Groundwork Basics | Ty Evans
Groundwork is the most important step involved in the process of making a fine saddle mule. In this series, Ty Evans covers the basics of groundwork that he uses when starting colts or working with troubled mules. These exercises are critical elements of a mule's foundation, and you will learn the skills necessary to train your mule these foundational steps.
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Ty Evans Intro
Ty Evans shares his story.
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Groundwork With A Mule
In this video, Ty Evans will be showing you everything he does on the ground when starting to work with a mule. As he begins, make sure to pay attention to the body language between the mule and Ty and how it is presented. He will start out with hooking on, and then move on from there.
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Halter Driving A Mule
The next step after establishing some groundwork is halter driving. Basically, I will be teaching him to move around me in a smooth circle at the end of the lead rope. He will be learning some respect, how to follow the lead rope, and how to follow a soft feel. This exercise is a huge part of the...
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Desensitizing A Mule
After you feel like you've gotten decent control of your mule in the halter and on the lead rope, you can start to work on a little more desensitization. The spots that Ty likes to really focus on are their legs and blind spots.
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Saddling A Mule
Now it's time to put the saddle on. If you've done a decent job with desensitizing and halter driving, you should have no trouble with this. After getting the saddle on, make sure you incorporate the exercises you see Ty do in this video to make sure your mule/horse is comfortable with having the...
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Lateral Flexion With A Mule
The next thing that Ty likes to do to prepare his mules for a successful ride is to work on lateral flexion. You want them to be able to flex to the left and right smoothly. It's important to note that you do not want to force this. Simply fix it up, and let him find it.
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Ground Driving A Mule
Now it's time to start ground driving. Make sure you have enough rope to put some decent distance between you and the mule. Ty will start off this exercise with a halter, and then he will work his way to using a snaffle bit.
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Introducing A Snaffle Bit
Once your mule does pretty decent ground driving with a halter, go ahead and put him in a snaffle bit. Ty has done a few things to prepare the mule to take the bit, but he still has some resistance to it. Ty demonstrates a few tips and exercises you can use to help your mule/horse to accept a sna...
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Lead By The Feet
Another exercise that can really help your mule is leading by the feet. This will help if they ever get their feet caught up in a fence or some wire. This will teach them not to panic and will also teach them to give to a soft feel.
