Your opinions as an employer/trainer

I asked my mom about her thoughts on my plan with the mule and she brought up a good point that I didn't even think about.

I'm wanting to get that mule so that I can have more hands on experience with training. Of course I will have the help of my instructor but, would you as an employer/trainer would you consider it the same if one person came up and said that she trained her own mule as a person who said she trained her own horse. Would you consider them both the same in that aspect or would you look more highly at one or the other?

I think training a mule is pretty damn cool. They can be bigger &*!$s than horses when they want to be.

Having experience in a number of different areas will always get you further in the long run than someone who has stuck with one thing. So unless you want a career in one specific area of horse training, go for it.

I'm not either one of those things but as a regular person (haha) I personally would think it was cooler that you trained your own mule since I've heard mules are more stubborn than horse. That's probably a stereotype but it's what I would think. =)

Yeah, I think it'd be cooler...& it's not often people say that!

I wouldn't really see a difference.
I don't know if you think that's a bad thing or good thing though lol

Good honestly. My mom mentioned that people might look down on it or consider the experience inferior since he's just a mule and not a horse. I wasn't sure what you all would think if you were in that position.

I'll give you my advice. I have trained horses and a mule.

Mules think more like donkeys than horses. You will have experience, but you will also get more frustrated more often. Mules are smarter than horses and if you don't have a lot of experience training already a mule will be a real challenge. They're smarter and stronger than horses.

I'm sorry I'm not familiar with the rest of the mule story. How old is it? What do you want to train it for? How much training does it already have?

In regards to experience wise. Some people will think it's inferior. Others will think it is superior, but the training methods for horses and mules are similar but not exactly the same. When you say you trained a mule their first thoughts are that you trained it to be a pack mule.

Another comment. Pat Parelli did a lot of work training mules before he became really famous. He tried to prove that mules can do everything that horses can. He even founded the American Mule Association

If you are wanting to get into training horses then I don't know if mule experience would help as much as horse experience.

If someone wants to hire you to train horses and all your experience is with mules, then they may be hesitant. It probably wouldn't have to do with difficulty but because of the methods and hirers knowledge. I don't know how to train mules, or how they are different or what they can be used for, but if I was sending my horse to a trainer and they said they had only trained mules I would very hesitant.

My reasons would be that because mules are different they may need different training techniques. They may respond differently to horses to a trainers actions. Which makes training a horse different from training a mule. I don't think a mule would be easy or simple, or less worthwhile, but I do think it would be different and because of that difference it would make you less qualified with horses.

I could be totally wrong in all my beliefs, but its very possible that other people would believe that as well.

If someone said to me that they trained there own mule and that they trained their own horse, instinctively I would think that the horses training is better. I know its probably not right, but that is what I would think. Experience all round is good, but if you want to get into horse training maybe you should look at getting experience in training horses first, then maybe work with mules.

They are just my views from not knowing much about mules.

Its okay. I'm not going to be completely training him myself. My riding instructor has been training for around 35 years so she will be helping me.

He's only 4 yrs, much younger than I wanted but he's already saddle trained, has been lounged and will change directions and speeds on cue. He's been trailed through the city and parks, went over a metal bridge his first time out and never spooked. He picks up all 4 hooves, stands perfectly for the farrier, and trailers well.

4yr Old 15'1"h Mule

I'm first just wanting to make him a nice trail horse. From there, I might be interested in making him into a jumper if he shows potential. I also plan on showing him in halter.

I'm not really wanting a training position. I've noticed that even for just a barn hand position, people want some sort of training experience. I can work with both horses and the mule since I can use the instructors horse as well.

Ok. Seeing the mule I think it would be good for you to train him. It'll teach you how to think and use your problem solving skills. Mules will make you think a LOT!

He looks like a nice mule. I'm kinda partial to mules though.

<----- Especially that guy