Student Success Stories: Meet Robin and Jeremiah

𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐑𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐧’𝐬 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬…

 

I fell for Jeremiah in a picture on the Lost Meadows Mule Refuge website. I was looking for an equine partner to explore training to ride and developing as a riding partnership. I took an hours long drive to meet him in person before the refuge brought him to my home on the afternoon of my birthday in 2022. 𝐌𝐲 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐨 𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐧 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐩𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐨𝐜𝐤. He seemed joyful and the people who brought him clearly loved him and were both sad to see him go and happy he found a pleasant home. 𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐣𝐨𝐲 𝐟𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐉𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐚𝐡’𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐱𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐝, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬. We dealt with resource guarding (sometimes including attacking the donkeys), separation anxiety, fear of the hoof trimmer and the hoof trimming situation (including me ending up with minor injuries), fear of his blanket…

 

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐨𝐜𝐤 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐟𝐮𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐮𝐬.

 

Little by little, using positive reinforcement training and avoiding all force, we began to rebuild Jeremiah’s behaviors and create trust between us. It’s a challenge to find mentors with insight into mule behavior. I started with support from a skilled an empathetic horse trainer and materials from Connection Training. We made progress on our relationship and took some of the edge off his anxiety. I also read and attended online lectures about mule health and behavior. There is precious little available and some is not particularly helpful, such as a talk by a veterinarian whose only idea about building relationship with a a mule is to begin when the foal is born. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐦𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐣𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐉𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐚𝐡: 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐧𝐨 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐭 𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐞. I didn’t believe I could be the person Jeremiah needed, but 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐩 𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐧 𝐨𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐞.

 

I have worked intensely with two training mentors to help me become a person Jeremiah could believe in: Ben Hart and Aria Luna. Ben offers a lot of donkey and mule specific information and experience with an online connection. 𝐀𝐫𝐢𝐚’𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐮𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜 𝐭𝐨 𝐉𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐚𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐬.

 

We started working with Aria as one of her case studies with Connection Training. At that time, we were heavily focused on working toward safe hoof trims. 𝐉𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐚𝐡’𝐬 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐬. He had a few weeks of addition training before coming to live with me, but his anxiety largely erased that and we started with a willingness to stand next to me, and to bite or kick when I asked for even small approximations of hoof lifts or to touch legs and feet. 𝐀𝐫𝐢𝐚’𝐬 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐨𝐛𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐨𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐉𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐚𝐡 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐟𝐭𝐥𝐲. Her training plans helped us develop his skills gradually. With work on his physical condition and the wonderful coaching I have received, 𝐰𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐦. Building on his progress in skills and his leap of faith that he can trust me, we are preparing for hind hoof trims, and Jeremiah had his teeth floated. In fact, 𝐉𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐚𝐡 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞.

 

It’s such a relief to know that Jeremiah can get all the vet and hoof care he needs, now. We also have a lot of fun in our paddock now. 𝐉𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐚𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐤𝐞𝐲𝐬 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫. 𝐇𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢 𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝. He loves to put on his halter and has the best recall of the bunch. 𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲, 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐬 𝐦𝐞, 𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐞. We do fun things like fetch and obstacles. He is a happy mule with a mischievous streak. He’s got a sense of humor. 𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐱𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲. After his dental, he checked out all the potential toys the vet had on his cart. 𝐇𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐚𝐠𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐯𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬. He brayed when I needed to see to his injured herd mate and will occasionally bray if he thinks his hay is late. Maybe one day we will do riding together. Definitely, we will keep doing obstacles. I hope to start hiking soon. (We did really well walking together on a recent unplanned adventure.) 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐀𝐫𝐢𝐚 𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐲. I’m super fortunate to have been paired with Aria. 𝐈’𝐦 𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐝 𝐈 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐮𝐩 𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐲𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐀𝐫𝐢𝐚 𝐢𝐬 𝐤𝐞𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞.

 

𝐉𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐚𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐰. 𝐖𝐞’𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐭𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫.