Bear Grease - Ep. 320: Render - Ada Mule Sale Trail Course

Episode Date: May 7, 2025

On this episode of the Bear Grease Render, join host Clay Newcomb live at the Ada Oklahoma Mule Sale. Listen along as Justin Kelso and Max Bishop watch the Trail Competition course and describe the qualities of what makes a good mule and what they specifically watch for when looking for one to buy. If you have comments on the show, send us a note to [e-mail] Connect with Clay and MeatEater Clay on Instagram MeatEater on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, and Youtube Clips MeatEater Podcast Network on YouTube Shop Bear Grease MerchSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Built to perform, built to last. Check out. First Light's new field. Worldware Gear at firstlight.com. My name is Clay Newcomb, and this is a production of the Bear Grease podcast called the Bear Grease Render, where we render down, dive deeper, and look behind the scenes of the actual Bear Grease podcast. Presented by FHF Gear, American Made, Purpose Built, Hunting and Fishing Gear that's designed to be as rugged as the places we explore. Welcome to Ata Oklahoma.

Welcome to Ato Oklahoma. That's right. You know what to do. Yeah. Welcome to the Bear Greece Render. This is unusual Render. We're in the field. And where are we at, Justin?

Aida, Oklahoma, the Oklahoma mule sale. The Aida mule sale. Yes, sir. So I've got, to my left right here, I've got Justin Kelso, whose family has been involved in this mule sale since the beginning. Yeah, since your cell. Yes, sir. And then to your left. It's Max Bishop.

I just met today, but I've known about you for years from Arkansas. We're still trying to decide if is infamous or famous. We're not sure. It's definitely infamous. Yeah. Well, Justin, tell us what we're watching. So if you're watching on YouTube, you're going to see us talking about. You're also going to see an arena with some mules out there.

Tell us what this is, Justin. What this is, we started a catalog or a consignment portion of this sale so you can have a preview of the mules at home that's, at least of those are coming here, plus whatever else is checked in as an open consignment after these. And when we've done that, we decided these mules, if you're going to come here, expect them to get more money, instead of bragging on how broke the are, let's show how broke the are. So we, a very simple trail course, got a few obstacles, nothing too scary, nothing too serious. every year we had or take away something it's just to show how broke your mule is I mean it's it and everything you encounter I mean we've got pool noodles here I've been riding a lot

in the back country and trail riding I've never encountered a pool noodle away from the house So what they've got is they've got a little rack with pool noodles hanging down from it on strings and you ride your mule through the pool noodles and if you've ever been around equine animals you know that they're prone to be scared of just about anything

And while this is a judged course, we give a prize to the winners and that kind of thing. It's not so much to win the trail course is to sell your mule. And so today's Thursday. Take a look at this one here. That's Coltrane's. Now, he's going to have a really quality meal. Hey, will you pull your mic up a little bit, Max? Yeah.

There you go. Okay, so that's Coltrane mule company. Now, see, like, it's a little thing, but so when you go down there, you get mounted on, well, he stood on that block, snapped his fingers, that mule aside, passed over him. picked him up. So what that tells us is though, not only is this meal general, but like he's actually taking Tom to actually train this meal. He's invested

some time. He raised it. It's out of his own stock. So this is going to be one of the qualities. So you know this trainer. He's become a here. He's well-known. And so he's showing what he's spent like probably a year on this meal doing to bring to this cell

to get the maximum amount of money. And so that's this course is. Today's Thursday, Saturday's the sale. So Saturday there's a live auction. Yep, yep. And we've already talked about that, some on the past Bargeridge podcast, but, but, so this guy right here, where's he from?

He's from Northern Missouri. I forget exactly what. He's up around Columbia, I think, in that area. Kevin Coltrane, his wife's Brandy, they've been coming here for a while, and they go to all the other sales too, and they'll have two or three in every sale. Like Max said, 90% of them they raised. They've known these meals all their life. And they, like I sell off my farm.

They generally don't. Like, as a matter of fact, I just had some people come buy some meals from me that tried to buy these mules from him last week. And he went to sell them. He said, they're already unsell. They're consigned. We can't sell them. And he actually told him to come down there and see what I had. So he don't want to deal with the public.

And so he can consign them to the Kelsso sale. And the Kels are going to market them nationally. They're going to have an internet. So people are going to be here, but it's also on the Internet. And so this guy can get the maximum amount of money for his mule without having to deal with the public. And there's a huge advantage of that. Yeah. Now, Max, tell me, tell everybody what you do, like what's your job.

Oh, I deal with the public. Well, no, but I mean, you're a meal, you're a meal man. You sell mules for a living and have for a long time. Well, the easy ones, or if I buy this meal, then all the things I have to do is to be able to out-market coal train. He's already done all the work. So you're going to buy it at his top dollar, but then. I'm going to out-marketing.

Because he don't want to deal with the public, and I will. No, that. Max, most likely, has customers he sold one of his meals to, before. Yes, I have. Pick up the phone, hey, I got another co-trained meal for you. Exactly. The meal sold.

I mean, over a phone call, it probably gets it done right away. Right. If the mule fits what the guys or women's looking for. So we, I have mules that's never been rowed before, and we'll get them, we'll have to do the full process, but you're talking about months of time of training. And then I've got, I've got mules that I'll get that maybe they've let it get buddy sour, maybe it has some kind of problem. We'll have to fix a specific problem, and then we can sell it.

sometimes we buy the mules from the Amish and again they've done a lot of their work they just don't have Facebook so we can we can out market them so I do everything from marketing them to just the full on train to fix them problems but like in this case at this sale while I'm here at like Jody and Justin's and Johnny's cell is that there will be quality meals like Coltrane's that he won't sell you off the forum and I can come here and buy them and then I can market them and put the work in the same instance on the flip side of what Kevin doesn't want to deal with the post public, you have people wanting to buy a meal that don't want to come to the auction. Yeah. They want to deal with Max or Justin or Jody or Johnny, whatever the case may be. Yeah. They don't want the fast-thinking auction style. So Matt's can, they're going to pay Max a premium. They know they're paying him a premium.

Okay. And they can come to my house. They can ride it two or three days, whatever they want to do. I got really good trails in my house. There's 21,000 acres right across the road from me. And they, instead of, they got two minutes to bid. Right. They can come down there and they can ride it, make sure this meal likes them.

It fits them. Yeah. And they can do that. What do you call yourself if somebody says, what do you do for a living? It's Max Bishop Mule Company. Well, but I mean like, more like an elevator pitch. I mean, would you say you're a mule trader? Would you say your mule salesman?

Would you say? Well, what I did. Because there's other people like you in the country that buy and sell mules. Well, my deal was I used to train mules and horses for the public. That's all I did. So I was a trainer. But then you've got to deal with these people don't ride. They're not putting their time in.

