His first time wearing a saddle was June19th.   We just purchased Steve Edwards Mule Saddles for the boys.   Wearing the new saddle we walked him around the farm, doing some ground work, lounging and practicing lots of whoas.   Dev was fantastic.

Our debut ride was June 30th.   Saddled him up, practiced our groundwork, went for a short walk and then climbed on using the mounting block.   Mitzi, our daughter, led him down the driveway with me riding then back up to the machine shed and down to the house.  I kept teasing her to hold on tight, I was sure he had a hump in his back…NOT! I took over from there and rode him for approximately 20 minutes.   He was apprehensive but did wonderful for his first ride.

You can’t do this with a horse or a mule but with a donkey it actually worked. Erin, who has been assisting with the donkeys made it possible to do this ride.   We took the boys into the forest to an area known as Fish Creek Cross Country Ski Trails.

Neither of the boys had been to the mountains and Dev had his first ride a couple of weeks earlier so it was to be a pretty big first all the way around.   It was about 15 degrees cooler than on the prairie making it more comfortable for man and beast.  Dev was nervous in the beginning; he was not sure about all this which was understandable.   Both of the boys settled down once we hit the pathways.

These bridle paths are wide, easy to ride and not steep.   It had rained during the week and it was not long before we came to a puddle that crossed the entire beaten track.   Both boys said, “Nope we are not doing this.” Erin dismounted and Luc followed her along the edge, didn’t even get his tootsies wet.  I could not get Dev to follow Luc so I dismounted and tried to lead him across.   All he wanted to do was to run back to the trailer.   I had Erin take Luc further and further away until he was out of site.   Then I ask Dev to follow me.   He had to think about it at first, but he decided he wanted his Lucers so he tip toed along the edge of the puddle behind me.  I think that was the first time Dev trusted me enough to follow where he really did not want to go, major break thru moment.

I found a steep bank and crawled back on Dev on the off side.   That was a first! Most people mount, I felt this was more like climbing up a mountain side… Riding Dev is like being on top of the world, holy cow he is tall…. When riding there is no way to duck under low limbs, you have to just go through them!

Leaving the main trail forced us to cross a tiny stream which Luc jumped. Dev following rose straight in the air and with a mighty leap he cleared it.   With Dev on his hinds I was a long ways up there, I think the air was getting a little thin Oxygen Please!!   On our way back to the main trail we had to cross this trickle of water again.   This time I held his head down and he took a small leap to get across.   He received a ton of praise for that maneuver and I know I certainly breathed easier for it.

We diverted off the main track to do some exploring and see how the boys would do on smaller footpaths.  Dev stepped over downed logs and wound his way thru the tightly spaced trees learning very simple maneuvers.   Back on the main trail we rode over Kelly humps that the forest service builds to block roads so vehicles can no longer access them each had a puddle of water at the base.

I managed to tire Dev out, so we didn’t go far or stay out long.   I know what his limitations are and can gauge time and distance from todays short venture.   I led him back to the trailer once we arrived at the gravel road going to the parking area.   It was a pretty slow and relaxed ride with lots of stops.   The deer flies were the worst I have ever seen. When we stopped they swarmed us.   We had used plenty of repellant both on ourselves and on the donkeys so at least no one was bit.

This was the first test ride on our new Steve Edwards saddles.   Erin thought they were wonderful, I agreed they are the best donkey saddles I have found.  You can see them at www.muleranch.com

This is another ride that could never be attempted on anything other than a donkey and even that was a little iffy but I felt Dev could pull it off. July 15th in a small mountain community is the Elk City Wagon Parade, celebrating a frontier wagon supply road linking gold mining communities to the outside world.   I needed Dev to experience his first parade but was not ready to drive him in one just yet. I felt I might have more control riding or at least leading him in a parade route.

We were late getting there to begin with, therefore everything was done in a hurry which is not one of my most favorite things to say the least.   I rode Dev and Jim drove Luc in the four wheeled coal box buggy.   At the start of the parade I stepped off Dev to make a harness adjustment on Luc and decided to walk the parade route as I was having a control problem… Dev was in control and I was not!   Dev basically drug me thru the parade route trying to keep up with Luc who was in front with the Grand Marshall.

After we had gone through town which is only a couple of blocks I stopped Dev at a horse trailer parked along the road.   I used the tie up rings to hold him while Luc, with the cart, was turning around.   After the complete parade passes by the entire enchilada turns around and makes another pass thru town.

While Dev was pitching a fit at the trailer because he could no longer see Luc Alice and Roy showed up with their donkeys.   Alice was riding and Roy was driving.   This helped to settled Dev down enough for me to get back into the saddle, once there he was calmer.  We waited a long time for Jim and Luc to return so we could fall into the parade lineup behind them.   This time I put Dev directly behind the buggy to give me some control.   He was just fine going back thru town that way.   I rode him back to the pickup which was about a mile out of town while Jim drove Luc.

