Camping out and trail riding

wow wee - thanks everyone for sharing their stories and pictures - gorgeous horses and beautiful views!

Stacy - come on back to east Texas and ride with us at Ebenezer! We are going back on October 30, 31 and November 1st. I am looking forward to it and making plans for menu's etc. and what all I need to drag. Will try to keep it simple but fun.

My gelding gets so excited going on trail rides. He loves it and so do I! We may take a quick trip up there this coming Sunday - it is a 200 mile round trip but we can go stay Saturday night at my cousin's home that is just 25 miles away so we just have to drag 100 miles on the way home - so worth it. We rode here locally and I must say, after Ebenezer, Tyrrell Park's Cattail Marsh just doesn't cut the mustard!

I am camping in a tent - I am pea green of those who have LQ trailers - sigh....in my dreams. I don't even need fancy - just easy!!

I would love to see more pictures and hear more stories of good places to ride and what everyone is doing.

I know what you mean. I sleep in my two horse straight load on overnights. It is a lot to pack, and I'm looking at goosenecks with oversized dressing rooms to use as a weekender.

Labor Day weekend I did a three day ride and Don (my hubby) brought his 5th wheel camper. I felt like I was in a luxury resort!

Even with all the packing, it's so worth it and my horse also seems to love it.

Painted Horses, I think where you ride looks like what I image Heaven to be! Thanks for sharing your amazing riding territory with us.

Kiwi, I never ever shoot from my horses backs. I ride my horses to where I want to hunt and tie them up. If I see game while I'm riding, I jump off the horse and tie them up or hand the reins to another person. Remove the rifle and step away from the horses before I fire.

My horses are used to the noise. But there are several reason, I'd never try and shoot from the saddle. 1st. Most of my shots are long range. ( see pictures of how big and open the country is) I need to get my rifle as steady as possible to hit a target 300 yards away. No way possible to do that from the saddle. 2nd. I want to protect my horses ears. Muzzle blast from a high power rifle is deafening. 3rd, I don't want to get stepped on. I am focused on the target, I am not watching the horses when I am trying to shoot. I don't want a horse to spook and dance around and step on me. So I make sure I move 10-15 yards away from the horses prior to discharging the rifle.

Unlike cowboy westerns, Most hunting rifles are not the slick little saddle guns seen in western movies. Modern hipower rifles have scopes and are just plain bulkier than the rifles in motion pictures. Getting a rifle in and out of the scabbard is MUCH easier done from the ground, not the saddle.

Taking a few extra seconds to do the above, gives your mind time to digest what it has seen. What was the aminal you spotted, Is it a trophy, Is it an elk or some ranchers cow?

Hunting from a horse is a great experience. But shooting a rifle from a horse's back just isn't part of the adventure. Now I do often carry a pistol while riding in the wilderness areas. It's there in case I run into a bear or lion and want to scare them off. Firing a pistol from atop a horse is possible, But I wouldn't expect to be accurate with it. It would just be more of a loud noise maker, to scare the bear away.

Its all right painted horse, I never thought for a minute that you were slinging your gun and shooting from your horse! I understood that you are using the horses as to and fro transport - not actually hunting aids LOL. ( I have this picture in my mind of a set of antlers taped to your horses head so it can be used as a decoy - I crack myself up!)

I was thinking that there is nothing stopping me from riding Phoenny into the hills, getting off her and going for a quick walk to shoot some animals. I understand completely about the shooting,some of the shooting we do here is out to 6,7 hundred yards, I know that it ain't going to happen from the back of the horse LOL. We have a lot of wild goats here, they are good eating and plentiful. Phoenix is used to shots being fired so it would be no problem for me to get off her, go for a little walk and pot a couple of goats. I could load up my saddle bags with some meat and be back home in time for dinner. My original point was that I just never actually do it and I am not sure why.

Err... Just remember that the decoying could work both ways. "Hey, Billy Bob, that sure is an ugly deer you got. And what's that on his back?"

LOL.....thats a good point!

I hope there is no Billy bob that stupid.

We tie deer onto the backs our horses to haul them off the mountain. Same goes for Elk. . Usually they are drapped over the saddle, not tied to the head. I live in an area where there are various hunting season. Hunters need to identify their target very carefully. While all elk have the same coloration and general size. Cow elk have no antlers, Spike Bulls have a single point on their antlers and Mature Bulls have branch antlers or multiple points.


So back to camping. I used to have a nice LQ. I have 5 daughters. But now days most of my daughters have moved on, I've sold the LQ and sleep in the gooseneck or a tent. For hunting camp, where we stay put for a longer period of time, we set up a Wall tent. cots, sleeping bags, a wood burning stove and feel pretty comfortable even when the temps drop into the teens.


For shorter stays. like a weekend in the wilderness, we usually just haul in a smaller dome tent and use self inflating pads on the ground.


And sometimes we just stay at the trailer and day ride. A couple of us can sleep up on the gooseneck bunk. If my more than one of my daughters come they can set up a cot out side, or sleep on the floor. We make do.

Wow, painted horse that is a fantabulous trailer! I can feel myself going green with envy. Is it four horses and the accommodation space?

Awww cute horsies! And pretty pictues to!

jamesqf I can imagine what would happen if I tried something like that! I would probably pierce my horses ear!! Tell you what though I would get some game if I could do it. I wonder.....hmm