Roller's Philosophical Friday: Elves and Agility

Greetings my Muleteer friends!  I did not blow away in the storm!  I faced the storm head on (from the comfort of my stable :-) and had a lovely sleep while the wind howled, it was a little like a Roller lullaby!

My muleteer companions have been making comments about my ears (or lack of) this week... I think this is because mine did not blow around in the wind like theirs, now that my winter coat is almost fully through it is just that it's more difficult to see them.  In reality I think my ears are like those of elves, they are perfectly pointed at the top with the rest being hidden.... they might be magic ears :-)  Another thing that elves are also famed for is their agility to leap around and be stealthy.... I thought I'd give it a try and test out my agility with some stretches.  I look proficient hey?  But in the end I got a bit tired and had to have a little snack and sleep so may need to save my elfish impersonation until next week when I'm feeling better rested and more satisfied.

Until then I shall keep focusing on the quote which I think describes me rather well.... or at least who I'd like to be!

Elves are like trees, grounded and focused from the trunk down but graceful and agile on top (not to mention handsome ;-)
Orlando Bloom

Winning Mule

Winning agility mule!

My attempts at human training are coming on well!  After reading all about what FH really thinks of me  (I knew she was soft on me really....) I decided that I should take our training to the next level and enter her for an agility competition.

Whilst the competition was called 'Horse Agility' I shall rename it 'Human Agility', FH has named it 'Mule Agility'.  Honestly I think she just tries to deflect pressure from herself on to me!

So the Dragon mobile arrived and I hopped on board without any problems..... I had plans for my day out....

Hello fans, nice to see you all.  There were lots of handsome short ears to chat with and show off in front of.  They had all brought a human with them too, some had even brought two (not sure I could cope with two humans, one to train is quite enough thank you!).  

So we had a little practice,   I got FH through the flappy curtain once she'd decided it wasn't a human eater....

Then over some poles, through and hoop and over a jump, backed over the poles, controlled FH's paces (impossible, she is too slow and prone to stopping for a little rest....

Then I loaded myself in the trailer while FH watched (lazy human), picked my way through the 'S' bend pretending there were snake infested waters on either side, stood on the podium with all four hoofellas off the ground

Then I had a little play on the tarpaulin...again FH stopped for a little chat... honestly humans talk too much... have you noticed me?!

Then my big mule moment came when I showed FH how to play see-saw, I was not at all bothered about tottering on the plank.... FH looked alarmed!  Sorry no pics of this one... blink and you'll miss it!

Then a stop for a lunch snack.... mule cannot function on an empty tummy so I opted for the 'all you can eat grass buffet'.  FH went and ate unhealthy human food, no wonder she was sluggish!

Then my big moment!  The competition!  Gotta show those short ears how to train humans..... I gotta prove that humans are not stubborn (not all the time at least) and if you negotiate with them you can get them to achieve quite a lot.

So around the obstacles I went with mulish charm and a swish of the tail here and there to keep the human listening to me.  FH did fairly well and managed to keep her feet up with mine most of the time, she did fail to get her feet in the right place in the S bend and dropped some points but I was perfect (not meaning to be big headed of course...)!  When we'd done we patiently watched everyone else who did great (whilst eating grass ;-) and then waited for the big results!

And the winner is...... ME!!! I managed to train my human so well that we got first prize!  How about that!  My first competition and a winner :-)  It's not the winning that was good though, it was the big grin on the human's face and the fun that we had.  Secretly I quite like this human training thing, I could get used to it..... now I have to train her to provide carrots on demand, scratch my itches, tidy my room, talk to me nicely..... hmmm actually I'm not doing too bad so far am I?  

Time for home and there was just one thing left for this superstar mule to do.  Have a nice little snooze in the afternoon sun.... it's hard work training humans!

Snoozy Mule!

Have a great week muleteers, whoever said that humans were stubborn?  They're actually quite a trainable species really but I doubt they have the intelligence of us mules... ah well at least they have us to look after them :-)

Many of the pictures  in this post are used with the kind permission of Martin Lovell Photography and remain copyrighted.

Recycling - Mule Style!

Household chores are best done with mule power!

FH there is loads of trash on the floor!  Those plastic bottles need crushing and recycling.  What do you mean we gotta crush these things for the bottle bank?  Can't you humans manage to do anything without our help?  Us equines are not here to tidy up after you lot!

All of this stuff really needs sorting out.....

OK, fetch my halter FH and I'll come help you with your trash, you humans make far too much mess you know.

Hmmm I am now suspicious... this looks a lot like one of those Horse Human Agility obstacles to me?  Do you need my help again with the Human Agility? Really, those bottles are not scarey to stand on... you humans are so easily scared.

So first you need to eye up the problem...

Then you put your best foot forward, this 'Bottle Bank' obstacle is easy peasy!

It's important to crush these bottles good and proper!  The less space they take up the better.  I know they make some popping sounds but honestly FH they're fine, they won't bite you.

Best way to do it is plunge in and get all your hooves in there

Is that good enough for you?

What do you mean we need more crushing?  In that case we need to bring in the heavyweight.... errrm  Roller!  We need your little feet for a task.  

Here I am! Mmmmm do you know what Dragon?  Some of these bottles have had apple juice in them, yummy, can I eat them please?  

Crush them?  Oh if I must.... This is kinda fun actually...

Errrm what am I doing again?  I seem to have fallen asleep a little bit....

Oh yeah, squashing for recycling, my tiny hooves are great for the job!

I like this recycling agility thing, it's so much fun!  There is only one thing better than recycling fun....

Striking a pose for the ladies!

Recycling all done, human trained for agility just that little bit more... she's coming along nicely!  Must be time for some sunbathing and a snooze now?

