Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Horses vs. mules

all i can offer is every time i hear a packstring coming in the mountains i see its being lead by a horse that is kicking a rock know and again, when i am suprised there is a packstring in my camp its a guy riding a mule towing a couple mules, i have had many of each in all kind of conditions, horses raised in the rough stuff from day one, as well as mules raised in a backyard, i cant hear the feet on my mules hitting rocks, logs , whatnot, they use there nosess like a bird dog and ears like a mulie buck, i ask them to do things , not tel them to do it, kind of like a wife.....

As a sideline: Cecil Andrus, Sec. Interior under Carter, was formerly the governor of Idaho. He was an avid elk hunter and he and his friends packed into the wilderness areas to hunt every year. One time when he was gov., one of them shot an elk and they brought up the mules to load it. One of them got a little raunchy, reared up, and pawed. His hoof hit Andrus in the head and cold conked him. So they had to deal with a dead elk, a raunchy mule, and an unconscious governor. Luckily, he woke up before too long and was able to ride out under his own power. I bet he had a headache, though!!

Must have been a Democrat governor.

He was a Dem, but in those days a Dem was more conservative than a Republican today. He was actually a pretty good governor, pro gun, pro hunting, etc. Too bad he had to associate with the likes of Carter.

Horses and mules each have their place, but I'm not going to tie a mule to the hitching post outside my favorite watering hole. A guy's got to have some standards.

So you tie up ol' Billy to the hitching post and belly up to the bar. "Bar keep. Give me a shot and a double for my goat out th'ar"

He wouldn't be there long, he would untie himself and leave.

I won't argue some of the benifits of a good mule, but I would put my good horses up against any mule in a rodeo arena and I'll win there. A good horse is faster and quicker than any mule, easier to work daily on and can just get more done....

I have owned some good mules and our mule program over the years got better and better and we used better mares and mostly hot bloods as the packers needed a mule that could step over blow down timber..

I also had some racing mules that I bought from Elmer Hepler of New Mexico horse racing fame and they could fly but couldn't outrun a good horse..My best one was out of a Jack Straw mare and that big dunn mule could really run and right up there with a regular horse, but he was never a gentle mule..I called him cicatres (scar) because he ran into a barn wall and out the other side, tore his head up and left a bad scar..We got him broke and I rode him for a number of years.

For hunting a good mule is a jewel but I would never feel real good putting an inexperienced person on most mules, granted their are exceptions..

Like I said I am not anti mule and I sure don't mind riding a good mule, but I'm not as anal about them as most "mule men" are, those guys get plumb carried with the atributes of a mule, almost as bad as a Pre 64 Win. man!

As to myself, I have always liked a mule that wasn't "quite broke" because that kind of a mule still has some fire and go in him, most really broke nice mules get a tad on the lazy side imo and work you to death..:) I know that will stir the sinces of some of the mule lovers out there, but its generally a fact..

The other thing I like in a mule is I like for the Jack to have been half Mexican burro and half Mamouth, the Mexican burro will give him fire and toughness and yes even a bit of treachery, but he will be a better mule IMO...Mamoth Jack mules are slugs IMO..

I still would rather have a good horse for any cowboy chore..I know God had a since of humor, and he hated cowboys for their sinning ways, he needed to punish them, and that is how the Mule came into being!

I've ridden and packed plenty of both, and I prefer to ride a horse and pack mules. For all the reasons stated in other posts mules are better beasts of burden, but in sticky situations I want the animal to do what I tell it to, not what self-preservation that's been hardwired in it tells it to. Of course in an ideal situation your whole string can do double duty.

Atkinson.Yep,I shoot a pre 64 Win in.06, and I use cup and core 200 gr RN in it.

I wouldn't mind riding a mule versus a horse but I could never get used to the silly hats muleriders seem to gravitate to.

I told a cowboy friend of mine I had mules to go to the mtns. He told me I should not have an animal on the place that was smarter than I was. I told him that's why I had mules and he had horses. lol I like to pack and ride mules for the mtns. Mules are like women. nothing worse than a bad .one nuthin better than a good one.

A friend of mine who has had mules for years told me there's two kinds of mules: good ones and bad ones. He said if you get a bad one, just get rid of it .

How about a donkey? How much can they carry in comparison to a llama or goat? You could ride then into the mountains and then walk them out when you need to pack out game. Anyone have experience with the little long ears?

Even a miniature donkey can carry as much as a big llama. They're harder to train, though. I've never messed with them myself but they can do a good job. Minis are much easier to come by. 2 of them will carry about as much as 1 standard. You're better off having 2 anyway. A lone one will keep you awake all night bellowing for company.

Don't get a jack that's been allowed to breed. The dang things can kick up a real rodeo if they get near a jenny even after you get them castrated. Last spring, we were going through Craigs List to see if any packers were available. Most of those for sale were jacks. No thanks.

The donkeys are even smarter than mules,which leaves finding someone smarter than them a lot harder.

A standard sized donkey can carry around 200 lb. A good load for a mini is 80-100. You can ride a standard, but with their small size comfort might be lacking, especially in the hills. I feel much more comfortable on a big horse. I don't recommend riding very far in a pack saddle either. Your crotch will suffer badly even if you add stirrups. A riding saddle for a donkey might be a little hard to find.

I have a min donkey and cow ponies. The donkey is WAAAY harder to train than a horse! He is awesome at halter breakin colts! Throw a good halter on him, throw a loop around the colts neck, thats tied to the halter and watch them go... They damn sure cant drag him and after about 10 min the colts are ready to have a halter put on them. Tie them up short and the lil donkey leads the way! half an hour later you can lead the colts yourself.. I might try packin on him but we have planty of good cow ponies that are pretty bomb proof..

I owned a huge donkey one time. He was 13.5 hands and probably weighed 750 lbs ????. I bought him off a Mexican from Boquillas Mexico..He was a freak Mexican burro, and not a Mamouth Jack and he was one broke son of a gun...I hunted off him and he was twice as tough as the toughest mule I have ever owned. He had a fast lope at best, but I could pull a deer up in my lap and ride him 10 miles to the house or pickup in the mountains..He was an awesome animal, so good in fact that everyone wanted him, and finally I sold him for a small fortune...I named him Latigo, becasue he was tough as wang leather..Wonderful disposition..I have ofter regretted that sale...Never seen another like him.

The average burro can pack more weight per size than any other animal on earth..but they are mostly very hard to do anything with. More trouble than their worth IMO....I always thought the best thing for burro would be to run them with dogs and let them kill the Lions, they can and will do that if they have a colt and a loin gets after one.

Neighbor had a goood size donkey down in Alburque.He found a wrecked Cessna up in the Pecos Wilderness and went in there and cut out evything except the frame. He packed that out in one pice on the donkey. About 8 ft stuck out in front and about 8 ft stuck out in back.
The donkey did ok,but he cracked the up rights on my sawbuck pack saddle that he had borrowed from me.