Lost Meadows Mule Refuge

11/11/2024

More shade for the mules! 💙

11/09/2024

I just love this update from Blackie’s (now Hollyn) adopter! Blackie was rescued by LMMR in August 2019 and after almost 2 years in our training and foster program and winning 3rd place in our 2022 Mule Training Challenge, she was adopted in Colorado last September. “She ponies out with us almost every day. She's been on mountain trail, wilderness, rivers, and the canal roads. She was in the town 4th of July parade, she's the best. Her name is Hollyn, Hollyn Half-ass since she is a true pack mule now too.”

11/06/2024

First off, I’m sorry that my body ends up blocking the view in most of this video! I did not realize until after.

So one of our newest mules, Marlin, I have quickly diagnosed with a severe biting problem. He arrived with an old, ratty halter still on, which I take note of to usually mean the mule is very head shy, but it can also be a red flag for behaviors like biting, although far less common (in my experience with over 200 rescued mules in 5 years).

Marlin was confident about facing me in the trailer, I noticed. I was easily able to clip the lead rope on and lead him off the trailer. The reason why the halter is still on became clear moments later when I tried to adjust it and he tried to bite my bicep area with the speed of a rattlesnake! His teeth audibly clipped together, and rather than immediately feel afraid of him, my interest was peaked by this behavior. Mules who are very anxious when they arrive can be a bit lippy and nippy, more-so with the intent to create space than to actually make contact with their teeth. This is what is referred to as a fight response. It’s usually after a flight response in which they realize they can’t get away. In Marlin’s case, after the bite he held his ground with forward energy and what I refer to as “shark-eyes” - very wide, glazed, unblinking eyes. In that moment, I could envision how this behavior played out for him previously. He expected me to either fight back or back off. To me, this shows a well-developed habit. Thankfully, I have pretty good reflexes after a lot of experience handling wild, feral mules, so he did not make contact. But sadly, if this had been a less-experienced, unassuming new owner, it could have been a serious injury.

Marlin was mostly willing to walk into the barn and into a stall. Despite the anxiety he is surely feeling today, I can tell he is a confident kind of mule. I knew I needed to get Marlin’s halter off for his own safety, and I was by myself this evening. I have the option to push him loosely into a squeeze chute, but this isn’t the ideal first interaction, so I decided to employ some skill and see if we could agree to take the halter off.

Equines can bite with 500 pounds of force - that is more than twice the bite force of a pitbull, even stronger than a cougar’s! They can do some serious damage, even without sharp teeth.

I did not use treats at all in this interaction except for 2 at the end just before the desired behavior is accomplished when I feel like his state of mind is now curious and no longer defensive. I am all about using positive reinforcement, but in my opinion, giving treats in the first stages of resolving a biting issue sends a mixed signal to the mule that can make them confused and frustrated.

I tied him in the stall and gave him about 10 minutes to get comfortable and start eating. I then came into the stall and explained out loud what I wanted to do, and what I needed him to do. Talking to the mule in these situations can be useful, because they are constant observers. Tone establishes intent, and it also keeps my body from tensing up with anxiety or anticipation.

In this moment, I have only known Marlin for 20 minutes - and I know I have faced biting mules before, with varying degrees of severity. The worst being a mule that would lunge forward with teeth bared and both knees in the air in an attempt to knock a person to the ground, and then give chase while I scrambled up a panel to escape.
Marlin is a smaller mule, and tied, but he could absolutely still knock me over, so I had to be conscious of my standing position at all times. After a few minutes, I became mostly certain that while he was willing to bite me pretty hard, Marlin probably wasn’t a lunger. However, this behavior can be created and only has to work once. So, I kept myself away from being pinned between him and the stall wall.

Unfortunately, I didn’t realize that changing my position like that mostly blocked the camera, but at this point my focus is locked on the task at hand. Sorry!

Equines can learn to bite for a number of reasons. Sometimes it stems from playfulness gone awry, sometimes it’s defensive from being abused, sometimes it’s caused by pain, and sometimes it’s a combination of these factors.

