I think I would follow someone like that and find out where he lived to see if he did any other stupid stuff “taking care” of any other animals. And document it.
Quite a few years ago, maybe 10, I was at a trailhead and there was one other truck in the lot with a stock rack on it backed up to the loading ramp. While we were tacking up, here comes this little old guy on a little old mule. He untacks the mule, loads him into the back of his truck with his head looking out over the cab. The funniest thing was that he fitted a pair of homemade goggles on the mule. These two blocks with plexiglass eye holes held on with a couple of straps. Obviously the mule was used to them and obviously the guy cared about his mule. It was cutest sight as they drove off. I remarked to my friend that the only thing missing was a white scarf around muley’s neck. 
2 Likes
Many, many, many, many years ago, when I bought my first horse, the breeder hauled all her horses with a stock rack, because that was what she had. It extended over the cab and had side and roof panels to block rain and wind. The whole herd was so used to jumping into the back of the truck that she had to be careful when driving out in the big pasture: even without the rack, if the tailgate was off, one of the gang was sure to jump in. :lol: Different days, for sure. In fact, my first horse would fight like a tiger to avoid a trailer, but he would hop into a stock rack without a murmur.
1 Like
Check out this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUn2F3JqJlM
Not only do they have to jump a couple of feet up into a vehicle, but through a little doorway too! Crazy stuff. I saw another video some time ago of this sort of loading filmed from the side view, but when I looked for it could not find it… however, I found this video. Wonder what kind of “mule-nip” could entice those guys in the first time. (as in cat-nip for mules).
We spent a month in Panama a couple years back and once you get out of the city proper horses are a huge part of the culture and daily life. The standards are so different and it’s crazy but all the horses are so calm and I can’t tell you how many times I saw that exact same thing. Most of the trucks would be rigged with a pipe corral structure but usually the back gates were wide open and often they were just hanging out in the back of a pickup. It definitely speaks to how adaptive horses can be!
I cannot bring myself to look at that video.
I’ve seen that video you are talking about - from the side view. A friend shared it on FB and we were all marveling at how quietly they loaded and how athletic they were.
Hunters going up into the mountains often carried the horses like this, except they usually had stock racks in the truck bed.
