mulesuk

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Hi This is me and this is what I am about

I am the founder of Reflex Rescue and Rehoming and Reflex Equestrian.
I am a hairdresser by profession and owned my own Hair & Health Club in East London for 14yrs.
During that time I started my ''Equestrian Business'' part time .
I used to back Arabs for a show producer, and also took horses for schooling and behavioural problems.

Over the next few years my Equestrian Business grew and my active involvement in My Hair Salon dwindled, to be honest I hated Hairdressing but managed to endure it for 21yrs to finance my love of working with horses.

My brothers set up REFLEX INTERNATIONAL a merchandising company and I adopted their name.
REFLEX EQUESTRIAN was official.

My equestrian buisiness covered all aspects , Liveries, Schooling, Backing, Producing and competing Show Jumpers and Sourcing and selling Horses as an Agent.
I have never bought horses specifically to sell.
I have now sold hundreds of horses for private individuals and importers.

By my side for all these years working with me has been my dearest friend , advisor and love of my life, my husband Roy.
Through good times, hardship, and all our successes he has stood by me putting up with all my hair brained ideas and having a few of his own!!

In Sept 2006 my world came crashing down!!
Roy had a massive stroke, I nearly lost him in a matter of hours .
He was in intensive care for three weeks while we waited and waited for him to open his eyes.
His Consultant and staff all believed Roy would not make it but I knew my big strong man was not leaving.
We spent the next 5 months in two Stroke units slowly building his strength up (he had lost half his body weight!!!) and teaching him to sit up , stand up and all the things we take for granted.

Its been a long hard road , Roy has lost the use of his right side and he can only say single words and the odd phrase , he swears well!!!
I miss our long chats about the horses and our life but we communicate through our love for each other and I am blessed to have him.
He still keeps me under control

In Sept 2008 I found French Rescues they gave me the much needed therapy I needed. I was looking through Horsemart and found a french pony saved from a ''Fatfarm'' l started to investigate and became a member on Equine Rescue and Rehoming. I decided that as l had earned a living from horses now was the time to give something back to these wonderful animals.
I started to rescue and got hooked..... I rescued over 30 horses and ponies whilst on ERR.
In Jan 2009 I was persuaded to open Reflex Rescue and Rehoming, together my staff of Vanessa,Zoe, Julie, Liz, Linda and Louise saved the lives of over 40 horses in two months.
In the last year I have rescued and helped to rescue over 140 Horses, Ponies , Donkeys and Mules from slaughter.

RRR now no longer rescues so I work with Second Chance Equines .

I have set up Reflex website to Rehome the many horses and ponies I have rescued from France and England.
I will continue to rescue horses at risk of slaughter here and abroad.

This site also advertises Horses and Ponies for sale and anything Equestrian related.

If you have a horse to sell or tack, lorry etc please pm me and I will add it to the site free of charge.

Thank you


TEZA

www.reflexequestrian.proboards.com
www.secondchanceequines.proboards.com

My Mule MULOT.
He was rescued two weeks ago from being slaughtered in France.He is 6yrs old about 13hh and I am looking to rehome him under an adoption contract for £700. Thank you

Hi, Welcome to the forum.

I saw your little mule on another forum and thought he was lovely, an adorable face and in great condition too.

I'm afraid I will have to nail my colours to the mast and say that personally I am not the worlds biggest fan of the huge import of french rescues, having seen a few in new homes that were distinctly ropey. I am not saying I wouldn't ever buy one, say for example if there was a large spotty mule (!!!) or of course something I'd bred or been involved with but I worry about some of the horses being saved that have big problems.

Do feel free to post any mules you have on the site... and go on, are you not tempted to keep that one?!!

PS - though I do love "Jacob" - a great rescue - stunning horse, trained and gelded (yay, yay, yay)

I do wonder why we still have this national hang-up about eating surplus male equines. I rear Dexter cattle, who are incredibly cute little things, yet I have no compunction about eating the spare males whatsoever. I did have a mule gelding once, who had been "rescued". This was a bad mistake, he was wholly unsuited to a mixed small holding and killed sheep and a calf. If there had been a local horse butcher, I would have eaten him with immense pleasure and gusto.

Thanks for your warm welcome Louisa
I will pass your comments onto Mulot I am sure that as he is frightened of 2 little foals your sheep and calves would be safe with him .
Are you sure Louisa you are on the right site ? Eating mules is not acceptable on here is it?

Hey ho never mind.
Thank you admin , I respect your opinion.
My rescues are rehomed under contract to hopefully eliminate the ''ropey '' homes.

Hee heee hee, if you'd heard my language trying to trim the feet of my "should know better" mule last week you would have thought mule eating was positively encouraged!!!!