They're not invested in their self. And so you'll get their mule trained or their horse trained. And then they still suck it riding. And so then they're, blaming you and then you they want a video every day and they're on their time schedule and like how's my meal doing and they want it all done in 30 days well when i finally got enough money and stuff set up for i could just i can pick out the quality meals that i want i know what it's a good mule i can pick out the ones that i want to train i want to work with on my time and my schedule

and then sell it and and so like i was charging them a thousand dollars a month to train a mule well i can buy a mule here for six thousand or seven thousand dollars and ride it two weeks and make $8,000 and not get buck thrown or kicked because it was already a nice mule. So you just said something. I heard did ride it a lot for the public, but some, you know, you need a little extra cash, so have a little extra time. Somebody got a coat one broke out or something. Yeah, I'll ride it.

I quit doing it. And I wouldn't tell anybody I wouldn't do it. I just kept raising my price until they stopped paying me. But the problem was, like what I'm saying, you ride something 30 days for them, get doing everything. And it may take me 45 days to get that 30 days of riding in. But what I would do is, I would say, it may take me 45 days, get your 30 days of riding in, but it's going to do this, this, and this when I'm done.

It's going to cost you this money. They get it home. They turn it out for three months. Don't ride it. Don't ride it. Don't touch it. Feed it. Then call me, hey, this thing buck me off.

Well, what have you done? Well, it's the first time I rode it. I'm sorry. Yeah. And it just gets so disgusted with it. I mean, the last horse I rode for the public. wasn't even broke the lead, still running with his mother's two years old. Two year old passed, like two and a half years old.

Not been broke to lead or anything. I get this thing right. It never done thing with me. My wife calls me, because it come to find out, it was her cousin's husband's family that owned the horse. And all her uncles and brother, it bucked everybody off. She said, you're going to ride us? No. He never bucked with me.

Why would I go try to prove myself on something I've already done? And they waited a year to ride it. That's not my fault. That's their fault. So I wouldn't have got on him one time for $600 at that point. Max, I saw you writing something down. Do you see something you liked out there? Well, the one that the Wild Bunch had, you could tell, was doing pretty good.

He was one hand-ranged it through the whole deal. So, of course, like when he went through everything like that, he didn't have to use two hands. It's obviously got a handle. Yeah, well, we got interrupted by technical issues, but that was Mark Bailey, the Wild Bunch horse mule company, and they helped us Kelsos put the same. that alone.

Oh, okay. But they, he's a hand. I mean, it's just, there's no other way to say it. Yeah. Very good roper. He's just a cowboy. And when I say cowboy, I'm talking about this rough, Browdy, he knows what he's doing.

He knows he's a trainer. He's, he's a roper. He's the whole package. And by saying anything he's had very long, if he's had it very long and worked with it very long, it's kind of me he was talking about earlier. Don't waste your time on the sorry ones. If that thing's not responding and not going to respond to stuff, why waste your time?

Go get you something better. And so if he spends very much time with one, it's all right. And then vice versa with this one. So you've got this one here. It's got no bit in its mouth. So, you know, it's got a hackamore gadget type thing. So you know it's probably slinging its head. And then, you know, like he couldn't do this obstacle here.

He can't do that an obstacle there. He went around that obstacle there. So, you know, you've got a mule that's basic. Basic. You know, it's not, it didn't buck. him. It didn't hurt him. But, and there's a place for this mule. Yeah.

But it's just not going to be. It's not going to bring the high dollar. No, and it's not going to be as proper. So what do, what would you say for somebody that was wanting to get their first animal? I mean, I talked to a lot of people that are like, I've been around equine animals, some, but never owned one. And they'd want a mule. The first thing, safe.

Safe disposition. And if you'd never own one, don't come to docks to buy one. I mean, seriously. spend the money to go to somebody's house and somebody like Max or us I mean we got them there at our house, Kelsoomules.com, come to our house. Go find you somebody you trust, go to their house, spend a week there if you need to. If you're a good person and you're willing to work, most sellers will work with you on something like that.

I'm uncomfortable. I don't know what I'm doing. Can I come out and try this meal for so long? And ride with a person that owns it that knows the buttons, knows the issues, knows the vices. Because like we talked about in the other podcast, you're dealing with something that God give its own mind to. It's got its own fears. It has its own lot. This is not a four-wheeler.

That's right. So go spend some time. If you know what you're doing, maybe you don't need that. But when you're buying an animal and you don't know what you're doing, get some help. Don't be too proud to ask for help. Now, what are you seeing in this meal, Max? Pretty basic. You got the same thing here.

You've got a hackamore, so, you know, it's not broken through the bit. And that's the style of bit that's... Yes, there's nothing in his mouth. Oh, there's nothing in his mouth. No, it's just on his nose clamping down. But you see, as soon as he picks the reins up, this thing immediately goes looking up in the air. See? So every time, so you've got no control over it to a degree.

Yeah. Now, I want to add to what you're saying there just a little bit, Max. There's a guy he's dead now from southwest New Mexico or southeast. See how southwest. He's in the Gila. His name just debated me. Max Harsha, and he had a combination bit with a nose band. Myself, I don't like them.

That's just me. It's kind of a, some people, it is kind of a gimmick. Don't get me wrong, when a mule responds that Max Harser bit well, it responds real well. But it's not a be-all, end-all. Bits are not, it are so different than the other piece of equipment you're going to use. But there are certain people get hung up on something that worked. And they just keep using it. just got to keep using it. Once again, we're dealing with an individual. You're not dealing

with a full-wheeler that's mass-produced and everything's just a lot. Maybe this mule will ride with a bit. Maybe, maybe, maybe not. We don't know. I mean, we're looking at the first time I've seen the mule, so I don't know. But also the flips, and I'm not arguing Max on what he's saying, but the flip side, this guy, maybe he rides everything with a hackamore. Right. So you don't. So you're trying to, we have to try to decide, is it the mule or is it the rider? Right. Yeah. And we've got to watch the response. And like with the, And that's a big old pretty mule. Yeah.

And the mule trotted down in a real straight line. So, you know, you can tell it's probably good and sound and all that. And he just trotted what he's going to do. And then it started acting up with the v. I noticed, well, when he come right here, he kind of cut kind of quick right here when he turned. And not a, I wouldn't call the mule fly to your unsafe, nothing like that. I don't know. I mean, what I seen looked safe.

But I could tell that you had to, that was a mule that if, if that had been a greenhorn riding this wheel right here when he comes to this obstacle, this L right here, they had it back through. If I had been a greenhorn, that mule would have made some more steps. So it looked to me, that guy knew the mule was going to spook just a little bit. Now, this is Todd D. John from Iowa. Really good hand. I've known Todd for 30 years. He'll have some pretty nice mules.

