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Can You Ride A Moose?

Humans love to domesticate unusual animals and have often been documented as riding weird and surprising creatures – and that includes moose.

Moose do look like an animal that you should be able to ride, and in areas where there were no horses, it makes sense to think that humans might have decided to try and ride on their backs when traveling from place to place.

However, you have probably never seen a human riding a moose.

Moose are beautiful, powerful animals and they have certainly been used for a variety of purposes throughout history, including riding and pulling carriages.

However, there are a lot of problems that are associated with riding and keeping moose, and they are not nearly as useful for this purpose as horses are.

They unfortunately are susceptible to diseases, and they are not as calm or as steady as horses.

Moose are common in the northern parts of America, and they are unsuited to warm climates because they evolved to survive well in the snow, and have very insulating fur.

They are enormous and powerful creatures, which is partly why they look appealing to ride, and they generally live in forests, around streams or ponds. They are solitary animals, and do not form herds, unlike many other kinds of deer.

Can You Ride A Moose?

It seems logical that people like the idea of riding on moose, but unfortunately, it is rarely a good idea, although it has been done at times.

In general, moose do not make good mounts for a whole variety of reasons: they have poor endurance, they are solitary creatures, they are difficult to feed, and they will not tolerate a lot of noise without taking fright and bolting.

This was proven by the Swedish army in the 18th century, which allegedly attempted to create a moose-based cavalry, and failed when it was shown that the moose could not be acclimatized to the sounds of battle.

If you try to ride a wild moose, you will almost certainly be badly injured by the animal, even if you get close enough to climb onto its back.

If a moose is tamed, it may be possible to ride on its back, provided that you do so in a quiet, calm environment in which the moose is not likely to be startled by anything.

However, this should only be attempted by experienced riders that are familiar with moose and their behavior patterns.

Do not try to ride a moose unless you know exactly what you are doing, as even an experienced rider may be injured by one. Moose are enormously powerful animals and could easily hurt you even without meaning to, so it’s best to treat them with caution.

Can You Saddle A Moose?

You can saddle a moose, yes, and a man known as the “Moose Man Of The Miramichi” was actually famous for having domesticated and saddled a young moose that he found abandoned.

He looked after the baby, and when it had recovered, he taught it to pull carriages and even wear a saddle so that he could ride it around town. However, this is an exceptional case, and not the norm at all, so don’t attempt this yourself.

Over the years, there have been other instances in which people have attempted to saddle and ride moose, but few have been successful, and it is certainly not in common practice today.

Few – if any – states would allow people to keep a moose, and you certainly wouldn’t be able to saddle a wild moose. You are therefore very unlikely to see a saddled moose in your lifetime.

In terms of practicalities, a moose is usually somewhat bigger than a horse, and you might find it difficult to source a saddle that would fit the moose comfortably. However, it could be done, and then it might prove possible to successfully saddle a domestic moose.

Will A Moose Buck And Kick If You Try To Ride It?

If you try to approach a wild moose, even without the intention of riding it, it will probably either attack you or run away, because these animals are not friendly or easy to domesticate.

If you try to ride a domesticated moose, it probably will still attempt to throw you off, because it won’t be used to having a person sit upon its back.

It would usually take a lot of time for an animal to become used to the sensation, and in the interim, most animals would instinctively respond by trying to throw the human off.

Remember, despite their size, moose are prey animals and therefore they have strong instincts when approached by a potential predator – such as a human.

If you try to cling to a moose’s back, it will likely treat you as it would a wolf or another attacking predator, and will respond by trying to throw you off or kick you.

This should not be taken lightly, because moose are exceptionally powerful and could easily kill a person by kicking them.

Being thrown from a moose’s back could also do serious damage to you, depending on how you fall and the surrounding area, and it’s really not something that you should try.

Moose are not very suitable for riding, as evidenced by the lack of domesticated moose in today’s world; if they worked as mounts, we would be using them!

Conclusion

So, the short answer to the question “can you ride a moose?” is yes in theory, but it is not necessarily a very good idea in practice. While it is possible to saddle up a moose and get onto its back, especially if the moose is used to humans, moose do not make very good mounts and they are quite dangerous animals to ride. They might look impressive and fun, but in general, they are inferior to horses, and it is not a good idea to try and ride one in any circumstances, even if it has been domesticated and is used to people.