At 13:31:23 on 30.01.10, barbmulelover wrote:
Hi I'm new to this group. I ride a 7-8 15.3hh Belgian Molly mule. I am 45 and I used to be a real confident rider. I trained a green horse a few years ago and road trained another mare who was only used to arena work. Rode with my kids and their ponies and never had any problems with confidence. Then something happened I'm not sure what. It could have statred when my baby mule kicked me in the face. No real damage just a fat lip and I really began to fear the back end of horses. Then I had a spill off my john mule on his first ride outside not hurt, just my feelings. My trainer at the time was no help so I sold him and decided to stick with bomb proof horses!! I only rode about 3 times that following year. Then I got a call from a friend who knew I liked mules and we saved Molly off the meat truck. She was young and not dirty but had no training, I quickly realized she was dangerous and took her to a trainer. After she bucked me off and he said he couldn't fix her I needed to "Get an animal I could Manage" were his words. I took her to another trainer and left her with him for 8 months (either that or back to the meat auction) While she was at the trainers I rode my daughters pony club horse and learned some dressage and did a little gaming and decided I really didn't ever want to jump LOL. Towards the end of 8 months I took my first dressage test and my horse tripped in the arena and we both went down. Again nothing serious just a sprained ankle. It was all in slow motion and I was more worried for the horse, but again my confidence was set back. I have taken Molly to 3 small barrel racing shows and 2 clinics this past summer and each time she behaves and we do well I get better but then we will have little incidents

At 14:07:34 on 30.01.10, YasandCrystal wrote:
Hi, barbmulelover, just have to say I love your mule! She is beautiful.

At 08:24:42 on 31.01.10, Ma wrote:
Hi. Your story sounds so familiar. I wanted a mule for years, and when the time came to retire our older horses, the mule search begun. We found her in Alberta/Canada and had her shipped to Northern BC/Canada, an adventure in itself. There's a long story to it, in short however, when we finally were ready to ride, husband on his new mare, me on my new mule, out we went for the very first real time .. and whatever the reason, maybe she smelled a moose or just wanted to get home instead of onwards, she bucked me off, I broke my back. That was almost two years ago. I am healing. I still have her. No idea if I ever can ride again, but I kept on working with her, as best as I can. Maybe one day we will ride, or we just continue as is, doing whatever we can, without riding. I love my mule, despite it all. I never want another horse again, ever.

At 12:55:14 on 31.01.10, barbmulelover wrote:
Molly is good and he trainer got all the bucks out of her. She is great on the trails and with other horses. We have issues when we are away at shows or on the road that I am working on. Here is a picture of her with her trainer last Spring before I brought her home.

At 12:13:29 on 12.03.10, barbmulelover wrote:
Thanks for the support but posting stories about breaking your back really isn't helpful !! Let's try and keep things positive here :) I rode Molly in the riding ring and in our pasture last weekend. It was great as she was a little difficult and I had to work with it and gain control. She wasen't bad (no bucking etc) just didn't want to do what I asked. In the pasture (It's the side of a very steep hill) I was really scared she'd take off back down the hill and buck me off (She has never done this)She was good, a little trotty as one would expect for a first Spring ride but still very much under control. The problem was I was so nervous my left leg started shaking uncontrollably. This has happened a few times before and advice on how to get it to stop? I'm scared she will get some mixed message from it!

At 12:24:54 on 21.03.10, barbmulelover wrote:
So my coach wants me to practice bailing at a trot I'm not good with that but yesterday we were coming down hill in a new saddle and it slipped forward onto Molly's neck. She was annoyed and started tossing her head. I realized I couldn't pull her into a stop as that would just pull the saddle more forward so I jumped off. It wasn't graceful and I fell in the mud but I was in control, she didn't take off and I wasn't scared! So maybe my coach is right. I need to practice emergency dismount but I think I'll start at a walk in the riding ring :)

At 19:21:02 on 22.03.10, plodalong wrote:
hi, i went to the parelli conference in 08 at the nec in birmingham, Pat Parelli was telling us of his love for mules and training them, have you tried doing any parelli stuff with Molly? She looks terrific, i didnt realise that mules got to grow to 15hh. do they get any bigger than yours?Please excuse my ignorance but i never met a mule. i heard that saddle chariots can be used with mules.Tell us something about mules please i would be very interested to learn more about them.

At 19:22:01 on 22.03.10, plodalong wrote:
oh i forgot to say that pat parelli said that mules are much smarter than horses, what do you think?

At 11:22:14 on 23.03.10, barbmulelover wrote:
Mules are smarter then horses the same way terriers are smarter them other breeds of dogs. The tend to have more self preservation skills and take their time to analyze situations they may not see as safe. ie crossing the bridge-it may not hold them or crossing a stream- may have a slippery/rocky bottom. This is often seen as being stubborn. You cannot make a mule do something you must make them think it was their idea which is why natural horseman ship often works well for them. Molly came from a bad situation and luckily I found a trainer willing to work with us. Mules can be any size from mini (mini horse x mini donkey) to large draft Percheron x mammoth Jack) they are recognized in all equestrian sports in north America up to but not including Olympic level (that's only because other countries don't allow them) There are breeders who cross saddle donkeys with trakkaner , Hanoverian or Arabian mares to get nice show jumping, dressage types and breeders of draft types and quarter horse, ranch, racing types. Here is a link and a picture to a lady who knows all about them. She has been my helper and mentor throughout Mollys training though her methods don't always seem to work with an older problem child like Molly I have had good success using them with a young unbroke mule I had. Anything you can do with a horse you can do with a mule plus a few more :)

At 23:38:27 on 09.04.10, meabhrocko_4eva wrote:
hey i'm meabh, i had/have the same problem- a lack of confidence after a fall from my pony, my pony is the best you could get with a bit of a tantrum every now and again. the best thing to do to build confidence on a horse is to play games on him. it might sound childish but it great fun and it takes your attention from your nerves. if ya want to see a video of me and my friends on our ponies type kilcolmangal2k9 to youtube :):):):) it might give you some ideas