Training Without Resistance: From Foal to Advanced Levels

by Meredith Hodges

A collection of all the information covered in DVDs #1 through #7, as well as the hardbound book Training Mules and Donkeys: A Logical Approach to Longears. Designed to be an assistant to your learning.

About the Author:

Meredith Hodges is a well-known trainer and writer on donkey and mule behavior. Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota and raised in California, Meredith has been associated with mules and donkeys for over 30 years and has been associated with horses all her life. In 1979 she started the Lucky Three Mule Ranch in Loveland, Colorado and has since studied Animal Sciences and Colorado State University. She is an animal inspector, representative and judge for the American donkey and Mule Society, and has written a successful column called "Mule Crossing" which has appeared in over ten publications internationally during the past 15 years. To date, she has also produced three books as well as a ten-disc DVD series that accompanies the books.

222 pages, Spiral-bound

First published May 28, 1999

About the author

Meredith Hodges, eldest daughter of Charles M. Schulz, lives in Loveland, Colorado. Inspired by her mother Joyce Doty, Meredith has made her mark as a breeder, trainer and international promoter of mules and donkeys for the past 37 years, and is, today, known as the world’s foremost authority on the contemporary saddle mule. She is the author of six books on training; the producer of 48 television episodes, including Training Mules and Donkeys; and is the creator of the Jasper the Mule series of children’s books and movies. Meredith’s eleven-part DVD series is the first-ever equine training correspondence course. The 127-acre Lucky Three Ranch is home to her champion mules and donkey, and is open for scheduled tours. For more information, go to www.LuckyThreeRanch.com and JasperTheMule.com. Find Meredith Hodges and Lucky Three Ranch on Facebook and Twitter.

Reviews

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a cool read! I really appreciate her unique mule-only training advice. It seems Hodges was originally trained in the English discipline (not a bad thing, just very very different from us Western riders) this gives her writing a different approach to training. Natural Horsemanship is not a part of Hodges' training and it definitely shows. She mentions things like the face tie (tying the animal's face to the hitching post by running the rope through the halter and around the rail so that the animal cannot move it's head at all) or the Scotch hobble (using a 15 ft cotton rope to tie a back foot to the neck). There are simple training methods to use to get the mule to lower it's head and keep it lowered for trimming, or even desensitizing the back legs to prevent or correct kicking. She says that mules do well with restraint, but personally, I would think it would be better to work through the problem rather than tying them up. It really just comes down to her background with horses and mules versus mine. I love the detailed sections on driving, jumping, and dressage. Being a western rider, I haven't had much experience with any of these areas and I really enjoyed learning about them! Apparently, this book came with a dvd set? I didn't receive it when I ordered this book from the library, but it would have been cool to watch the dvds and follow along in the book. I would love to have this book in my collection! Four out of five stars to Training Without Resistance.