Meet my new mule foal

I'm so sorry to hear about your previous mule- I remember seeing the photos of her jumping, she looked very special.

I hope the new boy grows up just as cool!
 
So sorry to read this about the mule , Themule What a lovely horse sorry mule he turned out to be and so super talented, and you were doing so well together.
That said this little fellow even though he has big shoes to fill , looks adorable , absolutely love him ❤️
 
Sorry I’m late ! Isn’t he the cutest , love his ears and he’s got the kindest face .
I look forward to your updates .
sorry about your other girl , she was an amazing and loved the progress you both made x
 
lannerch said:
So sorry to read this about the mule , Themule What a lovely horse sorry mule he turned out to be and so super talented, and you were doing so well together.
That said this little fellow even though he has big shoes to fill , looks adorable , absolutely love him ❤️
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Sorry to read about nova too you’ve been through an awful time how did I miss it , at least in her case time heals . For what it’s worth I’ve had to have Layla operated on too, she had ocd in her stifles , one worse than the other happily so far so good and she’s now back in work on a full rehab program, I think that’s why I missed your terrible news, I was demoralised so I didn’t follow the thread of everyone doing so well or so I thought sorry x
 
lannerch said:
Sorry to read about nova too you’ve been through an awful time how did I miss it , at least in her case time heals . For what it’s worth I’ve had to have Layla operated on too, she had ocd in her stifles , one worse than the other happily so far so good and she’s now back in work on a full rehab program, I think that’s why I missed your terrible news, I was demoralised so I didn’t follow the thread of everyone doing so well or so I thought sorry x
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You wonder why we do it to ourselves really?! What were Layla's signs that her stifles weren’t right? I've always had question marks over Nova's but they have strengthen and improved with work so hopefully not that
 
Thanks all- he is really just the sweetest little guy. He laps up all attention and is just sweet and calm. A friend bought her 2 young children over today and he was fabulous with them. Think he may have a future as a therapy mule if the eventing career doesn’t work out :p
 
TheMule said:
You wonder why we do it to ourselves really?! What were Layla's signs that her stifles weren’t right? I've always had question marks over Nova's but they have strengthen and improved with work so hopefully not that
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Well we knew she potentially had a problem as one stifle had swelled as an unbroken 3yo and scans should bumpy cartilage , so at the time I turned her for 6 months longer before backing as it often rectifys itself.
This time she started backing off her fences more , at first we put it as just greeness but when she didn’t get better Knowing her history I took her again to be rescanned and we booked her in for athroscopy.
It’s scary putting a sound horse under anaesthetic and under the knife but thank goodness I did, as athroscopy showed quite a lot wrong.
 
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Dexter said:
Wow hes really nice isnt he! I always think of mules as small, fluffy and stubborn, but hes lovely. Really nice quality.
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I think most British mules are, unless they're imported from somewhere like Spain (as my last one was, albeit inadvertently and in-utero :p)
I was very pleased to find a purpose bred mule that should grow to a good size
 
lannerch said:
Sorry to read about nova too you’ve been through an awful time how did I miss it , at least in her case time heals . For what it’s worth I’ve had to have Layla operated on too, she had ocd in her stifles , one worse than the other happily so far so good and she’s now back in work on a full rehab program, I think that’s why I missed your terrible news, I was demoralised so I didn’t follow the thread of everyone doing so well or so I thought sorry x
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Sorry to hear about Layla. I’m sure she will be back firing on all cylinders soon.

That’s the annoying thing about the internet, a lot of us (me included) post the good stuff in those sorts of threads so it probably appears far more rosy than the reality!
 
ihatework said:
Sorry to hear about Layla. I’m sure she will be back firing on all cylinders soon.

