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OkieTrader

Nov 8, 2003, 2:52 PM

Post #1 of 9 (972 views)

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Back country on a horse? Mule?

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Do any of you people or people (Gringo's) that you know ever ride a horse or mule in exploring the back country of Mexico? Another question. Do some Gringo's own and stable their own horses or riding mules? Tell me more about this!

johanson

Nov 8, 2003, 3:51 PM

Post #2 of 9 (956 views)

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Re: [OkieTrader] Back country on a horse? Mule?

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All I know is that several American and/or Canadian have horses here in the Lake Chapala area. I have no idea about boarding or where the horses came from

Jerry@Ajijic

Nov 9, 2003, 7:51 AM

Post #3 of 9 (914 views)

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Re: [johanson] Back country on a horse? Mule?

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I do not know about horses but there seems to be a lot of jackasses here,,,,I am just kidding. As Pete said some do own horses but if you do not want the expense there is a another choice. Every day in lower LaFloresta there are about 15 horses available for renting. These are available at a very reasonable price.

Carol Schmidt

Nov 9, 2003, 8:12 AM

Post #4 of 9 (907 views)

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Re: [OkieTrader] Back country on a horse? Mule?

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There are a couple of riding stables in San Miguel de Allende which offer horses by the hour or day, and they have sort of camping adventures on horseback advertised in the SMA weekly English-language newspaper. I'm sure their customers are almost all gringos.

Carol Schmidt

Esteban

Nov 9, 2003, 12:58 PM

Post #5 of 9 (886 views)

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Re: [OkieTrader] Back country on a horse? Mule?

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I know a Mexican family who have a home in town and a mango rancho in the country. They have a horse, pigs, chickens, goats, and sheep. They also have a couple who caretake the place. Every weekend the whole family goes up to the place to get out of the city and touch base with the caretakers. Everyone rides the horse, the food is good and the beer is kept on ice. In the state of Sinaloa you MUST KNOW where it is safe to go into remote areas because of the commercial pot farming.

Uncle Donnie

Nov 9, 2003, 5:25 PM

Post #6 of 9 (870 views)

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Re: [OkieTrader] Back country on a horse? Mule?

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Check out Backcountry Mexico by Bob Burleson and david H. Riskind---UT Press, Austin or Amazon.com or have a local store order it for you.

Even has a short section on burro and mule commands---learn to speak Spanish to your transportation.

Shameless self-promotion:
http://www.headformexico.com

jrice

Nov 9, 2003, 5:38 PM

Post #7 of 9 (864 views)

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Re: [OkieTrader] Back country on a horse? Mule?

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There are quite a few communities in Oaxaca and Guerrero and other states that can only be reached by horse.

In tourism terms, my wife recently took an organized horse trip from San Cristobal to Chamula. There are quite a few horse trips available in the mountains around Mexico City. I suspect you could find such just about anywhere in the country.

As Esteban noted, you have to be careful. If you are heading off into the country in much of Mexico, you MUST at the least consult with very knowlegeable locals and it's better to go with them. Just about all of the land you will cross is owned by somebody (or usually by some community) and planting of drugs is common not only in Sinaloa but in parts of Michoacan, Oaxaca, Chihuahua, Guerrero, Chiapas, Mexico State, etc. etc. Stumbling across a plantation without the presence of somebody who can vouch for you could be fatal.

That said, I did take an interesting horseback ride through Zapatista country a few years ago. No drugs there, though.

alex .

Nov 10, 2003, 8:06 AM

Post #8 of 9 (839 views)

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Re: [Esteban] well protected agriculture

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Yea. Those guys have the technology to take out government, paraquat spraying aircraft. If your'e out riding and get that stuff on you , you gotta get it off RIGHT AWAY. Its turns plants black in one day.
Alex

OkieTrader

Nov 10, 2003, 8:46 AM

Post #9 of 9 (827 views)

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Re: [Uncle Donnie] Back country on a horse? Mule?

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Thanks Donnie ... I will be looking for this book.