How I got in shape for hunting this season. Any more interested?

Living on our 49 acre ranch in So. Colorado, we have 2 horses and a mule for trail riding & packing. Last April, I went over to the Canon City Prison and adopted a wild Burro from the BLM's "Wild Horse & Burro Program". At the time, I thought we'd just have a pasture pet and another lightweight packer.
Then, I discovered Western Pack Burro Racing last June. It's an indigenous sport to Colorado, where you race your Burros/Donkeys over courses that vary from 6 to 29 miles. Some races have stupendous elevation gains, and run up to 13,200 ft. Mosquito Pass. In that I'm coming up on 67 yrs. old, I just opted for the "short course" races. However the short course is 15 miles long, and at the Leadville race still started at 10,200' and we topped out at over 12,000 ft. So, I suppose by the time this season ends on Sept. 9th, I will have raced about 56 miles, all at altitude. While others beg, curse, and rope slap their Burros in an attempt to get them back in the race, all I ever had to do is ask my guy to run, and run he did! We finished in 22nd place twice, 14th, and 9th thus far, and won $100 bucks in Buena Vista's race a week ago. The starting line has an absurd bunch of contestants, varying from the super athletes, to housewives, and everything in between. Often 60 to 80 show up and pay $50bucks for a sufferfest on uphill gradients that go on sometimes for 4+miles.
No ribbons, no age classes, and no wimps. You might be a 30 yr. old champion, corporate sponsored ultramarathon 100 mile racer, but when you get teamed up with a rent-a-Burro like I've seen happen, you can get beat by some random old guy! Ha!

This ain't related to Elk hunting, except I've never lost sight on how this is going to keep me in that game as well come season opener.....

This is the craziest/coolest thing I have ever seen. I am from Colorado and have never heard of this! Put a lot a miles behind you though, well done!

If interested, you can see some of the races on YouTube, searching under "Pack Burro Races". I put a couple on there myself.

Yet another sport that would show my lack of aerobic fitness!

I can clearly see how important the four hoofed participant in the endeavor is to the final outcome.

That is bizzare and cool at the same time. Learn something new every day.

How much can a burro pack? And did you buy yours broke?

As for your question on how much a Burro can pack, the general rule of thumb is around 15, but no more than 20% of the animals body weight. (horses/mules/burros). I think it best to keep the weight on the low side of that, except it was easy (?) terrain, not too far, and an in shape animal, you could probably load them up to the max. Burros have a reputation for being overloaded in American history, but that doesn't make it right.

When you get a Burro from the BLM, you're adopting it, and the BLM holds legal ownership technically for a full year to make sure you're a providing a proper home. Adoption fees are $125.00 for an untrained Mustang or Burro. Trained animals cost more. A saddle trained Mustang is about $1025.00, and a bargain. Our Burro was wild, roaming the Utah wilderness a year ago. He was captured, hauled to Canon City late Fall of 2016, and the inmates started on his training. They got him gentled down, but not trained. So, he responded fast to our giving lots of attention, kindness, and he had FUN. The 2nd time I ponyed him behind my horse, I reached down, and turned him loose on National Forest land. He followed us like a dog, and now races loose with our mule when I'm trail riding. I get a lump in my throat when I consider his past, and where he's at today. He is a motivated competitor, but can be a little stinker too! Hahahaha

Love it! I'll keep this in the back of my head for great fitness hobbies as I get older!

And here I thought I had some kahunas signing up for an iron man. Well done!

Also, a prison that trains wild animals for people to adopt....this is such a brilliant idea and does so much on a multitude of levels. More institutions should do things like this. Whether it's horses, dogs, and because I'm a beekeeper...bees.

The State Prison at Canon City calls their program the "WHIP" program, which stands for "Wild Horse Inmate Program". Because it is a prison, you have to have a background check to get in by an appointment to look at the 2500+ Mustangs and Burros they house. I was wholly impressed with this prison. They have large vineyards, dairy cattle, beef cows, bighorn sheep, buffalo, and of course thousands of wild horses. The inmates are commonly from metro areas and never even owned a cat/dog, much less worked with a wild horse or burro. But under the guidance of BLM professionals, they LEARN.
Yes, our prison system could learn a lot from this one. The inmates I met that were showing the Mustangs potential adopters were looking at were very appropriate and you could see the pride they had as they showed what their horse could do. It really gives an inmate a reason and purpose to get up in the morning. Our Border Patrol has taken a great many of the prison's Mustangs, as they are a tough, hardy mount.

windymtnman said:

The State Prison at Canon City calls their program the "WHIP" program, which stands for "Wild Horse Inmate Program". Because it is a prison, you have to have a background check to get in by an appointment to look at the 2500+ Mustangs and Burros they house. I was wholly impressed with this prison. They have large vineyards, dairy cattle, beef cows, bighorn sheep, buffalo, and of course thousands of wild horses. The inmates are commonly from metro areas and never even owned a cat/dog, much less worked with a wild horse or burro. But under the guidance of BLM professionals, they LEARN.
Yes, our prison system could learn a lot from this one. The inmates I met that were showing the Mustangs potential adopters were looking at were very appropriate and you could see the pride they had as they showed what their horse could do. It really gives an inmate a reason and purpose to get up in the morning. Our Border Patrol has taken a great many of the prison's Mustangs, as they are a tough, hardy mount.

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Had to read up on it after you mentioned it. But I knew a couple prisons have a bee program. In both cases it's people learning a skill, having responsibility, and taking pride in what they do. My sister watches that pitbulls and parolees show and it's much the same. Get people to do something positive instead of confining them and do nothing. Positive for the prisoners. Positive for the animals. Positive for the environment. And the cost is probably pretty minimal. Very cool

Very cool. Looks like a great way to get the burro in shape too!

Very cool!! To steal from a website; burro = the original ATV!