[Philmont]: The Burro Issue

I spoke to one of my Adult Leaders tonight regarding the burro issue. He
just returned from the PhilStaff Reunion and had some insight to offer. All
of this, in a court of law, would be considered hearsay so take it for what
it's worth.

Apparently Mark Anderson truly wants the burros to be part of the Philmont
experience. He believes the burros are underutilized when the option to
waive their use is in effect and he wants to 1) make better use of the
creatures and 2) give that experience to the scouts.

According to what I understand, third-hand, the burro wranglers do not
believe the burros are underutilized. The principle reason is that they are
not optimally handled when they are in service and come back to the corral
worse for the wear. In a nutshell, there are some issues with how the
scouts blanket and cinch the saddlebags (is that right?) when they are in
service. The cinch is generally too loose and their hair gets rubbed the
wrong way, causing ingrown hairs. From there, the ingrown hairs become
saddle sores and at that point, all they can do with the burro is put him to
pasture until he recovers. Essentially, they claim to be very short on
burros by season's end *with* the right to waive burros in effect. So with
a full season of full usage, the burros will most likely be very scarce by
the end of the season (anyone recently encounter a shortage of burros?).

This disconnect between what Mark Anderson believes and what the wranglers
state is interesting. But regardless of that, the Philstaff folks discussed
and concluded that the only way Mark Anderson is going to back up on the
requirement to take a burro, if it is part of your itinerary, is if an
overwhelming amount of negative feedback comes from the crews regarding the
burro requirement. If everyone is ambiguous or no one puts their opinions
on surveys or in letters to Mark Anderson, next year and the following years
will probably have the burro requirement as the status quo.

Bottom line is communicating your experience with the burros to Mark
Anderson. No communication will probably be construed as an endorsement to
the requirement.

YIS

Joe Tavares
Richardson, TX
'00 (Wood Badge), '04 and looking forward to '06
 
 
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