This was certainly not the most serene ride but it did give Dev some parade experience and the best thing is we all survived!   I think he could have cared less about the parade he was more concerned about his buddy Luc.

7/22/06 Back to Fish Creek Trails! Kristin, who is 8 years old, rode Luc. For the most part, he was a good boy for her.   He did test her abilities to start with but by the end of the ride she was in charge.   Nancy rode four year old PepA, who we raised and started, he was your typical colt. Riding the loop from the bottom to the top Pep had never seen the bridges from this direction; in his mind they must have just been installed.

Along the route we met our neighbors on their horses; we stopped and visited for a few minutes about the donkeys.   Dev was not sure about stopping and he fussed a little until we could get underway.  One of the reasons for going with horses this trip was because I was sure they would cross the bridges and show the donks it was just no big deal.   The first bridge had a hollow sound to it. Luc was a little unsure but they all went, even Dev and it was his first bridge to be ridden over.

The next few bridges went easily for everyone.   Then we came to a bridge that Dev just couldn't and wouldn't walk across, a nice easy wide bridge.   I had the others ride out of sight and still no dice.   I had Luc ride back across this bridge to me and still no deal.

I stepped off and eventually Dev followed me across, that was the last bridge on the bottom trail.  From there we rode the 360 feet from the bottom to the top trail. Luc did real well across the rocky top even through he is barefoot. I liked the way Dev lowered his head and carefully picked his way thru the rocks.
The boys did great on the next set of bridges.   One is fairly long crossing a deep bog. I had a horse go off this bridge with me years ago and I was pretty happy to get this one safely behind us.
On one of the bridges PepA was hesitating before going across.   Luc was like, “Okay enough all ready, git outta my way I' m a commin' thru, I'm a donk on a mission, hang on Kristin we're going across!”  So much for having horses along to show us the way!  By the time we crossed the last couple of bridges it was ho hum another bridge no big deal!

We rode about two and a half hours which is very slow for that seven mile trip.   On the way back we encountered huckleberry pickers, a flock of noisy 8 & 9 year old boys on two wheels bicycles racing up and down the road.   A lady walking her little girls... Dev thought they should pet him so he walked over and put his head down, how absolutely sweet he was.   We met a guy who liked my nice "mules" and when I told him they were donkeys he said prove it! So I did!

On the way back to the trailer Nancy decided to have Pep walk thru Fish Creek, Pep said no and the fight was on.   Dev decided he was going back to the trailer so Kristin and I rode that direction with Nancy behind us.  There was no holding Dev back at this point.   When we rode into the parking lot Dev spooked and took off at a lope. Wow, our first lope!   I was trying to stop him with one rein, no dice he was outta there.   He went about thirty feet, Nancy was laughing ... Dev spooked because Pep was coming up behind him.  The boys do great when the horses are in front but they do not like it when they cannot see what they are doing behind them otherwise they didn’t seem to mind them at all.

A new bit has been ordered for Dev, maybe I will be able to ride with some control, steering would be nice, stopping would be better! Dev has always had a control problem, even in driving.   I am going to try a solid bit this next go around.   I think with Dev it is more of an issue of respect. He is so powerful that he has to want to be controlled otherwise he is capable of doing what he wants when he wants to do it.   We still do our ground work to reinforce the goals we are working to obtain.   We’ll get there it is just going to take time and patience.

8/5/06 Summer is winding down, the harvest is almost in and it’s time to go ride.   This time Alice riding her donkey Sonny joined Erin and me.   This was Erin’s second Fish Creek ride, and Alice’s first time riding there, she was a little concerned how they would do.   We took three hours to go around the course.   Sonny had not been ridden much so we didn’t want to stress him.   We rode the trails very slowly with lots of stops.   It is harder to slow my guys down than speed them up so this was an excellent trip for them.

Dev is progressing in leaps and bounds.   This trip he decided the bridge I have always had so many problems with was okay after all and went across with me on him.   He did a very unusual thing, one third of the way across he stomped his front feet every time he put them down. Don’t know what that was all about, unless he was testing to make sure it was safe.   This time I could smell the heavy scent of used motor oil on the deck, I am sure that is what the problem has been.

Note: we had other rides with Nancy and the horses at Fish Creek.   One involved some bush whacking where we rode through downed trees. The boys had no problems stepping up and over and picking the best routes to travel.   This has been a terrific area to ride over the hot summer months.

                                           Arena riding the weekend of August 19 and 20th

Luc and Dev arrived at the town arena for reining, gaming and general arena work.   Each of the boys was ridden in half an hour increments while the other one received quality tie up time.   This worked great as the temperatures were rising quickly and I didn’t want to over heat them.

I rode Luc first and tied Dev inside the arena.   Dev threw a huge hissy fit and managed to untie himself; as soon as he was loose he came charging across the arena at us!   No running away for him.   I retied him and let him work it out on his own.

