New pack mule

[CX5Ranch]

Well were headed home. Never drew the bow back. We had a great trip throughout.

Pulled into the trailhead to see over 40 trucks. An outfitter was hauling them in by the train loads. It was nuts!

Getting stuff sorted to head in. We gave the stock a full day to rest. They were in the trailer for 25 hours.

Joe took the load like a champ. Saddle and all was exactly 160 pounds.

Ain't he nice!

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[CX5Ranch]

Headed in finally

One of the coolest pics I took...

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[CX5Ranch]

Ol joe was "excited" to be in the high country LOL

Belly up at the bar

Still looking for some sign...

Tired and whooped

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[CX5Ranch]

I just threw Joe's lead on his ears and rode past him to grab them. Worked pretty good!

AND THE SO CALLED ULTIMATE MOUNTAIN PACK MULE CHALLENGE......

SUCCESS!

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[CX5Ranch]

Everyone complemented my little mule. Had a few chances to price his hide but I passed.

We rode almost 50 miles in these old mountains. Elk were super hard to find. I had a great trip and made some new friends.

Success isn't always about killing stuff. I find it in the completion of my mental toughness and physical ability. And also in the trustworthiness of my animals. The bonds we have are nearly inseparable and I cannot explain how special they are to me.

Thanks everyone for hanging on for the ride!

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[peddler]

Outstanding! Thank you.

 

[Schleppy]

Congrats on completing a great story. Ole Joe worked hard for you since you worked hard preparing him. My buddy and I rented horses, never agan. I had a bay mare that I finally re-named “El Diablo”. She enjoyed the finer aspects of mountain horse living such as: bucking riders off, escaping from electric fencing, running with hobbles, untieing knots and wandering off, etc. Thanks for taking the time to write all this up.

 

[CX5Ranch]

Update on Joe. He's still alive after the trip!

Been riding him quite a bit. As you can see I have a whole crew to train. It gives their momma high blood pressure every time we saddle up but she'll get over it.

When we were on this last ride a guy asked me why I rode a mule and the boys had horses. I said I spent all my money on those horses and all I can afford to ride is this mule!

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[mcseal2]

You're welcome.

Don't get a mule. Buy a horse. You'll thank me someday.

Mules are not for beginners. Especially kids. An old horse like ol yeller that belongs to my youngest son, will teach you more than you could ever learn if you'll listen to him. And they will baby sit those kids all day long.

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This thread is one of the best things I have ever seen on the internet. So much of what you have both explained and shown is the same principle and often the same training method as I use on my ranch horses. You explain it with words and pictures so much better than I can do with just words when I'm asked. I will be telling a lot of people seeking advice to read this. I'm no expert on mules, I have not owned a mule, but I rode a good one for a few days one time so I can appreciate how nice a good one can be. I don't see anything here that doesn't work on horses too though. You spend the time in advance to set them up to succeed. Wet saddle blankets, patience, consistence, making the right thing easy and wrong thing hard, all this works on so many things. I grew up with horses, have an 11 year old blue heeler, and I'm using what I learned with them to make my 3 year old daughter the best person I can help her to be. Patience, consistency, and earned respect and trust work across the board.

I have had so many inexperienced people who want to own a horse ask me to help them find the right one over the years. They listen and then they price the 10-12 year old horse with experience that I tell them to find and end up with an inexpensive green 3 or 4 year old. The old saying that Green on Green = Black and Blue holds true far more often than not. Sometimes it's just the right horse, or just the right temperament of rider and it works but not often. Most end up either giving up on horses all together or spending the money for one that fits after the first blow up.

When I was 9 years old I was shipping yearlings with Dad and his friends and I had a good cowboy that everyone looked up to give me some advice I have never forgot. I can't tell you much I learned when I was 9, but this stuck with me and I owe a lot of what I know today about horses to taking this to heart early. I'll try not to drag it out, but for this story to be told I have to give a little background on this one:

I was riding a horse that was in his early 20's, a horse that my Dad had broke and my Grandpa had rode for many years after. By the time I got that horse there wasn't anything that happened on the ranch that he didn't know. This horse was good enough that when moving cows Grandpa could tie the reins up to where he couldn't eat and get off and warm up in the truck, he would herd the cattle like a border collie. He knew his rest and release came when the work was done and wanted to make that happen as quick as he could. Only downside of that is that on a longer trip he might push the cows to hard and wear them out if you let him, he would trot instead of walk them. I'm 39 now so this was 30 years ago before ATV's, dart guns, even gooseneck trailers and other technology had taken jobs away from horses so this horse had a lot of experience. When I didn't know what to do I stuck my hand forward and put slack in the reins, the horse took it from there and did what needed done. Made 9yr old me look good doing it too!

