Evening with Visiting Miniature Mule

For weeks the neighbor's miniature mule has been coming over to Bit of Honey in the morning and begging for mash.  My horses won't share with him.  It doesn't stop him from ducking under the fence at his house, trotting over, and asking me for a little something.  He spends most of his time eating from my big hay bale and traversing my north pasture.  If I try to go out and catch him, he turns around, aims a kick in my general direction, and runs home under the fences.  As soon as I ignore him, he comes right back.

This morning he had gotten a bit more adventurous and was ambling around on the county road, and roaming my south pasture.  When he saw me emerge from the house to distribute mash, grain, and morning vitamins he hurried right over, ever hopeful.  I held both ends of a lead rope which I put around a bucket on the ground with a little of Major's mash in it, and the bucket in front of the mule.  He happily marched over to the bucket to help himself, and I quickly slipped the rope around his neck.  Once he realized he was caught he immediately tried to run hard past me, but he's small enough that I could just muscle him into a hold of his head.  Then I attached a lead to his halter (he wears it all the time but the neighbor still couldn't catch him).  He wasn't happy with me, but he let me lead him into the barn and into the third stall, which normally belongs to Maya the barn cat. 

The ears that made me think he's a mule and not simply a pony

Wearing a halter and drop lead so that I can catch him when I go in

Begging for freedom

I gave him some water and a small mesh hay net to keep him busy.  He was not happy about his confinement....  he was a lone free ranger and not pleased with the accommodations.

Maya the cat wasn't thrilled, either.  Normally that's her stall where she eats her kibble and naps in a flake of hay, her way of avoiding the border collies who are constantly trying to herd her around.

the happiest face Maya could come up with for a photo

Rolling her eyes at my hospitality

I called my neighbor, who had been given this pony a few weeks ago by some either well-intentioned or diabolical people at her place of employment.  Well intentioned if they were trying to save a cute pony, diabolical if they had known how MUCH TROUBLE he was going to be and gave him to my neighbor anyway.  We all thought he was a pony since he was so furry, round, and small, and we couldn't get close to him.  Really he's not much taller than Miles the border collie.  Once I had him in my barn and performed a closer inspection it became obvious that this is no simple pony.  For one, his ears are huge.  His feet are somewhat misshapen like a miniature horse, but long and kind of rectangular like a mule's.  The dead giveaway is is voice, though.  When I talk to him he responds with a high pitched whinny, "meee heeheehee...."  and ends the call with a "honk honk".   The deep honk is his tell.  Mules and donkeys will make that noise, but not horses.

The mares wouldn't go into the barn tonight for dinner, since they knew there was something not quite horsey in that third stall.....  I had to halter them and lead them in when they usually just come in themselves.  The dogs think he's kind of fun, at least the three of them seem to be talking over the stall door.

The plan is to have a client look at him tomorrow when she comes for riding lessons.  She was thinking about getting a small equine to keep at her place anyway, and this one is pretty cute, even if he is a houdini.  We'll see how it goes, and what his name ends up being.  I would lean towards Melman or Napoleon, but that's for his new family to decide.

Yes, Highboy is really that big.

Highboy asking about the visitor in the other barn