A mule is a cross between a donkey stallion (called a jack) and a horse mare and are sterile from birth. Max owns 2 mules, Junior, a 7 year old mule born out of a Paint/Ouarter horse mare and a donkey jack and Reba, a 5 year old out of a throughbred mare and a donkey jack.

For Max Merlick the mules came before he started endurance. He used to ride quarter horses but then one time he rode in the back country wilderness with his friend John Meadows. John offered to have Max ride one of his mules. They have a tall, narrow front end and a narrow, rolling gait and he really enjoyed riding them. It was easier on his hips and legs than the wider horses. He was then hooked.

He told John that he never wanted to be a trainer, he just wanted to ride. John told him that if he was going to ride mules, he was going to be a trainer. He then bought Junior from John as a yearling. Both of Max's mules are by the same jack who was pretty famous in Vancouver, Washington named "Buford". There are a lot of mules by this jack and they've all been good, kind mules. He feels one of the reasons we are seeing better mules these days is because people are using better mares. They used to breed to pack stock. "They would breed to any old thing that nobody could ride and that characteristic came into the mules. The characteristics of the horse came in and if they are bad, it just amplifies it. You had really bad tempered, sour mules back then," says Max.

Was it challenging to train Junior? "When he was young, they were pretty hard on each other. I started him as a 2 year old a bit, then a bit more as a 3 year old." He thinks that was a mistake because he didn't learn too much as a 3 year old. He should have waited another year to start him. "When he was young, Junior was trying to decide if he was going to let me ride him and I was trying to decide if I was going to be able to ride him." They had lots of problems early on between 2-5 years of age. They say its best not to do much with mules until they are 4 or 5. They are at least a year behind a horse. They live considerably longer than a horse. It's not unusual for a mule to live into their 40's. He says if you have a good one, it's a good thing, if you don't, well it's not good.

Max advices,"when looking for a mule, look strongly at the mare and look at the history of the jack. Look at some of the mules that have been thrown by him. Seek a wide, flat forehead and eyes way out on the side and a kind look in the eye. Don't look for the big roman nose and eyes in front. A pig-eyed mule is a terrible thing. They can't see behind them. The donkey is an animal of sight. They can't outrun anybody so they have to stand and fight and kick. The mule tends to be more like a donkey than a horse that way. They'll tend to stand and fight rather than run off. They'll spook and run a little bit but they will stop. If you get a pig-eyed mule, he can't see behind him. He is a dangerous animal because he is always worried about what is behind him and he is going to kick at it."

Hardest part about training mules? "The hardest part with a mule is you want to pick your fights carefully. Pick a small fight first. Something you can win first. Once you start a battle with a mule, you don't ever want to loose that battle. That's the hardest thing. Once you start fighting with him, you can't quit or he'll really take advantage." One good example of that was when Max was doing arena work with Junior. Junior hated arena work and once he got tired of it, he just baled off into the corner of the arena and nearly ran him into the wall. Everyone in the arena started laughing including Max. He didn't realize he had gotten away with that so anytime he got to where he didn't like arena work he would do that. Then he would get to where he would do that on the trail. He didn't want to go anymore so he would just turn off the trail and ram his head into a tree. I can't go any more, I'm stuck!! "That's the kind of thing that when you let him get away with something, it becomes a real problem. Mules are vey smart," says Max.

"The John mules (male) are a lot more difficult than the Molly mules (female). They have a stronger personality and a stronger attitude. They're harder to break and harder to train. But they are also tougher. Most people like to ride the molly mules cause they are easier to train. His new molly mule, Reba (a gorgeous 17H grey) has been easier to train than Junior was.

Max has been through some challenges with Junior and remembers one time that he was in a ring in a class and a mouse came out from under the edge of the arena. He just hates little things on the ground. He wheeled and bolted and has yet to get over little things on the ground!

The easiest thing about a mule? "Once you have them, once you are their friend, once they trust you, they are a pleasure to be around. They don't have to relearn stuff because they remember everything. You know how he is going to behave. They are very kind and like their owners. They also like things to be the same, consistent.

He tells me that they also do well barefoot because of their very tough hoof wall. They can feel the trail very well and negotiate rocks better than horses. Max has to shoe his mules before the season starts only because he'll wear too much foot off from 50 milers. He generally pulls shoes from November until April because his mules don't need shoes until ride season.

People can say lots of unkind, terrible things about mules. It is very sad. Max is reading a mule book written from the 1880's. There are 14 pages of mule "attributes" in this book. Then he laughs and says there are 20 pages of mule "liabilities." He says in the old days, in the 1800's mules were consistently worth more than horses. Not only as work and pack animals but as riding animals cause of their surefootedness. He reads a quote from this book: "I never saw a mean mule that couldn't be traced to abuse, I have never been kicked by a mule who knew me long enough to have confidence in me. I think a mule appriciates kind treatment more that any other animal in the world and gets less of it."

Max would like to ride Junior for a long time and get his 1000 mile achievement, then work up to 5000 miles. Maybe in a couple of years do Tevis with him. "He is not fast but he is very steady and he is very tough."

We will all be cherring for you and Junior! Happy trails to you both!

...........Karla Watson

Max & Junior

Max & Reba