Horse vs Mule

[UphillDoc]

Well my horse buying weekend was a total flop!!! Tried 5 different gaited horses...got kicked, had a run away, a couple that would gait IF ya held their heads just right, and a spook. At $2,000 a lick I was kinda expecting a lil better horse. My Cowboy buddy says to me after the last one "ya know, it would probably be alot cheaper to just learn to ride a trot" LMFAO
The mule I was going to look at sold, but I made some more calls and have a few more lined up to have a go at. Maybe if I could just find the magical "good" mule my problems would be solved...LOL
If I have another horse buying weekend like this one, I can tell ya one of them solid, rough riding ranch horses will be lookin real shiny.

Question for anyone: Whats the oldest horse/mule you would consider buying? It will be asked to do alot of traveling and some of that in pretty steep country.

Take care.

[Benny G]

My gelding is 14 and I figure that I should get another 6-10 years out of him. 5 years ago he went through a barbed wire fence and took out a T post with his shoulder. He was laid up for 18 months. If that doesn't get him a little prematurely, we'll see a couple more thousand miles together.
I just bought another gelding that is 6. He still has a small hump in his back from time to time, so if we both live through the next 3 or 4 years, we'll grow old together.

My mules are 10 and 4. The 10 year old is the mule that I had to get the lessons in mule behavior from. I wouldn't trade her for much of anything now. The 4 year old is in school every time I get around her. Both mules will probably outlast me. I have no doubts that the 4 year old will. I know of mules that have still been going strong at 30-35 years.

As a novice, I would suggest that no matter which you get, mule or horse, get one that's old enough not to give you any trouble. That varies with each animal individualy, but it's important for you to be the only one learning right now, not you AND your ride. For the right animal, be prepared to spend a little more money than perhaps you planned on from the start. Just like this hound thing -- if you spend the money up front, everything else for the rest of the time that you're in it, is easier.

[Mike Leonard]

Benny,

Do mules really live that long or does it just seem that long? LOL!

I think I would like mules a little better if they looked more like this.

[Big Mike]

For mules you want to get something at least 7-8 yrs old so they got most of the dumb stuff out of them. If you found a mule thats 15 yrs old and is everthing you want its still a good buy. You will still get another 8-10 years of good use out of them.

For a horse I wouldnt buy anything over 10 yrs old. A horse seems to loose their stupid stuff a little earlier than a mule so a good broke 4-5 year isnt too young for a novice

Of coarse all this will vary a little bit with individual personalities of each critter.

Mike that picture has got no personality this is what you need!!!

[Mike Leonard]

LOL! That is some kind of personailty for sure!

Oh that photo of that old foundation bred buckskin has some character and personaility you just have to look pretty close. Close your eyes and imagine popping a foot in the Russ Yates custom oxebow grabbing the horn of that vintage Peter De Verbeck saddle and swinging up there in on that hurricane deck picking up that McCarty and spinning old Buster on his heels and long trotting out the gate into the sage and yucca. Hell about all you would be missing is old Chester or Festus riding along to keep you company. LOL!

[houndsnmules]

I must be lucky I had more good mules then bad ones

[Brady Davis]

[Cowboyvon]

[hamilton10]

Different tool for a different job. Well said and oh so true.

[UphillDoc]

Well I found what I was looking for tonight. A beautiful, buckskin, Peruvian mare 8yo, gentle and smoooth! Been all over the Mtns, raised with kids and dogs, and has a head full of sense.
Thanks to all who gave me their input. I really appreciated it.

Take care.

[Benny G]

Well Doc, Now you're going to work on my curiosity. If you're talking Peruvian Paso, I've seen those boogers operate, and I'd like to know how they keep from kicking ALL the rocks off the mountain! If there's a different Peruvian, let me just show my ignorance now, and get it out of the way.

[Mike Leonard]

Peruvian Paso and the Paso Fino a bit differnt in type and build but still the same Paso gait. These horses were bred for thew mountanious regions of Peru and seem to do ok on the trail. I know Chris todd in Arizona use to have one he lion hunted on and it was a double tuff rock crunching little dude. Problem is if you are lion hunting with dogs you are going to have to slow that thing down because you just can't travel hound over rough country as fast as them gaited critters can go and still strike a lot of cold tracks. fine for getting one place to another but too fast for actual bare ground lion hunting to suit me.

[Spencer]

not being a wise guy here, but dont the horses walk? Or is that too slow to cover any ground. Been riding for years, but never hunted on horseback so I am speaking from inexperience here. Hunting lions horseback with hounds has been #1 on my bucket list for quite a few years.

BTW, I think some pics are in order now that you have decided and purchased.

[Benny G]

Spencer,
There are different speeds of horses walking, as well as different levels of energy that a horse wants or needs to expell. Depending on the conditions of the track, as well as the conditions of the atmosphere, sometimes you need to just take a break and let the dogs work. When you are ready to address that bucket list, come to New Mexico and I'll show you how a bunch of mutt turd machines can chase a coyote. Might even get lucky and trail a lion.

[UphillDoc]

BennyG-Im talking Peruvian Paso. A bigger, stouter horse than the Paso Fino, and moves with more swing (termino) in the front than the Fino. Before riding my buddies Peruvians I wondered the same thing, and was always told the gaited horses were flatlanders. These Peruvians were bred in the mountains, and can really pick their way thru the rough stuff. They dont walk in the gait in the really rough stuff. Its when the trail is good, is where they walk away from the non gaited horses.

Mike-Yea you would have to just "dog walk" them, and the few I have been on will adjust easily when asked, but its real nice to be able to pick it up when your wanting to get somewhere. I think I would just park them and let the dogs do their thing alot, then just move on when needed if I was cold trailing. Im going to be using mine with my coyote runnin dogs in the high desert mostly, so going slow isnt whats needed most the time...

Take care.