:::Agree the article needs improvements, just not replacing one regional bias with another.  I suspect that some of the info is also from assorted "drive bys" (passing anon IPs) and I'm not vouching for its total accuracy as much as I am just wanting to give things a chance to be verified and properly sourced rather than to be tossed wholesale.   What I'm actually thinking here is that we have several articles that dovetail a bit and need to be sorted out and cross-linked, specifically this article, packhorse, Guest ranch, and probably mule train. Not sure if we have an article on outfitting but if not, we probably should.  It will probably work to bring in User:Cgoodwin, who is our Aussie guru and who can toss what's not accurate for Au.  I kept the book because it sources actual article content, but links to "trade associations" is definitely just linking to commercial promotional sites unless you are linking to a specific page with info that can't go into an article due to copyright issues or something.  See WP:V and related articles, there's a WP policy on External links, which generally is to minimize them. At WPEQ we have tended to limit to things like internal web site pages with specific, more detailed info (like illustrated instructions on how to load a pack mule, perhaps...), NATIONAL organizations, video and photo clips that can't be uploaded to Commons, that sort of thing .  As for Livermore, there are places for including someone's name if they have some particularly notable contribution, but an encyclopedic tone usually minimizes the name-dropping, letting the authorship of a reference source speak for itself. If he mets the notability criteria for a wikipedia article about him, that's another thing that can be done, though, and might be fun.    

 :::As for the details,  I would agree that 300 lbs is about the maximum weight-carrying capacity for a horse or mule, so not to be routinely promoted.  I believe Yellowstone Park dude ride concessions publicize a 250 lb weight limit for people, which, once you add a western saddle, is getting pretty close, though. My sympathies to the horses.