I'm not against the use of horses for meat, but I'm sure like everyone they must have a humane death, go on the hook not the hoof etc etc. If we could sort that out for all animals and bring back local slaughter houses...

I'm glad you got him if you really want him I just see too many "rescued" (i.e bought from sales etc)animals that people can't cope with which are then dumped on charities that have too many anyway
Do be careful with your small livestock though your boy probably won't bother once he considers the part of his "herd" but be careful if introducing new stock.I have built a Paradise Paddock for my mules so that my goats can escape and graze in the middlebit if they wish to but this spring when the mules were in the top paddock one silly goat took her kid through a gap and I had to pick the bits up later,my fault,I should've taken more care!Like everything you have to learn to adapt to the animal rather than always expecting it to adapt to you
http://www.horsegazette.com/MadMule.html just a warning
My new boy Picasso has made no attempt just puts his ears back occasionally and makes a half hearted attempt to chase them,perhaps he's just to old and sensible to waste energy whereas Malaga's young and dumb and as little Blue bosses him about takes it out on everyone else
As for eating well I think if a few more horses were eaten insted of being bred from there might be less horses needing rescueing but each to there own.

Welcome Reflex.

Are we a forum of carnivors? I too would prefer to eat horses/mules than for them to have a life of suffering. I have never eaten mule that I know of but I have had some very nice horsemeat in France.

I too feel that indiscriminate breeding is a sin, but have nothing against animals being bred and reared for human consumption as long as welfare codes are followed and there is a humane death at the end.

I have known of ropey rescue centres let alone homes......... dont even get me started on the RSPCA......

Well, reading all these comments I can only say that I am against eating horse/donkey or mule meat. I mean there must be a point somewhere in our civilised world where we have to stop eating every animals just because we can eat them. I mean how about dogs and cats??? I am not a vetarian (yet) but the older I get the softer I seem to get.
I have also got a smallholding but I only keep animals I can use for their wool or their eggs. That was my choice and that's perfect for me.
However and saying this, I have never had a mule - may be I change my mind after owning my first???

Tina

Hm Eggs-Chickens=cockerals=responsibilities ditto sheep etc...not going there

Oh yes - I forgot !!!

Well, that certainly got the conversational ball rolling in a more dynamic way than merely saying hello & welcome. It might help if you know that I'm an archaeologist who specialises in the study of animal bones. One of my colleagues is studying the evidence for hippophagy, or horse-eating. This was normal in the British Isles until the aftermath of the Synod of Whitby in the C7th AD. Despite modern practice, the classical mediterranean civilisations did not eat horse meat, it was associated with barbarians and therefore, by default, pagans. When the practice of the Roman, rather than Celtic, church was adopted at the Synod of Whitby, horse-eating subsequently became a prohibited practice to emphasise the distinction between Christian and pagan and identify backsliders. Other colleagues are studying the initial domestication of the horse, in central Asia, and it is clear that horse eating and horse milking preceed riding and draught use by many centuries. I can't see a problem with eating something that was originally domesticated thousands of years ago as a ready source of meat, in the same way that sheep, goats, pigs, and cattle were.
My favourite threat to my mule Frances, when she is being particularly irritating, is to send her to the salami factory, in much the same way as one's mother threatened to sell one to the gypsies!

Well, you may be right BUT we are not riding sheep, goats, pigs and cattle. We are riding horses, mules and donkeys. We are using dogs as companion and as working dogs. We don't eat them at the end. Ok, we are using the eggs of our chicken and some of us might eat them when they can't lay any anymore. But the role of the equine has changed, again, in the last century and up to now. They have become our pets, and like dogs, also our companion. They had to work and still do in many parts of the world. And to be honest we are not in the C7th AD nor are with barbarians/pagans anymore.
But hey, you know that anyway. Nice try!!!
Tina

I've often threatened to turn Malaga into a Salami sandwich and Albie did say when Malaga was going through his Mad Malaga perind that it was about time he learnt what went into a tin of dog meat (but he thinks I spoil him anyway! )
Interesting piece Louisa,but then why is it that most of the horses and donkeys etc are exported to Italy?

Interesting piece Louisa,but then why is it that most of the horses and donkeys etc are exported to Italy?
- "They must have become Pagans...

Well, there was even a time when donkeys/mules were highly valued after traders discovered that Mules and Donkeys were able to walk long distances and carry their sometimes very heavy goods. That, of course, meant traders were not forced to to business in only their local communities anymore. At this time the Romans even had specialised Muli Vets, called "mulomedici". Ok, that's a while ago, about 1200 - 800 BC.