That’s the annoying thing about the internet, a lot of us (me included) post the good stuff in those sorts of threads so it probably appears far more rosy than the reality!
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Thanks ihatework it’s human nature, when your proud and happy you want to share it, when it’s pants you wish it would go away !
 
lannerch said:
Well we knew she potentially had a problem as one stifle had swelled as an unbroken 3yo and scans should bumpy cartilage , so at the time I turned her for 6 months longer before backing as it often rectifys itself.
This time she started backing off her fences more , at first we put it as just greeness but when she didn’t get better Knowing her history I took her again to be rescanned and we booked her in for athroscopy.
It’s scary putting a sound horse under anaesthetic and under the knife but thank goodness I did, as athroscopy showed quite a lot wrong.
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Really interesting, thanks. I hope she gets back to where you were asap
 
He is gorgeous! When I lived on one of the Greek Islands the old farmers used to reminisce about the mules that got sent over as part of the Marshall Plan to rebuild their economy (the USA were converting to tractors so had lots of big surplus draft mules) and how amazing they were and how they made a massive difference to their families income. They were remembered with so much affection and appreciation. I grew up in the States where 'horse sized' mules are a thing and they are awesome. Don't know why they aren't a 'thing' here as they would be such a great choice for anyone as they can do all sorts of things really well. Maybe someone should set up a breeding programme to produce mule 'all rounders' for the British market? I'd definitely buy one.
 
Alwaysmoretoknow said:
He is gorgeous! When I lived on one of the Greek Islands the old farmers used to reminisce about the mules that got sent over as part of the Marshall Plan to rebuild their economy (the USA were converting to tractors so had lots of big surplus draft mules) and how amazing they were and how they made a massive difference to their families income. They were remembered with so much affection and appreciation. I grew up in the States where 'horse sized' mules are a thing and they are awesome. Don't know why they aren't a 'thing' here as they would be such a great choice for anyone as they can do all sorts of things really well. Maybe someone should set up a breeding programme to produce mule 'all rounders' for the British market? I'd definitely buy one.
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Someone needs to import a quality mammoth jack, but people don’t want to pay for quality. The thread I first saw Benson on was lots of people saying how shocked they were with his price. Luckily I breed the odd foal myself so I know what it costs to get them on the ground and raised well to 6 months without cutting corners!
 
TheMule said:
Someone needs to import a quality mammoth jack, but people don’t want to pay for quality. The thread I first saw Benson on was lots of people saying how shocked they were with his price. Luckily I breed the odd foal myself so I know what it costs to get them on the ground and raised well to 6 months without cutting corners!
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I don’t think his brother is dear looks value for money when you compare how much a quality foal costs of similar age , why would a quality mule be cheap?
 
TheMule said:
Someone needs to import a quality mammoth jack, but people don’t want to pay for quality. The thread I first saw Benson on was lots of people saying how shocked they were with his price. Luckily I breed the odd foal myself so I know what it costs to get them on the ground and raised well to 6 months without cutting corners!
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I thought that his price was quite fair. People really want to pay nothing for something these days... Yet whatever they have is worth a lot. It's... Interesting.
 
lannerch said:
I don’t think his brother is dear looks value for money when you compare how much a quality foal costs of similar age , why would a quality mule be cheap?
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Totally agree with you! They've invested in the mare, kept her properly leading up to covering, for 11 months of pregnancy and 6 months of raising the foal. They've had their feet done, been wormed, had a foal vet check, got a passport etc etc etc.
I know my foal will have easily set me back that much to breed (and that’s with a very cheap stud fee!)
 
rabatsa said:
I think that because a lot of the mules/hinnies in this country are unwanted accidents, that no one can be bothered to handle well as foals, they are seen as an unwanted nuisance so are passed about cheaply.

Those who know mules will know that correct early handling plays a huge part in their future outlook on life.
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Totally agree- I had my previous mule from 6 weeks old and she was a little delight the whole way along. Strong willed, yes, and with quite a strong sense of self preservation, but never awkward or stubborn.
This little guys has clearly had excellent handling as he's a total doll.
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Pippity said:
I always wonder if a mule's dam knows their foal is something a bit unusual. If they've had horse foals before, can they tell the difference? Especially if/when it starts making non-horse noises!
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Interesting question! None of my horses seem to react any differently to the mules, they just join in as a horse would. And they don’t mind the noise a
either- I thought they might find it a bit more alarming :D
 
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