instructions: 1. Hang the placard at your stall or trailer where your longear is residing and take a picture. Don’t forget to take your placard with you when you leave.

2. Take a picture of the event show bill or event publication.

3. Take a picture of your longear at the event.

4. Send all pictures to the association secretary to be used to acknowledge your work on the association social media platform.

“What a marvelous first outing for our NASMDA Ambassador Program,” said Candace Shauger. “Behold the Desert was shown at the United States Dressage Federation Lemonade Daze 1 and 2 show August 10-11 in Dallas, Texas. Behold the Desert, owned by Carol Rey Delfino of Bakersfield, Calif., was shown by Laura Hermanson of Austin, Texas. Laura and ‘Beasley’ had two amazing rides taking home seconds in both classes in second level. Thank you Carol for taking us there!”

Please keep in mind the following requirements for this program: • The owner of the animal must be a current NASMDA member.

• The longear used must be registered with NASMDA. • The exhibitor does not need to be a NASMDA member.

• The event you are participating in can be any organized show, trail ride, clinic, educational, and or charitable event, so long as it not associated with NASMDA and it has some organizing body or association hosting it.

• You can participate in as many non-NASMDA association events in a year as you like, but you must complete one each year to be recognized as a NASMDA Ambassador for that year.

We invite you to become a member of the association and be a part of this fun, and beneficial new program. If you are already a NASMDA member, get your placard now and get the word out about our wonderful association!

48 • October 2019

Mules and More Magazine

Advertisers Index 2R Mules/Wyoming Saddlery ...........................................52 A.D.M.S............................................................................37 Blue Ridge Folklife Festival................................................17 Canadian Donkey & Mule Association..............................37 Dixie Horse Auction Horse, Mule & Carriage Sale, NC.....13 Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo....................................7 Jameson/Craig Glass...........................................................25 Jasper the Mule .................................................................27 Harsha Mule Products by Mark Roebuck...........................41 Lucky Three Ranch/Hodges ..............................................51 PairADice Mules................................................................3 Pea Ridge (Arkansas) Mule Jump........................................16

Three riders and two teamsters from the North Idaho Saddle Mule club attend the Deer Park, Wash., parade “The weather was perfect and all the animals were extremely well behaved,” said Club President Val Larson

Scratch Me Silly/ScratchNAll.............................................21 Small Farmer’s Journal.........................................................40 Smart Ass by Margaret Winslow..........................................25 South Carolina State Fair Mule & Donkey Show...............17 Reese Bros. Tennesse Mule Sales.........................................20 The Mule Store...................................................................41 Tuskers . .............................................................................47 TS Mules/Evans, Ty ..........................................................5 Wagner’s Saddle & Tack.....................................................40 Western Mule Magazine......................................................41

Mules and More Advertising Rates

Please call (573)646-3934 or email mules@socket.net for more information on advertising

Full Page 1/2 Page 1/4 Page 1/8 Page

1 month b&w /color $200/325 $120/$215 $90/$170 $57.50/$105

3 months b&w /color $550/$910 $325/$610 $235/$475 $150/$290

All advertising rates are quoted as being paid in advance, those rates being paid on a monthly basis will be considered as running one time only and will be charged as running one time only and will not receive the discount. Three and six month discounts are given for Prepaid Ads Only.

Bryan supporting Mules and More in his very own baseball cap. Bryan is owned by Gary Walters, and in training with Amber Garrison

49 • October 2019

No Additional Charge for setting up your ad, unless received or postmarked, after the deadline date of the first, then a $35.00 set up fee will be applied. Any advertising set up in our office is the property of Mules and More and may not be used in other publications without paying a set-up fee. If you pay an additional charge for us setting up the ad, it then becomes your property to be used as your flier or to be mailed to other publications. Purchase fees for setting up ads can be discussed by giving us a call.

ADVERTISING must be in by the first of the month prior to the month it is to be published. Due to the high cost of billing and non-payment of advertising, advertising payments must be in our hands before advertising deadline. Advertising may be put on MasterCard, Visa or Discover. We do not bill for subscriptions or product orders. If you have special circumstances, call and we will discuss it.

