Mulehardy---The Conclusion

As Josie danced at my mounting block, I  looked across her shiny back at the ground on the other side, remembering suddenly how easy it is to either throw your self over too hard and wind up there.  Another strong possibility, especially for someone out of practice at riding bareback, is just to lose your balance on that slick hide on an equine who moves off as you launch.  I certainly had forgotten that, when I first worked on standing still at the mounting block with Willow, to the dismay of both of us!  

This was the moment when I realized what a lousy idea taking our first ride bareback was, and I knew I could take the  better part of discretion and just work on standing at the mounting block, since this was evidently not in Miss Josie's repertoire.  Probably, the use of a mounting block at all was a novelty to an equine as short as she, but I think horses (and mules) appreciate not having their saddles pulled down and sideways so I always look for a step up of some sort.  Common sense not having asserted itself, I circled Josie around the block and seized my opportunity when she passed by again, launching myself gently onto her  broad  back.  Luck was with me, and even without a mane to grab I managed to pull myself upright, and my little mule walked brightly off up the driveway.  About half way out Josie suddenly hooked a hard left back toward the barn.  I managed to block it, but that was when I knew I was really going to be tested.  Could I stay on a slightly  barn sour mule that I didn't know without benefit of stirrups, or mane (or common sense, obviously)?   I didn't want to dismount right then, with that maneuver the last thing she remembered doing beforehand, so I gritted my teeth, tightened my legs all the way down, and steered back to the driveway, and we managed to make it out onto the dirt street in front of my house.  Where she promptly did the left hand u-turn again.  This time, I almost fell off.  My upper body balance was nil and I remember thinking I'd surely wind up on the ground this time.  By some miracle my legs reasserted themselves and I bobbed upright, rather like a buoy in the water.  By now we were headed back to the barn and I took a determined hold on the rein, and managed to head us back up the road.  My goal was to make at least a complete circuit of the open area in front of my house.  Since I have no ring, it's the closest thing to one, never mind that one side of it goes right through one of my neighbors yards.   She bobbled a couple of times, but we managed it.  Coming to the side by my house, Josie again pulled her hard left, nearly unloading me again.  I thanked God she really wasn't too serious about it, as I tightened my legs again and got her headed straight.   If she'd put on any airs above the ground, either front or back, she'd have had me, but what a good little mule she was really!   She clearly stated her preference for returning now to the barn, and she expected to get her way, but she only spun on the ground, bless her little mule-y heart.  I couldn't believe my luck, but I wanted to get by that spot without her turning back, and she'd caught me out twice, so around we went again.  This time when we approached my house-side, I was ready and we made it by with only a slight crookedness!  I wanted to throw my arms around her, but there was work still to be done.   Couldn't 't dismount there without her thinking she might have instigated it, so we proceeded around to the far side of the circle, farthest from our house, where I halted her, slid off and fussed over her, praising and treating her til she was totally happy.  As I led her back to the house and barn, I got the feeling she'd have plenty of info to process.  Much more praise (but no treats) followed as I let her  back out into the paddock.  I'd survived my own foolishness, and managed to bring our all-important first ride to a successful end,  but I was counting my lucky stars once again, for a mule like Josie!

A hard-working mule!