Horse wrecks and adventures

[WCB]

While guiding we had a mule that was always getting loose. Short of tying him with his face stuck to a tree by a chain he was going to get loose....But when you put a pack saddle on him he was all business...sort of. Packing camp out one year not long after we started either myself or another guide noticed that he had broke the piggin/breakaway (whatever you want to call it). But, he followed in line mostly so no big deal.

Well all of a sudden he comes charging to the front of the string ears pinned back acting pissed. We all watch as he chases a cow (angus) off the the trail. Once satisfied that the intruder is well off the tail he came trotting back with his head up and ears perked all proud of himself. Not only that he fell back inline just like he was still tied to the mule in front of him. He did this at least 4 or 5 more times all while something in his panniers sounded like Maracas. Each time after that we would cheer him on during the chase. He went 14ish miles like that...then walked up and stood in line to get his load undone.

 

[WCB]

Another time we were loading elk quarters onto one of the mules and she didn't like to see the quarters...smell or when they were on her she didn't care. Well one guy would stand by her head and block and tell her stories about pretty mules in beautiful mule land and the other would load the quarter. This time it was being done in a bottle neck of a canyon/draw that was very similar to a half pipe. The instant the I got the second quarter into the pannier bag the other guy by her head stepped back. Well the front quarters were still there. She yanked about a 4" diameter tree out of the ground and took off. She made two passes on the half pipe running up the wall of the canyon and back down at first because of the elk but mostly now because of the evil tree chasing her. Luckily she was a very sweat mule and just getting in front of her stopped her and she basically came to us for help.

 

[WCB]

Worst wreck was probably my second time packing in as a guide. I was maybe 200 yards behind the head guide and the clients. I was bringing up the rear pulling 4 pack animal. After crossing this willow creek in a bottom it is a short climb up to a big sage flat above the main creek. As I crest the rise I see the string in front of me sort of spread out left to right in front of me...Further off to the right I see a lone horse and rider gettin after it. I mean belly rolling, kicking, squeeling etc. If the rider would have put the spurs to it 100pt ride all day. A few second into it rider gets tossed and horse bolts. I push up to the group. the rider now I can see is one of the hunters...shakin up but ok. I hand off my string and go after his horse. Needless to say luckily we had an extra horse on the string as his was not to be found. Along with that his brand new rifle and optic where still on the horse. I rode back to trail head and spread the word if anyone sees it where they could tie it up or find us.

A few days later the Forest Service or G&F came to camp and told us the horse got back to trail head and was tied up by our trailer. The cook at that time asked if the saddle and rifle were ok...guy said yep saddle was still tight on the horse and the rifle was appeared to be ok and had been stashed in the front of our horse trailer. Next question the cook asked got a unpleasant reaction from the G&F/FS guy. Cook asked "How about the rider? Is he ok?"

Cook said the look of panic and confusion was a sight to see followed by a huge sigh of relief when he started laughing and told him he was just pulling his leg.

 

[wyosteve]

OK, an adventure, not a wreck here. In 1994 a friend had a Wyo. sheep license. We packed in about 5 miles with my 2 horses and 3 mules. Spotted some sheep so took 2 horses to spike camp and left the mules. Got back 2 days later and my smallest (13 hand) mule is gone. Couldn't find her anywhere. Got back to trailhead, no mule. Loaded the rest and stopped at the Game and Fish check station in Cody. Posted a 'lost mule' note with a reward offered. A week later I took another friend elk hunting out of Jackson. About 3 days there and I get a call from the warden in Cody that he found my little mule about 5 miles downstream from trailhead. He put her in a corral at a guest ranch.
Shortest way from Jackson to Cody to retrieve my mule was to go through Yellowstone. Except they were doing road construction during that time so if you didn't get to the construction area by 10 a.m. they closed the road until the next day. So, we headed off early one morning through the park, trailer in tow. I was in a hurry so get stopped by Ricky Ranger for speeding. He warned me and let me go on my way. Leaving the park at the east entrance, traffic is backed up due to the construction. What do I see in the other lane, but a Game and Fish truck. Stop, talk to the guy and find out he's the one who found my mule. He gave me better directions on where the ranch was, which was about 50 miles down the South Fork from Cody.
Anyway, managed to find my little mule after hundreds of miles that day and she was with me until this July when I finally had to put her down at age 33! Miss that little rascal.

 

[rayporter]

i have heard of a few dandies.

frank was a fellow i showed the mountains to for the first time. he had his own stock so the following year he was going to camp in the spot we had used for about 10 years. so i loaded a mule and went in a day early and built a camp.

while i was gone my pard got to watch frank pack up. when frank pulled out of the trailhead he got about 500 yd and had a wreck, the result of which was one mule running down the road streaming gear at every jump. in my opinion that 3000$ mule was not as broke as he said.

so he packs up again and heads out. about five miles up the mountain he has another problem where a 20lb propane tank came loose and fell off. it hit right on a rock and still had a rope tied to the saddle. once again that mule went down the trail, going 40 ft a jump and propane escaping from the tank. my pard said it was really something to see.

once again frank corrals the wayward long ear and starts up the trail. when i met him he was on foot and his mule and rider were running down the trail with the mule tied hard to the saddle horn of his rider [ and the saddle underneath the rider] while his buddy was chasing them.

