Working with a Mule in a Sheriff's Posse

A Sheriff's Posse is a volunteer, not-for profit organization that serves the county's Sheriff's Office and under the Sheriff's authority. Their purpose is to increase the Sheriff's manpower as needed.

The Posse members are not law enforcement officers, but can serve in that capacity. Their main functions are traffic control, security patrol at public functions such as fairs and city celebrations. They also secure disaster areas, such as fire sites, and train or plane wrecks. We also are involved in Search & Rescue for lost individuals, and outdoor criminal evidence searches. Public Relations work is also a big part of what we do. Riding in parades, and just mixing in with the crowds, talking with the folks while on patrols, helps promote the Sheriff's Office and increases its presence.

A Posse member is on call 24/7 and receives no compensation. He or she is also responsible for their own mount, truck, and trailer. Most mounts are quarter horses, thoroughbreds, or walking horses, with drafts becoming more popular.

My mount, Sota, is a 15 hand, molly, quarter horse mule, with just a little thoroughbred in her background. 
Learning to be steady in extreme situations was hard for Sota, as self preservation is high on any mule's list. Once trust was earned & learned she did fine. The big advantage I've found to my mule is another mule trait. "Once learned, always remembered". I know that I can trust her in the situations I put her in, whether the day after training or a month down the road.

If, when riding in a crowd of people, a truck backfires, a tarp blows loose, a siren goes off, a fair ride starts up on the midway, lights flash, or a helicopter flies over, your mount must be steady and stay calm.

Sota and I are also starting Air Scenting training for search and rescue work.
If (when) she is qualified as an Air Scenting Mount she will be the first mule to do so (as far as I know).  The basic qualification test is to consistently find a hidden person in 40 acres of mixed woodland in less than 40 minutes. This is by using primarily her ability to follow human scent in the air and secondarily using her hearing and vision.
-- Steve H, Minnesota

Click HERE to see more photos of Steve and Sota