Author Topic: How about the dogs, horses and mules?  (Read 5789 times)

Offline brokeplex

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Re: How about the dogs, horses and mules?
« Reply #10 on: February 10, 2008, 09:08:02 pm »
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

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Re: How about the dogs, horses and mules?
« Reply #11 on: February 10, 2008, 11:13:18 pm »
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!  :laugh: :laugh:

Offline delalluvia

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Re: How about the dogs, horses and mules?
« Reply #12 on: February 10, 2008, 11:50:23 pm »
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

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Re: How about the dogs, horses and mules?
« Reply #13 on: February 10, 2008, 11:56:16 pm »
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....

Offline brokeplex

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Re: How about the dogs, horses and mules?
« Reply #14 on: February 12, 2008, 01:03:24 am »
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".

Offline delalluvia

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Re: How about the dogs, horses and mules?
« Reply #15 on: February 12, 2008, 10:48:14 pm »
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.