 

[Pony Soldier]

I had a big gelding that I started with that had a number of annoying habits. I killed a nice bull in a really nasty place. There were a number of outcrops and a lot of boulder fields. That really narrowed down the options I had to get horses into the meat. We sawed a path into the elk and started preparing it for packing. On this one we skinned it, quartered it, wrapped it in sheets and then mannied each quarter. I put the fronts on a little mare and the rear quarters on the gelding.

The mare was short and we had to watch carefully because the neck on the bull would drag over the logs. The gelding had a bug in that rather than stepping over logs, he would rear up and jump them. These logs were only a foot off the ground. At the first log he reared up, jumped and flipped over backwards. With his head down the hill I scrambled to get everything off so I could get him up. He kept jerking, like spasms and I worked harder. As I started to wear out I looked down and the sob was pulling grouse whortleberry bushes out and eating them. An upside down grazing horse.

I got him pealed and then reloaded and we countinued. We made it another 200 yds and he did it again. Each one of these wrecks takes a lot out of all of the participants. I got him pealed and reloaded but both of is were getting tired. We reached an old skid road but it had a steep bank. There was only one hole in the second growth so the choices were thin.

The little mare scrambled up the slope and got on the road. I certainly had my concerns about the gelding doing it without getting stupid. I wrapped the lead rope around a sturdy tree and prepared for the worst. The gelding reared back but the lead rope controlled the disaster. He fell on his knees and pulled himself up onto the road with the muscles in his neck. Then he stood up and started looking for something to munch on.

We squeezed through the second growth for the 3 miles down the road to the trailer without another incident. You learn something with every event and hope you never have repeat it.

 

[Wrongside]

If you folks get tired of horse stories just tell me to quit but until then here is another.

No Sir. Please continue. It’s a great topic. Brings back good memories. Good for a few grins and belly laughs.

 

[Pony Soldier]

Let's call this one - a long day. It might take a while. We got out of camp about daylight. My target was the west side of the basin about 3-4 miles away. I only had one horse so he was in camp.

I made it to my departure point by about 9:00 and dropped off the main trail into a short drainage. I picked up an elk trail and followed it into the next draiage and headed towards the creek. At about 50 yds a nice young 6x6 jumped out of a patch of young cedars and ran up the trail on the opposite slope. He didn't know where or what I was. He was in a patch of young trees , completely covered except- his horns. The only shot I had was the junction of the fourth point. It was about 4 inches wide and I put a bullet in the middle. He fell out of the trees and staggered into the opening. I put the second bullet into his lungs and he fell over the slope into the creek - head and horns under the body. When I got down there he was on his back with the creek flowing over his chest. I couldn't move him so I gutted him while standing in the creek.

I couldn't move the elk so I started back to camp for the horse. About 4-5 hours I was back at the elk. To get him out of the creek, I hung a block and tackle in a tree and tied the loose end onto the decker. Trying to follow a straight line the parachute chord got tighter and tighter. After a little while that cord could have been a violin. Just before it broke the bull popped out of the creek.

I reset the block and tackle and hoisted the bull up to start quartering. I got the hind quarters wrapped ,loaded and started up to the main trail. Halfway to the top there was a log about 10 inches off the ground and you guessed it, he reared up and flipped over. This was the first time. I got him reloaded and continued my way to the truck which had been moved to the next pass by my partners.

I got there and dropped off the first half. On the way back down I heard a shot. I continued down and started on the second half. As I was moving the hide I heatd a hissing and felt a tugging on my boot. I looked down and a weasel had laid claim to the elk and it looked like I was going to have fight him for it. Good thing they are small.

I got the front half loaded and started back to the truck. By now it was about 9:00 at night. I made it to the truck to learn I had kicked another bull out on my trip down. One of my partners had avrunning gun battle with him and guess what - finished him off in the creek bottom.

About that time it started to rain. Nothing spoils meat faster than a warm rain. We sent one guy to town for burgers and the rest of us started back down.

With three of us we got the meat quartered faster. By this time it was 2:00am. We got the front quarters hung on the horse. With the rain increasing, we decided to put the hind quarters over the front quarters and tied things down. That gelding was big but he didn't accept it well. We put a guy on either side to control the movement and walked slowly through the downfall to the main trail and then to the truck.

We got the horse unloaded and settled down to eat the burgers our other partner went to town for. About the time for the third bite a tree blew over into the camp fire. It was amazing how fast we could move.

We got the horse loaded into the trailer after a number of attempts and madebit to town at 5:30. 24 hours after the day started. It was sure fun being young.

Next time we went to catch the horse, he was less than cooperative. It was the last and only time I loaded a whole elk on a horse.