Now, what's he done? Is he shaved that mule's head? All right, that's, this goes back. So that we're looking at a mule that there's a distinct line. Looks like it's... Yeah, his head's been clipped. Been clipped. They're not sheep's shared, but they're the same, different,

blaze, but same styles of sheep shearers. Is that just a stylistic thing for showing? That started, that started on draft mule coats. They would shear their head because a mule is a donkey or jack has, has real heavy eyebrow, bone eyebrows. And so you take a coat that maybe just a little bit, we call it being rough over the eyes, a little full over the eyes. We take a coat's got hair on it, maybe hair on it four inches long, and it's sticking out.

Well, that hair, like a hood up her almost. I mean, it really makes them not, that just shows how clean the mule's head is. I see. So it's just kind of showing it off. And it's went from there. I hate having a ride mules head. I hate it. However, some mules, while I stop there, if you're going to do that body clip thing, which I'm totally against.

But in my opinion, but it does, I mean, that makes her, if you got, if you got it, she's tight-haired enough she didn't need it. But some people just grew up, seen it done. Yeah. Now, so you guys are, you're looking at a lot of different stuff, Max. You're looking at the tack. You're trying to discern if this rider is able. You see how it.

Well, that's the thing. See, in this case here, see how it's gaping his mouth open and pulling back. But we know for a fact that that is a good runner. See, like on the other one, we were like, well, we don't know if it's this mule or is it this guy because we don't know the guy. We know that if that mule won't back up with his head down, collected a thing, it ain't his fault. because you know this guy

and me and me and we was talking about earlier and know the podcast about oh he can't get to go through the pool noodles right but he's done he done what he should do he's not trying time go around it now what why is he selling this meal

this is a good meal trainer he yeah he sells if I had to guess let's see here if I had to guess it's probably one that he's riding for somebody else two degrees his charity so Max is looking like in the catalog He works instruction, but he'll ride a few mules of the evening and go to some sales.

So you might buy that meal, Max, and take it home and ride it for 60 days and really tune it up, and it's a sharp-looking mule. I mean, it needs a little more. Am I right? Yeah, but once again, maybe the same situation. Even though Todd's a good hand, maybe Max has got a bit that fits that mule better. And me personally, I think every ride mule should be born with a Cavassau. Yes.

That cavasaw is a nose band with a head stall on it, just a simple. and it keeps them gap in her mouth open. And what they're doing when they gap that mouth open or trying to get away from the bit. Now, if you've got one on, you need to be smart enough not to have too much bit in their mouth. You know what I'm saying? Because then you're fighting against one another.

Yeah. But every mule should be born with the kavasol. Hey, now this, that's a flashy mule. What's a flashy mule, max, when people say that? It's got chrome on it like that. Color. Or really good disposition. But the stock and legs,

that meal's got some eye catching. Is that going to be a good sale of mule because of the way it looks? y'all don't like it i don't it has a color that doesn't have a confirmation oh does it not no

I'm sitting here with two guys at a lot flashing mules I don't I'm a sorrel and bay guy and what bats means here this meal she's well made she's not thick made though I mean she's

she's got a well-rounded hill now what what consequences one not being thick and not having a lot of muscle. I mean, is that not going to be, but I'm saying like on a trail ride, you're not going to know the difference

between that one and one that weighs 200 more pounds. Are you? Depends on what you know. Yeah. That's what you're used to. Take your four-witters. If you know this four-witter will do more, but you always grew up on this smaller four-willer that you always able to get done what you want to done,

that bigger folder may be intimidating to you. You see what I'm saying? Yeah. But a guy that knows the difference of what job application go or pickup all right you grew up driving a half-ton truck all your life you only have a bumper pool trailer or a boat whatever the case may be this does what i want to do yeah taste man max he's got a goose neck trailer he's got to go down a row with eight to 10 mules in it that half-ton truck is no good to him but if so if you're used to a meal that's got a little more body a little more size to it and maybe do you think that's a young mule i have not 10 years old

10 years old 10 so that meal's full grown it's done yeah it's been done you're going to buy that meal I mean, I probably would... This is going to come out after the sale. I would bid on this meal because when it's going, when it is doing the obstacles, he is riding at one-handed for the majority of everything. It's got floppy years, which means it's relaxed, it's confidence of what it's doing. I do have a lot of people that just want a smaller mule.

They're just troarrow, they're not going to rope. They're not going to go to the mountains. They're an older couple, whatever. They're just wanting something small. A lot of people have bad hips or whatever. they don't want to be spread out something real wide. They like that narrow little, that a frame. So there are clients

and like I said, you see when he's pulling his tail and doing around, like it's just too small for you. It's head, it's for a personal meal. Yeah. But I'm going to, I sell more from 14 to 143 to older people than I do any other thing. I like a 16 hand meal looks like a head horse. They don't sell that well.

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Follow now on Apple, Iheart, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. But it goes back to what we were talking about earlier. Our clientele's gotten older. Max, do you mind pulling up that mic a little bit? Our clientele's gotten older. More crippled. I mean, I'm just broke up at 50 years old. It's pitiful.

I'm nearly 51. I've got a knees or junk. A hip-this junk. A right arm is junk. It's because of riding all those bad mules. Bad decisions. A lot of times. But that small mule, that's what we was talking about earlier.

This older woman that doesn't care. Like Max is saying, she wants something that's safe and she lots of looks of it. That little meal right there has got some retail to it. Yeah. This meal here. I mean, yeah, the mules got its nose up a little bit, but, but it's responsive. See, that, if I was buying this meal, it's stepping out of them, that wouldn't affect me. Mule's trying. You know, it's not, it's not fighting him. He's not doing exactly what he asked, but the mule's still not a, it's not an idiot, but once again, see that nose coming up like that. Yeah. That mule wants to get out of this. It hates this arena. Guarante it.

also though might be going towards them noodles too I just thought of that because going away the mules relaxed remember I was talking about earlier about mules seeing something hundred yards out I guarantee what you said mule picking its head up

yeah going towards them noodles you think it's scary those noodles I bet it won't go through them noodles they might how many meals did you buy here last year 18 meals in the fall in the fall yeah

and then about the same in the spring I was wrong How fast will you turn those over? My brother might say. Oh, okay. I would take that out if you don't want me to. There's old saying, a fox don't tell the hounds all his hide nose.

There you go. I was wrong. You went through the noodles. I did. Pretty well. Yeah, very well. I mean, didn't hesitate. But the noodles to me is the same thing as a blue tarp, whether it's over them or under them.

