The Mule Skinner........but HOW Personal..........

Part 1

Legs is a good boy...........but he is a stallion, a stallion with a pretty darn strong libido. Breeding is his favorite activity. While his manners are pretty darn good, I couldn't risk him getting up close and personal with this molly.

I moved my hand up to block Legs from reaching back towards the mule. The look in his eye had changed ever so slightly and he was considering there might just be new possibilities in the day's activities. When the horse saw me hand, Legs immediately knew he'd been wrong about that thought. The stallion instantly backed away from the approaching molly.

The mule didn't like my hand coming up that close to her face. Her eye changed to from that look of "Hey! Baby, Baby!" as my friend, Bev, would say to one of "I'm getting the h*ll outta here!" The mule whirled around again and fled.

The mule skinner was still walking slowly in our direction. His body language didn't say anything about trying to control the mule's movements or line of travel. Still just his presence there turned this mule one more time. Then she stopped and looked at Legs and me for just a bit.

I could see her vacillating between coming to Legs again and fleeing to preserve her freedom. I think she knew if she approached Legs again her freedom would probably be lost. As the mule skinner finally got somewhere close, the mule whirled around again and raced off down the hill.

I heard the mule skinner say, "That's it............be a good girl.........go jump in your trailer......" I can't even tell you how disgusted I was at his naivete. This mule had nearly ended up on the killingest highway in the state and he was talking baby talk and expecting a response.

I'd seen this kind of mannerisms once before and I can tell you that person had no control over his horses. I suspected I was looking at the very same situation with this man. As I watched the mule run past her stock trailer on down into the back recesses of the park, all I could think was at least there wasn't a way out back there.

The mule skinner turned to follow her mumbling something about the latch on the gate at the far end of the small arena being broken. Before he went down the hill after the molly, he talked to some men now by the maintenance shop asking them if they worked there. Then he told them about his mules getting loose because of that gate before he went on down to catch the jenny.

As the mule skinner departed he waved his hand in the air my direction saying "oh ya.............thanks for your time........"

I remember thinking, "TIME, you're thanking me for my time....... fella, I just saved you ass...................." It looked to me like he had no idea what he'd been saved from. I felt sorry for those mules.

The mule skinner followed that jenny down into the back part of the park. By now there was no sight of her from my position. I went back to the arena to finish schooling my horse. I could see the other mule was now tied to the stock trailer. Before I got done schooling Legs the mule skinner was back in the small arena trying to drive mules and having them get loose and the maintenance guys were working on the gate.

This was an adventure I was glad to see over. I'm really glad that no one got hurt and I'm really proud of my horse. Legs did absolutely everything I asked of him and probably more. We were a great team and I still can't believe I asked him to herd mules..........of all things. I'm really glad neither of them brayed at him. Can you imagine what might have happened then.................

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