I love Charles. He is brave and strong. I hope the clever cowgirl will buy him. Can you please tell her to buy him and tell everybody else to tell her to buy him too. He is such a good boy, and he should have treats all the time. I love him.=
Mules and donkeys have a finely honed sense of self preservation: they won't do anything they feel will threaten their safety. That's what makes them good mounts but that's what also gives them an undeserved reputation for being stubborn. Horses can be coerced into doing something unsafe but a mule won't give in to a human's bad judgement. Nice trail ride, thanks for taking us along.
I'd have to lash my one dog to the back of the saddle because she has the impulse control of a toddler in a candy shop. And believe me, I've been working on her for 8 years. It's been a struggle. My other dog I think she'd be fine. She's got good recall. The only command that she has never really gotten down was stay but she does stick right with me.
It makes me so happy to see well behaved dogs in public! The last trail I went on a lady’s doodle was barking and going crazy and she did nothing besides scream and say “he’s friendly” as he growled at us and barked.
I once knew an old timer that used to go to the auctions in Baton Rouge, LA during the 40's, and he always grabbed the white mule if he could. They had to be ridden back to the farmers in St. Amant, LA, and that meant riding through the night at a time when there were no streetlights. He got the white mules so he would stand out at night, so no one would hit him! That's a fine white mule you have there.
@@SocialShires I know! I had a white Arabian and Quarter horse mix, she ran with the cows and at night she was the only thing you'd see, but she was surrounded by cows.
Thanks! Although I won’t be a regular contributor (I’m 77 years.old and on Social Security, I wanted to thank you at least this once and tell you how much I enjoy accompanying you on your adventures! 🥰
OMG! The bridge terrified me just watching. I would have walked on the trail before riding a horse on that bridge! Wonderful, soulful Charles knew exactly what he was doing. Thank you for sharing your trail ride with us. It was so much fun!
Charles is so much like the only mule I ever knew very well. When I married into a North Georgia mountain family, I was introduced toa 30-year-old huge white mule named Ed, retired from the farmwork and king of the barn. He was gentle and kind but devoted to Grandpa Duke and had no plans to change anything about his life at that late stage of his life. What a character!
Thanks for taking us along on this magical ride. It is so nice for you to have such good friends to experience these things with. The choice of music was perfect, as always.
Charles was a champ, what a calm sturdy trail mule! I rode over a similar bridge up in the North Cascades on a 4 day pack trip many decades ago, I remember how apprehensive I was with the low railing and the movement of the bridge. Most of the trail was sketchy and one of the pack horses fell off the trail and was thankfully wedged against a tree about 25 feet down, which kept him from falling to certain death. He had spooked at a bear that popped up on the opposite side of the trail and caused a rodeo. We got to the camp site in the pitch dark because it took so long to get the pack horse unloaded, back on his feet, pulling/pushing him back up to the trail and then reloading him. Miraculously he was still sound. My mare was a dream ride the whole trip, we even led in the worst sections even though both of us were the youngest. What memories.
Mules are excellent trail animals. Mules however generally require britchen because of the way their shoulders work. Mule shoulders are like donkey shoulders where they go up and down rather than back and forth. Saddles on horses tend to slip backwards which is why you have a breastplate but saddles on tend to slip forward which is why you need to have britchen. The tunnels you were going through are old abandoned rail tunnels. They were designed to carry lumber and supplies through the mountains to mining settlements. And
I grew up in Missouri and we are very proud of our big mules. They're such good animals - smart, sure footed and brave. And cute too with those big ol ears! This ride looked like so much fun.
Wow...that bridge made my head swim. No joke. Glad everyone made it safe and sound. I never realized how important it could be to keep some emergency saddle bags in the truck, packed with water, chompies, a flashlight and a pair of warm gloves. The pups were awesome partners on this lovely adventure.💙💙💙 Love your channel.
Thank you so much for taking us along!!! I haven't been able to ride for years. Spectacular views and the best moderator anyone could ask for. Thanks CC
I can’t believe how wonderful it is to go for a ride with you! I’m 86 and long past my riding days because of back issues and it revives all sorts of wonderful memories to go riding vicarously. I used to be able to take my dog with me, but that was 55 years ago. Way more people and tougher rules about dogs makes it impossible now.
You scored the absolute best mount in the bunch with Charles the long ear. Nothing better than a mule on a trail ride through mountains. I'm so jealous. ❤
My uncle used have mules that he used for field work this was in the 1960’s and he always let us ride them. They were great fun they were big boys too.
Thanks for bringing us with you! I miss riding so much and would love to see more content like this. Congrats on your silver play button too, you deserve it!
Great video. Thank you for taking us along. The dogs made me tired just watching them, but it looked like they were having a great time. You should consider rescuing a mule. They are smart and require kindness in their training so your methods are perfect.
Highly dubt the mare was an Appaloosa since his tail and mane was nice and thick and usually and especially with a donkey their tail is going to be sparse. This mule had a nice tail and mane and I did not see any of the usual Appaloosa markings. I mean it’s possible but I don’t think so at all with this one !
❤WOW CHARLES - SO COOL! What a great trail ride from starting out with sun, blue skies and just a bit crisp. Then, by magic, a winter wonderland.....beautiful! Now then, the DARK TUNNEL.....Charles looks a little FREAKED.....His head came up, boy his ears are twitching all over the place, but he was a good boy & made it thru. Yes, re-hab a mule...I love mules...If you gain their trust, they are extremely sweet, loving & loyal!❤. Thanks for the trail ride! God bless...😊❤😮❤😅❤😊
What a gorgeous ride omg! I absolutely love your trail riding videos! And I can’t thank you enough honestly, I used to ride when I was small, but watching your videos has made me miss being around horses so much that I’m trying to get back into it again.
That was so awesome thank you so much for taking us along on your adventure. I would definitely like to see you get a donkey I mention that to you before but you did say they would make to much noise
Thanks for the ride! Beautiful. I seldom go to the mountains since I stopped skiing, this reminds me of those times. Those dogs are amazing, I’m tired just watching them.
I cannot get over the splendid beauty of Montana you are riding through, never having been in the mountains out west there, living in the East as I do. I especially appreciated the scenes from the bridge and around the bridge. There is just nothing like this in the East. It must have been a beautiful ride!
I was so happy to see that there was a new CC video and this one, as always, was terrific. Charles was great and those dogs were amazing. Great end to a Sunday evening. Thanks so much for sharing a ride with all that wonderful scenery.
Butte, America! ♥️ I’m impressed - those tunnels are DARK (we wear headlamps when we do them on our bikes). And there are some steep drop offs on that old rail bed. Beautiful views too. Thompson Park is pretty awesome, glad you were able to ride it!
I pick them up to rehab from time to time. I dont have enough for a mule to do . They really do thrive when they get to do some time of work, even when older.
I'm just going to say it - Charles is braver than I am. No way would I walk through those dark tunnels. And no WAY would I have done that bridge. It gave me the shivers just looking at it!!! Great and beautiful content, CC. Really cool to see trails in Montana.
That was a perfect Halloween season trail ride. Those tunnels were extremely spooky, and that bridge was hella frightening! Charles and the other horses did an awesome job navigating the trails! I see why you're reluctant to leave Montana. The scenery is breathtaking! ❤ 🎃 🫏