I noticed Marlin’s right eye begin to water as he tried to bite, which could mean (to me) he’s got a painful dental problem in his mouth. I wondered if he is trying to defend against touching wherever there is pain. I try to keep my mind open at all times and analyze the mule objectively rather than feel fearful or offended by undesirable behavior. When he tried to bite, I would just dodge the bite very matter-of-factly and then return to exactly where I was. Boundaries are a two-way street. There is a line between being willing to give space when it’s asked for and letting a mule intimidate and learn to move you around. Nuances that can be hard for me to describe, but I’m constantly using two-way communication in a situation like this. Forcing Marlin to do anything, scaring him, or letting myself get hurt would have only had one bad outcome. This meant keeping my mind and body’s internal energy very low, which can be hard to do if you have been seriously bitten by an equine before and know how painful it is (I have). Again, talking out loud with attention to tone can help.

A couple minutes in, Marlin gets the very distinct shark-eyes again, so I move on to a “B-behavior” by redirecting his inner thought process and asking him to step forward instead. I do this a few times when he needs it, or I need it. I never strike Marlin or use increased force to make the behavior stop. Sometimes I lightly brush the end of his nose or move my hand up and down under his mouth to let him “blow off steam” by venting this behavior in a controlled and less direct way. Eventually, Marlin seems to realize that this behavior is not having an effect on my right hand, so he turns his attention to my left hand, which I monitor while using to my advantage to finish loosening the knot. At this point, he’s become somewhat less serious about it and almost curious about interacting with me.

It took 9 minutes and 38 seconds off to safely remove his halter. If you watch carefully and don’t blink, at the very end when I pull his halter off and away, he grabs and bites down on it, very hard. While I understand and respect Marlin’s behavior, I can’t help but feel disappointed that someone who didn’t have enough experience could have been seriously hurt here. What is shown in this video doesn’t look as serious as the first bite, but I assure you after standing there reading his body language for almost 10 minutes, it could have been much worse. He is very confident in his abilities. I would not be surprised to hear that the reason he ended up at auction is because he injured someone.

Time will tell how much handling at Lost Meadows can improve Marlin’s behavior, but I do know he is in the right place where punishment will not be used against him, and if the behavior does persist, he will have a spot in our sanctuary. I have seen much worse, and I do believe Marlin is a really great mule who just needs expert training and he will overcome this behavior entirely.

11/04/2024

It’s the right time of year to plant some trees! We would like to plant 4 new trees on our property, which will include a plaque with “Donated By” or “In Memory of” as we have done with our barn stalls. The cost of a small tree is $373. The cost of a large tree is $1,500. If you would like to sponsor a tree that will provide shade for the mules, a rest/picnic area, and beauty at Lost Meadows, please email [email protected].

11/03/2024

“I Love Rose” merchandise is still available in our Bonfire store! This might be our cutest design yet 🌹 Sizes XS-4XL shirts, crewnecks and hoodies available, and there are many other color options. Mugs and tote bags too! Proceeds go towards Rose’s rehabilitation and the other 87 mules at Lost Meadows. https://www.bonfire.com/store/mule-refuge/

Read about Rose: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/fYPLQhRWtkW9x64z/?mibextid=WC7FNe

Your order will now ship on-demand rather than in a batch. Unfortunately we did not sell enough at release to make a batch, so refunds were issued to everyone. If you’d still like a Rose shirt, please replace your order now!

11/03/2024

It takes awhile to put healthy weight back on a very old mule, but we think Rose looks fabulous! The first photo is her yesterday evening, followed by her auction photos from 9/28.

We also found during her dental that, sadly, her tongue is almost completely severed in half. This is most likely from the harsh use of a riding bit in her mouth at some point in time. It is an old injury that has healed over, but it’s still a very sad reminder that she was most likely abused and in serious pain in her past. Sometimes we get criticized for purchasing mules at auction, but Rose was being ridden roughly in the auction ring, carrying a saddle and rider with a body score of 1.5, and a bit in her mouth with her tongue almost completely cut in half. No one cared about her old spine, her mouth, or the fact she was starving. The story of her life on this earth was most likely going to end with her being ridden in this condition until her body gave out.

Rose has been abused, neglected, used up and sold, and LMMR ended the cycle. We are grateful that Rose‘s story ends with a safe, loving retirement at Lost Meadows thanks to our supporters.🌹💙

Sign up to sponsor Rose for $25/month at https://www.mulerescue.org/our-mules-caldwell

11/03/2024

The baby mule is ours! We were bid up to $500 for her. Thank you so much to everyone who sent an urgent donation to help tonight.

