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I think you know how I feel about “forcing” an animal to work. D’LearyAss, rather than taking the time and patience to teach them step by step, each step building upon the other, until the animal is understanding how to work FOR you.

If Strode uses this method to turn Dangerous animals into Good ones then I’m all for this method in those cases.

I’m HIGHLY against training a green mule in this manner. It’s shortcutting the animal and MAKING him do instead of TEACHING him HOW to do.

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I’ve heard Donkeys like one speed….walk

If you really needed them to get down and pull I think they’d take a siesta.

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@dominiquer60 5160 wrote:

Your comment on camel dressage is correct, for those intrigued by this thought, here is a link to a video clip that has been circulating in the show horse community. It is rather amazing how versatile camels are, this one can do lateral work and even a few strides of changing leads every stride.
enjoy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnsWQ4kNG-w

Aint that the COOLEST thing!!:D

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@bivol 3047 wrote:

actually they have enough in common to be able to compare some things.

things like vet expences, food expences, purchase price, and productive life are all very measurable things. and most of them can be given in money value, and by simple calculation most can be said to go in favour of mule. most.
whom you can handle better is another thing.

mules are tougher- harder hooves, greater endurance, less health problems, live longer productive lives.
mules can do and survive what would kill most horses. there is enough evidence of their superiority throughout history. the preferance of men for mules over horses in extreme working conditions (extreme weather, tough working conditions, irregular food and water, long working hours) is evidential through history.
i’ll just say: 20-mule team, military mule wagons, g. washington,…

horses can be forced to do something- mules cannot. if you use force on a mule, he wont forget and he won’t forgive you. furthermore, once abused mule can be ruined for life, meaning it will get back at you.unlike horses which can be made to work. and forgive you beating them.

ofcourse, not all mules are fit to be good working animals. by that i mean their personality, which can be ruined by abuse. you have to watch out when buying mules, they may be drugged to be calmer.
when buying your first team, buy older animals. the rule is the younger (or inexperienced) the teamster, the older the animals. older mules actually have considerable benifits: they are trained well, and know the routine of work.
they are out of puberty, are calmer.
mules 18-20+ can still do good work for farm.

mathemathically, if you have enough patience and humor, and some luck, mules are better. you just get more service for your money. they work more, cost less in vet, if you can find a common language and persuade them to cooperate. if you can make them cooperate.

I’m right here with bivol!:D

Everything he said here is true.

I love my Millie, my Molly mule and if I had been raised around mules instead of horses, I’d never riden or driven a horse. Horses are just not as loving as mules.Mules are so much more friendly and they much more loving personalities.

I’m a girl, I like to love on my animals. I can’t help it.

Mules love attention and are more like dogs. I go in the run-in to muck and when I turn around, there’s my Millie looking at me like; “Are we doin’ sumpin. Huh? Huh?” “Wanna pet me? How about I just hang out with ya? Huh. Huh?” Wherever I go, whatever I’m doing, she’s right there waiting for me.

She actually balks when I go to put her BACK IN the field with her pasturemate:eek:
She’d rather be with ME.:)

Horses, for the most part, would rather hang with another horse. Yes, they come over and hang with you for a while but as soon as they’re bored with ya off they go with whomever they’re out with.

Mules are so much better than horses, IMHO.

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@Robert MoonShadow 5139 wrote:

Manes – Mine have everything yours does, ‘cept Pigmy… 4 types of dairy, boer & Spanish -> aahhh, goats… true believers in “interracial harmony”! 😀

:p I wish I could post some pics but it won’t let me yet. My pygmy Spanish cross Billy is solid black with a beard almost a foot long and a handfull wide. He has YELLOW eyes. One nanny, the boer/dairy cross, is dark red with a brown dun stripe, the other is smaller and is 4 different colors and has short swept back horns with horizontal ridges.

No tellin’ what I might get outta those crosses!

Goats are just SEXUAL creatures:D

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Not being able to see your mules I’d say it sounds like, from your saying you went rodeo with her the first ride….the guy may have Aced those mules to get them sold for a higher price.

No, no you would not want to lay down a mule like that. It’s not necessary and if you did it you would most likely ruin your mule. That would cause your mule to resent you. Mules take patience and never force. Time and patience, time and patience. A mule has to trust you to work for you. Forcing them to submit to you when they do not know what you are asking would not be the right way to go.

