Yikes. Traveling out of state and that often seems quite a pricey proposition for animals that could be had locally if you have a little time to search. We've sourced all of ours locally in Texas, but they are also all working animals. We utilize our trusted rescue frequently. Our BEST horses came from the horse rescue. My diaighter generally evaluates and then trains them for what she needs/wants in the animal.

That said, I believe the advice above is probably the best for your intended purpose. I think you got that side sorted so I'll tell you a story…

for the horse trading world, that is EXACTYL why we utilize rescue animals. It's not for the uninitiated. You need to trust the facility, your gut, your vet, etc. The very first horse we bought was out of Bastrop from a guy that had a good buckskin. We showed up unannounced, I rode him, you could rope off of him, he was bomb proof. We did this a couple of times and decided he was perfect for my (at the time) completely inexperienced 9 year old daughter. When we got him home and tried to saddle him the next day, he lost his damn mind. It took about 4 hours to get him saddled. We couldn't figure it. After a lot of discussion and finally prodding, the seller finally admitted that "a good horse like him just needs a daily dose of ace."


So there you go. He sold me a horse knowing he was dangerous, and knowing my inexperienced daughter was going to ride him, and let me buy him without any knowledge of that. I have his AQHA papers and all.

My daughter worked with that horse for a long time. He threw her a bunch, he threw me a bunch, and finally came to trust us but he'll spook out of the blue. Fortunately she was never injured and getting tossed only made her want to work with horses more. She's now gone from western to English and competes regular.

Anyway, horse people are crazy, traders are crooks, everyone is a "trainer", and everyone knows more than you when it comes to the horse world.

Good luck with your search. Just thought your comment on traders was funny and unfortunately dead on.

And finally since you may appreciate it, you should look up The Horse Trade poem. You may have even posted it here somewhere but if not, it's worth a read, you'll get it. Lol.

This is Mula (aka The Mountain GOAT). I've ridden and led her up to the divide on many occasions. She's the most sure footed animal in the pack. We usually take 3 horses and 1 mule elk hunting every year. I always try to get Mula as my ride (doesn't always work out depending on how much we're lacking in).

The bull on her back is my first ever bull and first ever archery kill. She's packed lots of bulls off those mountains.

Some good info here:
https://rokslide.com/forums/threads/any-suggestions-on-where-to-buy-a-fully-saddle-mule.49147/
Since my rodeo days are behind me, my next mount will be a nice Molly mule.

Yep. The old saying, "a horse will kill you by accident, if a mule kills you it's on purpose ".

I don't know if I can sell the wife on trail riding on an alpaca. .
Hoyt…. I have not forgot to send the email. Our email by satellite and it has been fubar this weekend.

Hoyt Ag said:

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I ran mules when I outfitted. A couple of the guys are using alpacas which is ideal to pack **** out with.

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I thought the new rage was pack goats?!

I think mules are good animals for packing and trail riding. My old manager had some that he used for packing and talked highly of them. I think they are better than horses for that job.

As a side note, mules run in my family. That is my Great Grandpas mule that JFK is riding in this picture.

Apache said:

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Rode a mule for many miles on my elk hunt a few years back. Very sure footed, felt much safer than riding a horse.

One thing though, if a mule gets pissed at you they will purposefully try to knock you off by walking under low hanging branches!

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Have had horses that do this too.

Gunny456 said:

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My goodness! Take one hell of big goat to carry my butt!

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When I was around 4-5 years old, my friends and I would ride our goats (well, more like miniature bull riders). It was a blast until one with long horns was very angry and got my behind pretty busted up while I was on the ground. Learned I wasn't going to be a bronc or bull rider in my future.

ranchag04 said:

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Apache said:

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Rode a mule for many miles on my elk hunt a few years back. Very sure footed, felt much safer than riding a horse.

One thing though, if a mule gets pissed at you they will purposefully try to knock you off by walking under low hanging branches!

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Have had horses that do this too.

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We had a horse that would do this. Head straight to the barn where the clearance of the one entrance was only a foot above the back of the horse. You were going on the ground when she got mad.

Grandpa bought us a shetland pony when I was a kid. Thought he loved us but turned out he must have seen things differently. She used a mesquite tree to ditch me when I was 10-12 or so. I pulled back on the reins as hard as I could but she outwilled me. Mesquite thorn scratches all over my neck and face and off the back I went.

Despised that pony from that day forward.

For trail riding:

Mule>>>BLM mustang>>>>Horse>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>.shetland pony