You spend enough time, though, do it. that the noodles to me the noodles on a three-year-old how it responds to it's one thing a 10-year-old it doesn't mean anything it means they're going to do it they're not going to do it that doesn't mean that mule's not safe or well broke to my opinion that may be the one thing it wouldn't do maybe it does everything else we've discussed taking the noodles plummet out I hate them noodles hey now Justin here's a meal you might like this is a solid colored dark bay or black I can't tell got a yeah yeah it's a it's a pretty nice mule isn't it yeah safe I'm gonna say this mule yes it's gonna be it's a bit older mule I'd say no one who's

who owns it um being an older mule you'll be a safe mule 13 years old is what it says 13 what's the prime age max to sell at 6 to 10 10 to 12 would be

better than 4 to 6 and then a horse will 4 to 6 that's your best That's why I was talking about earlier. It is so different than it was 20 years ago, 30 years ago. If that mule got over a mule horsey, the one got over seven or eight years old. If it's over eight, you didn't retell it.

People didn't want it. No. But, I mean, a mule's coming into his prime when he's 10. Is that about right? A dun horse mule. He's got them strips, them tiger stripes on their legs. They shouldn't be born with her six years old. They're kind of like a blue-hiller dog.

Could be the best one you ever had. However, it takes him a little while to mature. Yeah. And they are tough. I like this meal This meal is going to be Just what I've seen is going to be a very safe mule It's going to be for that

This meal here is the one Where the wife does all the riding And she wants to buy her husband and mule Just to go with her When he don't ride that much Uh-huh I used to have people who call me Said listen I've got a mule

My husband will ride with me But his mule can't be as pretty as mine And I would buy these big Really? Somebody said that to you? Oh, all the time And I made lots of money off rich women That their husband went right with them to please them to be a part of their life You know, I'm not knocking what they were doing

Yeah But you could retail them people because they're like My husband cannot have as nice of mules I got I literally just did a video on that It's like going viral right now about husband safe meals Husband Safe Meals Remember what I heard of where the women are leading on these animals dogs I mean the women are leading on the animals

Because of you know these men are I mean, let's face it the way the economy or whatever you want to see. The way the lifestyles went has changed the last 40, 50 years. Yeah. You have to work so much. Your hobbies, you don't have hobbies anymore. That's interesting. You chase your kids.

You do all this. Would you say you're marketing as much to women as men and more to women? No, no. No, no. More to women. The women are controlling the meal market. Really? Mostly. Unless it's a rope and mule or something like that. I mean, you get some guy's a mule.

Yeah, wagon mules are so in. Because all honesty, the wagon team, you sit there in that wagon, you put your cooler of whatever beverages you prefer. A lot of these wagons now has got cookers on the back of them. This guy, and I'm not saying women don't work, that's not what I mean by this, but this guy's been stressed out for five days. He'll spend his Saturday relaxing, so he can hook his team up. He's got his cooker on the back, got his cooler full of whatever beverage adult or non-adult. You want your cooler, and you sit back and hold a pair of lines and go driving around backroads all. day. With your mules.

With your mules and just enjoy the day. That's rolling, man. So if you're listening to this on audio, you probably would do better watching this on YouTube because we're again, we're here at the catalog. These are the catalog meals, which means mules that have been pre-registered for the sale in two days and we're watching them go through the trail course. Now, I'll tell you here now, this mule here, anybody can write it based on just the rider. she can't ride a lick.

Now, is that your daughter? It is. No, that's not what I heard it all day. This girl is, she's as good as they come. That is a law. Yeah. If you see a Kelso kid on there, they know what they're doing.

She's kind of like some of these mules. She could use some refining. She's pretty tough. And we were at a mule cell here. And I don't want to ruin his story. But they paid her $20 or whatever to ride a mule through the cell. This meal kicked her and burst her appendix. Or was her?

Last ready to deliver. She still rolled that meal through that sale, got that meal sold, then went to the hospital. She's tough. Wow. This girl, right. How old is she? She's 22, be 23 as fall. She's tough.

Man, that's a nice-looking meal. That is nice. What do you call that? That's a dun-strilegged. That's the entire strap blades. Now what makes that? It's the donkey. The daddy put most set on him.

So what typically, if you saw that, you know what kind of jack and what kind mayor that came out of no but i know that's a tough son of gun that'd be the toughest mule you step on you can you will not kill that mule right what is that about 15 what's what numbers is in here it's uh jess curtises maybe so we're we're looking at a tall mule and justin's daughter is riding it i'd say it's a but and she over 15 hands oh yeah she he's 15 one at least yeah maybe two and it's a it's a palomino color so it's like it's a done done. He's got a buttskin done. He's got black manning tail. It's like the color of coffee if you poured quite a bit of creamer in it.

Yes. And he's got the black legs up to his pastures. But from pastures his knees where a butt skin can be black all the way up, he's got the stripes. So is that your meal? No, sir. She's just riding it through for somebody. I mean, that's going to be a high dollar meal. It's just pretty laid back. He's laid back. He's gentle, not overly knowledgeable, I don't think. You know what I'm saying? Okay.

But, and. Safe, though. Well, she got him through the pool noodles. Oh, yeah. I mean, he's safe as they come. And he's right between, I don't think he's... How old is he? A four-year-old, ain't he?

Oh, he's just a young. I don't think that's that one. I think it is. They'll have a color on her for some reason. I mean, that mule's done everything. It's walked over... So the trail course, forgive us. We just jumped right into it because the mules were coming,

but the trail course basically involves the mules riding around, a dirt arena, jumping over a small log, and then they come and have to... go through basically some landscape timber that are laid out that make a little L shape and you They're supposed to back through that. Back and turn.

Back, you're supposed to make the mule go and reverse. Yep. And all this is just about proving how much control the rider has over the mule. Willing control, not a force control. Right. That mule does it willingly because it's been trained properly. And then there's two 55-gallon drums out here

and there's a cooler on top of the, the 55-gallon drums, like a... Collapsible cooler. Yeah, like a collapsible cooler. And the guys ride up to the 55-gallon drum with a cooler and reach in and get a water bottle. And if you can, like, get your mule, have enough control over your mule to pull it up right to that cooler

and reach in and get it off of the meal, like you're doing something. Yep. Take it around a barrel, come put it back in. Take it around the other barrel. And then you ride through the pool noodles, which we've already described, this little arch with pool noodles, and then there's a wooden bridge

made of 2B4s and 2B6s. Yep. It's going to be a pretty nice meal right here. This meal here will be one of your, I'm going to say, one of the top five, wouldn't you, Max? See how when it's backing up, it's putting its head down,

it's collected. We were I was talking about earlier, about tying one's head down. Would you call this a bay? Black, Bay, brown, but not a bay. Not a bay. A bay's going to be like the bus.

See how it's backing up with his head down to his chest. That's what the others are. supposed to be doing. Yep. And you're seeing them get on high-headed and so that's what it's supposed to look like. So this is probably 14-2, 14. They called it 15-1. I don't think that mule's not that tall.

