[Mike Matson]

Photo of Bob at the link.

Excerpt:

Over the past 16 or so years, the 25-year-old Belgian has become something of a legend in the Northeast Kingdom, where he has hauled more than 250 moose out of some of the biggest and baddest woods in Vermont.

http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/a...nclick_check=1

[ako]

Bob seems great. I just couldn't ask my horse to haul a dead animal. But I'm no fan of hunting for sport, so I guess I'm biased.

[Hippolyta]

I think this might be my gal's next career. She is sturdy & it is time she started earning her keep. I love VT & if Bob is retiring...

I love hearing about horses doing real jobs. I imagine that they must feel fulfilled

I sent this to along to a few others, thanks.

[Shine]

Thank you Mike for posting this. I missed the article in the local paper. Last year our neighbor employed "Bob" to haul out his moose. He was like kid in a candy store telling stories (the neighbor, not Bob).

[ReSomething]

Every once in a while Snort gets to haul a little brush to keep his harness skills up, but Bob really has him beat! Sometimes I think that horses can be proud of their jobs and Bob must be one of them. I hope he has an enjoyable retirement and get to do a little something to keep from being bored.

[Frank B]

Bob's owner probably gets a few choice cuts of meat along with the $75 per hour.

The article was right about the real work beginning once the trigger is pulled (or the arrow released).

[cu.at.x]

Great story. Gotta love drafts (I do.)

[MistyBlue]

A 900 lbs moose is a juvenile. Moose easily go 1200-1500 lbs.

Bob is quite handsome and I love seeing a draft doing what it does best!

That hunter will have a nice full freezer this winter.

[Lynnwood]

Love to see a working horse well working. Also a great eco friendly option. Who needs gas guzzlers when you have horse power!

[Miss J]

That is just awesome! We coulda used Bob once, when SO and I couldn't get the quad in the thick bush to haul a moose out. Many hard, intense hours that trip was!(but well worth it)

Ako: most hunters, and none I know hunt moose for sport, they fill the freezer, not the wall.

[cowboymom]

Our horses have hauled many a deer or elk but only one moose. We don't usually go for the moose tags, the one we had tasted like an old boot and yes, he was young and small.

ETA that 900 lbs is probably referring to the deboned weight-they don't haul the animals out whole... the article has it worded awkwardly.

ETA nope I'm wrong, looks like they take the whole thing. They do things differently back there! Our grizzlies would starve if they didn't have gut piles and hunters to fill up on before their hibernation!

[cordial]

Bob seems great. I just couldn't ask my horse to haul a dead animal. But I'm no fan of hunting for sport, so I guess I'm biased.

I agree...I am NO fan of hunting. Why are they killing so many Moose? Is it necessary. But the horse looks great!

[cowboymom]

I believe it's part of the Federal Moose Eradication Program wherein the government has decided that they serve no useful purpose so have hired all these hunters to cause moose to go extinct.

// obviously the moose population in Vermont is doing quite well. The more the animals are over crowded the more hunting tags are released. Can't wait for them to apply the same logic to grizzly bears. Unless you prefer they all starve to death?

http://vtdigger.org/2011/06/29/vermont-hunting-moose/

[cordial]

I believe it's part of the Federal Moose Eradication Program wherein the government has decided that they serve no useful purpose so have hired all these hunters to cause moose to go extinct.

// obviously the moose population in Vermont is doing quite well. The more the animals are over crowded the more hunting tags are released. Can't wait for them to apply the same logic to grizzly bears. Unless you prefer they all starve to death?

http://vtdigger.org/2011/06/29/vermont-hunting-moose/

What the heck....they want the Moose to go extinct, and now you want the Grizzly bears to be extinct? Are you kidding?

[CruzN]

I agree...I am NO fan of hunting. Why are they killing so many Moose? Is it necessary. But the horse looks great!

My freezer is currently full of moose- so its not just hunting for sport. Do we need the meat to survive? No, but its not like its just wasted. Also, in many parts Moose are starting to get overpopulated, so thats why "they are killing so many moose." The number of tags awarded each year depends on the population.

[WNT]

What, no comments about the little kid wearing the blaze orange hat instead of a helmet?

Cowboymom, I think we need a tongue-in-cheek smiley to indicate ironic statements.

Bob certainly knows his job, and did it well. It takes a clever horse to work out a solution in a sticky (or in the story they told, slippery) situation.

[Miss J]

You guys should go to Nfld and ask them about the moose population. There are so many, too many. They are a huge road hazard over there and many people are killed every year from hitting them. There are not enough tags released. They were introduced, and not that long ago.

We can only get a moose tag ( my SO amd I) every four years, so between the both of us one every two years, he gets one then I do. And a lot of time we'll pull a tag nowhere near an area or zone we are familiar with or are hundreds and hundreds km's away. Which really sucks.

Most times when we are hunting for moose we will go with a small party(like two other couples) and we will split the meat. And that is what it is about. Filling the freezer.

Most people also don't realize it's expensive to hunt. With taking time off work, fuel, food, processing for sausage or what have you. Usually to the tune of $1800 by the time it's all said and done.

And again I don't know any hunters that will kill a moose or deer for that matter for a trophy, esp, when you pull a cow or doe tag.

[Appsolute]

What the heck....they want the Moose to go extinct, and now you want the Grizzly bears to be extinct? Are you kidding?

Ummmm yes - they were kidding. You do not know much about hunting / hunting permits and wild land management do you?

I personally do not hunt, just not my thing. But hunting has its place. There are very very few (any?) places where natural predators / prey animals are in a pre-human balance.

I can tell you that there are places where the prey is overpopulating due to the lack of predator. Sometimes the animal’s numbers need to be managed to prevent starvation and disease. Govermental agencies manage these wild animal populations, and issue hunting permits in accourdance.

So no – there isn’t any “Federal Moose Eradication Program” – that was a funny

There are some animals which the government DOES support eradication of – wild boar for instance, they are non native and wreck havoc for native species. – Hunters are welcomed to take as many as they can.

[lilitiger2]

I believe it's part of the Federal Moose Eradication Program wherein the government has decided that they serve no useful purpose so have hired all these hunters to cause moose to go extinct.

// obviously the moose population in Vermont is doing quite well. The more the animals are over crowded the more hunting tags are released. Can't wait for them to apply the same logic to grizzly bears. Unless you prefer they all starve to death?

http://vtdigger.org/2011/06/29/vermont-hunting-moose/

oh please oh please oh please let them do this with grizz!! We got a very tasty cow moose several years ago (husband has to wait 7 years before he can gt another shot at the tag, he puts all of us in meantime!). I think my big ole gelding is on tap to earn hs keep this year and do some hauling (if they get anything). He is fine with dead animals, really couldn't care less. Maybe Bob (love him!) hauls them out whole because the distance is shorter? No kidding about the work starting when the trigger gets pulled-I got an elk right outside Gardiner (late hunt) just off the road. The GAME WARDEN helped dress it and throw it in the truck. I told my husband, "Lets hunt like this in the future, its a lot easier!!"

[lilitiger2]

Most people also don't realize it's expensive to hunt. With taking time off work, fuel, food, processing for sausage or what have you. Usually to the tune of $1800 by the time it's all said and done.
.

Yep, anyone who thinks its cheaper is dreaming. We joke that the meat is about $85/lb!