A rose by any other name...

My first post on this board! I'm scheduled for open RNY Nov. 26th. I am SO looking forward to spring, now. I bought a mule in June and haven't even ridden her yet! She is maybe 13.3 hh, seal bay. She has a lot of quirks-her feet, her poll, dogs, cats, and whichever horse is near her food. She came from an auction and the coggins said she originated from Missouri. Perfect place for a mule to come from. But, by golly, I plan to ride in the spring! I can't comfortably get in the saddle, get on or off, and I look like Humpty Dumpty up there. I'm hoping some of my balance comes back when some pounds come off. We sold 2 QH geldings this spring. Great horses, but we just weren't riding and they were going to waste. They went to good homes. And we have 2 small ponies that we PLANNED to drive-best laid plans... Our daughter and son-in-law have horses here, also, a standardbred mare and her 3 year old colt, a 6 year old paint gelding, and the sweetest donkey ever. They just got a 4 month old Shire/QH filly who's gonna be BIG, but she's a sweet baby right now. Glad to know there are horse people out there. Oh, sorry I came here to talk about a mule, but she's half horse, right? Best, Janice

Welcome, Janice, and best wishes on your surgery. I was amazed how fast my balance came back as the weight came off. And the stamina- I could ride all day now and never get tired. I've just recently sold my (bad-tempered) warmblood mare and purchased the sweetest appendix QH gelding. I can't wait to get off work every day so I can go ride him, even for just a few minutes when time is tight. Teddy is only 6 years old, and tries very hard to be good. The only problems we've had have been training issues, and he has learned quickly. I can't wait for spring either, so we can get out of the ring and back on the trails! All the best, Deb

Hi Janice, I have never rode a mule before, but I'm sure she will work out just fine. Has anyone else ridden her? I bet she is really pretty. Jeannie

Hey Janice! My brother-in-law used to have a mule that was gaited, he was seal brown too, very protective of his pasture and the mare he shared it with--when she had her last foal, had some problems as the baby was huge but stillborn. Ramses (the mule), kept the dogs and coyotes away til we got there, and then politely let us do our job. My brother-in-law just didn't have time to ride him, but enjoyed him immensely! We sold our last 2 horses in June, at the time we realized we hadn't ridden them in nearly a year. My mare went to Georgia to live with a 12 year old girl who thinks she's the best thing God ever put on this earth. My hubby's horse staye local, going to work as a turnback horse at one of the local cutting horse facilities. We have 2 daughters, both freshmen in highschool (one is my daughter that DH adopted and the other is my youngest "bonus" daughter-I detest the word "step") they are 2 months apart. We figure when they graduate from highschool we'll get some more horses. This the first time in over 30 years that no one in our family has had a horse. It's pretty strange, but I sure don't miss having to feed in the winter time! Your balance will come back with the weight loss, but your center will be in a whole different place. If you're like the rest of us, you put the weight on gradually enough that you could adjust your balance as you gained. You'll lose the weight a whole lot faster and it will be harder to get your balance, just stick with it! Monica