The Mule Moves On

Pockets might have thought something was off when I stalled him Sunday morning. But he laid down for his usual nap while I worked through morning chores.

And a few extras. 

I cleared off the truck the night before and started on the trailer before my gloves soaked through. I don't think it's safe to leave potential slabs of ice when driving, so I finished the job while Carrie prepped the inside.

Carrie prettied up and prepped the mule, too. He was a little wary about getting on the trailer by himself, but it didn't take too long.

Laura and Amy arrived in time to watch all the festivities and wrap up chores. Grandma arrived next to play co-pilot and we had a veritable farewell party in the snow!

Pockets wasn't sure about it all, but he's going to a fantastic home.

Hopefully, he never finds out, but the boys threw their own farewell party after he was gone

So I can't guarantee that the boys were all singings "Ding-dong, the mule is gone!" They had been in their stalls for a while and they could've just been in a rare mood doing a snow dance...

Yeah, they were probably celebrating the mule was gone. Don't tell, Pockets.

They went at it for a while, too! I only started filming around the tail end. It's probably been my most requested video by boarders.  

Carrie and Grandma trailered Pockets up without issue. He stepped off the trailer to a kinder spirited welcoming party hosted by his new mom, Jacqui.

Carrie and Jacqui have been trading texts and researching Pockets' entire life story. He's something of an outcast from a line of gaited mule royalty. His brother was bought and flown to Austria. Pockets doesn't have his lineage's trademark gait and lost an eye as a youngster and found himself at an auction instead.

Carrie and Grandma didn't turn around and come home after they delivered Pockets to his party. Instead, they kept on driving up to Pennsylvania for reasons that will soon become apparent.

I stayed behind to deal with the muck and grime! Sunday's supposed to be my day off, but I spent a lot of time in the mud.

Carrie wanted the mini-lot cleaned up, so that it could revert to Maddy-land. That meant I had to clean up loose hay, scoop poop, and all that jazz.

Boarder only deal with routine chores. Special tasks are designated for me. And I preferred to take care of it when I didn't have to content with my actual paying job.

And so Pockets' time with us came to an end. He was a surprise from the get-go and stayed for ~7 months. We had one night of less poop production at the barn, but Carrie and Grandma were scheduled to return Monday with another surprise.

We Have a Buyer!

In anticipation of selling, Carrie has started to ride Pockets more.

He's been on something of a break, so she wanted to give him a boot camp on manners.

I don't remember which days Carrie rode, but she hopped on at least 3 or 4 times over the course of the week.

It was well timed, because Sunday a Scottish woman named Jacqui came out to see Pockets. Carrie has been Facebook friends with Jacqui ever since she sold her a trailer a decade ago!

Gay came and helped out by riding and presenting Pockets. I watched some of the proceedings before I was charging a dead car battery (more on that later).

I checked on the ladies from time to time and saw them all out riding in a trio after an hour. Jacqui was on Pockets, Carrie was on Eddie, and Gay was on Maddie.

I took the Subaru on a test drive and found everyone riding the bridle trail as I approached the house. Carrie waved me on, so I kept driving! I turned around a few miles down the road and they were on the back trail, so I could come in safely.

Jacqui was interested. She'd always wanted a mule! Carrie was interested, too, because she's seen how Jacqui has treated her other equines over the years (Carrie is always interested in 'forever homes').

Monday, Jacqui came back with her trainer. I don't know the woman's name, but she was from Estonia and Carrie spoke highly of her.

I looked out from the window as I taught and saw some of the trainer riding. My first thoughts: Wow, she's riding Pockets hard. She looks like she's really pushing him.

I asked Carrie later and she said, "It was humbling. In one hour, she pushed Pockets to do things I haven't been able to. I thought I spoke mule, but she spoke mule."

The trainer had pushed Pockets on purpose to see what he knew and how he'd react under stress. Jacqui has had some ongoing health issues, so she needs a mount with the right attitude and training.

Pockets passed the attitude test with flying colors, but didn't know much beyond the basics. We definitely paid too much for him originally. 

So it was no surprise when Jacqui made a lower offer. It was more than the trainer thought Pockets was worth, but her heart was set on a mule and she liked Carrie. 

We accepted. 

Yes, it was lower than we'd hoped, but Carrie thought it was probably the best we could've got for a good home. If we can get a boarder to take Pockets' place, we'll recoup the difference in a few months. 

Jacqui won't be able to pick Pockets up until February, so he's hanging out with us in the meantime. He follows me around whenever I scoop his poop.

He'll lower his head and ask for ear rubs and loving. He doesn't care that I'm allergic.

He may not be the most trained mule in the world, but he loves people and attention. It didn't work out here, but I hope he'll be a fantastic friend for Jacqui and that everyone walks away happy with the deal. 

Mulling Over the Mule

We got Pockets in July. Eowyn came in November.

They still don't get along.

Pockets picks and picks...

...and eventually Eowyn loses her cool and reacts.

The cycle repeats itself.

Pockets was fine when he was introduced to the herd, but he has been jealous/vengeful/something ever since Abby took a shine to Eowyn over him. He's started acting crabby around Abby (and she's a boarder's horse), so Carrie's had enough.

Pockets got put in Maddy's lot.

Maddy got thrown in with the girls....and run around! Eowyn did most of the chasing.

Loki tried to come in near where I was filming, but it was ill advised. He ended up running off the field ahead of Maddy who was being run off by Eowyn!

 

Abby acted special for a while and stood near Pockets some. She dislikes any change. Maddy had been in the field with Pockets and Abby, so I thought that'd minimize drama, but there were still some kicks and running before she left Eowyn to do most of it. Maddy gets along with everyone, so I'd hoped for a smoother integration. But in Carrie's words, "They'll work it out."