Anyway to the point of this I was riding with that cowboy everyone looked up to, just walking across the pasture saving our horses energy until we got to the yearlings we were going to ship that day. I told him that I didn't always know what to do, but when I didn't I just gave my horse his head and he went and did it. He was quiet for a bit and then his reply was "You know, it takes a lot of men half their life to learn what you just told me". I've learned over the years since just how right he was. The more I can get a horse to be confident and reward him for doing his job without my help, while still having him respect me as higher in the herd than he is and listening to me when I need to take control, the better they ultimately get. Being on the same page takes out so much reaction time and makes sorting cattle horseback on a good one my absolute favorite thing I do on the ranch.

Anyway, sorry to get off on a tangent. Thanks for the very informative post and I hope you continue sharing your knowledge.

 

[CX5Ranch]

Thanks for the kind words mcseal. Sounds like you been around one or two as well.

This is a pic of my little niece and me on Joe. She asked if she could ride the mule because she already knew how to ride a horse but needed to learn how to ride a mule. LOL I love it!!


CX5 Ranch spring branding clinic is March 23 and 24, 2019 at my place in SW Missouri.

Clinician BJ Jordan of Crossroads Horse Ministry out of Walden Colorado will be putting on our ranch roping and branding clinic. Anyone is welcome to attend, or participate.

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[mcseal2]

That sounds awesome, I'd love to attend, but we turn bulls out ourselves to calve March 10th, so that's part of our busiest time of the year.

We run about 700 cows in the Flint Hills of Kansas and drag all our calves. I really enjoy getting together with the neighbors and working calves in the spring. We trade labor with the neighbors who drag calves, plan it so we don't overlap and can help each other get it done. We also get a lot of help from neighbors and friends who run yearlings. They help us drag calves in the spring when they aren't as busy, and we help them ship yearlings in the summer and fall when we aren't as busy.

Branding is one of the most fun things to do on a good horse. I really like those days. After we pen the pairs we sort cows and calves horseback. Then we sort the cows again and get the dry cows off and vaccinate the wet cows. After that we drag the calves, working them through a Nord Fork. That really makes the process less labor intensive and safer, while not taking the fun out of it. The Forks hold the calf to where it can't throw it's head while we implant or kick while it's being castrated. Once that's done we head back to our shop for burgers, sides, and cold beer. It's always a great time with great friends. Spring is such a busy season in the ranch world everyone is ready for those days.

Branding calves in my experience is about 15% being a good roper, and about 85% having a horse that will put you in position to have a good shot. I am a pretty poor heeler in general, but I can get my horse lined up for a sidearm shot from a 45 degree angle that catches pretty regular and leaves us in a good position to get the slack taken up and the calf drug out on a short rope. If your horse will sidepass with ease and then roll out and get the rope tight before a calf slips a leg it makes a huge difference. I like a horse to have a really nice handle before they get into the branding pen. It helps hide the weakness of my roping and lets me stay out of the other ropers way as well, avoiding wrecks.

I'd really enjoy the clinic if I could make it work. I have learned much of what I do from other riders from other places. Every time I ride with new people I pick up a few little things that I can use to improve. It seems that different parts of the country have different methods. They all work, but if you take bits of each of them and figure out what works best for you it makes the best system.

 

[CX5Ranch]

Sounds like you have your hands full!

That invite was for whoever would like to come. Just let me know so we can have plenty of grub

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[Btward]

Good read

 

[2rocky]

Great thread.

Since you seem like a mule and horse guy, what does a lifelong horse and cow man need to remember (or forget) when it comes to getting their first mule?

 

[CBar]

This is great to read - do you plan on using him ever to pack meat?