But it's a, it's a good thick meal, got good thick legs. You see that when we was talking about earlier about your body condition, see, while there's a bunch of those mules that are well-rounded on the hips like that mule is, look how much thicker width-wise, hip-bone-to-hip-bone that one is. And that animal is going to be able to carry a bigger person for a longer period of time. Yep. Like, you go to the mountains and you take that, if I'm riding, if I'm down

checking cows in Texas or just trail riding down in Texas, that little 850 pound mule stands 14.3 is fine. That mule's going to be tough. It'll carry you all day. It'll travel well. But now if you're going to go up the mountains or something, you need something with a little more substance underneath you. Yeah.

I mean, it's just, the mule's going to last longer. You can take that smaller mule. It ain't going to last. Max, tell everybody how we're describing the height of these mules. Like, what's a 15 hang? A hand is four inches. And where do you measure from? On their withers, the highest point on their back.

So you measure from the ground to basically where their main ends on their back. And you'll see people take a tape measure and lay it against them measured. Well, that's not a true measurement. Yeah. Because how thick is it? That's right. You know, if it's a thing hide behind a tube before, yeah, that's a pretty true measurement. So a hand is like this archaic measurement from way in the back.

Yeah, basically the width of a man's palm. It's going to be, you're, so 15 hands. is 60 inches. That's right. As a rule, I don't remember I've measured the width of my ankles. I was stupid enough for I bergoy courses in high school and college, so I had to buy a glove. But as a rule, a man's hand is going to be three and three quarters inches to four and a quarter. It's going to average four inches. You measure ten people's hands, take the giants out and the little guys out. It's going to average about four inches.

I mean, whoever decided to do that wasn't really taking it through a mile. Who figured up a mile? Same guys that made horse hands, mule hands. Well, and that's like you get in our country's leaps and bounds when you measure stuff. They call it. We're out here. Everything's in a section. Everything's a square mile.

But in our country, they had a drunk mule, and they were blind. So they've done leaps and mounds. You know, you were talking about body condition with the mule. And Mark's on there. That reminded me. So last year we come here and about 10 different people thought Mark was me. So I lost 20 pounds because I didn't want to take confusion. That's how much weight I lost.

That's right. And you grew four inches. I did. I was like, we can't be having that. That's a true story. Yeah, this is Jason Ayers. He's from Soper, Oklahoma, southeast Oklahoma. And that's the smaller mule. Yep. But now this is your typical smaller Oklahoma, Missouri. It's that coon hunting, hog hunting type mule.

Everybody wants because of the, you know, you take Arkansas is even that way in some places. Oh, yeah. You get that brush, you'll spend more time picking your hat up than you will riding. So a lot of times, when you get out on the train, trails in Arkansas or wherever, you'll see a lot of smaller mules, 14, 14 hands and even smaller sometimes. And they're pretty handy. They are.

It's not as hard to get on them. It's not as hard to get off them. If you get bucked off, it ain't near as far to fall either. Exactly. But you'll notice percentage-wise, the smaller mules aren't as trained as the bigger mules. Percentage-wise. Why? Part of it is who's riding them.

They don't care. They just want something to go. Maybe they know it's not ever going to be a top-ing mules. in animal because of its size. You're giving them John Q. Publop to much credit. They just don't spend that much time with them. They bought them cheaper because they were very few times. They bought that mule because he was cheaper a lot of times too.

Yeah. You know what I mean? So they're not the guys who are going to spend the money. I can't do this, don't have time to it. I'm not going to pay this. I'm going to do it. I'll just write him when I can. Yeah.

I think that's, don't you, Max, it's not a knock on anybody or the mule itself. It's just. What a lot of people wouldn't know is that mule, if it's, I don't know, It's probably not even 14 hands, is it? That sucker would carry a grown man all day long. Am I right, Max? Yeah, they do. I mean, you'd think, oh, the short one, the small one's not going to do it.

Man, that sucker will carry a 190-pound man all day. When you pack them, if you pack the mule, you can put as much weight on it as you can another one. Now, what you won't do is for that 15-hand, 1,000, 10-thousand-thousand-thousand-thousand-pound mule will last 20 years in the mountains. This meal is going to last 10. Okay. You're going to break him down and go careful. It'll do it. You'll do the job.

But if you really use it, you're going to break him down. I see. I'll tell you a story. The first sale we had here, and I'm not, for your listeners and viewers, I'm not knocking any base, but the Oklahoma rat I was telling you about. You know, this 1993, I'm almost 19 years old in college, and Jody was, shoot, Jody would have been in middle school, I guess, at the time. No, he'd been in high school, but anyway, so it's me, John Robert, my older brother.

Is this your daughter again? It is. Okay. She's riding. She had two mules arrived for someone else. That's a nice meal. Yeah. Go ahead.

Go ahead. Anyway, dad said, hey, we're going to have to teach his cowboys, and he wasn't knocking anybody, teach his cowboys to ride these 15-hand mules to say the Oklahoma rats are riding. And I was like, Oklahoma rat is a small meal. Just a smaller meal. Small coon hunting meal. It didn't fit our customers, so we didn't view them with a lot of desirability because they didn't make us any money. Yeah.

And so he works for us now, helps us check stock in and clerks for us during sale, to McCoy, he had a mule in. We never made him, never knew him. And I'm thinking all this time, what's Oklahoma rat? Well, Justin's got this mule and he sticks in Boston slaps on hip. And mule didn't kick him. He kind of hopped up back in the hind end like he was going to. I said, oh, Oklahoma rat. Got it, Dad. I understand. So we take him in there, like I told you earlier, he always starts the mules. Me, Dad, or Jody, we'll put the floor price on every mule. We might let the auctioneer. We're not going to let him mess around along. You can play for a minute, I mean a second or two, but 15-6, we're going to give you a price.

That's the bottom. It ain't get no cheaper. So you're saying at the auction on Saturday, a mule comes out. If nobody bids on it pretty quick, you'll bid on it. And you'll buy, and you'll mean it, too. It's not a joke. It's not getting cheaper. That's ours for no, you'll buy.

Now, if we don't want it and you want it, we might let you have it at that price, but it's going to bring that much. And Dad's done that since he started putting sales on the Seabby. He's always been that way. Well, so this mule comes in. Back then, we didn't let them play around it, because it, didn't have this high, it was all kind of standard of what mules was going to bring. Dad starts this mule for 350.

We had, we pulled a customer out of Montana that used to buy a hundred head a year from us either through the sales or privately, named Larry Klingerbeard. It's called busted-ass ranch in Arleigh, Montana. And he, this mule, I mean, he was handy broke. I'm talking about, right, no horse would handle any better. And he's riding this mule around and he got up here like 700. He said, hold on to show you all something. He steps off this mule and he on.

I'm, if I'm lying, God will strap me dead. Stapped his fingers, this mule fell like he shot him. All he done, stamps the furnace, he'll fell. I'm talking about it just shot up. It would lay down on command.

