How about the dogs, horses and mules?

[brokeplex]

Say, who fed the dogs, the horses and the mules while the boys were up on the mountain?

I never saw any dog food, or horse and mule feed. The dogs would have to be fed regularly or they would forget about babysitting the sheep and start hunting, and horses can eat you out of campsite and trailer.

I saw Jack hoisting a slab of bacon early in the movie, which could be useful in feeding the dogs, but nothing else other than the slaughtered elk that also might suffice.

The horses and mules could graze a bit, but I am not convinced that those heavy eaters could survive like the sheep on the pasture grass alone.

It seems to me that the boys would have had to have an extra mule train loaded with animal food for the animals to survive and remain healthy thru the summer. 

[injest]

actually the horses could very well have lived off the rich grass available remember wild horses live off grass only.

the dogs are a puzzle though...

[brokeplex]

I know that you have horses so I really want your opinion. DL says that he doubts the horses and mules could remain healthy for long without extra feed because they are being used as transport and pack animals. Ranging free in the summer maybe, but they weren't free.

Is there really enough grass on the slopes for the horses and mules, and enough time for them to graze and then transport the boys and their supplies?

Yes, the dogs are a feeding problem! 

[forsythia12]

well, like any movie, they're bound to forget a thing or two.  bet ya they didn't count on us brokies watching and re-watching it a thousand times, picking up on everyhing huh?
lol

[injest]

I know that you have horses so I really want your opinion. DL says that he doubts the horses and mules could remain healthy for long without extra feed because they are being used as transport and pack animals. Ranging free in the summer maybe, but they weren't free.

Is there really enough grass on the slopes for the horses and mules, and enough time for them to graze and then transport the boys and their supplies?

Yes, the dogs are a feeding problem! 

we have horses that are ridden every day that dont get feed....the grass up on the mountain is very rich (it has to be because of the growing seasons up there) the boys weren't riding the horses that hard (just to the sheep and back twice a day) and the mules only had to work one day every week or so...plenty of time for them to graze their fill.

[injest]

I have more of a problem seeing them tied up all the time...they should have been hobbled and released with the sheep (the mules I mean) and the horses near the campsite

[brokeplex]

I have more of a problem seeing them tied up all the time...they should have been hobbled and released with the sheep (the mules I mean) and the horses near the campsite

exactly, that is the point I was going to make. the horses and mules could only graze so much tied up, they would have to range free to take full advantage of the mountain pastures. I sure do think that in the real world, they would have hauled some hay up to the mountain for the horses.

and what about the dogs? lots of bacon? elk? ALPO!

[injest]

exactly, that is the point I was going to make. the horses and mules could only graze so much tied up, they would have to range free to take full advantage of the mountain pastures. I sure do think that in the real world, they would have hauled some hay up to the mountain for the horses.

and what about the dogs? lots of bacon? elk? ALPO!

only if they really kept them tied up all the time..and that would not be smart....hay is just dried grass...why haul dried grass when you have plenty of rich fresh grass?

[delalluvia]

Well, if they're truly country type dogs, raised in the back country, aside from bacon, leftovers from our guys' dinners, they would probably supplement their diet with catching ground squirrels and mice and frogs.

[brokeplex]

trained sheep dogs tend to stay at their posts guarding the sheep, they usually do not leave the scene to go hunting unless they are very hungry.

[brokeplex]

only if they really kept them tied up all the time..and that would not be smart....hay is just dried grass...why haul dried grass when you have plenty of rich fresh grass?

its the quantity of the grass, that could be eaten in short time periods, not the quality. if the horses and mules were to remain reliable for transportation and hauling purposes then they could not be allowed to range free. they had to be tied up while not being ridden, and fed while tied up, and the grass available for munching on the ground around their tie ups is alone just not in sufficient quantities. if they were ranging free in the meadows, then the boys would not have them at their beck and call.

[injest]

trained sheep dogs tend to stay at their posts guarding the sheep, they usually do not leave the scene to go hunting unless they are very hungry.

true that...there had to be a bag of chow around there somewhere..but knowing Aquirre it wasn't no name brand Alpo...it was probably generic! 

[delalluvia]

trained sheep dogs tend to stay at their posts guarding the sheep, they usually do not leave the scene to go hunting unless they are very hungry.

I bet they got hungry seeing as Jack and Ennis let the dogs guard the sheep while they stayed in camp.  Poor things had to wander off from time to time. Heck, we can take the dead sheep Ennis saw as evidence that the boys stayed away too long and the dogs let down their guard.

[injest]

I bet they got hungry seeing as Jack and Ennis let the dogs guard the sheep while they stayed in camp.  Poor things had to wander off from time to time. Heck, we can take the dead sheep Ennis saw as evidence that the boys stayed away too long and the dogs let down their guard.

well true that too...

now I am all confused....

[brokeplex]

I bet they got hungry seeing as Jack and Ennis let the dogs guard the sheep while they stayed in camp.  Poor things had to wander off from time to time. Heck, we can take the dead sheep Ennis saw as evidence that the boys stayed away too long and the dogs let down their guard.

The attack on the ewe could have occurred because the dogs wandered off, or it could have been an attack of a pack of large coyotes or even a normal sized wolf. The dogs simply could not have alone protected the sheep under those circumstances. In any event, the shame on Ennis's face showed that he understood that he and Jack were responsible, the whining of the dog showed that the dog understood that it had failed in its role as well.

I believe that the dogs had to be fed, no rancher I've talked with in the Northern Rockies has confirmed to me that sheep dogs live off the land during the summer grazing season on public lands.

 In today's ranching world, often horse feed is helicoptered into the area. I think that we can all agree that Aguirre had not yet bought his first chopper, so hauling up the feed up the mountain would have been difficult. But, horses are valuable and I think that Aguirre would have fed them before he fed the "two ranch stiffs".

[delalluvia]

The attack on the ewe could have occurred because the dogs wandered off, or it could have been an attack of a pack of large coyotes or even a normal sized wolf. The dogs simply could not have alone protected the sheep under those circumstances. In any event, the shame on Ennis's face showed that he understood that he and Jack were responsible, the whining of the dog showed that the dog understood that it had failed in its role as well.

I believe that the dogs had to be fed, no rancher I've talked with in the Northern Rockies has confirmed to me that sheep dogs live off the land during the summer grazing season on public lands.

 In today's ranching world, often horse feed is helicoptered into the area. I think that we can all agree that Aguirre had not yet bought his first chopper, so hauling up the feed up the mountain would have been difficult. But, horses are valuable and I think that Aguirre would have fed them before he fed the "two ranch stiffs".

No telling.  Guess it's just going to be one of those "Hollywood" things.