Some years ago, I shot a smallish bull about a mile up a trail then way up on a side hill. There was about 6" of snow to make it easy to skid the quarters down to the trail. I took the antlers out and got my pack out of the truck. The plan was to skid the quarters down in 2 trips, bone them out at the bottom, then pack them out the mile 1 at a time. While I was putting the antlers in the truck and getting my pack, a couple guys stopped by to look at it. They had cow tags and were interested in where I got it. I took 1 of them up the trail with me and pointed out where we'd seen some cows.
When I got back down to the trail with the last 2 quarters, the other guy was waiting for me with 2 horses. He asked if he could 'borrow' my elk. The horses were 2 colts that had never packed and he saw it as a good opportunity to try them out. I thought extensively about it for 2 seconds and said 'ok'. He held the horses while I loaded the panniers and we waltzed them right out without a snort or a buck. Piece of cake.