Not lay down. This thing dropped. Like, I mean, just dropped. Just climb the ladder. I mean, we went up to like 15, 1600s, boom. I'm talking about it in 20 seconds. Went from 800 to 1600. Yeah, when people saw that it would drop to the ground on command.

This Larry Clinkinbeard stands up in the crowd. He said, come on boys. bring him up. Beat him up. He's not bringing enough. Just encouraging, he was in. It was his mule at that moment. He had the winning bid, and he was encouraging people to bid more because he wouldn't bring enough. That's cool. And the mule, he gets, we kind of get hung up here about 15, 1,600. This is one of our mules here is Jody's boy riding this mule. Jace. Pretty nice mule, been in the mountains out west. But, so we get hung up kind of about 1,500, and just said, hold on, show you one more thing, and I'll be done. And he reach and grabs

this mule by his left front leg, pits it up. in front of him not picking up like you're gonna clean his foot out brings out in front and waltz off and his mule hops three-legged behind him brings 2250 last the sales over somebody oh johnny you missed that one but you start him too cheap he said brunny's a little narrow butt in again i'll start him again at 350 i didn't want him uh-huh and the mule comes back a year later brings like 1670 100 we had to find just and get him to ride the mule through get him he had him about a week to tune him up and get him back ready again but you just don't ever know what does that tell you in one that right there he's saying hello it's not a big deal depends on how well what a meal just did is he

he's being ridden and he winning he brayed yeah he once like that's not a big deal she's hollering her buddies hey i'm stuck at her in this ring this jacklegged drive me around this course i don't go through but she's being responsive she's not fighting anything she got her mouth shut she's not done anything dangerous but you know you're talking about earlier about that stocking legged flashing meal this is considered flashy because it's a palomino but this one also has the little head the neck the hip a little height some wither to it to hold a saddle. So now it's got the confirmation and the color.

I was telling Clay earlier, if you see one with color, use it as a bonus, not the rule. Look at it as if it was a saw or a bay. If you like it picturing it that way, the color's a bonus. If you're buying one just for color, you're looking, you're putting a cart in front of the horse. But you like that one, Max. Yeah, this is, this one's an officer. Like I said, when it's walking, like you see, it's going over the tubs. And so it's going over in a, like its heads down, it's relaxed.

It's not getting spun up about it. Like there, it just tried to step around. It just like it didn't see no point in it. There was no fear about it. It wasn't like, oh, it wasn't trying to shoulder out to get away from the tires. It's just like, I was talking about the stubbornness thing. Like he just said, the mural is any point to walk through them tires. It's got all the world and the world around it.

Why? Why do I go through those tires? Yeah, so the last obstacle on the course is two big old. It's left foot went through the tires. It's right for it didn't. It was like, I won't see why. I'm going to hit you out and I'm going to do it a little bit. But this is a stupidest thing I've ever done.

My kids have looked at me like that. And Jayce could have spurred it and made it get in there. But he chose just to let it do what it's going to do. You're not going to see. Let's see it. Let's show it. It showed quiet through the whole course. Let's go with that.

Versus it may have lined out and did it perfect or it may have jumped clean over the tires and didn't look bad. So he done what he should have. He did exactly. Exactly what he should have done. Because this, once again, this is not training time. This is, we're trying to, we want people to show what they will do. Don't worry about what they want.

Now, this is a young man here. But you see the mule will not go on, it's not going in a straight line. It's supposed to try it so far, lobes so forth. And so, you know, it's not doing. It's very young, I think. Yeah, it's not doing a bad deal, but where the palomino that just come through with Jace, it just, it was just straight as a line with no corrections. Yeah.

So, you know, it's just been there done out. But now, look, that mule gathered up in his face and tucked his chin. Yeah. touch this knows the view is going very well that that's got a young meal it is it's one of the wild bunch kids yeah that's that's marks young uh youngs youngs boy I think yeah but uh but I mean this feels got a lot of potential yeah 30 years ago this meal retail because me or you at 25 don't want to start one but I want one that know that I get to teach a lot of that stuff to this is a mule I won't that that's me well I would sell 20 years ago 25 this could even though

it's it's clear that it's kind of young it's still got a ton of potential A ton of potential. And he'll get overlooked because he's got. Would you say so, Max? Yeah, but right. But he'll get overlooked because, like I said, the older ladies and people are doing it, they're not even going to look at anything under six. The rich people are not going to spend the money on this one. Yeah, gotcha.

They're not even going to look at nothing under six. If you had the best mule out here, it was two or three years old, they're going to go ahead and have an experience for me. Yeah. On the average, there's always fluke deals. On blood trails, the stories don't end when the hunt is over. They just get darker. I've seen something in the road. I instantly thought it was a sleeping bag.

And there was a full of blood. Oh, my God. He doesn't have a hit. Blood Trails is a true crime podcast born in the outdoors. Where the terrain is unforgiving, the evidence is scarce, and the truth gets buried under brush and silence. Indications were he should be right there. But he wasn't. This season, we're going deeper.

From cold case files to whispered suspicions. From remote mountains to frozen backwards. Each story begins in the wilderness and ends in darkness. Because out here, there are no witnesses, no cameras, just fragments, and the people left behind trying to piece them back together. He's not an honest person. He's incapable of being honest. Somebody somewhere knows something.

I'm Jordan Sillers. Season two of Blood Trails premieres April 16th. Follow now on Apple, Iheart, YouTube, or wherever. you get your podcasts. Well, that's my son, the meal that I could have bought at home for 2,500. No, I'm scared of it. I didn't want to give a thousand for it. And walk out of her and bring 42 and a half.

You just don't, I'm going to say this. I don't go to sales like I used to. But when I was going to sales, this is the only sale that you cannot predict what something's going to bring. Would you say that, Max? Hey, that sucker just, it cruised through the last part of the course. It looked over here it looked a little fancy. That's the age thing.

How old is that meal? I bet it's not over four, but I could be wrong. We're not that for a long. I hadn't seen Claude's mule. Yeah, Claude has already been there. Oh, yeah, she just wrote that one. So when you are looking at a catalog meal at a meal auction, you have an actual catalog that has the mules' number.

And then every mule has a sticker on their rump and on their forehead. So it's like, this is mule number 16. And then you go to the catalog and you look at number 16. And you'll be able to read all that's been that actually the owner wrote about that meal. She's a, that mule was a four-year-old. Four-year-old. Now, see, this girl here sells a lot of higher-end mules here. She's real successful at this sale.

She wins a trail course, the majority. She'll win it more and lost everybody else. Well, they live Kirby, Arkansas. You know where that's up? Yeah, oh, yeah. They ride these things. They get up in mountains. They ride her husband trains, border collies.

And they trade some, which I don't, some people want to discount that. I do not. But Andrew is a very good hand. She's very quiet, very soft with them. Yeah. And to me, you're asking me you to back through something they see no point in. Right. So the fact that's me with.

