Hello everybody!

I am finally back at work after 10 weeks off following knee surgery, and it is fantastic to be back and see the progress that has been made with some of our more difficult mules!

We have recently welcomed Michaela to our team here at Town Barton, and she has been working hard on mule behaviour and training along side Lil, Emma and Sophie.

Today I would like to introduce to you a little mule called Ocean. She is a highly nervous mule who was relinquished to the Sanctuary in 2007 with her two friends, River and Aqua, and I started working with her at the beginning of this year.

Work with Ocean has been difficult as she is so afraid of human contact, and this has not been helped by her having intermittent lameness and having to see the vet. A visit and an examination from the vet is something many of the mules dislike, as they associate the vet with unpleasant experiences such as vaccinations and dental treatments, but for Ocean it is an extra scary occasion as she also has to be handled and meet someone new.

Patience, time and understanding paid off though for Ocean’s first vet visit. We put Ocean into a little stable to make it easier for us to work with her and after about 40 minutes she finally calmed down enough for us to put a lead rope on her. We introduced her to Richard the vet and allowed her a little while to relax again before she stood still and allowed Richard to examine her bad foot. Despite this being the first time she had ever had her foot picked up, she was very well behaved and didn’t panic or attempt to kick at all! We were all very pleased with her, and she was very pleased with her reward of carrot sticks!

When I went off to have my operation, Michaela picked up on the work I had been doing with Ocean and together they have made steady progress.

Although Ocean is still very nervous, with patience and a calm environment she will now approach Michaela in an open space to take a carrot stick from her hand. Although this may seem like a very small step, for Ocean it is massive progress as it finally means she is starting to trust a human. Work will progress with Ocean, and the next step will be trying to have physical contact with her, once she allows Michaela to touch her. We hope that it won’t be long before she accepts Michaela touching her head collar too and then we can start to introduce a lead rope and work will begin on clipping the rope on and off. I will keep you updated with her progress.

Slat Jack

Earlier in the year, I told you a story about Slat Jack, and I want to update you with his progress. He has continued to work well with Lil, and has now been introduced to the other grooms too. He has taken everyone in his stride and is behaving like a model student! He is now able to regularly have his feet trimmed and can be handled by anybody without being a danger, we are all very proud of him!

Read more...
Mules can be both challenging and rewarding

Fostering mules

We have had an exciting visitor recently at Town Barton, our first prospective mule foster mum! She fell in love with two of our mules, as well as a donkey and a horse, and hopefully all being well, a fantastic new home awaits them all shortly!

Related articles