Dev rode great in his new Mikmar combo bit, they can be found seen at www.mikmar.com .   It's the best control I have ever had on him.   I could tell he really liked the feel of this bit and the response was exciting!   I ask him to single foot then advance into a trot. He is extremely smooth, like holding a champagne glass and not spilling a drop smooth.   We played barrel racing, only without the racing part, and did some pole bending also.   He seemed to enjoy it and did very well.

Luc was being an ornery little shit, I think he wanted to go to the mountains and forget this arena stuff! He was ignoring the bit and my leg.  I decided it was spur time for him but didn’t have any with me.   Luc has had an assortment of riders on him this year and he has been getting away with doing his own thing. It was time for him to get a little re-education on who gets to be boss.

The next day the boys did much better, I wore the spurs for the first time with Luc and it was nice not to have to use them.   Luc side passed with me on him facing the fence just like we do in ground training only this time the cue came from the calf of my leg.   It was one of those times where I could see how ground training definitely pays off. Luc is no longer doing well with the Myler Combo bit so I ordered a Mikmar, just like Dev’s only smaller.   It did not arrive in time to try this year; we’ll see how he likes it next spring.

Did some ground work with both of them, Dev was actually doing better than Luc, he is going to make a great riding animal.  I backed both guys after each whoa and did some face work.   Standing still I simply ask with as light a motion as I can on the rein to flex or turn their head back to me, of course this is done on both sides and I always do this right after mounting after we have sat motionless for a few moments.

Dev is certainly a smooth and easy ride; he should beat the pants off Luc in Donkey Western Pleasure classes.  This session I asked for his first controlled lope, he picked it up easily. I am very pleased with how well he is doing as a riding donk.   He’s quit protesting when I want to move him over with my leg, do a turn or a stop.  I am thinking this should help in his driving abilities also.  Dev settled down better being tied and waiting for his turn to be ridden today, which was definitely good for him.   His maturity level has made a huge leap forward this summer; we are becoming a great team.

Labor Day weekend was a chance to go back to the town arena, this time Jim rode Dev. He looked great and they had a wonderful riding session. Next summer Jim will be trail riding Dev while I ride Liberty.   Jim has minuscule riding experience and he felt very secure on Dev.

This was a perfect time to teach Jim and Dev how to play Showmanship and Halter Class; they would be using this lesson very soon.

The second weekend in September was Mr. Dev’s first trip to Hells Canyon Mule Days in Enterprise, Oregon with Jim riding him while I rode Luc.   All weekend we managed to highly entertain ourselves.

The guys wanted to be ridden side by side in that class so the judge said she would judge them as a pair. We even backed together in unison.  It was an amusing class! In fact, the judge told us, with a huge grin, there was way too much tomfoolery in all of our events.   She was very impressed with our boys and was happy to see us in the showmanship class going against the mule contestants.   I think she liked Luc’s quirky personality!

One of the riding classes I loved was the keyhole race.   I took Dev in first and we trotted to the keyhole, all the time keeping him in a straight line so he didn't step out of the lane.   He did a perfect turnaround and again coming out was careful not to step on the line.   He ran .... okay.... loped real fast for all he was worth... time was 23 seconds...kewell!!!

I jumped on Luc, with an extra rider, a Charlie Horse Cramp all the way from my hip down my left leg so bad I could barely swing my leg over the saddle and could not put any weight in the stirrup on that side.   Luc likes a challenge and his time was 19 seconds! YIPPEE!! Luc wins, Luc wins!   The announcer had too much fun with that class... he had me beating myself which is what I did since I rode them both!

The trail class remained set up for the entire show in the warm up pen.  That made it extremely convenient for training purposes!   By the end of the show we had the boys crossing a pile of logs they had to step over, the pine boughs they had walk thru and the two barrels they had to back between. Backing thru the tee was no problem for either of them.   There was a coiled rope hanging on a post than you had to pick up, uncoil and drag in front of a red tent then recoil it and hang on another post. We were supposed to trot over logs and go thru a rope gate... which neither of the boys will do. Dismounting to the off side ended the class.   It was great to be able to go in and practice after their initial run thru and acquaint them to the obstacles they thought were donkey eaters.

Out in the real world I have yet to side pass a log but in trail class Luc gave me a couple of nice crossovers and I felt that was good enough.   I thought this class was very well done with obstacles that made good sense.

The weekend was a lot of fun and a great introduction to showing under saddle for Dev.

Ahhh it’s fall, the last crops were off the fields and before Jim got a chance to get the plow out and ruin my training grounds I had several chances to ride Dev.   The oat straw stubble field made a great place to work on reining.   By the end of the season I was riding one handed with beautiful circles and serpentines, nice stops and awesome backs!

These are only the highlight rides of Dev’s first year.   There were other times I took him out for short rides around the farm.   He has progressed into a much safer and calmer donkey than when I first started him.   It will be nice to pick up the reins next year and continue his progression!