I also placed a low bid on a 3 year old mini John mule - he was shown haltered and tied, with a freshly roached mane, bells in his tail, and 4 white socks. They don’t make them any cuter, so I assumed we would be outbid and that he would get a good home. But as he walked around the ring, it was totally silent, and our bid was his only one. When this happens, generally the owner will bring them back to the next auction, or the auction house will purchase them and put them through their next auction. For $350 we were able to keep him out of that cycle, and he and the baby Molly will now have a friend to make the ride with to Lost Meadows and during their 30 days of quarantine.

Thank you again to everyone who donated. We have raised enough to cover the baby mule’s bid, transport, quarantine and veterinary expenses. We could use a little more help for the unexpected John mule’s expenses. If you’d like to donate:

PayPal.me/mulerefuge
https://lmmr.networkforgood.com/projects/158547-lost-meadows-mule-refuge (automatic email tax receipt)
P.O. Box 479 Caldwell, Texas 77836

11/02/2024

We would like to help this 6 month old baby mule at tonight’s auction. She was just separated from her mother a couple weeks ago, and being at auction so young and extremely stressed has already exposed her to all kinds of health risks. We have a few hours to raise enough to cover a couple days of in-house veterinary care on top of our bid. There are other mules there tonight, so if we raise enough, we will try to help another one as well so she can have a trailer and quarantine friend. If you can help, donate at:

PayPal.me/mulerefuge
https://lmmr.networkforgood.com/projects/158547-lost-meadows-mule-refuge (automatic email tax receipt)
P.O. Box 479 Caldwell, Texas 77836

10/31/2024

Happy Halloween from Lost Meadows! 👻🎃

10/29/2024

Our last dental patient is Newman! 37 dentals total. We will do another 30-40 in March. Our total was $5,435. Donations are very appreciated:

PayPal.me/mulerefuge
https://lmmr.networkforgood.com/projects/158547-lost-meadows-mule-refuge (automatic email tax receipt)
P.O. Box 479 Caldwell, Texas 77836

10/29/2024

VIEWER DISCRETION ADVISED! Muddy needed his front incisors extracted today (just his teeth are shown, not the extractions). Lost Meadows rescued Muddy in February 2020 along with 51 other mules, and he was diagnosed with EOTRH at his first dental. We have been managing the condition with bi-annual dentals, but unfortunately it is not treatable and is progressive. Eventually the equine usually loses many of their teeth to the disease - this year Muddy’s remaining incisors have deteriorated to the point of all needing to be extracted today. They were already coming loose on their own and causing him discomfort. The cause of EOTRH is uncertain but may be caused by a combination of factors such as physical trauma or genetics. Muddy will still be able to chew hay properly and much more comfortably now without his front incisors, as his back teeth are in much better shape and not affected by the EOTRH. He is feeling much better now, on pain medication and has a good prognosis for recovery. He is unhandled and can be unsafe, but we will do our best to keep him on stall rest for several days while his mouth heals. Read more about EOTRH here: https://ceh.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/health-topics/equine-odontoclastic-tooth-resorption-and-hypercementosis-eotrh

10/29/2024

Check out our latest TikTok of the mules! Please give us a like, follow and share so we can become monetized again and make the mules some extra money each month!

Check out mulerescue’s video.

10/28/2024

… It’s always something! 🫠 21 dentals done today, 19 more to do tomorrow… and try to get this fixed.

10/28/2024

Raisin is another dental patient today. This video shows the severe front hook and the protuberant (very overgrown) tooth in the back of his mouth on the left side. His cheek next to that tooth is very chewed up, so he definitely experienced some pain relief today. The video after shows him hanging out while the sedation wears off. He stood nearby stretching his jaw and moving his tongue around for about 20 minutes. He must think it feels really good to be able to chew freely now! 💙

10/28/2024

Our dentist of over 6 years now is down from Missouri to do 40 dentals over the next 2-3 days. Eli is our first dental customer of the day! His teeth say he is about 16 years old. Each dental is $125. If you’d like to help us cover a dental for $50, donate at:

PayPal.me/mulerefuge
https://lmmr.networkforgood.com/projects/158547-lost-meadows-mule-refuge (automatic email tax receipt)
P.O. Box 479 Caldwell, Texas 77836