If you were out in the mountains and. there were two big rocks right there you can probably make it go right between them right because this meal wants to do something they're like why but see they're down when she got her lined up she's doing it yeah yeah yeah she knows that mule can do it yeah doesn't she very few made that corner and kept backing yes and all honest she's probably been working this mule quite a bit and the mules getting tired of that trick quote unquote yeah that makes sense and so you know these mules if you hammer on too far they just after a while they get tired of of it. Yeah. Let me go grab that water bottle. Oh, so we lost a water bottle out there on the

trail course and Justin's going to go out and pick it out for them. Yeah, now the thing with Andrea is she's tiny. She's a tiny woman. So that's a tiny meal. That meal's probably not even 14 hands. So that that gets to be a problem. Like a lot of times I tell her, I'm like, because I've tried to buy some mules from her, I bought a couple of them. If you just put this time in a 15 hand or 14.30 versus a 13. but there's a big market for those smaller mules for just people just like that that are a smaller lady or a kid and they want those little mules you know what else should what have we so imagine somebody listening to this that's never been here anything max what would what would be interesting to somebody what does somebody need to know about a sale like this buyer or seller anybody i think the buyers and i don't think we're the most premier meal sale in the America, there's, there's some good sales out there. I do think, based on what I know, so don't,

I don't offend anybody when I say this, I believe we try harder than anybody to, the customer, the seller pays us to sell their mule. The buyer pays us nothing. Right. I think we're a seller-friendly of any sale. Would you say it, Max? Yeah. I'm not told him earlier, so the thing about this cell is, is if you go to a Saturday night cattle horse type auction cell, there's no guarantees, there's no nothing. If they're drugged up the ages, whatever they're going to do, you're seeing them in a little bit of green, you're not getting to see them work. Here you're getting a same work. Now you can go to Jay Clorix or something. You're going to get to see a course like this and do this, but everything there, people are expected to bring 20 or more and they're disappointed

if it brings under 20. So it's a seller's market. You're not going to come and buy just a good trail a mule that you can get down the road. This cell is the best of where you can come and you can get some of those mules that are high in just as good as the ones that are at jakes or crominy canyon, but you can also get one for worth the money. Right. Just because like we said earlier, just because it won't bring the 20,000 doesn't mean it's a good mule. Yeah. But the seller's also got to understand that even though in your mind they're the same, it's all up to the buyer. And like I said earlier, a mule's worth 60 cents pound. Whatever you get over there, that is worth what you can talk somebody out of.

And that's, I mean, that's just the way it is. Justin told me that earlier. Equine animals that slaughter are worth 60 cents a pound. So anything above that, you're talking somebody into it. I'm glad I didn't say that. What's a tree? Hey, this meal right here, I like the looks of that meal. I have a young meal that looks just like that.

I know you do because he's got stocked legs. I know. You got a weakness for that club. I don't know why. But see here, like, okay, so you hog hunt, right? Yeah. So that's something that you need on, on, see. Claude Ard owns this mule.

This is a guy where they hog hunt all the time. Mules don't like bears and hogs on the smell. Generally, they got to get used to that. And so, like, if you were looking for a mule, this would be something you'd be interested in because, one, it's flashy and you're like, flashy, but two, this one actually probably has drug hogs out. Yeah, yeah. And there's a lot of mules that are super good in a row. And at this sale, you would know that if you came here and talked to some people and

do this guy. You got time. You got three days. Like tomorrow, only tack is selling. If you see a mule in the trail course today and you want to go talk to the guy and ride it all day tomorrow. You could do it. If you talked to Clark. I hadn't thought about that. You could actually ride one. I mean, I could go talk to a guy and be like, hey, let me ride that mule. And he'd be like, heck yeah. I mean, most of the time, he probably would. See, when we first started

having the catalog portion, I don't know, it's been what, eight, nine years ago. We had the trail course on Friday afternoon. We'd stop the tax sale at four o'clock, have the trail course. We'd have 50 head in it. We didn't have a real big course, get done pretty quick. And our tax sales lasted until midnight or 1 o'clock in the morning. So, you know, let's stop this her up. So we moved the, instead of moving the tack on Friday, because you've got people that want to come for the tax sale, well, if we move the tax sale on Thursday, then they're

taking two days off of work. We won't we want those tack guys to stay on Saturday too, also if possible. Because then you never know they might decide to... Now, your daughter's back on. It is. Yeah, this is a mule that I brought up here for a friend of mine, a retired state triper at Marietta, Oklahoma. He has not

rode this mule in five years, and she is literally, he was worried about her a little bit just because this mule will push through, want to push through the bit just a little bit. Not aggressively, but see right there? Yep. She's lifting its head. And we've worked with it, but I'm going to tell you,

the mule was not stepped on in five years. Casey, after she got her liver lacerated, two months later, she went to work for a gal of Salasaw, right after that, moved out here, or she was already living in Oklahoma time, moved out here, moved to Salasaw, she got healed up from her liver, went to saddle a coat up, stepped on her,

Except on the coat, coat wads up and falls on her. So Casey's nerve has gotten tested a little bit since. Just so many injuries. She broke her back when she's 14. Liver lacerated. What that's been? She's been.

Yeah. I mean, that was two years ago. She got a liver lacerated. She's had a lot of injuries. And she not quite as nervy on stepping on one as she used to be. Yeah. And she's dead.

Will you ride her first. I see, I will. And so I mean, that's first time I sat in a saddle in four or five months because of a hip that bothers me. I'm telling, and we lunged her for 30 seconds tops just to see what she's going to do. Mule lunged out good.

I mean, I just stepped right on her and looked her right down the road immediately. So that's, this mule here won't do everything proper. That's the safety people need to buy. I see. I mean, turn the mule out for five years. Yeah, she might push you a little bit here or there. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But she's not going to hurt you.

She's going to step off and right off. I wish we could see them all so that we could make a bet on what's going to be the high bed mule. Red Roan. A red roan? That's not. Yeah. Who's got that mule? Colton.

It's a mule you actually know of? No, no, the kid. Oh. Is that right? He's as good. His parents are Rainer Horse trainers. Now, do you know a specific animal that he has here? I think Colton's parents were.

He's Christy house his mom. Well, whoever it is, I think they train Rainer horses. He's soft, though. All I know is his mules. I'm telling you, they'll have their head down level. They will ride his proper. they come. Yeah, I forgot about that. That is a nice people. That meal will definitely be in the top five. Really? Now tell me about this meal, Max. I talked to this guy earlier a little bit.

