Horses As I See Them By Ian McMurchy

Don't know if this is still active, but many of us cannot imagine stepping outside and not hearing a nicker.They are always a part of the conversation, used almost daily and create alot of our recreation and help us work, leading a packtrain, roping a steer...you name it..What says you?
 
Horses and mules are alot like women...there is nothing better than a good one, and nothing worse than a bad one.

I prefer mules 10 to 1 over horses...but know my way around horses too.

I started riding at about the same time I started walking...used to ride on Kates back while she plowed the corn and tobacco with Grandad at the reins...there never was or ever will be anybody that could ride Tobe (the one on the left in the pic)...one heck of a work mule but you DID NOT ride him.

My Grandad and his mules...Kate and Tobe, pic taken in 1976.



My wife and I riding in Big South Fork a few years ago...thats Henry, my mule...5 years old in this pic.



Stopped for a little break at East Fork...Henry was just about 3 years old in this pic, still young and in training...but was coming along nicely for such a young mule...he is 12 years old now...and **** near bomb proof.

 
Love the pics..ridgerunner.The picture of your Grandad is a dandy, , these guys didn't know it but they built long memories.A friend of mine raised a few good mules, little long ears bred some good race bred mares...whoops, but produced a couple of real good mules that we ended up team roping with.Your mount looks alot like on of them.The Parelli remark was first uttered by Winston Churchill as such''the outside of a horse (or mule) is good for the inside of a man''Cheers
 
I've been prepping a 15 yr old mammoth jack for this fall's activities. I tell ya what, I couldn't be more please with an animal. Plumb gentle all the way around. Doesn't know much but we're learnin' quickly. I really like his shuffle or whatever gait that is.

Went by some horses this afternoon. Couldn't get over how spindly their legs are.:)

Ridgerunner's mule is certainly a good looker.

Neighbor has some quarter mares. Think we'll be makin' some mules. He really likes the jack. What's a breed fee worth anyway?

Gonna sell my 3 goats and get a jenny for packing and maybe raise a couple of mammoths.
 
Yup Roy, you are smitten.So the neighbor likes your Jack? How about taking one of the foals in trade as a fee.Stud fees here would be 250-300 or so/live baby.Good luck
 
I have been in on few back country hunts all with horses, I am not a horse person other than when it comes to packing in to go hunting, a few years back we went into the Thorofare in Wyoming's Bridger Tetons. On the way in we approached a river crossing and up to this point my horse had been....we'll say ok. As long as the pack string was moving along he did well, whenever we stopped he would get antsy, not want to hold still and shaking his head around. I did my best as a novice to keep him in line. Well now here we are at this river crossing and the river has split into 2 separate streams and my cousins are all in front of me and we probably have 12-14 horses in our string, not enough room to let them all drink at the same time, so there are two sets of horses drinking and the trail was pretty steep going down towards the river and it had washed out over the years so it was about 3 foot deep and only a few feet wide where I was at, my horse wanted to go forward, but couldn't because all the other horses had stopped in front of me to drink so then the bastard starts shaking his head and trying to back up the trail, I jerked the reins a few times to try and "whip him into shape" The son of a bitch rears up on his hind legs and proceeded to do a 360! At one point I thought about jumping off, it then felt like he was going to go over backwards, but the bank was steep enough that he hit his *** on it and kept him upright, he came around and back to all fours, my cousin's buddy was right in front of me and had witnessed the whole show and he thought that I had done that **** on purpose! I later joked with him "yeah, that's how I roll, I am like roy rogers, just seeing what he could do" In reality I about **** my pants! I have never been so sore in my whole life than that ride into the mountains, I was all tensed up and ready for the next rodeo at every bend and some of that country is **** steep so I was especially tense during those moments. I rode a different mild mannered horse out with no issues and my cousins who are **** good with horses, one of them rode that nag and didn't have any problems after they let him know who was boss, but those **** things can tell if you are a horseman or not and if you give them an inch they take a mile....my biggest problem is in that steep ****, I don't know when to lay down the law, because I was trying when that **** thing acted up and I **** sure wouldn't want to try that when you are above a 1000' drop off, so I kind of agree with the author on horses, I love that they get me into some **** good elk country and see some country that I never otherwise would have, but I don't know that I will ever be comfortable on them.

I have hunted via horse back three times now, once as a drop camp which I prefer where an outfitter takes us in and drops us off and I can hump my own **** around and then get a ride back out and twice with my cousins where the horses are there the whole time and we hunt with them. I have a blast with my family up there hunting, and I really do appreciate all the work they can do, but they also create alot of work, running off when they get a chance, hobbled or not hobbled, seems like sometimes its harder work when they are there! I am doing another drop camp this fall in the Bob Marshall in Montana, so I will be riding a pony in, and I pray that I will get a good one!

Good luck to y'all this fall no matter which side of the fence you are on as far as horses go! :) I will go on seeing them as a necessary evil to get to where I want to go!:D
 
I have been in on few back country hunts all with horses,
Good luck to y'all this fall no matter which side of the fence you are on as far as horses go! :) I will go on seeing them as a necessary evil to get to where I want to go!:D

i can't sugar coat this Hognuts, if you're not a horseman, rding somebody else's horses sucks!

you have no relationship with them and you are at their mercy.

it takes a lot of work to keep good horses. i work all of mine 3-4 times per week. i even had a colt that needed worked 7 times a week for hours at a time, but got rid of him... he wasn't spooky... he was dominant. he wouldn't have been afraid of an Abrahms tank, he'd have tried to kill it.

there isn't a more rewarding feeling though, than when you have a good ride on a horse you broke.
 
i can't sugar coat this Hognuts, if you're not a horseman, rding somebody else's horses sucks!

you have no relationship with them and you are at their mercy.

it takes a lot of work to keep good horses. i work all of mine 3-4 times per week. i even had a colt that needed worked 7 times a week for hours at a time, but got rid of him... he wasn't spooky... he was dominant. he wouldn't have been afraid of an Abrahms tank, he'd have tried to kill it.

there isn't a more rewarding feeling though, than when you have a good ride on a horse you broke.


