Mule Mess

So as some of you know, animals are unpredictable! You just never know when they will get themselves into trouble.
Hank is no exception to that rule! This last week the in laws let us know that he had gotten himself mired down in a mud bog a couple of times. " Update on the mule situation: he is on all four and eating. Still acts a little tired but he will survive! Thank you Lord for answering all my prayers." "Update on mule.....we had to take him to the vet. He just wasn't acting right. He is very sore in his hips from struggling so much yesterday. He has meds and feels better. Hopefully he will let me give him his meds. He can be difficult at times." They had stuck him up in the barn pasture close to the house by himself.
Next morning rolls around: "Missing missing missing! Black mule escaped and can't be found anywhere! If you r in the area spread the word." Well as you can guess on the way to help search for Hank the mule!
MIL filled me on their search expressing that they could not find any track anywhere that they looked. So we were prepared to look at all spots starting at the point of breakout. The post had rotted completely out so he didn't have to push real hard. Best we can figure is he came out of his stooper from the drugs and figured out that he was alone. He decided to go find his pals!
Anyhow, we drove up inspecting the fence line as we came in to find a break right beside the gate. He broke out of upper pasture and made his way into the lower pasture. Tracking him all through the pasture it was difficult in the back woods to find track as the underlayment of leaves is thick. So we kept looking and calling. Now by this time FIL has come home and we are on the hunt for the poor guy. Went all over the countryside looking! About an hour had gone by after FIL got home and I expressed that I would walk back to the spot that was questionable and was positive direction in which we thought he was headed. I got back there and found hair on the post there from black mule!
Walked over the mess there at the fence that he, Hank, had to have jumped! I called out my call for him and I heard a rustling over to the right of me...I called again and heard a blowing out his nose(like they do to clear their nasal passages) and called again...more rustling....now it is thick with briars and underbrush in this area but the leaves are barely coming on so it was a little easier to look through. I saw a head pop up deep in the creek!!!
Panic set in and away I went. Called MIL to call FIL and there he was on top of the hill...I hollered I found him!!
Is he alive? Yes very much but he is bleeding out his mouth bad!! Hurry got to get him out!!

We struggled for couple hours to get him out of this mess!

this is where he got himself trapped...his chest was in this V of the tree top for hours! Every time he tried to get out he was beating his mouth against the main part of the tree...

We cut him out of this hole! You can kind of see where he stomped a spot for himself in this mess!

How did we get him out? Well FIL brought some tools to get him out. Loppers ended up being our best tool for the job. When the opportunity was right which means when Hank got another burst of energy to try to go forward FIL and I pulled as hard as we could on his lead rope (that had been put on him by climbing out on the main part of the tree) yanking him backwards. It really didn't happen as graceful as it sounds but Hanks head ended up against that grapevine you see there on the left. And his feet were out of the holes. Next we tried to figure out a way to get his head turned around...because big animals will go where their heads are pointed. Somehow, Hank ended up rolling away from this mess and out he was. Then he collapsed on the side of the bank with his nose/mouth steadying his head on the bank in the mud.

We let him rest for about 15 mins or so...didn't really want him to rest to long. You see after an exhausting fight to try to get out his muscles would stiffen then we would never get him out of that deep creek bed.
I went on a search to find an easier way out of that hole for Hank and us.

We encouraged Hank to get up and FIL walked him down the creek a little ways and away we went. It took him a few rests to get him to the top of the hill but he got out!! He was loaded into the horse trailer that the neighbor had fetched for us. Our neighbor was there helping us find Hank...we are so grateful for his assistance!
"We found him mired up again only in a different pasture. I took some pics so you can see what he did to himself. Poor baby! I have 2 pain killers, antibiotics, salve and iodine spray. We started all this tonight. Poor baby!"

Two days in a row will wear a mule out! He is a tough bugger tho'! He went straight to eating once he saw green!! Ha Ha
Anyhow, he is back with his buddies and doing great once again! We are hoping that this is the last go around for awhile!!


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