Trail riding with Sage & a Curly Mule update

Hi everyone! I haven't been online very much but have been meaning to do an update for some time now. Sage and I are enjoying a great summer out trail riding and I feel he's really turned into the calm mature horse that I knew he was on his way to being. I've had a variety of beginners on his back this summer including 2 people who had never ridden before! He was a patient saint for all of them and he is worth his weight in gold.

But...he also appreciates going out on the trail with me and enjoying something that is faster-paced and requires less patience. I always make sure we go out trail riding fairly soon after he does his good-as-gold for the beginners routine. And I've really enjoyed having a horse with 3 solid gaits! The other day we were working on refining our transitions and tried an exercise that I've seen done at clinics where you walk 10 steps, trot 10 steps, canter 10 steps, trot 10 steps, walk 10 steps, halt. Then repeat with 9 steps, then 8 steps, 7 etc. It was a lot of fun and Sage seemed to enjoy it as well.

Josie is our Curly mule that we rescued from the New Holland auction this spring. She is half Mammoth Donkey and half Curly horse and is around 16.2 hh. She has warmblood-like gaits and a beautiful extended trot. I've been round penning her using Monty Roberts' Join Up methods and she *loves* it. Josie was quite scared of humans back in March when she arrived, but lots of apple slices and some time & patience mixed in with round penning have changed all that dramatically. She's learned quite well that if she turns and faces me she doesn't have to run around anymore. :)

Josie has been such a great mule to work with! I do think in some ways mules are smarter than horses and I very much appreciate how observant Josie is. Where Sage is easygoing and forgiving Josie insists on everything being right--but will then go above and beyond if you make the grade. Several people in our local horse community have told me that *they* wouldn't want to work with a rescue mule as it would be too difficult a thing and take years to earn their trust. Well, with that Curly horse half in there I am simply not finding this to be the case. So far we have conquered fly spray and wound ointment, put a saddle on her back, touched her all over with a foam noodle, and worked on picking up her feet--which she was initially quite wary of. Josie is learning so fast and is so happy to work with me, words cannot express how amazing it has been to watch this wounded equine come back to vibrant life.

This week we plan on tackling trailer loading with Josie and continuing to work with her feet (the farrier is coming soon :). Then, this weekend Sage and I are off to a 5 mile trail ride in southern Vermont, and I am hoping to go to Betsy's Curly get-together as well. Later in the month Sage and I will be making an appearance yet again at the local fair.

Happy trails everyone!