Cowgirl and Buddy United
We are happy to report that Buddy, the sorrel mule who debuted at the ranch in February of 2021 is now sharing a pasture and barn with our mare Cowgirl. We wanted to wait for a few months to get Buddy used to his surroundings before putting him the in the same area with Cowgirl and her herd of sheep.
Until now, you could hear Buddy “cry” for Cowgirl across the fence line when he was sequestered from her with the John Donkeys. Whenever Cowgirl moved out of his sight or went in to the barn, he’d cry and snort for her. He’d also follow her like a puppy along the fence line and generally stay as close as he could.
We are hoping that Cowgirl will help to calm Buddy enough for us to approach him and work with his hooves and provide health checks. At present, you cannot get within five feet of him and that’s only when it’s feeding time.
As you can see from the video, we are now able to call him in to the barn (he follows Cowgirl) and he’s eating next to Cowgirl from a hanging bucket on what we are calling “his” stall. He is not comfortable going in to the stall just yet but he has no trouble going in to the barn to eat.
Another thing we are happy for is that buddy is getting along well with the sheep and he’s not bossing them around (Not that the shepherdess Cowgirl would allow that). Cowgirl seems to tolerate the mule well, but she’s playing it a bit aloof. Nonetheless, Buddy is never more than fifty feet away from her! We’re pretty sure he’s happy with this new arrangement.
