Getting Your Mule to Trust You And Catching Them In Pasture
Getting your mule to trust you and catch him on your terms is something that every mule owner needs to master and that includes when he is out at pasture.
In the video, Steve Edwards goes over how to catch your mule on your terms – while in a stall.
Getting your mule to trust you and catch him on your terms is something that every mule owner needs to master. Are you the herd leader? Are you the one they’re looking to for leadership? Are they looking to you to provide for them?
The answer to all the above should be yes.
In the video below I go over how to catch your mule on your terms – while in a stall.
But what about catching your mule on your terms when he is out at pasture?
Here is my very simple answer: You just about can’t catch a mule out in pasture.
When your animal is out in pasture, he has everything he needs. He doesn’t need you for food, he has all that “free feed” available. He doesn’t need you for water. He doesn’t need you for companionship. He has everything he needs – so why would he come to you?
Moving Your Mule Out of Pasture
Your mule needs to be pulled out of pasture and moved into a 20×20 stall. Why? Because that mule needs to be dependent upon you for everything. He needs to know that you are his provider and you are his herd leader.
Get that mule out of pasture and put him in that stall – and then leave him there.
Often we think of mules as dogs and want them to be “happy” – so we talk in high affirming voices, we give them treats and we love on them and show affection. Your mule is not a dog. That mule is not looking for affection and affirmation the way humans are accustomed to, and not even the way dogs are accustomed to. That mule wants leadership more than anything else.
By removing your mule from pasture and placing him in a 20×20 stall he will come to see you as the herd leader, and that leadership will bring him more joy than any feed ever would.
As a matter of fact, you are, in many ways, damaging and hurting your mule by leaving him out to pasture with all that feed. In my article, Mules Can’t Stand Prosperity, I talk more about this.
And let’s talk just a bit more about using treats. Do I use treats? Yes. There are two times when I will use treats from a distance to get them to reach to me. As soon as they figure out how to reach for it, then I will give it to them near their chest so they have to back up to get it. That’s it!
Treats often lead to the mule getting into your space – you don’t want them in your space. Remember, you are the herd leader and the herd leader says, “stay out of my space.”
Once Your Mule Is In The Pen
Once your mule is in the pen, you can’t just leave him there. You have to teach them and give them training. You see, the mule is not like a horse. The horse will get out there and just run – not the mule. The mule doesn’t see any sense in running. I will move them from the 20×20 pen into a round pen to teach that mule how to “catch me.” Notice that I use the phrase, “catch me.” You don’t want to be chasing down the animal.
What does that look like? In the first of my instructional videos, How to Communicate with Your Mule, you see a woman with a mule that is hard to catch. By the end of the video, she is doing everything right and you see what catching should look like.
Can You Move Your Mule Back to Pasture?
In short, no. Don’t move your mule back to pasture because he can unlearn everything you worked on and go back to being dependent upon everything else but you.
Sure, it’s cheap feed and that’s a great way to save money, but folks, like I said above, you’re not saving money because you don’t know what’s in that feed. You don’t know how much they’re getting. You’ll see that all those carbohydrates can lead to grass founder and fat pockets. You end up killing that mule by leading them to the smorgasbord.
So what does your feeding program need to look like? You ought to check out this video I did all about feed. It is free, and very instructive on what a proper feeding program needs to look like. I talk about the feed I use, Lakin Lite, and why the pellet is the best feed out there.
A Bit More About Stalls
While this video is a bit off topic, it’s about two mules who are picking and biting at one another as sort of play, I talk a bit more about stalls and feed, and it would be good to check out.
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9 thoughts on “Getting Your Mule to Trust You And Catching Them In Pasture”
I have a 4 month old mule colt that is halter broke. I am in the process of teaching him to lead . He is quickly learning the concept.
What is a good way to teach him to tie?
I have a 10 ye old John mule. He bucked me off once. Sent him to a reputable mule trainer. Has bucked several times with him, he didn’t come off. Previous owner was going to take him back but has changed her mind. History was first owner came off. 2nd owner said she has NEVER had a problem with him. I only had him a week when he thru me. Any hope for him??
I cant believe you’re trying to convince people hungry for knowledge that they should put their mule in a stall and not let them back out. You might have ways you go about things but that doesn’t make it right or helpful or good for the animal. There’s absolutely no reason in this day and age to have a mule other than for entertainment and keeping them locked up to get what you want from them fast is without question, literally exactly what psychos do because they don’t know how to have a genuine conversation and create a healthy relationship. Boxing your mule is NOT a respectable thing to do for a creature that desires to roam. You want to show your mule who is boss? We’ll get out on the trail and show him places he ain’t never seen before and feed him snacks he ain’t ever tasted before and be the person he has never met before.
Annabella Canady
Thanks for taking the time to read our article Annabelle. Encourage you to continue to do what works for you. Blessings.
Annabelle doesn’t know mules. I have a mule that came to me in a pasture everyday when I released her. I have a work mule I hunt off of and work off of. I bought her from a woman that boarded her and didn’t spend any time on a daily basis. After 2 weeks in a big pasture, guess what, she won’t come to me. So when you work off of something you don’t need to be chasing an animal around all day. So if you want to pet your mule like a dog you and feed it treats when it sees you that is your right. You own that animal. But at the end of the day that is all you have is a pet that you can’t do anything else with but watch it feed in the pasture.
I grew up in the 60’s. We had a mule that worked on the farm a bit. But mostly, we took her to pasture daily and brought back to the stables in the evening.
My brother would ride sometimes. The mule would always come to be led to pasture or back to the stables in the evening.
Hi Pamela, thanks for sharing!
My Welsh mule almost always comes to me in the pasture. He was abused and I couldn’t even touch him the first six months I had him. I tried clicker training (complete newbie), he and I learned together, and he gradually learned to feel safe. Clicker training built an incredibly strong bond between us. It took a long time because he had been abused so badly. We worked at liberty a very long time and we moved very slowly. I let him tell me when he was ready for the next thing. He is still, after more than 15 years, definitely a one-person mule, but he will tolerate others. He won’t usually come up to my husband, unless my husband is waving the lead; he loves going out of the pasture into a grassy run next to it (my mule, not my husband). I have to go get him most of the time, because he won’t always come up to someone else when it is time to go back. It took years before he was comfortable in a three sided shelter with me, as he had been trapped in one and abused previously. For the first couple of years, he would not go in the shelter by himself either. Now I can finish hanging his hay bag and pat his rump as I walk past him eating at his bucket. Once I am gone, though, he will finish his feed, and then take mouthfuls of hay and step out of the shelter to keep watch. Even when he is sheltering, he stands with his head at the opening. I have to use a woman vet, as he is still anxious around men. Our new farrier is a man who is a natural horseman. My mule did incredibly well with him. The fact that he didn’t ask me to tie my mule made all the difference.
So much depends on an animal’s background and experiences, and personality comes into play as well. I don’t believe there is any one-size-fits-all approach. My mule is simply my companion. I talk to him, brush him, walk in the pasture with him, share an apple with him, play fetch with him, enjoy being around him. He understands that I am the alpha, and he respects that. Clicker training worked for us. He needed to feel safe, and clicker training is how that happened. I don’t ride, he doesn’t work. But we have an incredible bond, and that is something that does not happen often in one’s lifetime.
Hi Kelly, Thank you for taking the time to share your story. Good for you for finding something that works well for you and your mule. I hope that keeps working.