Stillwater Ranch » mules

Susie-Q and Jackson Get New Shoes

admin — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:17:57 +0000

It was “Mule Shoe Day” at the ranch on Wednesday. Lori our “Mule Farrier” came to give both Jackson and Susie-Q new shoes.

Jackson was first. Since Lori was Jackson’s owner before he came to Stillwater, she new exactly what to expect.

This is making me S..l..e..e..p..y.

I'm tired from all this shoe stuff...I think I'll just rest my head on Lori

Now Susie-Q on the other hand was the big unknown……no one knew if she had ever had shoes on. But we were getting ready to find out.

The “clean out”..with a “Hoof pick” went well .

The trimming went well. Mules hooves are different than horses. The heels of the hoof need to be higher than a horse in most cases. More like the donkey side of the equation.

Then came the shoes. All the banging on the anvil forming the shoes for a perfect fit to Suisie’s foot…made her a little nervous. With some reasuring “scratching” from Dalton she soon settled down and was a gem for 3 of the 4 shoes.

The last and final shoe on her hind foot….took Lori more time than normal…..for some reason Susie just didn’t want that last shoe on! Lori is extremely patient and eventually…the 4th shoe was attached.

Susie-Q has been using her new shoes and doing well in her trail adventures with Dalton.

Pistol Packn’ Jackson Comes to Stillwater

admin — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 03:18:25 +0000

Whenever it rains really hard around here for a day or two and Dalton can’t be outside I can always find him in the office in front of the computer looking at “Horse for Sale” sites.

Having a trail string is exactly like a football team, you are always looking for a good draft pick.
So this time he finds “ Pistol Packn’ Jackson a 6 year old mule, who just so happens to be less than 5 miles from the ranch. This is a good thing…most of the time he finds them in Montana, Wisconsin, Florida, Tennesse and they have to be chaufered out here by Cowboy Express.
After a few conversations with Laurie , Jackson’s owner we are headed over to the field to see what this mule looks like.

Dalton just happens to have the horsetrailer hooked to the back of the pickup truck. That should have been my first clue…..that just maybe Jackson would be coming home with us.
So here is our newest member of the Stillwater Family
Jackson

Jackson is offically Bailey approved!

O.K. CORRAL

admin — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 15:27:27 +0000

On two of the hottest days we have had this year, (close to 90 degrees) Dalton, Larry and Miles decided to take a pile of lumber and turn it into a 50’ x 50’ corral to hold the horses overnight.
The point of this exercise was to save shuttling the horses back and forth to the pasture between rides.

Armed with the trusty John Deere tractor and posthole digger, the 3 took on the challenge.
With Comet “The Mule” and Joey keeping a watchful eye on the process,
that pile of lumber turned into a work- of- art.

From this pile of lumber- Great things will Come!

The post are Set!!

Joey gives his advice

A Job Well Done

Comet looks on with her "Watchful Eye"

The new "Diggs" meets their approval.

All most finished.