Magic has come a long way from his freak-out when Pockets first arrived. Doesn't mean they're friends, though!

Carrie and I talked it over and we decided to sell Pockets. I was firm on "there will be no replacement," and Carrie agreed. That would open the stall for another boarder. We already have access to a third horse to ride, because we gave Heidi a discount to help her out financially on the terms that I can ride Eddie (and I've done it once).

Carrie reached out to Pocket's original owner to see if he wanted to buy-back Pockets before she put him up for sale, but he declined. Carrie started putting word out and we'll see what happens. I hope we'll get what we paid for Pockets as he's great with people and being a mule makes him a novelty....but I'm not holding my breath. As long as we get a decent price we'll pay less in food out of pocket (heh) and a boarder would pay back the difference over time.

Pockets will have to hang out in the dry lot until then. 

Thank God for the Break!

It's been awesome having time off. From school at least, if not the barn!

Shane's hair is beyond shaggy. I'd love to cut it, but he wants to grow a 'man-bun.' There's a cartoon character who's a volleyball player with one and Carrie joked about me getting one, but it stuck with him!

Not that I can throw stones. My own pandemic hair is probably the longest it's ever been. Carrie attacked my hair one morning and then told me not to move for a picture.

I've trimmed the beard since then. I got tired of my mustache curling into my mouth!

No school takes some of the urgency out of barn chores. There's no planning or class lurking if we take too long. Carrie's been feeling better, so we've been going out as a family. That's let us tackle some of the odd jobs that can be overlooked for a while, but elevate the operation when done.

Like poopbusting.

I don't remember the last time we dragged the dry lots. Shane got a kick out of riding around with Mom.

Maddy has been her usual itchy self. Carrie tried switching to a different allergy medicine to see if it helped to no avail. 

Maddy will walk over and ask for scratches when we're around. She's got her favorites and we've learned a number of them.

She's very expressive!

The barn is a source of community and we hope a blessing to everyone who's part of it. Laura had a bit of heartache when she was walking Ernie. He spooked and stepped on her ankle. I found out when Carrie bolted inside to get ice. Laura found out she had a fracture on Sunday.

Barbara showed up while Amy and Carrie tended to Laura.

There was a riding party in the works. Carrie was on Eowyn.

Barbara was on Maddie.

And Gay was on a mule for the first time in her life!

"The ears are a hoot!"

Pockets hadn't been worked in a while and was reluctant to earn his keep, but Gay got him moving!

It was Carrie's chance to introduce Gay to Eowyn, too. The point of buying Eowyn was to ride, so I'm glad that Carrie's been active! 

Barbara tried out Maddy's new saddle and declared it a success. Maddy's been feeling good lately. A couple rides back, Barbara asked for a canter on the trail and Maddy offered to gallop....and gallop she did! We hadn't realized she was a speed demon and Eowyn couldn't keep up!

I took a few pictures to chronicle the fun before going inside to be with Shane.

The windows were up to get fresh air and I heard my name on the wind later. Abby was beside herself. All of her girl buddies were saddled up and she was all alone! The anxiety made her make a fool of herself.

Carrie asked me to stall here and close the curtain door.

I brought in Eddy to give her a buddy. He happily went to eating the remains of Pockets' hay while she marginally chilled out.

I went back to playing Legos with Shane. I was thrilled he showed an interest, so we made a concourse for his airport, a bridge, some mansions, and a bank, etc.

I went outside again when I heard horses squabbling through the window. 

The ladies stabled Pockets on the boy's side since Eddy was in his stall. They hadn't closed the curtain door and Magic and Pockets were acquainting themselves with each other!

Horses were a big part of the break, but we finally had board game time! Carrie and I finished Pandemic Legacy Season 0! It was worth the preorder. We played 5 Minute Marvel as a family several times, and Shane and I played a round of Horrified.

Shane spent a couple of hours looking at some of my Battletech stuff and asking questions, so we ended up playing a mission. One of my sourcebooks was for the animated series (that's canon as an animated series in the universe!). Shane was curious, so we looked it up on Youtube and watched some episodes. It's no masterpiece, but it was a shared moment.

The days blurred together, but Sunday rolled around. We saw highs of 70s early in the week and ticks became active again. The prediction for Sunday morning was mid to upper 30s, but it dropped into the 20s instead.

Laura was shambling around, so we did the majority of the barn chores. Carrie gave her 'das boot' to help and walked Ernie for her. Shane helped by playing announcer with Amy.

The sun warmed the air and it turned into a pleasant day with a high just over 60° F. Scott, Mark, and Hazel came over to grill and hang out!

We opened up a bunch of windows and the adults played 5-Minute Dungeon and The Crew while the kids curled up with tablets on the couch. 

And I didn't take any pictures. Can you believe that?

The one picture I have is from when we played The Crew. Carrie had a crazy hand and wanted to show us after the round.

I realized I didn't have any good kid pics as we were saying goodbye, but it was too late!

Landie came over an hour later. Shane 'babysat' her. They played hide-and-seek, Legos, and Shane read part of a Dogman book to her. There was a My Little Pony break in the middle, but Landie isn't the type to stay zoned out forever.

Carrie got jumped on by both kids multiple times! 

Shane got in a little trouble after his shoulder nailed her in the chest! "You're not that small anymore!"

It would've been nice if we could've had another playdate somewhere in the break, but double visits on Sunday was a strong finale. 

Have I mentioned I've enjoyed the break? Cause I did. I was productive, too. I wrote 22 blog posts over the span of 5 days! I didn't do any grading, but my students didn't do much over the break either. I'm as ready as I'll ever by for Virtual School on Monday and I hope they're in the same boat. There are three weeks to go until winter break. We've got to cover polygons, quadrilaterals, and basic circles before taking a couple of weeks off to forget it all!