Curtain Call

Dearest Muleteers, I have FH in training for Human Agility.  We are due to attend some fun agility days later this summer and I've decided she needs some practice so that it's not all a big shock for her.  I summoned MH and instructed him to build me a curtain obstacle.  "Trot on MH" I said, build it big and strong and with lots of flappy curtain bits, no stinting, if I want it, I want it to be proper!

My curtain was duly construtcted (well done MH I send you neighbrays of thanks) and I decided upon a windy evening for its first outing.  Every Actress has a few butterflies before her 'Curtain Call' but not me.  Look at FH's face though, she looks confused, "who me? walk through this curtain, I do not think so Dragon"  I am a true Leading Lady and am relaxed and have no such thing as nerves.  This curtain thing? Seen it all before.... a challenging, spooky obstacle for Her Royal Highness Queen Mule? I laugh in the face of spooking!

It seems to be blowing around a lot, I'm sure it's safe FH, I think you should go first though, you could also pass me a piece of carrot. Every Leading Lady needs to be well fed and doted upon to perform at her best.

Well of course the Supporting Actress should go through the curtain first, I am not heading in to the spotlights until there's a round of applause, if there are to be rotten tomatoes thrown you can go on stage first.  What do you mean I will miss the first scene if I don't get a move on?  

Here I come!  Oh yes fans more applause for your Leading Lady.  My Curtain Call is here, stepping on to the stage of Mule Glory.  This curtain thing is a breeze, is this supposed to be difficult FH?  

Every Leading Lady must have a Leading Man..... I think The Mini might get stage fright.... I know just the Actor for the role!  Hey Roller, fancy acting?  You gotta come through the Curtain though.......

Curtain?  I admire the nice colours but it might clash with my hair... FH says it's nearly my scene though.... I am to play a handsome Hero who saves his Heroine from the evil Mule Doctor!

OK here I come, gosh it's windy in this outdoor theatre! DumdeDum, here I come ladies! Errmm I think I've forgotten my lines, good job I have the fine looks, I'm sure that works in Hollywood?!

Oh no I think I might get stuck in the Curtain...

Do these streaks look good in my hair?  I think some highlights might be nice?  

Oops Roller.... there is one very important rule of being a Leading Man..... you must never upstage the Leading Lady..... especially one as highly strung as a Dragon!

A Competition Fit for a Mule (and Mini!)

Finally we have found a competition where all equines are welcome, long ears, short ears, mule, mini, donkey, pony - we are all allowed to compete!  We don't really 'do' competition here, we know we're splendid and our human is not really bothered about proving it :-)  

But then we heard about this great sport called Horse Agility (also now known as Mule Agility and Mini Agility in our house:-), we show how clever and bombproof we are by doing an agility course, it's very exciting and there's lots of different things to do and play with.  

The best bits are:

• All equines are welcome - everyone's very excited about us mules coming out to play, there are classes for horses, ponies, minis and donkeys - and soon to be mules!

• Every month there's a different course all with exciting things to play with and learn about

• We can 'compete' by video and get lots of useful feedback

• We don't need to travel anywhere to have fun, although we can go to events if we want to

• There is no need for spurs, whips or fancy clothing (not that those things ever feature much here!)

• We don't need to be mud free to play and there's no need to tack up so we can do 10 minutes practice when the mood takes us

• It's cheap and cheerful - FH has got most of the bits we need from ebay - hooray!

• It's fun!

We've not entered our first video yet as we need to practice each element of the course before we try the whole thing... this might take a while but we're in no rush!

There are some important things we have to remember.  Loose ropes are a must, there should be no pulling or pushing from equine or human and we should have fun, fun, fun.  Commands are to be given with as little pressure as possible, words and suggestion is best.  I have been practicing my back ups and stops from sign language alone and I think I'm doing well at training my human, she's starting to learn....

So Roller and I have been practicing some of the elements of the course tonight with FH.   Tonight we were having fun with.....

The Flags

Flags are an important part of many of the courses, we have to stand between them, back through them, FH has to wave them around us and other such things.  We duly sent FH off to buy some flags and she came back with some very suitable flags with the Queen on them!  

Catanian is eager to get in on the agility thing too, I wonder if classes can include felines?! She thinks she's a mule....

Well I was very impressed by this.... there would be no spooking at her Majesty, that would be most undesirable.  So I inspected carefully and then wandered around the flags being a good muletta....

Apologies for the less than glamourous backdrop of the muck heap.... needs must!

Next up was Roller, well he was wowed by the flags and felt very patriotic.  

Neither of us could work out what the fuss was all about.  It was blowing a force ten gale, the flags were fluttering as they should.   FH said she was very proud of us, strange human, they're only flags! Easily pleased FH is....

The Tarpaulin

Tarps are also a feature of many of the courses.  FH has chosen a nice bright coloured one which is very rattly and blows around a lot if the wind catches it.  I have seen tarps before so this was no sweat for me.  FH and I are practicing our 5 second halt on the tarp, I was so chilled I had to rest my back leg... a place for a mule to dream includes a rattly tarpaulin in a gale.... I'm dreaming of dinner.....mmm

Roller hadn't seen a tarpaulin before but Roller was not to be phased by such minor trivialities, he thought he would try out his show pony stand whilst practicing his 'stand' for 5 seconds on the tarp.  Very clever Roller and aren't you handsome!

This is just the start of our adventures, there's are lots more obstacles to play with, we'll let you know how it goes.  The Mini is not so sure about tarps and flags, he is a sensitive soul, FH says she'll get to know the obstacles and learn some techniques and see what The Mini thinks later, if he doesn't want to play he doesn't have to.  

Horse Agility is open to any equine anywhere in the world so if you want to give it a try all the info is here http://www.thehorseagilityclub.com