Coming Home at Last! Laramie and Katie Arrive in Germany

By Jen Schmuck, Hennef, Germany

After almost two weeks spent with our new mules and our new friends in Missouri, we left for Germany again. Saying goodbye was very hard, although we knew the most exciting part was yet to come. 

After we left, the mules were taken into isolation in Decatur, Texas. Isolation sounds eery, but it was just a nice little family run ranch where the mules spent four weeks in their own pen, were fed well and almost petted bald. We got updates on them from the transportation company, and the people caring for Laramie and Katie had nothing but praise for our mules and had a hard time parting with them.

After isolation, they were taken to Houston to be flown into Germany. I was so scared Laramie and Katie would be reluctant to load into the different trailers and into the flight container. The container is right next to the big airplanes before it is loaded into the plane. I knew they were being handled by very nice, experienced and patient people, but I didn’t sleep much anyway! 

I knew that horses imported the same way as our mules usually arrive with dull coats, (because they don’t drink anything on the flight, although they are offered water throughout) very tired, some catch a cold, and become jet lagged. Of course that was information about horses, as the transport company had never had mules on board before.

Then, after waiting for our mules for what felt like ages, the day of arrival was here. They were supposed to be at our home anytime between early evening and late night, depending on how long it would take at the Amsterdam airport to get them through vet check and customs, and to drive over from there to us. My husband Steph was at work, and I had just come home when my cell phone went off. It was the transportation company. Mr. Hoffmann was telling me that he was only half an hour away from us, and it was just after 2 p.m.! I hadn’t even put hay into the feeder! There was still some wood lying around that needed to be put away! I called Steph at work to come home at once, and ran to get hay, put away the wood and fill up the water buckets.

At not even 3 p.m., Steph and Mr. Hoffmann with the trailer pulled up at the same time. Our mules were here at last! I bombarded Mr. Hoffmann with questions while he got out of his truck, and he told me how the mules had loaded into every trailer in under two minutes, including the flight container, had a nice nap during the flight, and acted like they had done that kind of trip all the time. It was amazing how well our mules looked and how easily they handled everything. 

The flight containers for equines are always booked with three equines, and the third equine in Katie’s and Larry’s container was a seasoned show quarter horse. And the quarter horse looked like the transportation company had warned us of after transport: dull coat, jet lagged, tired, confused. It took that horse weeks to get back to normal. It was incredible to see our mules compared to that. They looked like they had just been around the block!

Mr. Hoffmann opened the trailer, and Steph unloaded Laramie first. Laramie was obviously a little rattled by his new surroundings. Everything looked totally different than what he was used to. But as soon as Katie had daintily stepped down from the trailer and batted her long eyelashes curiously at her first glimpse of Germany, he was ready to have a look at their new home. We led them into their new pen and took off their halters. They immediately set off to explore. The water bucket and the hay feeder got snorted at, but the haynet was tried at once and the hay obviously tasted yummy. The pea sand was tested by rolling in it and then taking a short nap while lying down. After that Laramie dealed with his new surroundings in his way (when in doubt, bury your head in the haynet! Looking at his belly, this is what he must have done in isolation too) and Katie came over to me to get hugged and petted, and to have the metal clip with her name on it taken off her tail (this is done during vet check to prevent mix-ups). Then we left them alone for the night.

The next morning I couldn’t believe my eyes. Katie was at the gate, ready to go! And we thought the mules would be dull coated, jet lagged, tired and confused. Laramie was still eating hay non-stop, he obviously needed some time to get used to everything, but they were both looking great and were in a good mood. 

Because Laramie was still a little rattled, we decided to just keep them in the pen for a few days, which was something Katie had absolutely no appreciation for! This was obviously not what she had come to Germany for, she had planned on going out! So on the third day, when Laramie had started to come to the gate too to be petted and waiting for us, we took them out for their first walk. That was so exciting! Of course, both had forgotten to stand still for getting brushed, walking nicely on the lead, and not being pushy with people. 

Our neighbors were all very interested in our new mules. They knew we would be getting mules, but had very different expectations of them. 

“Oh, I thought they would be grey!” 

“My, they’re tall, right?“

“Can you ride them?“

And, (in a very surprised tone!) “Oh! They are really pretty!” 

The conversations with our neighbors were interrupted by Katie throwing the lead rope into the air with her nose, in general fidgetting around, Laramie circling Steph on the lead rope, both mules pawing the ground, and trying to drag us on and get going! After reminding them they thankfully remembered some basic mule etiquette!

The first walks were spent showing the German countryside to the former Missouri residents. Turns out some things are very different here, and very scary! 

The second week, they escaped very narrowly a painful death by being run over by a herd of bleating sheep (they were fenced in, but you never know, right?), falling through the earth and coming out on the other side (yes, our roads have drainage holes, and no, they are not dangerous, they have lids), and of course German moving tree trunks (as opposed to Missouri moving tree trunks). 

Apart from these scary things, they felt very much at home already in the first week. We had the nicest whinny-brays when we brought the hay, and lots of blubbering when we had halters with us. They got used to the weather here, and when it rains they stay in their open shed, either eating hay out of their haynets (those are the kind that have very small openings, it takes much longer to eat the hay out of them and it’s impossible to put a hoof in). 

We started to get them used to our grass here in the pasture by slowly increasing the time they are allowed to graze. Funnily enough, they think it is an act of cruelty to leave them out in the pasture on their own for longer than two hours or so. The second they see us around the house, they run up to the fence hoping to be picked up! They have a very different idea of how they want to spend their time than we would have thought!

In the second week after their arrival, Steph and Larry had their first appointment with Inga, a very nice trainer who helps Steph improve his riding and handling skills. After two appointments, we agreed to meet for the third appointment in an outdoor arena belonging to a neighbor to finally start riding our mules here in Germany.

…to be continued!