 

[packer58]

Dang......How come your weren't my buddy when we were BOTH young........Great stories...

 

[Robster]

Definitely keep the stories coming!! Hopefully more members will chime in!

 

[Russp17]

When I was 13 I was riding horses elk hunting with my dad and my little brother in Wyoming…
We were in this deep canyon about 5-6 miles from camp. We went over this little rise and my dads horse saw something he didn’t like and bucked him off. My dad landed on this pointed rock and was immediately paralyzed (temporarily) from his waist down…

I took the three horses while my brother stayed with my dad. I rode out to camp, put the horses up and then took the truck (man I feel bad for that’s truck transmission. My dad had taught me to drive a stick but not on a very rough mountain road). I drove to the top of the mountain and called 911 and coordinated the air flight rescue. About two hours later I met the search and rescue team and detailed on a map where he was at.. they got him out right before dark and life flighted him to the hospital.. turned out it was some nerve stuff and in about a month he was fine.. I will say the lasting effect for me made me not love horses….


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[wyosteve]

Pony Soldier, your last one reminded me of a cold, mid-teens morning in November a few years back. Again, elk hunting out of Jackson. We got a bit of a late start heading up the trail. About 3 miles in the trail follows the creek for quite a ways. Well, to our surprise, there was a hunter standing in the creek looking down at a pretty nice 6 pt. He was on foot, so no way to pull the elk out. We weren't very neighborly and kept riding past. Makes me shiver to this day thinking of standing in the creek cutting up an elk in mid-teen temperatures!

 

[Pony Soldier]

I don't like to be negative, I have already had a career with conflict. I'm just curious why the only stories we have gotten have been somewhat negative. Sort of like a temperance woman at a whiskey convention.

A previous contributor at 15 demonstrated tremendous strength to get all that done and save his father. Congratulations!! Horses are like people and have bitchy cranky days. If its continuous - put them down. Otherwise the bond between a horse and rider can be inspiring and is a wonderful thing to experience. I have found them to be more faithful than a lot of my friends over the years.

I currently have one of the prettiest mares I have ever seen. I bought her in 2016 and haven't turned her into a rider yet. We don't trust each other. I tried her as a brood mare and that didn't work. Pack horse? i don't know. I probably should put her down but haven't got there yet. I can guarantee that I won't put myself in harm's way to prove a point or save an investment.

 

[Pony Soldier]

Wyosteve - I fully understand. Elk are big and darn tough to move without help. I have towed them out with a lariet or my saddle rope. Years ago they sold an 8 pulley block and tackle that with a rope weighs less that 1-2 lbs. I bought a couple to add to my collection. I keep one in my saddle bags for emergencies just like that.

In my elk fetching kit I have another, a set of climbing spurs and some pieces to turn a 4 inch pole into a single tree for pulling an elk up for easier and cleaner processing.

I either hoist them a half at a time with the block and tackle if there is enough time or leave them over night and come back with an extra horse and the fetch kit.

Ponies give me an edge and I will share- a little.

 

[burrohiker]

I don't like to be negative, I have already had a career with conflict. I'm just curious why the only stories we have gotten have been somewhat negative. Sort of like a temperance woman at a whiskey convention.


You labeled the thread Horse Wrecks and adventures. Of course folks are going to post about wrecks? lol

 

[wyodan]

I don't like to be negative, I have already had a career with conflict. I'm just curious why the only stories we have gotten have been somewhat negative. Sort of like a temperance woman at a whiskey convention.


You labeled the thread Horse Wrecks and adventures. Of course folks are going to post about wrecks? lol

Aren't wrecks part of the adventure?

 

[Pony Soldier]

Wrecks are certainly part of it. I don't like horses seems a bit much.

 

[Blueticker1]

Haha don't take it the wrong way, I still love horses and mules. But hell nobody ever remembers or recalls when something was easy and went smoothly. I've ridden thousands of miles that nothing ever happened, I probably won't remember those on my death bed. It seems like the wrecks and the hard times are more easily remembered.

 

[Blueticker1]

Here's another story, I think I was 17ish and we had lost a couple cow calf pairs and left them on the mountain. My brother in law and myself went up after them before the snow hit, we found them in a big bowl valley and they were very easy and manageable to push out. Everything went smoothly and we pushed them to the road and headed down to where the truck and trailer were parked, we decided we would rope the calves, put them in the trailer and hopefully the momma cows would load in the trailer. My brother in law went after one calf and I the other, we roped the calves, put them in the trailer and the moms loaded up to chase us out of the man door in the front. I ran around slammed the divider gate, loaded the horses in the rear and drove home. The only reason I remember that story is because I roped the calf on the first try, never really could rope and still can't.

 

[bootstrap]

Sorry I don’t have any horse/mule stories but I have dang sure enjoyed reading these. My wife’s grandfather use to log with mules if that man were still with us I’m sure he could tell some.

Please keep’em coming makes my quarantine time go by a lot better