This week’s Mule Tale is staying in the UK, and getting a few hands taller – meet Honey, the wonder mule! Thank you to Sarah for sharing their story with us.
Image © Steve Finney
1. Please introduce us to your mule!
This is Honey, she is a 13.2 mule. She likes her donkeys, reversing backwards for a bum scratch and me rummaging in her ears (a bit waxy in there but she does love it). She enjoys pulling faces at Steve my other half unless we are out and she gets scared, then she looks for him to stand behind. Honey was a surprise birth like many UK mules. Her original owner had a 16.2 Holsteiner mare and a 10hh Jack donkey that lived on a hill, one morning she arrived at her field to find the mare had given birth to a mule! She was not impressed as her mare was bred from one of Micheal Whittaker’s stallions ‘The Chairman’. Anyway the lady I got her from had her and did a lovely job handling her so our story began.
Image © Steve Finney
2. How did you meet her?
I met Honey when I was looking for another riding mule as my other mule had a shoulder injury and I could no longer ride him. Honey was advertised for sale and when I went and met her and her guardian I was really impressed by the good start she had been given. The reason I bought her is the good start (always helps) and she was out with a young stallion and was holding her own really well, just liked her spirit!
Image © Steve Finney
3. What do you do with her, and what are your plans for the future?
Honey and me go out and about with the main aim of enjoying ourselves! We participate in trec (we won at level 1 trec last year), sponsored rides, we go to our local riding club and love going X country training with our riding club. Last year we went to the beach which was brilliant! My aim is to do more of the same as we have been doing.
Image © Steve Finney
4. Can you share a story that you feel sums up your mule and/or your relationship with him?
A story to share, well I suppose what sticks out in my mind is when we were trec training and I was doing a rein back and I was grappling with Honey and Amanda our riding club trainer said: “Stop shouting at her she knows what you want just ask”. So I did and Honey did a perfect rein back, it was then I thought I must try and catch up!
Image © Steve Finney
5. What’s the most important thing you’ve learnt as a mule owner, and what piece of advice would you give to someone new to mules?
I think the most important thing I’ve learnt as a mule owner is to never try and deceive a mule. I’ve learnt more from my mule than any horse and one piece of advice I would give a new owner is sometimes they behave like horses sometimes they behave like donkeys and sometimes they behave like mules so be open minded and have a sense of humour!
If you would like your mule to be featured here, then please contact me either via this blog, message me on my Mulography Facebook page, or email me at: herecirm (at) gmail.com. I would particularly like to hear from UK mule owners (purely because Mulography is about owning a mule in the UK), but am happy to take worldwide submissions!