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@dominiquer60 5171 wrote:

I would caution you about using a HYPP positive QH. I can’t remember all the details of this genetic disease, but my gut feeling is that they would not make good work animals.

Erika

The Stallion “Impressive” is the horse that introduced this disease to the QH lines. He was a racing QH and there are a gazillion horses out there who decend from him. Every registered QH with Impressive in his background has to be tested for HYPP. They can inherit none of the disease and be HYPP/NN like my QH is. This means both parents are N “negative” for the disease. If they are HYPP/NH they are carring the disease and may or may not get symptoms.

The symptoms are horrendous and the horse usually starts off with unnoticed small convulsions. I’m not up on all the details of what can happen after that except that the disease is a death sentence. It the horse is HYPP/HH he should be put down as he has genes for the disease from both parents. These foals usually die shortly after birth but some live on to mature and then suddenly die.

Whenever you buy a QH that is registered with Impressive lineage, it will have a HYPP rating on the papers. Myself, I would not buy a QH that was not registered as these horses MAY be culled HYPP/NH horses.

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Brad Cameron comes highly recommended. He uses kind methods and gets very good reviews by mule people.

He also does clinics.

I agree your mules can’t be greenbroke if they’re afraid of humans. That’s more like “unbroke” If I were you I’d get those videos and get yourself an experienced muleman (or woman) to help you with your training. Mules are different enough from horses that some tactics you might use on a horse will get you nowhere fast with a mule. Some other tactics could get you kicked or even stomped. Mules have a high degree of self preservation and if hurt may retalliate.

Best to learn all you can about a mule’s way of thinking before fooling with them. Mules learn bad habits as quick as good habits and when a person is not aware of how the mule thinks he can spoil the mule. Spoiled mules are much harder to retrain so you want to do it right the first time with a mule.

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Hey Farmerdude, My Quarter Horse would much rather chase cows. I suppose it could be done but 1300-1400lb QH’s aren’t common. Mines 15h and 1200 but he’s fat. Work him hard and he’s be down to 1000 in no time.

I like Percherons. I would like to have a nice pair of Percheron Molly mules for work. You can’t beat the bone on those old style Percheron pulling horses. My old Percheron rescue mare has legs as big as my thighs. I know she pulled a ton when she was younger, she has the harness and collar scars to prove it.

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When they’re speaking of halters, what type are they meaning? Nylon halters I suppose?

I wonder how a rope halter with knots, like a Natural Horsemanship halter would work on them?

Verrrry interesting about the nose pegs.

I can see how a bit would not be advisable. Just the fact that the camel goes with his head more horizontal than vertical would make a bit ineffective without some kind of ringed martingale to keep the pull low and against the bars of the mouth.

But would a gag bit work?

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🙂 Cool!

I have a Nanny who is part boer and part dairy goat and she’s bred to a half pygmy half Spanish. If I get a couple of male goats and make wethers out of them we would have to go “twiging” rather than loging.:p

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There’s only a 25% conception rate in Jennies bred to stallions. There was a guy in Tennessee breeding Hinneys and after a number of years he gave up. He bred 8 Jennies to the same stallion for a number of years. Two concieved and those two were the only two of the 8 to continue to concieve with the stallion. All the other Jennies stayed barren during that time even though they were bred even more often since they were not “catching”.

They say only a certain number of Jennies will concieve at all with a stallion, so your odds are pretty bad in breeding Hinnies.

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If you use Vegetable oil in your chain saw how would you get any work done? Wouldn’t it smell like Mc Donalds and make you think so much about food you’d have to keep breaking for lunch?:D

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Oh Man!!! We need a smily roflhao!!

I would LOVE to be there hiding when that guy came over to pick up the Baby!

OMG, THAT is FUNNY!!

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@Robert MoonShadow 5030 wrote:

Carl, you should be flogged for that one. Since it’s her intro –> Anne, do the honors? 😮

It stands for Put Ass To Saddle, of course.:p

uHHH, nO, JUST KIDDING! New England Patriot. But I like the one I made up.

Hey HeeHaw. I had the feeling you were D’LearyAss. 🙂

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