One thing about using horses or mules is that it can greatly extend your hunting career. I'll be 69 in few weeks with several health issues of back and lungs.If I didn't have a good saddle mule and a pack mule, I'd have to quit hunting. Those issues prevent me for having more animals,so I can't do pack ins anymore, but I can camp at my truck and ride in every day 5-8 miles,mostly in the dark, hunt and then ride back out.
Last year I hunted by myself. I hunted a total of 17 days for elk and was in the woods 24 days thru two differnt seasons.
With horses or mules,you don't tire yourself out walking into your hunting area. You can hunt as hard as you want and all you have to do at the end of the day is enough energy to crawl back in the saddle and ride back to camp without falling off.
