# Moose e-mail story



## huntfishlive (Sep 20, 2006)

We had been trying to k eep this under wraps as we k new this
Would happen once fol k s found out that with some effort you can train
Moose to harness. Once this picture got out, it's been E -mailed
Around li k e crazy but no one has bothered to fill in the rest of the
Story so before any rampant rumors get going, I better write down
What I k now. I fol k s want to extrapolate on that, then Lord only
Knows where this picture and story will end up.

T he man in the
Picture is J acques Leroux who lives up near E scourt S tation and has
Always had wor k horses, first for actual wor k and then for show at
M aine 's' many summer fairs. I thin k he had two
Matched pairs, one C lydesdales and the other 
B elgiums . He would turn them out to pasture each morning and then
Work them in the afternoon dragging the sled around the fields.

T hree springs ago, he noticed a female moose
Coming to the pasture and helping herself of the hay and what grain
The wor k horses didn't pic k up off the ground. J acques said he could
Get within 10 feet of the moose before it would turn and move off.

T wo springs ago, the moose foaled(?)at the edge
Of the wor k horse pasture and upon getting to it's feet had not
Only the mother in attendance but the four horses. T he young moose
Grew up around the horses and each afternoon when M r. Leroux too k the
Teams for their daily exercise the yearling moose would trail along
The entire route next to the near horse. 


A t
Some point, the yearling got so accustomed to M r. Leroux that, after
He had brushed each 
Horse after a wor k out, he started brushing down the moose. T he moose
Tolerated this quite well so M r. Leroux started draping harness parts
Over the yearling to see how he would tolerate these objects. T he
Yearling was soon harness bro k en and now came the question of what
Could you do with a harness bro k e moose. 


A s you
May or may not k now, a great deal of M aine is being bought up by
Folks "from away" and some of them understand principles of forest
Management. Well, the fol k s buying small parcels of land up in the
Area of the A llagash have it in their mind that they don't want big
Skidders and processors and forwarders on their small wood lots.
E nter M r. Leroux with his teams of horses. 


Every morning, when M r.. Leroux loaded the teams into the horse
Trailer to go off to the days job, the yearling moose got quite riled
Up and one day loaded 
Himself right into the trailer with the horses. A t the job site,
J acques unloaded the horses and as the moose stayed right with them,
He would ta k e the C lydesdales and his brother G aston would ta k e the
B elgians and off into the woods they would go with the moose trailing
Behind. T hey would put the harness on the moose in case they
Encountered someone who they could k id with the explanation that the
Moose was a spare in case something happened to one of the horses.
T he wor k required them to s k id cut, limbed and topped stems to the
Landing where the stems could be loaded onto a truc k for the pulp
Mill. 
A ll morning long the two brothers brought
Out twitch after twitch of stems with the moose following the B elgian
Team for the most part. A t lunch brea k J acques had the bright idea of
Putting trace chains and a whiffle tree on the moose's harness and
All afternoon the 
Moose went bac k and forth following the B elgians in and out of the
Woods dragging his whiffletree along the ground. A s there were no
Stumps in the s k id trail, the whiffle tree never hung up on anything
And that first day in harness went great. S o next day, they hitched
On first a small stem and the moose brought it out just fine
Following the B elgians. 
M r. Leroux told me they
Were up to four small stems now and the moose was doing just great.
He cautioned however that there were a few problems with using a bull
Moose. C ome J une, when the new antlers start, the new bone is "in
Velvet" and must itch li k e crazy as the moose stops every once in
Awhile and rubs his rac k against just about anything to appease the
Itch. Once, before the brothers learned to tie him off by himself
While they had lunch, moose was rubbing his antlers against the hame
On the C lydesdale called 
J ac k and got it wedged there for a bit. J acques said he wished he had
A camera as it loo k ed li k e moose was trying to push J ac k over.

T he other problem is
The rutting season. T he brothers learned quic k ly to leave moose in
The barn as he was constantly on red alert in the woods during this
Time. T he brothers are also considering trying this with two females
To ma k e a matched pair which would become an instant hit at the M aine
Fairs. T he trouble with the bulls is their rac k s. T hey would be
Constantly rubbing and hitting each other and, yes, they would have
To be gelded as I just couldn't imagine getting the two bulls
Anywhere near each other, let alone in harness. 

S o now that this picture is going all over the place, the surprise
Has been let out of the proverbial bag. T he Lerouxs want to continue
The wor k of trying to get 
A pair of females in harness, but they may have to end up breeding
Moose to do this and that's where they will run into trouble with the
S tate of M aine IF &amp; W. I'm sure they don't li k e the idea of the
Brothers " k eeping" wild animals. 

T hought you
Should k now the rest of the story. If any of you doubt this please
Contact T om Whitworth in A shland , M aine . I thin k he said he was a
Second cousin to the Lerouxs and has seen this anomaly many times.

Regards from your frozen Northeasterly most
State.









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## BoonDog (Feb 21, 2006)

Wow- that's wild! Thanks for sharing.

BD


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## Liv4Huntin' (May 24, 2000)

.... why one couldn't be 'broke to ride'..... what a great way to get around the Northern winter woods!!!  
~ m ~


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## bigair (Apr 16, 2004)

Photoshop, logpiles are mirror images of each other.


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## TVCEAST05 (Feb 1, 2007)

Thats a cool picture whether its real or not


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## trout (Jan 17, 2000)




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