Goodbye Cosmo....

I remember the day at the sale.  A tall, lean cowboy was riding around a tall, lean appaloosa mule.  This mule had a head so ugly, he was handsome!  The auction time came round, and the mule was priced right.  Cosmo joined our herd.

A summer pack trip, not long after Mike added Cosmo to our herd, Ruby - young and willing - was invited to jump up on the saddle and join Mike atop Cosmo.  Now this is not something one does without potential consequences, but Cosmo stood there as Ruby jumped up to the saddle and the three of them rode on.

Miles and miles that mule took care of Mike.  Miles and miles.  One gives their trust to their steeds. 

There have been a couple of incidents.  Once, Cosmo gave up in a gully and Mike ended underneath the saddle horn and the mule.  A giant bruise and thankfully no broken bones.  They both survived the incident.

Then, last summer's swim in the Elk Fork roiling river.  Somewhere in the middle of that flooding torrent of water, Cosmo got his back left leg tangle in rock and down he and Mike went into the cold spring runoff.  The mule survived only because Mike held onto a rein. 

Hunting, this last fall, Cosmo stepped over a log and got that same leg tangled.  Down he went.  The signs of trouble were mounting up.

Today, friend and veterinarian Griggs announced a stifle issue which sent Cosmo to the hole at the Walton Ranch.  Good bye old friend, good bye.  You need suffer no more.

Until you have pulled yourself up onto the back of a mule or a horse, you will never understand the relationship that is built between animal and man.  Losing your riding mule is a tough tough thing and today was not easy for Mike.  Cosmo will be missed.