I use hoof boots on my mule’s hooves instead of steel shoes. I’ve done so for years, working my way up from boots I made with stuff I found in a dumpster, to the store bought kind. I use Easy Boots and Renegades.

This week hoof boot manufacturer Cavallo sent me 4 boots for… Continue reading →

This week, 3 weeks before we set off on our mule ramble, Julia and I are fitting our mules with boots. No, not the lace up kind or the rubber kind you might imagine. No, not the ones I made out of inner tubes 15 years ago. Rather,… Continue reading →

Carpe Cool. Julia, the critters and I try to be on the trail first thing in the morning while the western North Carolina trails are still cool. Here, we’re riding out behind our house. We try to spend at least one or 2 hours in the saddle every day (Monday – Friday). This helps the animals’ hides – and ours -toughen up for our early September mule ramble.

Chafe probably isn’t something you worry about a lot. But since I’m about to take off on a saddle trip, it’s been on my mind a lot lately. Here’s a short video of how I dealt with chafe on the “Lost Sea Expedition” wagon voyage across America. It may come in handy if you decide one day to run away in a wagon. Much easier would be to just stream the “Lost Sea Expedition” series on Amazon!

Hitting the road with your mule boils life down to basics: food, water, shelter. Right up there is keeping your mule from wandering away in the night. While you could tie her to a tree or post, she couldn’t lie down, roll or eat. Not cool. There are many ways to secure a mule. I prefer the leg picket. Here’s how I’m training Brick to the picket.

A few days ago I wrote how I was going back to the “old ways”. Of just heading out the front gate with my mule and finding out what lies up the road. Turns out, I first had to catch that mule. Her name is Brick. She’s the mule I plan to ride on the “Ride out the Front Gate” trip. I’ve only owned her about a week and here’s how our first meeting went. Talk about a flashback to the “old ways”….