I guess the proper place for my mule thread would have been here..... So I will link it
http://forum.horse.com/tm.aspx?m=27350 And keep my updates on Sally here. This is what I THINK about her so far, but don't know for sure. She was handled properly at a young age. Obviously came from somebody who knew mules well, but then got passed on to people who didn't. She is supposedly 5 years old right now. Was picked up with a string of mules in April, the owner is keeping the smaller ones and had her and her big buddy up for sale. All the mules shared the same brand (stacked S) and she is said to be sired by a Mammoth Jack named Black Jack (that's an original, eh?) and out of a large foundation QH mare. The folks we bought her from did not do much with her, and her hooves look like they have not been trimmed since April. But she was willing to do groundwork with my husband, a total stranger. Moves off of light rope pressure. Leads quite well - a little on top of you (probably a security thing) but backs off with light signals. She was willing to leave her buddies behind - obviously very cautious, but willing - and load up into our horse trailer with far fewer problems than I have seen with regular horses and a straight load trailer. She is reserved, not completely comfortable, with people in her space (front and back is OK, flanks are not). She doesn't mind having her ears handled. Will pick up a foot if asked but is not comfortable with us keeping it, yet. I think most of this is trust and can be worked through within a week or two of handling. She will honk at my husband and I allready when she sees us. Wants to be engaged. We're starting with baby steps - daily handling, grooming, a little lead work rope - not pushing, just asking, to follow our lead, check things out around the farm; but being firm about having our space respected.
