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Topic ClosedGood mule wanted

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rollingb View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Topic: Good mule wanted
    Posted: 16 July 2003 at 18:40
I'm look'n fer a good 2 year-old jenny mule (or, a mammoth donkey), don't need ta be "broke" fer saddle, jest halter.

Very best regards!!
YMHS
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17 July 2003 at 01:59

rollingb. Where abouts you at? How much money you looking to spend? How big do you want it to get? How far do you want to travel for one? Do you want it for packing, saddle or harness? I don't have any to sell, but might be able to send you in the right direction.

A jenny is a female donkey. A molly is a female mule by the way.



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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17 July 2003 at 05:46
Saddlesore,.... I live in northern Wyomin,.... I expect ta pay "good" money fer'a "good" critter. I'd kind'a like one thet'll git 'bout 14-15 hands tall. I don't mind travel'n, but of course closer wood be better. I've herd good things 'bout mammoth donkeys, and figgered maybe I could git one ta , pack, saddle, and harness, with a liddle work on my part. I was advised by Three-Fingers ta git a jenny mammoth donkey (if'n I had'a choice), so I reckon thets what I'm look'n fer,.... or, a good molly mule.

Very best regards!!
YMHS
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17 July 2003 at 08:06

I don't know of any donkeys for sale. There are  a few mature mules up for sale around here right now, but high dollar (+$4K). You might look at www. mules.org/forum/     There is a "mules /donkeys for sale " as one of the threads there, and I seem to remember a few up your way.

My past history with mules vs donkeys are that the donkeys take a little more patience to train. The mule gets it higher self preservation instinct from the donkey, and the donkeys really have to beleive what they are doing is safe. Some folks confuse this with subborness, which it isn't. They are just smarter.

You might also check www.ruralheritage.com, although it's more oriented to harness work.

There is also an all mule rodeo in Powell, just north of Cody. I think it's in August. Should be soeme contacts there.

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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17 July 2003 at 08:30
Saddlesore,.... Thanks fer tha "leads",.... I'll check'em out,..... and I ain't too far frum Powell!

Very best regards!!
YMHS
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17 July 2003 at 09:42

"Smarter" is politically correct for "stubborness". 

 



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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17 July 2003 at 09:59

Nope. SP, I never met a stubborn mule. But unless they figure it's safe and isn't going to hurt them, they ain't going to do it. Plus you need to convence them it was thier idea to start with. A horse, you can tell them to do someting. A mule you have to ask. The trick is to ask them to do it, not ask them if they want to.

I did have a neighbor down in NM that packed the whole fuselage frame work of a Cessna 150 out on his donkey. He had pictures of thier frame sticking out the back and front about twice as long as the donkey. He broke my pack saddle doing it.

I packed some small burros into the San Pedro Wilderness area in NM. If you went 5 lbs over what they felt they should carry, they laid down and you had to unpack them to even get them up.

check this out

http://www.findarticles.com/cf_0/m1189/2_273/70741017/print.jhtml

 



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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17 July 2003 at 11:42

If you  are real serious, and want a mule at any stage of training, call Stu Sorensen, Columbia Falls, Montana. 406-892-3931. He's won pretty much every mule show in the N.W. with mules he's trained. He'll even train them for dressage and hunter class for you.

 He's been a packer for years, and has had as many as twenty animals in a string at a time on his own supplying backcountry lookouts and camps.

 He's a real good man, a hell of a hand, and a good friend. An oldtime cowboy. I'd ride with him anytime.

Tell him Ric Carter told you to call. Don't waste his time if you aren't serious.

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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17 July 2003 at 11:42

Good article.  I read a book by a retired Selway outfitter who started out using horses.  He tried and switched to mules for packing because he said he never had a wreck with 'em (though they still rode horses mostly).  He had a lot of horse stories, but it was obvious he never had a good horse.  He had a string of outlaws is all he had.  The horse he claimed was the best he ever had is one I would never want to own.  

When they had an elk down in nasty areas with lots of deadfall, they would load up the mules and turn them loose.  He claims they could pick the best route out of the maze better than he could.

"You TELL a horse what to do but you ASK a mule"...  I would think that is one of the biggest advantages of using a saddle horse over a saddle mule.  I looked at an outfitter's mules last year who also team ropes and cowboys on mules.  He had some good looking quarter mules, but said very few make good working ranch mules.  He sells the good ones up to Jake Clark's Mule Days up in Cody.  One of his mules brought the second highest sales price... said he was starting to build a good reputation up there.  He says, "There's nothin' better than a good mule... and nothin' worse than a bad one".  While he's a mule man, his partner in the outfitting business hates 'em, so they use both.

