Stubborn as a mule

By MADELINE DeJOURNETT

SEMO News Service

BELL CITY, Mo. -- Carl Cockrell has been around mules all of his life. The 75-year-old Bell City rancher takes issue with the old wives' tale that mules are "stubborn."

"Way back, maybe mules were stubborn, but over the years it's been bred out of them, " Cockrell says. "I think they're easy to work with. Dad had 'em. That's what he farmed with, so I guess mules are just in my blood."

In 2004, Cockrell began raising the animals, and he now has seven, two of which he and his daughter Deb ride. Another pair are being broken to pull a red and gold wagon sitting in his front yard with all the other paraphernalia relating to horses. Cockrell says Jerry Brown of Dexter made the wagon. He used to have two mules that pulled the wagon, but someone made him an offer he couldn't refuse, so he sold them, he says.

Cockrell recounts his history with mules.

"I had six gaited mares and a gaited jack that I kept on land I rented from Tumble Jennings," he says. "The mares all had foals in the same week."

In 2008 or 2010, he sold the mares and the jack and kept the seven offspring. One is dapple gray, like its mother and the rest are various shades of dark brown (bay) and red (sorrel). They are beautiful animals with large brown eyes and gentle manners. A visitor could swear that Cockrell's favorite mule, Stormy, could understand the praise she received for being a "pretty girl."

"It's not just me, but I believe that these mules are the prettiest in these parts," Cockrell says. He is proud of them, and for good reason.

A prior scheduled meeting with Cockrell had to be put off because of rain. It seems that the mules rolled around in the mud, and their owner just couldn't stand for them to be seen looking badly. The three hours of cleaning was well worth the effort, because the animals' coats fairly shone in the sunlight.

The females are called "Molly mules," and the males "John mules." Since they are hybrids, they cannot reproduce on their own.

Another daughter, Karen Davis, helps her father with the mules, and Lisa Kendall from Puxico shoes them.

The feed consists of cracked corn, oats and molasses--and alfalfa, "when I can get it," adds Cockrell.

When asked about whether the ride on a mule is comfortable, Cockrell speaks in glowing terms.

"I ain't been on a horse in 15-20 years," he says. "I get tired riding in a truck, but I can ride all day on a mule and never get tired. A mule is smarter than a horse, too. A mule won't hurt himself. If he sees danger up ahead, he'll stop."

Since all the mares and the jack were gaited, the mules are gaited, as well, a fact which means that the ride is a smooth -- or, in Carl's opinion, "smoother-than a horse."

In cooler weather, Cockrell rides several times a week, often going into Bell City, which is about four miles away.

On June 8, 2013, he had the unique pleasure of joining the 18-mile Danny Fleet Crowley's Ridge Wagon Train and Trail Ride, which traveled from Bell City to Paragould, Ark. Cockrell rode with them as far as the Cow Town Restaurant in Bloomfield, where the 25 wagons and outriders stopped on the first night of the trip.

His constant companion wherever he goes is his six-year-old border collie, Maggie. She rides in the truck or on the four-wheeler and follows alongside him when he rides his mule, Stormy.

"If Molly gets too tired, Dad just has her jump up in the saddle, and she rides with him," says Davis. "That dog goes everywhere with him."

Cockrell has always had border collies, which he has used to herd goats and manage any other livestock he has. His dog Molly goes with him to the mule pen and can hardly wait to join in on the moving of the animals.

"We had a border collie years ago that we got from you (this reporter). She would keep my granddaughter A.J. from getting into the road by grabbing onto her diaper!" Cockrell says. "I never had to go after the goats-I always sent that dog, and she'd bring 'em in. If she didn't come back, I knew one had its head in the fence."

Carl Cockrell's life in the country is close to the land, stringing barbed wire fencing, feeding and caring for livestock, riding his mules, and swapping stories with the neighbors who drive by on the country road through his property.

Though the work is often hard, life in the country, he says, is good.