From horseman to mule trainer, Noel Wiltshire chases a challenge

Noel Wiltshire started horseriding when he was aged four. But he also has 30 years experience in handling and training mules as working animals.

Noel Wiltshire Mules Noel Wiltshire is a well renowned horseman who has taken up an interest in mules. He is holding a working mule day at Moora on April 20 to showcase the breed. Pictures: Zoe Phillips

Nathalia horseman Noel Wiltshire rejects the term ‘stubborn as a mule’; training the working animal, he says, just takes patience and intuition.

The third-generation farmer learnt how to handle and train mules 30 years ago, but started horseriding when he was aged four.

“I used to fall off every day, so I hated it, but my father put me back on every day,” he said.

“Over the years I’ve been breaking and training horses all my life. I was asked to break mules in and I found it very much a challenge because they’re 10 times harder than a horse to train and teach.

“You have to be a special sort of person to handle a mule. You have to be patient, you can’t knock them around and you have to be in tune with them because they know what you’ll do before you do it.”

Noel Wiltshire and his mule named Mollie.

Rodney Sansom, Anita Bransden, Noel Wiltshire with his mules Willie and Kristen and Jarrod Lycett with Noel's other mule named Molly.

His passion brought him to help guide 10 mules more than 300km to the Arctic Circle, featured in a film It Takes 40 Feet. Noel travelled from Montana, USA, to Canada and northern Alaska.

“It was one of those things in life where you can probably never do it again,” Noel said.

“We were out in the wilderness, 400 miles from anywhere, and we never had an accident or a sick mule.”

Noel was originally raised on a dairy farm, and would feed the cattle with a harness horse.

He started making his own harnesses at 16 when the nearby saddlery stopped operation, and he is now one of Australia’s largest harness makers.

“By the time I was 20 I worked in a saddle shop and learnt how to make harnesses. Over the years I’ve had 12 trips to the US,” he said.

Noel Wiltshire.

Noel is now gearing up to host a mule training session on April 20, at the Moora Draught Horses Rushworth Easter Festival.

“There’s not many mule people in Australia but I just love the challenge,” he said.

“I’ve trained horses all my life and you never ever learn it all. It’s supporting others in their interest and sharing your experience and training techniques.”