Stubborn as a mule: Carl Cockrell's story

Friday, September 6, 2013
Carl Cockrell show off his two favorite riding mules at his Bell City home. Stormy, the one on the right, is his favorite. "I don't think she would let anyone else ride her," Carl says.

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, but I find them very easy to work with," Cockrell insists. "Dad had 'em. That's what he farmed with, so I guess mules are just in my blood."

In 2004, Cockrell began raising the beautiful animals, and he now has seven, two of which he and his daughter Deb ride. Another two are being broken to pull a fancy 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.

Carl shows off the other mules in the pen. He is breaking two of them to pull a fancy red and gold wagon.

Cockrell had two mules that pulled the wagon, but someone made him an offer he couldn't refuse, so he sold them.

He describes his beginnings:

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

Carl's largest mule looks over the gate.

In 2008 or 2010, Cockrell 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. This writer could swear that Cockrell's favorite--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.

Our Monday interview 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 bad. 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 are called "John mules." Since they are hybrids, they cannot reproduce on their own.

Cockrell's daughter, Karen Davis, helps him 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, 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, Arkansas. 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.

Cockrell's constant companion wherever he goes is his 6-year-old border collie, Maggie. She rides in the truck or on the 4-wheeler and follows along beside 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 Karen 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.

Country life is good.

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