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Post by kristine on Mar 13, 2015 1:58:06 GMT 1
Posted a couple months ago about the cheap project mule that was completely unhandled. Things go pretty slow with these guys, but he wears a halter and a drag line now for convenience and training acceleration. No worries about safety... mules don't do suicidal things like horses. Its almost a good thing if they get caught on something, since they have to rely on you to "save them". Barbaric treachery, but it works for the mule mind. So he sort of leads, can be driven lightly in either direction and touched. He was very, very wild and took handling with kid gloves to keep him from jumping out of the corral, which is about 5'4" tall. Didn't stop him from trying many times. He's also hit puberty with a vengeance. The vet is coming out this weekend to cut his nuts off, which will take oral sedative in some grain before we will be able to get a needle in his neck to knock him to the ground for castration. Its always the Wild West around here.  Apologies in advance for the poor video quality...  Here's Harvey checking out the wheelbarrow for the first time. Note the tail swatting like an annoyed cat!  |
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Post by kafee on Mar 13, 2015 17:58:43 GMT 1
Looks like you've made a good start with him. Hope all goes well with the sedation and castration, seems strange needing to castrate a mule!
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Post by portiabuzz on Mar 13, 2015 20:28:02 GMT 1
Best of luck!! Xx
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Post by lizpurlo on Mar 13, 2015 23:03:49 GMT 1
He is a lovely chap! Though he does sound like quite a challenge. Hope he makes progress once he's been gelded. Keep us posted! |
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Post by kristine on Mar 14, 2015 0:26:40 GMT 1
Thanks, Kafee! Mules need gender un-assignment surgery more than any of them! They don't care that they're sterile, they are willing to try and get very aggressive. Little Harvey is way, WAY overdue, lol... already chatting up the mare and the jenny donkey in the corral next door.
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Post by portiabuzz on Mar 14, 2015 14:00:04 GMT 1
I didn't know that?
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Post by Serenbean & Justine on Mar 18, 2015 9:48:16 GMT 1
LOL well now you do PB Kind of makes sense, they must get sooo frustrated Wish you all the best with Harvey x |
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Post by kristine on Mar 20, 2015 0:23:09 GMT 1
Well, the deed is done, and all is well now. It was a little traumatic for poor muley though. I'd read they take more sedative to knock down but it was even MORE than recommended. WOW. It was a bigger surprise to the vet! Harvey weighs about 650-700lbs, and the morning of the surgery, he got enough Domosedan orally for 800lbs of horse. No effect. another CC... no effect. Big whopping dose of Rompun... which actually perked him up even more. More Domosedan... a little sleepy, but not enough to stop him from bolting around the pen when we came in to give him more. Double dose of Valium and a big one of ketamine (still given under extreme mule protest) and he finally went down. The doctor said we had about 10 minutes to do the procedure... but at about 4:30, he started to twitch and strain, so we finished up FAST!!!
They are such a weird anomaly. In the end, the little 700lb mule colt took the same amount of sedation as FOUR horses twice his size weighing 1500lbs! And it probably wasn't enough but we got through it. SHEESH! The poor little guy remembers much of it and set back our handling quite a bit, but most of the has aggression evaporated.
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Post by kafee on Mar 20, 2015 22:57:35 GMT 1
Gosh, what an ordeal for you all, but thank goodness it's done and he is calmer so you can get on with the handling that will be the making of him. Good luck with the little chap, he looks gorgeous! Looking forward to hearing about how you get on on with him.
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