The Thankless Job

Because of the special skills necessary to manage the mule trains, only professional animal handlers were allowed to be trail bosses. Dominguez said, “You had to know your horses to do that. Some of the handlers were ex-jockeys and really knew how to handle the horses and mules. They were exclusive to this ride and not interchangeable.” Disney archivist David Smith said, “Of course, mules were notoriously cranky…they’d bite a guest or something. There were obviously problems all along, but Walt fought as long as he could to keep those attractions there because they just added so much to the atmosphere of the Park.”