I agree with that whole heartedly, give them an inch and they will take a mile!

My biggest problem is my cousins are always on me to"keep them in line", but most of the country that we are traveling in is some pretty rugged nasty **** and the last thing that I want to do is start a ******* match with a 1200 lbs animal up on top of the mountain, so as long as we are moving forward and not having a major rodeo I just "put up with" alot of their ********. So far the only big blow ups have been when the pack train has been stopped usually somewhat tame terrain...luckily!
 
I agree with that whole heartedly, give them an inch and they will take a mile!

My biggest problem is my cousins are always on me to"keep them in line", but most of the country that we are traveling in is some pretty rugged nasty **** and the last thing that I want to do is start a ******* match with a 1200 lbs animal up on top of the mountain, so as long as we are moving forward and not having a major rodeo I just "put up with" alot of their ********. So far the only big blow ups have been when the pack train has been stopped usually somewhat tame terrain...luckily!

Here is a trick that will turn your mount into the best on the mountain... It could be complicated if you don't already understand the concept of pressure and release, but never go on a ride without a lariat (lasso.) before you saddle on the first day get into a pen or get your mount on a lunge line. have somebody make the horse walk in a circle with you about 15-20 feet behind him and that lariat around one of his hind feet. Tell him WHOA! And jerk his foot out from under him until he stops fighting it. Take control of his feet.

Some people haven't liked me playing rough with their stock until later when I'm riding a horse that isn't insane.

If you can, watch the movie "groundwork" put on by back brannaman. The guy is darn good.
 
Here is a trick that will turn your mount into the best on the mountain... It could be complicated if you don't already understand the concept of pressure and release, but never go on a ride without a lariat (lasso.) before you saddle on the first day get into a pen or get your mount on a lunge line. have somebody make the horse walk in a circle with you about 15-20 feet behind him and that lariat around one of his hind feet. Tell him WHOA! And jerk his foot out from under him until he stops fighting it. Take control of his feet.

Some people haven't liked me playing rough with their stock until later when I'm riding a horse that isn't insane.

If you can, watch the movie "groundwork" put on by back brannaman. The guy is darn good.

Thanks for the advice, I will **** sure take a look! I think me letting them get away with too much and mounting and dismounting are my least favorite parts of riding....outside of that I ride like a champ! :D
 
Thanks for the advice, I will **** sure take a look! I think me letting them get away with too much and mounting and dismounting are my least favorite parts of riding....outside of that I ride like a champ! :D

Get on line and get a classic ropes "the heat" in xxs (extra extra soft)or xs. You need a good soft rope to keep tight on the heel when the rope is slack.

I am 30 and have broke 130+ horses. I take their hind feet with a lariat and very minimal amount of force. Because of the ground work I learned from Buck, I'm probably the best trainer in the Kansas City area. I don't do it for a living anymore, but I take a few on a year and keep the really good ones :).

Once you take his feet, that animal stars to change. They develop a good stop and realize that you are in control now.

You may have to repeat the lariat trick for a few days in a row and you will have a significantly improved experience.
 
I rent my horses every year from the same outfitter. I am by no means very horse wise, and am always open to suggestions when it comes to dealing with horses. MY experience with them is mainly trail riding and then packing meat. Me have almost all of our own tact and gear, trees, panniers, lead ropes, extra halters, pick ropes, all the main emergency horse stuff needed for cuts and sores.

I think of horses like big dogs. I give them some extra attention, maybe a treat or two. Find their place where they like to be scratched. I always take a few hours over a few days to try and have some sort of bond with this new animal. It seems to work for me.

But occasionally, I will have to be rough with one of the horses, which I am ok with.

A little more than a month and half away. Elk season.....
 
Not sure how this old thread got resurrected but I enjoyed the article.

I'm considered by those that know me to be a fair horseman. I've had horses and ridden for around 47 years now including raising and breaking quite a few of my own.

Horses are a lot like motorcycles in that they will hurt you and you can never become complacent or take them for granted.

Of course a motorcycle has no mind of it's own and does not come with a built in disposition to spook at anything it doesn't fully understand resulting in anything from freezing dead still at the wrong moment, breaking into a bucking fit, running blindly in whatever direction happens to be directly away from what spooked it, or do just do a back flip.

Horses are an invaluable asset in rough country particularly on long journeys but if you mess with them long enough they will hurt you, sometimes seriously.

I got reminded of that fact a couple of years ago when my big ole Tennessee Walker "Louie" who's a 16.1h hand 1,500lbs gentle giant broke five bones in my foot totally on accident.

He was about half asleep when I pulled up the cinch and when I did he took a step back and a little to the side.

No anger, no attitude from him and certainly no intent to harm me.

Keep than in mind anytime you are working with horses if you are a novice. They don't have to do anything with evil intent to hurt you very badly.
 
Great to see activity on this thread...I agree with your comments, eventually you will be hurt and normally it is not an act of aggression. .perhaps fear.Our lives, here circulate around our stock and many could not imagine going out and not hearing a nicker.Hey Wildrose, do you have others that can walk with old Louie? Cheers
 
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