Halter Training Your Mule or Donkey: Installing the Come-A-Long Rope

Steve Edwards: Okay the first thing we wanna do is my ropes are wax coated, okay. They’re two strand so we’re gonna go and they’re 24 feet. We’re gonna go right to left. Notice how I’m standing. We’re gonna go right to left. We’ll bring his nose over here a little bit. Then I’m gonna come around again, right to left. The second one’s gonna go above the first one. Now I’m gonna pull on the first one, feed with the second one. We go right to left. Come around again, right to left; second one goes above the first one. I pull up on the first one, I feed with the second one.

Remember what we’re doing here is halter training. Remember how last time I put his head in here and he was all worried? He got a different attitude now so I pull over the right ear, left ear second. Reason I pull the right ear first, it keeps their head over here this way, and then I take and I pull it down and I pull up on the slack here. Then I pull down on the slack here. So you always can raise and lower it here.

We start out two fingers above the nostril. Will you miss some hair on him? Yes. Will sometimes will it swell up? Oh yes. But that’s all part of it. If once he gets a sore nose we’re gonna have respect. This one won’t be so bad ’cause he was no problem at all. He was a piece of cake.

Woman: So is the neck one tighter now? It looks …

Steve Edwards: No, it’s loose.

Woman: Oh, okay.

Steve Edwards: It’s always gonna be loose. This neck rope is always gonna be loose. Even if this gets tight, this is gonna still stay loose.