U.S. Marine Corps mules and their handlers have been a lot of places around the world, and this morning, they will be marching in the 2010 Tournament of Roses Parade.
The Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center animal packers spent New Year's Eve traveling to Pasadena, Calif., for the parade, which starts at 8 a.m.
The Marines are among the equestrian entries in the parade that includes nearly 90 entries.
The parade theme "2010: A Cut Above the Rest," will be broadcast on ABC and NBC.
The Marine's animal packing program consists of two dozen or so mules and a half dozen horses.
The animals can go places where wheeled vehicles would dread to tread. The Marines' training program has been made more popular by our involvement in Afghanistan.
According to a story written by former R-C staffer Jonni Hill, the mules are the brighter of the animals, and they can carry up to a third of their body weight.
It's the places that a mule won't go that make them an ideal pack animal. A horse will let you convince it to go someplace that it shouldn't. A mule just plain won't go, no matter how hard you try to hurt its feelings.
