It’s
been decades since the mule and
donkey were rescued from the brink of
oblivion in Canada and the United States
Iand given a new lease on life as compan-
ion, work and show animals. Interest in these
intelligent equines continues to grow, and
today more people want to know about these
wonderful animals.
For more than 25 years Meredith Hodges
has worked diligently and creatively to promote
mules and donkeys. She has produced a full
library of training materials recognized as being
among the very best available, and she has
served as an outspoken advocate for the proper
care and training of these animals.
Hodges has not only produced outstanding
mules, she’s also worked tirelessly to turn them
into skilled, obedient companions. Over the
years, Hodges has developed a comprehensive
training program for
mules and donkeys and
shared it with thousands
through her award-
winning books, videos
and television series.
Hodges’ father was
famed cartoonist Charles
M. Schulz. “My father
taught me to find my
special talent and then
follow that path,” she
recalls. “Give it every-
thing you have and
simply with the passing of
the years, you will be-
come the expert.”
In 1973, Hodges went
to work as an assistant
trainer at Windy Valley
Ranch, a spread owned
by her mother, Joyce
Doty, in Healdsburg,
Calif. She also worked as a psychiatric technician at Sonoma
State and
Napa State hospitals studying the behavior
modification techniques she would later apply
to her animals. In 1980, she moved and
bought a 10-acre farm in Loveland, Colorado.
Word of a “Lady Muleskinner” able to get
remarkable performances from her equines
spread quickly, and soon she had as much
business as she could handle. In 1981, her
birthday gift from Mom was Little Jack Homer.
And with him, she began a successful breeding
program. Foaled in 1980, it’s believed his
ancestry can be traced back to the original
breeding stock on George Washington’s
Mount Vernon farm. “L.J. has produced some
of the finest mules in the world with incredible
consistency,” Hodges says.
Hodges knows well what to consider in
order to produce a high-quality mule. “I have
bred mules from Quarter
Horses, Appaloosas,
Arabians, Thorough-
breds, draft mares and
Trakehners,” Hodges
says. “Each horse breed
offers a different type of
athletic ability, while the
donkey contributes
strength and intelligence.”
Judging from
Little Jack Homer’s
record, he has plenty of
both to add to the mix.
He has been trained in
English, Western, driving,
dressage and jumping,
earning renown as the
only formal jumping
donkey in the world to
date and jumped four feet
in exhibition at Bishop
Mule Days in 1991.
Hodges has also reared and trained some top-performing mules
such as
Lucky Three Sundowner, Third Level Dressage
champion; Mae Bea C. T., who took a first
place at the Abbe Ranch Horse Trials against
56 horses in the Novice division; and Lucky
Three Ciji, who was crowned International
Side Saddle Organization Champion, National
Reserve Champion and ’92 Bishop Mule Days
champion in sidesaddle.
By 1983, Hodges had an extensive list of
folks waiting for her to train their mules. She
knew she couldn’t get to all those animals in a
reasonable time and other qualified donkey and
mule trainers were in short supply, so she wrote
a book, “Training Mules and Donkeys: A
Logical Approach to Longears.” That volume
was followed by three more books, a series of
10 videotapes and 27, half-hour TV programs,
co-produced with MediaTech Productions,
based in Fort Collins, Colorado.
The videos in particular were a way to get
useful information into the hands of the owners
and get them involved in the training process,
Hodges says. “I considered doing clinics like so
many trainers do, but I figured I could reach
more people through a video and book training
program,” she says. “It’s so critical that
the
person who will be working with the donkey or
mule be involved in the training. Mules and donkeys bond to
those who train them, and
without that bond, you won’t have an animal
you can rely on. I suppose you could say I have
established the first correspondence equine
training program!”
Hodges’ training methodology is based on
the simple principle that she’s not just training
the animal, she’s building a relationship with
him. “You have to consider the psychology of a
mule,” she says. “Behavior modification
techniques work best with these smart, sensitive
animals; plenty of positive reinforcement and
only appropriate punishment is key.”
Hodges likes to equate training longears
with raising children. “In both instances, it’s
a
matter of socializing the individual,” she says.
“
We begin with nurturing, guidance, affection
and play. Then we set boundaries and intro-
duce activities that build confidence and help
that animal reach its full potential. Some days
will be for learning and some for just plain
fun.” Along the way, she says, we’re bound to
learn plenty about ourselves because animals,
especially mules, have an uncanny way of
showing us our character flaws.
Hodges’ award-winning video series covers
her training philosophy and technique in
exhaustive detail. However, if a customer does
have a question, she’s just a phone call away.
“ That’s one service that will always be free. I
figure if I’m asking people to take an interest in
these animals, I should take an interest in those
who are making an effort to train their animals
right.” The books, the videos, the TV series,
have all made Hodges something of a celebrity
among mule and donkey enthusiasts. Her
videos, rated among the best in the industry,
have won five Telly Awards and five Vision
Awards. Her book titled “Donkey Training”
earned the silver medal from the Colorado
Independent Publishers Association.
More information
www.LuckyThreeRanch.com.
Meredith Hodges
Lucky Three Ranch
2457 South County Road #19
Loveland, CO 80537
1-970-663-0066 |