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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17 July 2003 at 11:48

As a point of interest. 

I was coming home from North American Indian Days on the Blackfeet Reservation last Sunday. At a trail head on the Middle Fork of the Flathead, there were some yuppie scum loading sandwich size packs on some llamas.

I took the time to slow down, and holler at them to keep those long neck maggots off of my trails!

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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17 July 2003 at 13:09

Sounds like you want my mule.  I'd sell 'im to ya, if I came down with some horrible desease an' had to git my legs cut off, an' maybe an' arm (Might still be able to pack in with two good arms to rein an' hold my lead rope.  Just have to git real short sturrips).  I can look to see if I still got the address an' phone number of his breeder.  He makes trips to Wyomin', so you probly wouldn't have to go to Utah to fetch one back.  Good disposition.  Counts fer a whole lot.  These mules are people mules.

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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17 July 2003 at 13:43
You fellers is git'n me ALL excited talk'n mules.

Yep!!.. I'm gonna git one fer shur, sum time, sum wher (tha sooner tha better)!!

I'd shur like ta have one'a them ther "people mules" (maybe sum of tha mule's PR wood rub off on me, so I woodn't feel like strangle'n them ATV riders).

I wanna thank each one'a you fellers, fer tha "helpful words of advice", and tha "sites" you've posted on this thread!!

Very best regards!!
YMHS
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 July 2003 at 06:48

There are a lot more bad mules out there for sale than good ones, and that fellow was right about nothing worse than a bad mule. Older fellow down this way, had his mule for a year. It was suppose to be dead broke, calm, nice little 9 yr old molly. Last Sunday, it came uncorked when he got on it. When all was done, he is in the intensive care unit with 4 broken floating ribs, broken collar bone, punctured lung, ruptured spleen, bruised kidney and something else with his liver. About two moths ago, another one spooked at a bear. That gal got three broken ribs out of it. My wife got laid up for a year from one bucking her off. An outfitter ended up with that mule and the first trip out, he bucked  a gal off and they had to helicopter her out. My hunting partner had two Arab mules ( Bad Combination). He got two broken ribs out of it, and  a broken foot another time. The same mule uncranked on me  one time down in the West elk Wilderness area. I knew damn well I had better ride him out, as we were bucking around in a meadow with big boulders in it.  After the two passes through the pack string and one almost in beaver pond, he headed for the timber. If it wasn't for a big log that he stopped to jump over, I would have  a heck of a time getting off him.

I have never bought a mature mule that I have been 100% happy with. That's why I took to rasing my own. So if you buy one, make sure what your 'e getting, and get a return guarantee with it. It 'll take 6-12 months for the mule to decide if it's going to live there. As for buying mules at sales, I figure anyone that does gets what he deserves.

I might not know squat about most things, but I know mules. I been messing around with them close to 30 yrs.

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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 July 2003 at 08:54

Same could be said fer horses too.  Usually jus' buyin' somebody else's problems.  I took to raisin' my own many years back.  I'll git 'em as a yearling at the latest.  Prefer jus' off the tit.  You still gotta make sure they ain't jack wild, but a nice calm critter, from calm stock (very impotent), at a young age will serve you better 9 outta 10 times than somebody's auction garbage.

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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 July 2003 at 09:42

I never liked A-rabs... rode me a couple and just never liked anything about them.  But I gained a whole new respect for them when I was in college.  My dad kids me cause I'm the only guy he knows who ever took a horse to college with him.  I had a roommate who was a roper on the rodeo team so I ain't really the only one.  Anyway, I kept my horse at this big indoor arena with 100 stalls and was there alone one day when this big rig with about a 40' horse trailer pulled up.  Since I was the only one around, the driver asked me if I could unload these horses for him... said he'd been on the road for 24 hours straight (from Phoenix)and was too tired to unload them.  I figgered he was problee just scared of horses so I helped him out.  The manager of the facility was going to train these fine show horses (halter).  They were both high-bred A-rab stallions, and the A-rabs I'd ridden before was nothin' like these stallions.  The driver told me one was worth $600,000 and the other $1,000,000.  I unloaded the $600 grand stud first.  There was a door that came out of the side of the trailer with a 10' ramp and when I got the horse to the top of the ramp I could see he had no plans of walking down it.  His legs started shaking and he was gathering hisself for the LEAP.  Wall now, he cleared the ramp and when he comes back to earth he started prancing around and I think he went up in the air four feet with every step.  I didn't do no walking on my own leading him to a stall... I just kind of bounced around holding onto that lead.  But I knowed I had more spirit in my hands than I'd ever known.  The next stallion, the million dollar one, made that first stud look like a dude horse.  I think we flew the whole way to the barn, leastwise, that's how I remember it.

