Horses, Horns, Pack Strings....
- Thread starter mntnguide
- Start date
Timberstalker
Veteran member
Jrod
Active Member
Any idea why that would be? Disease transmission? I think they would be a good decoy, maybe that is why
Mules are definitely usually a "smoother ride" as some would say. They don't have the pronounced withers like a horse does. Mules carry weight more evenly through their whole body, whereas our horses carry the majority over their front shoulders, hence when going down steep hills they let you know they don't like it. I always walk my horse down steep stuff usually, you will wear a horse out much sooner in years of use if you constantly abuse their front end. . That being said, if you are going to ride mules, Get a Crouper or a britchen attached to your riding saddle. Without the obvious withers like a quarter horse to hold the saddle in place, saddles slip very easily on mules and before you know it you are riding on their neck while going down any sort of grade. I always use a crouper usually when i used to ride mules, just make sure they are used to it otherwise it will be a real "fun" first downhill. . Personally I prefer to ride horses, but that is just personal preference. I have ridden plenty of mules that are awesome riding animals, i just prefer the ride of a horse. Mules are incredibly sure footed and think about each step, so I always used to put my clients on them in the Frank Church where riding across cliff tops and steep shale hills was the normal daily ride.
In terms of packing, I love packing mules. They learn much quicker than a horse about bending around trees and such, and also not going the wrong way and causing a break-away from the animal in front of them. Plenty of horses are great for packing as well, i just find that mules work out better. On my summer trips i have between 25-35 head of stock with me with all the packing animals are mules along with an extra horse or two and my draft mare that the mules "mother" up to. When i turn them loose at night i know the mules will be with the horses in the morning, whereas having 35 horses, they would usually split up into groups eventually and i would spend more time looking for them each morning. Mules are herd-bound and that is my favorite trait about using them in the mountains.
trkytrack2
Active Member
The Colorado Parks and Wildlife asks that hunters leave their pack goats at home and not to bring them into areas that bighorn sheep frequent due to possible spread of disease. This recommendation is only found in the Sheep & Goat brochure on page 3. There is no actual law that prohibits the use of pack goats in Colorado that I can find. Do you know where I could find this law CC? I believe that there should be an actual written law prohibiting pack goat use. Possibly spreading disease to sheep is enough for me to want such a law.
Colorado Cowboy
Super Moderator
I get all the notices, announcements and press releases from them. That's where I first saw it last year or maybe even 2 years ago, can't remember exactly. I did see it in the Sheep/Goat regs too. Not sure if it is a law, but I can find out as my neighbor is a parks manager for them.
mt-mike
Active Member
Packing our dall sheep out 22-miles in Alaska.
Coming out of the Yukon bush after 12-days with a Grizzly Bear. I put these two photos in this post, even though you can't see the griz that the horse is carrying, because I wanted you guys to see the way they handle a string in the Yukon. Strictly hard panniers and diamond hitches with no leads. It's not really a string the way most of us are used to. Instead each horse follows on his own behind the guide and I follow up in case one strays away. Which they don't do much when they are 150-miles from home.
Coming out of the Yukon bush after 12-days with a Grizzly Bear. I put these two photos in this post, even though you can't see the griz that the horse is carrying, because I wanted you guys to see the way they handle a string in the Yukon. Strictly hard panniers and diamond hitches with no leads. It's not really a string the way most of us are used to. Instead each horse follows on his own behind the guide and I follow up in case one strays away. Which they don't do much when they are 150-miles from home.
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mt-mike
Active Member
Here are a couple of shots of bringing my 6x7 bull off a 9500-foot Wyoming ridge in snowy conditions.
