When you see a farmer moving livestock, they're normally on a horse, motorbike, or in a chopper.
But a Queensland feedlot worker has turned her back on those methods. She says she's found something safer — a mule.
Kelly Dudley has worked in feedlots since leaving high school 13 years ago.
She spends a lot of time checking and feeding cattle, which means she opens and closes a lot of gates.
Mules replacing horses
Like many pen riders, Ms Dudley used to do these jobs on horseback, but a trip overseas changed everything.
"It wasn't until I went to the States in 2015 and got the opportunity to ride some mules and I thought, hell, these things, you know, they go all right. Why not use this for my day job?" she said.
A mule is the offspring of a female horse and a male donkey.
While horse and donkey chromosomes are similar enough for the animals to mate, the differences make the offspring sterile.
Ms Dudley's boss, Ben Maher, is open to having mules in the mix at the feedlot.
"The cattle handle it the same as they do a horse," he said.
The safer option
Ms Dudley reckons mules are safer than horses in a feedlot environment.
"When a horse steps, it steps flat-footed. That causes it to sometimes slip and fall over, hurting the rider," she said.
"It has happened to me quite a few times.
When it comes to training, the animal's disposition has been a sticking point.
"I thought they're probably a little bit temperamental sometimes, so I was always a bit dubious," Mr Maher said.
"But Kelly got one and worked on it for a long time.
"Once you're bonding with it, she could do anything with it. So it worked."
Ms Dudley believes her dedication to the animal is worth it.
"And the fact that they are cheaper to run than a horse is also a bonus.
"Being able to live in drier conditions and with less feed plus maintaining a healthy body condition is amazing."
A hit on social media
It's not just Ms Dudley who is a fan.
The unusual pairing has attracted plenty of attention on TikTok under the handle @kranchmules, with almost 20,000 followers and one video getting around 2.8 million likes.
She says visitors to the feedlot also get a kick out of the mules.
"It's a great conversation starter when they come here and see a mule tied up and look twice, take a photo and ask, 'Where'd you get that one from?' So that makes my day pretty much."
Mr Maher warns mules are not suitable for every business.
"If you're changing riders all the time, it's certainly going to be not as successful as what ours has been here."
Ms Dudley recommends a lot of research for anyone interested in having a mule.
"No question is a dumb question," she said.
"I knew nothing about mules before I went to the US and I was like, 'Oh, I'm going to try this.' I did it. Look at me now."
She's now training another mule for the feedlot.
And while it may have started as a hobby, she has big plans for the future.
"I want to keep it going and make mules more readily available for people here in Australia."
Watch this story on ABC TV's Landline at 12:30pm on Sunday, or on ABC iview.
