Roll has learned so much since he came to us in December of 2010 and he continues to learn more each and every day. When he first arrived, he was spooky and hid behind Rock almost all the time. Since, he has learned about how important good manners are and that he will always be treated with kindness and consideration being a part of the Lucky Three Ranch. Roll enjoys his studies of “Emily Post’s Book of Etiquette!”
Roll is not only healthy and strong at 20 years old, but his entire attitude has changed dramatically. He is calm, quiet, accepting and very careful about being around his human friends. He has been exposed to major construction and all kinds of new and potentially scary things, but he now trusts us and we trust him. Trust takes a long time to build and should not be taken for granted. Never get on your knees like this around your equine until you are absolutely sure of their good behavior and your solid relationship with them. As I said before, this takes a long time and the correct steps to reach this kind of intimate communication with your equine, but it is well worth the time invested.
Using baby oil in Roll’s mane and tail during weekly grooming has allowed his generally coarse mule mane to soften and grow long and beautiful. Mule manes are known for being really coarse and growing straight up and falling on both sides in no particular fashion. This is why they are generally roached and cut short. The fuzzy hairs at the top of his tail are now also sleek and smooth like a horse’s tail. Roll really likes looking like Fabio!
Roll really likes his farrier Dean Geesen. The founder, side bones and ring bone he experienced in all four feet has been under control since a year after he arrived and he continues to stay sound because of the strengthened core muscles and good posture training that he received routinely for 3 years.
Roll enjoys being a part of the Lucky Three Tours and loves to have his picture taken in the park with the statues! He makes quite an elegant statue himself and we couldn’t be more proud of him!
This summer’s sweltering temperatures are especially difficult for captured wild horses and burros held in BLM short-term holding facilities in the West. Although the agency requires that adopters of wild horses and burros provide the animals with shelters, it provides no shelters to the thousands of horses stockpiled in its own holding pens. In response to public controversy about horses standing in unrelenting heat and blazing sun at the BLM’s Palomino Valley Adoption Center near Reno, the agency installed sprinklers in some of the pens, but still stubbornly refuses to provide shade to the mustangs and burros incarcerated there. Now national organizations and national media are weighing in on these inhumane conditions. Please click here to read more about the efforts to force BLM to give captured wild horses and burros shelter from the elements.
We were sorry to hear about longtime mule skinner Buddie Stockwell. We appreciate all the work that Buddy put into mules in Colorado with the Rocky Mountain Longears Association. Here is one of my favorite stories about Buddy.
In the fall of 1984, Loveland, Colorado muleskinner Buddie Stockwell and horseshoer Jerry Banks, along with a few friends, decided to make a hunting trip into the Rocky Mountains. Packing in, the weather was beautiful with warm temperatures, calm breeze, and nary a hint of what was to come. After setting up camp and tending to their horses and mules, the hunters went about the business of tracking elk. Hunting was good, but after a few days, one evening brought with it an unpredictable storm of incredible severity. The hunters awoke the following morning to find their camp buried in four feet or more of snow, and with no chance of the storm lifting.
Quickly, the hunters packed up what they could on the horses and mules; tents and a lot of gear had to be left behind since time was of the essence. As they left the campsite, snow deepened and the terrain underneath was steep, rocky, and treacherous. They had only gone a short distance when the snow became so deep, and the terrain so hazardous that the horses refused to go one step farther–the horses would not blaze the trail out! Anxiety was high and the hunters were fearful of never making if off the mountain.
In the face of great danger, Buddie asked his trusted mule, Goliath, to break trail for the others, and with slow, careful, deliberate steps, Goliath led them all safely down the mountain to their trucks and trailers, which were also buried in snow. In bitter cold, they freed the vehicles, loaded them up, and made their way back to the lowlands to safety. The storms on the mountain worsened, and it was spring before Jerry and Buddie could return for the rest of their gear–but both men and their friends were grateful to Goliath for leading them down the mountain to safety.