ROCKY, THE MULE

ROCKY UPDATE:

Susan & Rocky, the Mule

In case you don’t recall, Rocky came to the Ranch as a feral (wild) youngster early this summer. Upon arriving at the Ranch, Rocky had a halter with ropes and chains attached to him which had been attached to Rocky for a few months with no one able to remove them. It was evident Rocky did not have the quality time needed to develop trust and respect to humans.

Upon arriving at the Ranch, the horse trailer delivering Rocky had to back up to a small pen at the Ranch because no one could get close to the rambunctious little guy who arrived with the name “Spot” — The feral factor was not a disclosure before taking ownership, and it was immediately very apparent this little fella needed our love! Rocky was wild and totally fearful of all humans.

A fully-devoted-to-Rocky couple of days commenced by a very committed Susan giving Rocky lots of praise, walking circles around him, even singing to him 🎵 in his new quarters, After many frequent, short training sessions, Rocky allowed me to get close enough to remove the halter and ropes and chain by the end of day #2. This felt like quite a breakthrough and success.

Now Rocky is taking very well to his short daily training sessions and a once in a while hour-long trail ride. Rocky is quite pleased when we go out on the trail and his favorite part is walking by houses along the dirt roads. In fact, Rocky sometimes puts up a little protest about coming home! He also doesn’t like his training sessions to end. Rocky truly was a diamond in the rough!

I wonder if Rocky has some type of pack-mule genetic make-up which makes him want to stay out and do an overnight camping trip. Maybe someday, Rocky. It would be a fun adventure with you! 𓃘

Thanks for reading about Rocky’s progress! Stay tuned.

Best wishes,
Susan
Cornerstone Ranch