From the Ground to the Saddle

Does your mule or donkey do fine on the ground, mostly, until the day you try to get on? Do you find yourself hoping the saddle will smooth over something you never quite fixed while leading him? Have you ever gotten on and thought, why am I surprised he’s acting like this, he did the same thing standing at the hitching rail?

Folks, here’s the truth. The saddle doesn’t fix anything. It just reveals what was already there.

If you can’t control and communicate with your mule or donkey on the ground, you have no business getting in the saddle. Whatever he gives you standing still, leading, tied, or being groomed, that’s exactly what you’re going to get more of once you’re up top, except now you’re along for the ride. A mule or donkey who crowds you, ignores you, or tests you on the ground will do the same thing under saddle. The only difference is the stakes just went up.

The good news is this. You don’t need to guess at what’s missing. There’s a clear line between what happens on the ground and what happens in the saddle, and once you can see it, you’ll know exactly what to work on and why.

In this free online clinic, From the Ground to the Saddle: Strong Training On the Ground for Satisfying Rides In the Saddle, Steve Edwards is going to walk you through that transition. What your mule or donkey needs to be giving you on the ground before you ever think about climbing on, and how that same communication carries you into a ride you can actually trust.

You’ll learn why mules and donkeys communicate through the nose, not the mouth like a horse, and why the control you build on the ground is the same control you’re relying on once you’re in the saddle. It doesn’t change. It just moves with you.

You will learn:

• Why the ground is the only honest test of whether you and your mule or donkey are ready for the saddle.
• What it looks like when a mule or donkey is truly communicating with you on the ground, and what it looks like when he’s just tolerating you.
• How the same problems you’re managing on the ground will show up bigger, and less convenient, once you’re mounted.
  And so much more!

Bring your questions, bring your mule, bring your honest assessment of where you’re really at. Steve answers questions every time and no question is too basic here.

If you’ve been hoping the saddle will fix what the ground work hasn’t, this clinic is for you. Join us and learn to read what your mule or donkey is really telling you, before you ever get on.