Packing with burros?
- Thread starter elkohalic
- Start date
Otto Matic
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Well sir, I packed in with a bureau (LOL!) only once.
Little fellow carried about 60 (+/-) pounds.(30 pounds per side)
Wasn't a massive load, but it kept it out of our backpacks.
He was well mannered. He had never been packed in the past and kept bumping panniers into trees. It kept throwing him off balance.
I started telling him. "Go high, son. Go high."
He soon started stepping just off the high side of the trail and missing trees.
Great help. Led like a big old fuzzy dog!
Now.
That was only one time in 1980. I had a very pleasant experience with a single burro on a single hunt and no experience since.
IF, you work with the little guys, learn how to pack them and be patient. They will do well.
Also remember, burros are like folks. They have a personality. Be VERY cautious about what you pick for your string.
I would start with one. I don't think I would expand beyond 2 or 3 max. Don't buy today and set off from the trailhead tomorrow.
Getting 2 or 3 to work in unison will take some time.
What a helluva pack trip!
!
Nice tent and decent groceries and all you gotta carry is your sleeping bag and rifle!
P.S. burros and donkeys aren't the same thing! LOL!
Good luck! I'd like to know how it works out for you!
Little fellow carried about 60 (+/-) pounds.(30 pounds per side)
Wasn't a massive load, but it kept it out of our backpacks.
He was well mannered. He had never been packed in the past and kept bumping panniers into trees. It kept throwing him off balance.
I started telling him. "Go high, son. Go high."
He soon started stepping just off the high side of the trail and missing trees.
Great help. Led like a big old fuzzy dog!
Now.
That was only one time in 1980. I had a very pleasant experience with a single burro on a single hunt and no experience since.
IF, you work with the little guys, learn how to pack them and be patient. They will do well.
Also remember, burros are like folks. They have a personality. Be VERY cautious about what you pick for your string.
I would start with one. I don't think I would expand beyond 2 or 3 max. Don't buy today and set off from the trailhead tomorrow.
Getting 2 or 3 to work in unison will take some time.
What a helluva pack trip!
!Nice tent and decent groceries and all you gotta carry is your sleeping bag and rifle!
P.S. burros and donkeys aren't the same thing! LOL!
Good luck! I'd like to know how it works out for you!
windymtnman
Active member
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- Sep 17, 2014
- Messages
- 484
I have Burros and have packed with them, but this is such an old post, I'll only offer my two cents if asked at this point!
I often wondered why no one packs with burros in NM, the place they all came from and were used to haul things around here into the 1900's.
I have been around a few and even rode one a friend had. Not much different than a mule in demeanor .
And I trusted the pack mules my packer buddy had over the horses in the Sierras.
I have been around a few and even rode one a friend had. Not much different than a mule in demeanor .
And I trusted the pack mules my packer buddy had over the horses in the Sierras.
windymtnman
Active member
- Joined
- Sep 17, 2014
- Messages
- 484
I have horses, mules and formerly wild burros, so I've packed with them all.
The pluses for burros are that they can carry alot of weight of course, but in a backcountry camp, they
aren't nearly as fussy eaters or eat as much as a much larger horse/mule. My horses & mules can chew up, stomp up, and devastate an area in camp in literally hours, and reject eating forbs and non grass species. The burros will eat most every thing green. They also require less watering than horses/mules, as they are really more camel like than horse like.
A downside of them, is many balk at crossing significant bodies of water that a horse will plow right across. So, you could be royally screwed if you have one that won't cross, as you'll lose that battle with an unwilling Burro.
The pluses for burros are that they can carry alot of weight of course, but in a backcountry camp, they
aren't nearly as fussy eaters or eat as much as a much larger horse/mule. My horses & mules can chew up, stomp up, and devastate an area in camp in literally hours, and reject eating forbs and non grass species. The burros will eat most every thing green. They also require less watering than horses/mules, as they are really more camel like than horse like.
A downside of them, is many balk at crossing significant bodies of water that a horse will plow right across. So, you could be royally screwed if you have one that won't cross, as you'll lose that battle with an unwilling Burro.