I still don't like A-rabs, but I'll never forget that.  I don't knowd if they was really million dollar studs, but they was spirited enough to be.

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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 July 2003 at 12:01
SP.You take all that spirit and wrap it up in something with long ears that is a whole lot smarter and you got a bona fide tiger on your hands. They blow up at the least sign of anything, want to think too much by themselves and will hurt you if they think you don't agree with them.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 July 2003 at 18:29
Muleskinner,.... I lost yore home address,.... can ya PM it to me??
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 July 2003 at 07:04

I've never bought enough horses to be no expert, but I figger there's a lot of good horses out there if you knowd how to find them.  I've never bought a horse that was advertised for sale, nor have I bought a horse at an auction.  Those problee are the riskiest but I know you can sometimes get a good one at an auction or advertised in the classifieds.  The best horse we've had we got from a friend who bought the horse at an auction.  I've bought two horses from friends... you know what you're getting that route (no risk).  Another good horse I have I found while looking at an advertised horse.... I saw this other horse that wasn't even for sale but I talked the owner into selling him.  You won't get no bargain price buying a horse that an owner isn't anxious to part with, but you can get a good horse that way.

There's PLENTY of risk in buying weanlings and yearlings... anything that ain't been broke.  You just don't know for shore what you're going to end up with.  They can end up a lot differnt from the dam and sire, even completely differnt from full brothers/sisters.  That's why I just smile at proud breeders that want $3,500, even $1,500 for a yearling colt.  I'd take the chance on a well bred colt or philly that's priced at $1,000 or less though.  What's in it's head and heart is more important than its color and what's on its papers.

Maybe the best way to get a good horse is to get in the right network, or know someone who is.  Networks of ropers and cowboys are real good to find good horses.  Some folks got to break and train horses, then sell 'em for a profit in order to support their horse hobby.  Some of these guys got a real good eye for horses.  They get good colts, break 'em, and then use them helping ranchers out with roundups, the old-time drag 'em to the fire branding, and on the local roping circuits.  They get 'em good and broke and experienced and the other fellers in the network get to see them perform all the time.  That's how I found my latest top hoss.  I got this horse-crazy neighbor who I tolt to find me a good horse.  We looked at a few but one night he drives over to my place and he cain't hardly even talk... he's so excited he's hyperventilating.  I tolt him to calm down and tell me what he's found.  Wall now, I couldn't make out much of what he was sayin' but understood a few key words like, "big SOGGY bay!" and "jerks 1200 lb cows around!" and "broke, I mean BROKE!!!" and "get checkbook" and "I hooked up my trailer" and "lets go" and "$10,000 horse only $3,500" and "you'll have best horse whole valley!".  So that's how I found my latest top hoss and I bought another good young roping horse that I learned about from him (the guy I bought my top hoss from).  These guys got to keep turning out good horses to support their horse habit.  Some ranches do the same to supplement their income.

I'd like to break and train my own, but I just don't have the time to do it proper.  I use horses a lot on the ranch at times, but I'm too busy into haying or calving to ride young horses enough during the season.  I'm working with one off and on, but I don't like the horse much... my dad wanted the horse, not me.   

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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 July 2003 at 03:08

I paid $1500 for a weanling. Up here prices are just higher for horses. I knew the stud horse, looked over the dam and the older brother out of the two. The guy didn't want to sell the horse but he was my neighbor and knew we'd treat him right. We started off wanting the older brother but he didn't have the right attitude. The kid did. He still does and he's coming on two now. I think he'll work out.

My wife got one of those $10,000+ horses for a client for $3000 last year. He had some bad background and really raised hell for a week or two until he learned about those things called rules. My wife has been training horses for quite a while and has learned a lot from her mistakes on horses in the past.

I agree about buying an older mule. I got mine from an old guy that was getting out of the game. Levi is a good mule if you want to go slow and if you don't make a round trip to the trail head and back. Too bad those two things don't work out for the way we do things. He never got used to them and he couldn't be convinced that it would be a good idea to go along. I won't be buying any adult mules again.

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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 July 2003 at 03:16

Rondo,

I PMed you the phone number of them folks what bred BO.  They're in Wellsville Utah.

Mule
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