Special Rate for Club Activities- Deduct 15% if accompanied by a check. (Non-profit Organizations Only) Classified 35¢ per word ($7 minimum) $2.00 per month billing charge for classifieds not paid by billing date.

Include $1.00 for each tear sheet desired.

Here’s My Card - COLOR - $35.00 per issue (3 month minimum $105) or $400 annually BLACK AND WHITE - $20 per issue (3 month minimum $60.00) or $200 per year

ADVERTISING DEADLINE: The first business day of the month for the following months issue.

November Deadline: October 1 Mules and More Magazine

The

Cook’s Corral

by Debbie Trotter

Summer is over and I can’t believe it. First it was very wet and cool this summer, and then it was dry and hot.

I’m not a fan of hot, humid weather, but I struggle through it because I know that means fall is coming!

Both of these recipes are really good and easy to fix ahead of time. We used tomatoes out of the garden. I hope you enjoy these recipes as much as my hustand John did!

Easy Cowboy Casserole

2 lbs. ground beef 2 tbsp. chili powder 2-1/2 tsp ground cumin 1 tbsp. salt 1 tsp. pepper 1 (14 oz.) can crushed tomatoes... fire roasted if you want spicy 1-1/2 cup beef broth 1 cup corn 1 medium size onion, finely diced 1-1/2 tsp. cornstarch 1/4 cup sour cream 2-1/4 cups shredded cheddar cheese 1 32 oz. bag of Tator Tots Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 9 x 12” baking pan.

Combine the ground beef in a skillet with the chili powder, cumin, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and fry altogether while crumbling hamburger. Strain the grease off of the meat mixture. Add onion to meat mix and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add tomatoes, beef broth, and corn and simmer. In a small bowl, mix the cornstarch with 2 tbsp. cold water and add to meat mix. Simmer for 3-4 minutes until thickened. Turn off heat and add sour cream and 1 cup shredded cheese. Add half the Tator Tots to bottom of greased baking dish.

Layer with beef mixture and top with remaining Tator Tots. Bake for 25 minutes uncovered. Add the rest of the cheese and bake for 10 more minutes.

50 • October 2019

Cherry Pie Bars

1 cup (2 sticks) real butter, softened 2 cups sugar 1 tsp. salt 4 large eggs 1 tsp. vanilla 1 tsp. almond extract 3 cups flour 2 (21 oz.) cans cherry pie filling

Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar 1/2 tsp vanilla 1/2 tsp almond extract 2-3 tbs milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, cream butter, sugar and salt until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each egg. Beat in vanilla and almond extract. Gradually add in flour.

Spread 3 cups of dough onto greased 15 x 10 x 1 inch pan. Add pie filling over the dough. Drop remaking dough by teaspoonfuls over pie filling.

Bake 30-35 minutes, until golden brown. Completely cool!

In a small bowl, mix powdered sugar, vanilla and almond extract, and enough milk to make a drizzle. Drizzle over top of cooled bars.

“This group all came for a visit back in July,” said Debbie Trotter. “We all had a great time!” (from left to right) Leo and Deb Geerts, Fulton, Ill., Mike Jorgensen, Prophetstown, Ill., Jimmy Buchanan, Wayne City, Ill., Pam Stout, Prophetstown,Ill., Debbie’s husband John, Golconda, Ill., and Vicki Wright, Tampico, Ill.

We know the Mule & Donkey Industry. Let us help you!

We design business cards, banners, posters, catalogs, programs and more.

Call or email today for your quote!

(573)646-3934 mules@socket.net

mulesandmore.com Mules and More Magazine

51 • October 2019

Mules and More Magazine

Shop at:

wyomingsaddlery.com

2rmules.com Now carrying Diamond Wool Pads

info@2rmules.com

facebook.com/WyomingSaddleryCustomFitSaddles

facebook.com/2Rmules

info@wyomingsaddlery.com

Roger and Rhonda Adams ∙ (479)670-2144 52 • October 2019

2RMULES and SADDLERY INC Mules and More Magazine