Training Mules

Training Mules and Donkeys

by Meredith Hodges

A Logical Approach to Longears is the first complete book on mule training for novice and veteran alike. It covers all aspects of training and complements Meredith’s more detailed, resistance-free video training series. Alpine Publications.

Donkey Training

is for novice and veteran alike, covering the keys to training the donkey, emphasizing the donkey’s unique qualities. This book covers the same material as Tapes #9 and #10 of Meredith’s resistance-free, video training series. Lucky Three Ranch, Inc.

is a book on general management, training, guidelines and resources for mules. It is perfect for that 4-H project or for beginners, covering keys to raising, showing and enjoying your mule. It is a perfect complement to the resistance-free, video training series, as it covers general management in much more detail. Lucky Three Ranch, Inc.

Training Without Resistance:

is a spiral-bound collection of the workbooks from Tapes #1 through #7 of Meredith’s resistance-free, video training series and is available in English, French German and Spanish

Equine Management and Donkey Training

is a spiral-bound collection of the workbooks from Tape #8 through #10 of Meredith’s resistance-free, video training series and is available in English, French German and Spanish .

Equus Revisited

A Complete Approach to Athletic Conditioning is a paperback manual that supplements Meredith’s resistance-free, video training course

Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Meredith Hodges is the daughter of Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz and Windy Valley Mule Ranch founder Joyce Doty.

As a young girl Meredith loved horses, but her mother’s interest in mules was catching and shortly after going to work at her mother’s ranch, Meredith came down with a case of “mule fever” she’d never kick. That was more than 35 years ago. Today Meredith is widely recognized as the leading authority on training mules and donkeys. Her dedication and determination have raised mules’ standing in the equine world and, due in large part to her entrepreneurial and philanthropic efforts, longears, as they’re affectionately called, are now more popular than ever.

In 1980 Meredith moved to Loveland, Colorado, where she established Lucky Three Ranch and began her own breeding and training mules program. She paired top-quality mares with outstanding jacks to produce a line of mules exceptional in their conformation and athletic ability. She also developed a comprehensive curriculum specifically designed for training mules and donkeys and trained several World Champions using her own techniques.

Meredith’s mules have captured championship titles at mule shows throughout the West and competed successfully against horses in breed shows and in dressage and combined training. She trained Lucky Three Sundowner, the first mule ever to reach Fourth Level dressage, and she also claims the only formal jumping donkey, Little Jack Horner, who jumped four feet at Mule Celebration Days in Bishop, California.

Meredith has earned international recognition as a breeder, trainer, educator and advocate. She has dedicated her energy, her time and innumerable resources to promoting mules and donkeys and sparked renewed interest in these remarkable animals. Since 1980, she has been an animal inspector, representative and judge for the American Donkey & Mule Society (our national mule and donkey organization). For more than 25 years, her column, “Mule Crossing,” appeared in the ADMS publication The Brayer and in many other equine-related publications internationally. She and her mules have studied with some of the best equestrians in the industry, including Major Anders Lindgren (Swedish Olympic team), Denny Emerson (US Olympic team), Bruce Davidson (US Olympic team), Jim Graham (US Olympic team), Richard Shrake (AQHA Congress judge and international instructor/trainer), Pat Parelli (Natural Horsemanship), and numerous others. Her mules have appeared in the Tournament of Roses parade in Pasadena and the Inaugural Parade in Washington, D.C., and she was instrumental in the successful effort to convince the United States Dressage Federation and United States Equestrian Federation to allow mules into dressage competition.

To date, she has written six books on training mules and donkeys and produced Training Mules and Donkeys, an award-winning series of training videos. She has also produced more than 50 half-hour shows for television, including a documentary mini-series titled, Those Magnificent Mules. Her programs have appeared on the Discovery Channel, Outdoor Life Network and RDF-TV, and many are available on DVD.

Meredith’s famous father was proud of her achievements and encouraged her to write something about mules for children. So, in 2003, in his honor and with inspiration from her mother, Meredith wrote and published her first children’s book, Jasper: The Story of a Mule. The idea for the Jasper series came from a letter Meredith wrote in 1990 from a little mule abused and confused by humans. Since releasing the first book, she’s published several holiday-themed sequels including, Jasper: A Christmas Caper, Jasper: A Precious Valentine, Jasper: A Fabulous Fourth and Jasper: A Turkey Tale.

She’s also produced a half-hour, animated DVD adapted from Jasper: The Story of a Mule. The books, featuring whimsical illustrations by Tennessee Mule Artist Bonnie Shields, are designed to be both fun and educational. Meredith wrote them to help teach the younger generation about mules and to encourage compassion for all animals.

After more than three decades dedicated to training mules and donkeys, Meredith isn’t slowing down a bit. She maintains two busy web sites, www.luckythreeranch.com and www.jasperthemule.com, and spends a good part of each day responding to e-mails and phone calls from people with questions about their animals. Meredith also devotes a great deal of time to advocacy and philanthropy. She supports important equine causes such as the fight to end horse slaughter in this country, and she gives time and resources to charitable organizations such as Hearts & Horses, a Loveland-based therapeutic riding organization, which incorporates mules into its programs. She has also sponsored longears research at Colorado State University and Louisiana State University, and she continues to lend financial and moral support to the American Donkey & Mule Society. At home, her retired mule and donkey champions are now the stars of her video and television productions. Lucky Three Ranch, now a sprawling 127-acre spread, is home to 19 mules, her donkey Little Jack Horner and eight horses. It is also a showcase for an outstanding collection of longears-related art. Over the years Meredith has collected several bronze sculptures by renowned artists. The works are installed around the ranch, and Meredith displays more than 2,000 smaller pieces in her home. She has also commissioned several life-size works of her own stars, including “Lucky Three Sundowner,” “Lucky Three Mae Bea C.T.”, “Lucky Three Ciji” and “Lucky Three Eclipse” by Cheyenne artist Robin Laws and Fort Collins, Colorado, artist John Taylor, and Little Jack Horner’s “Leap of Faith,” by Bonnie Shields.

Meredith gives frequent tours of the ranch and has plans to establish the Loveland Longears Museum and Sculpture Park there. Until then, it will continue to serve as headquarters for Meredith’s diverse enterprise and inspirational mission on behalf of mules and donkeys.