Mules have various shaped backs,
as do horses. The shape of the mule's back depends on the shape
of it's dam's back. The back of the jack is rather flat, as
compared to the horse, which has more "rock" or sway to its
back.
Another characteristic of mules
and jacks is that they are what is called "easy keepers", which
means that it takes very little feed for them to stay fat. If
mules are not ridden very often, they may get too heavy.
If you are lucky enough to have a
saddle and it just happens to stay on your mule, ride the heck
out of it and that means an hour or so in an arena a few times a
week, life is good. However, if you get out on the trail quite a
bit and notice that the ears of your mule seem to have gotten a
little closer than when you started and your reins are suddenly
much too long, then quickly find a good place to quietly
dismount in a way that your saddle does not roll under your mule
when you try to get off. Your cinch will be loose and your
saddle will have slid forward. Anybody that has ridden much will
know what kind of wreck this will cause.
Don't simply run out and buy a
britchin' or a crupper to solve the sliding problem. Either item
will help, but it takes a deeper look at what is going on here
so you can deal with this, as it comes up with different animals
in different situations.
In the above scenario, the first
thing that happened was that the saddle slid forward. Why did
that happen? The saddle was probably built for a horse, which
means that the bars of the saddletree were built to accommodate
the sway that is in the horse's back instead of the flatness of
a mule's back. Picture the rockers on a rocking chair and you
will understand what I mean. You can see this on your mule if
you will place your saddle on their back without any padding or
cinches and take a look at how it rocks back and forth. Do not
put the saddle too far forward on their shoulder blade or it
will not work and neither will the mule. The back will settle a
little when you ride; so do this before and after in order to
get a better understanding. There is less bearing surface to
evenly distribute your weight over the bars' surface as it sits
on the back and the tree or the saddle will skid along more
easily and usually move forward. A saddle with mule bars is
different because the bars are built to have less "rock" in them
and are consequently flatter than the bars built for a horse.
 |
|
The photograph
on the right is a mule tree sitting on mule's back.
On the left, the bars do not fit the back correctly
and allow too much space at the back which causes
too much weight to be carried to the front of the
mule. |
A mule can also have a back with
pronounced withers, like a Thoroughbred, or be "mutton withered"
like a burly Quarter Horse, depending on what the mule's dam was
like. What this means to a saddlemaker relates to the angle to
which the flatter bars are set. We can still use Thoroughbred
bars at ninety-five degrees on the mules, just as we do on
horses. Generally, the bars for mules are set to a semi-Quarter
Horse angle with a little more separation between the bars, like
six and one-quarter to six and one-half inches of width, which
accommodates the more fleshy or heavier wither area. The big
wide flat back mule needs a full Quarter Horse bar angle with
seven inches of width between the bars. The backs of mules are
just as different as are those of horses; they are generally
flatter like the jack that fathered them.
The other thing that needs to be
considered is where the cinch will be located in relationship to
the size and shape of the belly of the mule. A saddle can have
the front cinch far forward in a full position, back to the
middle of the seat in a center-fire position or anywhere in
between. This is where fat can get in the way.
To understand this a little
better, place your saddle on your mule where it is suppose to
be, back behind the shoulder blade and not on it. Now take a
look at where the ring that holds the latigo is located. A full
position, or Spanish rig, is under the horn or a little forward
of the horn. This is about as far forward as you can get it.
Some mules require the cinch here because their belly fat will
push it there anyway. The problem is that you may "gall" the
mule as they move and rub against the cinch and/or the buckle. A
neoprene cinch can solve the rubbing, but that material is
slippery and in other positions can move more easily than a
stranded cinch. If this happens on your mule and the rigging
position is more towards the middle of the saddle and
consequently the belly, a saddlemaker can move the position of
the ring to a full position. Otherwise, the saddle will continue
to slid forward to where the cinch wants to come to rest, in the
little hollow spot just behind the front legs. This will vary
depending on the conformation.
The rigging position should be
placed directly above this hollow spot to help keep the saddle
in place. The saddle may still slid forward, up to the shoulder
blade, but this will minimize the movement. This is where you
need a "crupper", or better yet a "britchin" because it can hold
the cinch as well as the saddle and a "britchin" adds class to
the long ears. Any rigging position that places the cinch on the
downhill side of the belly will only cause it to move to where
it will stop. If you are lucky and have an animal that is more
"hound gutted" the cinch will either move back towards the tail
or stay where you put it and not move. A breast collar is an
easy solution.
Over the years I have had an
opportunity to spend time with some of the ranchers of Baja,
California where they are just now getting roads and pickup
trucks. These hardy mountain folk have used donkeys and mules
since Cortez first settled the country and I mean literally.
This is a steep, rough and sparse desert and their stock will go
where the feed is; rounding them up can get interesting. These
are true Californians who still use the center-fire saddle
effectively. They place the cinch right in the middle of the
belly and crank it down. The cinch is only 12 or 15 strands wide
and they put it on tight and keep it there.
If you were to watch riders come
off of some of those hillsides you would not believe they could
do it, let alone keep there saddles in place. But, sure enough,
with a center-fire saddle and no crupper, britchin' or breast
collar the saddle stays in place. I think the difference is the
fat. Those mules are all muscle and have backbones and withers
to help keep the saddles from sliding around. I often use a
center-fire saddle on my mule and without a britchin' the cinch
still slides. In my opinion, the center-fire position is the
best place for the cinch because it pulls from both ends of the
saddle, which evens the pressure on the bars and back and the
cinch pull is around the belly and not on the heart and lungs.
Even though the center-fire
position may be theoretically better it is bound to cause a
wreck if it slides. In today's world, your best bet is still the
7/8 double rig. The back cinch should be used equally as tight
or tighter than the front cinch. If you do not tighten it you
might as well leave it at home. Tighten it up in a round pen at
first in case the mule needs to get use to it. Let him buck if
he needs to he will get the hang of it without you on his back.
Make sure that you have a strap between the two cinches, so that
they cannot move away from each other either forward or back.
Besides keeping the back cinch out of the flank it will keep the
front one off of the leg or shoulder. This should help to keep
the saddle from moving.
Your best bet is a lot of saddle
blankets and a little padding experimentation. Padding can often
make a bad situation better; get off of your animal once and a
while and let the back breathe. If the saddle is too tight it
can burn his back even if it does fit him well. If you have dry
spots, pad around them and see if you can make a better fit. It
is hard to go out and buy a new saddle simply because your
trainer says to. Seek the advise of those who have been there,
they can help. In the end it is up to you.
Fitting saddles to mules continues
to be a dilemma. Mules backs are generally flatter than horses
and saddles with flatter bars are better for their backs, but
all are different and need individual attention. Do what you
can, but be safe. White spots (caused by bruising) happen, but
they are not the end of the world. If they happen to you and you
think your mule is less valuable, let me know - I am always in
the market for a good mule.
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