I want to hear your assessment of this one. That is definitely a meal. I've noticed this. You know the ones he asked about the most? They're all stuck and legged. He's got a time. No, no. Did you have a girlfriend before your wife? I'm going to answer like Max said. I'm uncomfortable answering that question. No, seriously. You dated a few years. girls in high school probably for you met your wife sure what color is your hair I'm not answering this question I never dated a stock and leg of girl okay whatever color your wife's here is I bet every girlfriend had the same color hair plead the fifth I dated a brunette once that's why I got

I thought I'm gonna buy a head of wife I think probably I like a stock and leg of mule because the the first good mule that I ever had was stocking that plays into everything you know I mean just yeah first good coon dog you had, you like that breed of dog. I mean, take a kid, when the one of the men you talked about it, I don't know if we're recorded or not, but, you know, Hollywood ruined the mule image, because there's always

the comic relief that rode the mule, always. Yeah. And that was, I'm not saying that it was all mules in the west back in the day, but there was mules used a lot more than just teams and draft applications and pack applications. And also, the other thing that

messed up mules is, is there was so many mules used on a farm that you got let's just say pretend my granddad didn't like mules but he was forced to drive that mule all the time in the field they just had a bad image it's like everybody wants a molly mule and it's old stigmatism because back in back in the day on the smaller farms not the big ranches out west but smaller farms had three or four milk cows and you know this sheep all that they'd run all their stock together and rotate their pastures based on where they're growing their crops. As a rule, a moly mule, when a cow has a calf, won't kill the calf.

She'll try to take that calf away from a cow. She'll keep that cow kicked off of that calf. A newborn calf. Well, farmer looks out. Yep, a cow had a calf. I see it mule in there. Go pick the calf up, carry it the barn. It's safe.

A horse mule would kill the calf as a rule. Paul to death. So in everybody's mind, molly mules are best. Molly mules are a female, horse mule. Yes. That's right. And I despise a mare mule. I would ride a mare horse before I ride a mare mule.

When they're not in heat, they're as good as they come. But I do not want to have to guess what things in heat when I go catch her. Horse mule may be just a turd. Pick at you, aggravate you all the time, whatever, pressure you a little more, test you a little more. But you know when you go put your hawk running that morning to go ride him, you know you're going to deal with it. Do you have a preference over a Molly or a John Mule? I've had good and bad and both. Best meal I've ever had in my life with Grace.

That was a Molly. I got her sold this year. I kept her for years, but I got her sold real high. But my personal meal now and my daughter's personal meal, both John Mills. There's a boy here. He's from Camacho, called him. He's been coming to the sale for a long, long time. He wanted Molley mules, but he would get them spayed.

Yeah, I've heard you. It would stop that. That Rome you were talking about, my mom, we bought a mule for her in 1999. And look just like that mule. I mean, I thought it was this mule reincarnated. And she, that mule, she would come in heat almost on command. If you hadn't wrote her for a month, and when you called her, you put a halter on, she'd come in heat.

You knew she's in heat because she was earshire when she was in heat. was not earshot any other time. And that mew was as nice and as broke as they come, but you had to beg everything she gave you. Where a horse meal a lot of times, if they'll do something, if you're dragging a log and you want to drag that log at a lobe, if you ask a horse meal, if he had done it before, he'll do it, but not asking a lot, that merrimew, you might have to beg.

Yeah. That and I got a wife and two daughters plus a son, so I had three women in my life. don't have to ride one to go enjoy myself. Now see, this is probably one to watch you. This is David Borenchager ride, and he's one of the better trainers in the country. He's one of a bunch of mule trainers' challenges.

He goes around the country doing clinics. He used to be Amish and jumped the fence, whatever you want to call it. He's down in Antlers, Oklahoma now. But it's a really good trainer. You can see the mule backing up like it's supposed to. So you know, you can probably give him any mule here and in 60 days at Biro.

just like that. But what I'm saying is when you're bidding on this mule, you're not just bidding that that's a good mule, but you know you're buying the training too. Yeah. And it's been trained right and handled right. Yeah. And, you know, there's a, there's a value to that. Yeah, that might be a little bit older mule, too, do you think? Yeah, so this is a a black or a darker bay, darker brown colored mule. Really nice looking mule. Good and thick. It's nine years old.

Nine years old. Yep. So that animal's in its prime. Right. So that's one to look for. Well, hey, Josh, I think we're going to... Yeah, this could go on right if you want to. Yeah, yeah.

So there's 100 mules that are going to go through this course, and we probably... We're probably on number... 31. 31. So there's 70 more mules, but we hope you enjoyed getting to watch if you're watching on YouTube, but hopefully if you're listening,

you've been able to follow along. And, man, guys that know as much about mules as Max and Justin, I learn a lot just hearing them talk. And, Clay, I do want to thank you for coming. I mean,

like I said, I've been trying to get over a year and a half to visit with you about mules. And I won't, I was so ironic that I've been trying to get you, get a hold of you to get you to come here. then you contact us. I was like, what's the odds of this?

Yeah, so I really appreciate you coming. Yeah, oh man, thanks for your time. It's been awesome. Max, good to meet you, man.

Yes, sir, I've heard about you for years and stuff and all the stuff you do in Arkansas and stuff. The stories you do, what you're doing with your podcast is great. I mean, you're some educational stuff plus some fun stuff. I've been turkey hunting once in my life,

but I listen, I don't list to all your podcast. I've said, but when I see turkey stories, I listen to them. I'm going to listen to turkey stories. And I don't, And I don't turkey hunt.

Yeah. But I really enjoy listening. And then tell Brent, I think you did really beat him in the hoot out deal. He's wrong about that. He's wrong about that. I'm going to call him out because he thinks I'm a stalker on Instagram. Yeah. He tried to message Brent to tell me to come to the Aid Mule Cell.

But, no, hey, Aid Mule Sails is usually the second weekend in April. Is that about right? It's always the second Saturday of April. That being whatever, Howard Falls, and the first Saturday of October. Yeah. Find us on 4th. Facebook, Ada, Oklahoma Mule Sale. Go to our

website, kiosolmules.com. Our phone numbers are on the website. Any questions, anything, give a call. Yeah. All right, thanks, guys. Thank you. On Blood Trails, the stories don't end when the hunt is over. They just get darker.

I've seen something in the road. I instantly thought it was a sleeping bag. Then there was a pool of blood. Oh, my God. He doesn't have a hit. Blood Trails is a true crime podcast born in the outdoors, where the terrain is unforgiving, the evidence is scarce, and the truth gets buried under brush and silence.

Indications were he should be right there, but he wasn't. This season, we're going deeper, from cold case files to whispered suspicions, from remote mountains to frozen backwoods. Each story begins in the wilderness and ends in darkness. because out here, there are no witnesses, no cameras, just fragments and the people left behind trying to piece them back together. He's not an honest person. He's incapable of being honest. Somebody somewhere knows something.

I'm Jordan Sillers. Season 2 of Blood Trails premieres April 16th. Follow now on Apple, IHeart, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.