On the morning of Wednesday, October 30, we made the difficult but necessary decision to euthanize Raymond the mule due to a small scrotal hernia that occluded the affected loops of his small intestine.
We believe that Raymond was in his late 20s. He was the offspring of a wild Banker mare and a donkey that lived with the herd before there was a domestic livestock ordinance in place. He was actually Raymond Jr (or maybe even Raymond III) – his sire the donkey was the original Raymond. He was also known by locals as Jack, Rebel, Burrito, and probably a few other choice nicknames over the years.
Raymond spent most of his life in the wild and lived just like the horses – he had a harem of mares, raised foals (even though they weren’t biologically his – mules are sterile), and fought other stallions for territory. He had a reputation for being fierce, and most of the stallions gave him a wide berth. Because he was a hybrid, Raymond did not have all of the physical adaptations we see with the Banker horses and as a result had issues with his hooves throughout much of his life. When he was younger they would grow out and break off without any intervention, but as he got older and less active he was unable to self-trim. Late in 2017 we sedated Raymond and trimmed his feet in the field, which helped him for a while. But by the following year they had grown back out and he had become severely lame, so we made the decision to take him to the farm where we’d be able to provide him the care he needed.
We were a little worried that Raymond would have a hard time adapting to life on the farm, but he quickly showed us that we should never underestimate him. He settled right in and figured out how to wrap us around his hooves, and for the next five years our lives would revolve around him. We were able to correct many of the issues with his hooves and keep him sound and comfortable, he was put on a diet more appropriate for a mule his age, and he even agreed to being halter trained. We built him his own pasture where he didn’t have to worry about other horses challenging him (turns out he really wasn’t all that fierce, he was just very defensive) and we did our best to accommodate and indulge in all of his many quirks and idiosyncrasies. After we rescued Blossom last year she and Raymond lived together at the farm as they had in the wild, and they were both so happy to have each other’s company.
Our goal for Raymond, especially over the last year or so, was to keep him content and comfortable. We knew that should he become seriously ill there wasn’t much we could do for him due to his age, other underlying health issues, his temperament, and the fact that we could no longer safely anesthetize him. Quality of life was the most important part of his care plan, and he was definitely a very happy mule right up to the moment he passed away. It doesn’t make the loss any easier or less heartbreaking, but there is certainly a lot of comfort to be taken from that.
Finding the words that fully encapsulate Raymond’s extraordinary life and his place in our history is proving to be quite difficult. There will never be another one like him, and his death is the end of an era. He is the closing chapter on a way of life that does not exist here anymore. He was everything a Banker is supposed to be – resilient, adaptable, smart. He was truly the salt of the earth.
We will remember him fondly and miss him dearly. It’s way too quiet around here without him hollering at us.
Raymond touched so many lives and was adored by so many people. We’d like for you to help us write his eulogy by visiting this special page on our website that we’ve set up for him. Please share your memories and photographs with everyone so that we can celebrate his life together.
Rest well, Raymond.
