Why did so many Western-bound wagon trains use oxen instead or horses of mules? Joshua Young Star Valley, Arizona Oxen were slower than mules or horses, but they had their advantages, such as they ate less, required less care, and they could pull heavier loads. And while a mule or horse could cost $90, an ox could be bought for about $50.

True West March/April 2025
In This Issue:
Western Books & Movies
More In This Issue
- Truth Be Known
- What Has Taught Me: Deb Goodrich
- Earp, Cowboy Songs & Prairie Hygiene
- Trails of the Old West
- The Frontier Characters of South Dakota
- The Bowie Knife
- The Kindled Flame 1835
- King of the Scatterguns
- Selling the Mythic West and the Real West
- A Gut Punch Turns into a Miracle Reprieve
- The Beginnings of the Bird Cage
- Frontier Colossus