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Gave up on camping without a pack horse

25K views 84 replies 14 participants last post by  Bearkiller 
#1 ·
Since I started riding last fall I figured I could go "backpack lite" camping with my horse and carry everything I need on him. One small problem: it doesn't all fit. It all fits in the luggage I have for him, but it's such an unstable load that I'm not sure it's worth it.

It'd be fine for an overnight, maybe a weekend, but for a longer trip? Forget it. Of course, part of the problem is that now I'm older than I once was and insist on more Creature Comforts, even when camping.

So, a pack horse is in the works. Hopefully this coming weekend I'll be getting a 4 horse trailer so I have room to haul a pack horse along with our two saddle horses. Mrs. thinks that our little Arabian can make a fine pack horse, with some training. He's 25 years old so he's pretty settled down but he still seems to have plenty of energy and endurance. Last weekend he carried a friend (200 pounds total load) for 8 miles up and down hills, mostly in the snow. A 150 pound pack should be no problem for him--especially without the snow!

So, time to start training him. As soon as we can haul three horses to the trailhead we'll start with his riding saddle and some loaded saddle bags and see how well he ponies on a trail. If he seems to be working out, we'll get a Decker pack saddle and panniers and try to have him ready for a serious trip by early summer.

'Cause one way or another, I'm taking some serious pack trips this summer! :)
 
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#29 ·
Nokota, that was my first thought, too. Minimalist, backpacking style, camping with just saddle horses.

I tried packing for it and found I WAS able to pack for a one or two night trip that way. I meant pretty full saddle and cantle bags, and big pommel bags, but it could be done. Any more than about two nights and I found stuff no longer fit.

BTW, that was NOT including anything for horse feed.

I may still do a trip or two that way, especially if I'm by myself for an overnight. There's a couple of places near here that would lend themselves very nicely to a one or two night solo trip. I might try to fit one or two of them into my summer.

But for longer trips I just couldn't make it work! That's why I gave up and made plans for a pack horse.

I, too, am interested in what Painted has to say since he's the Local Expert (I think I might be the one who gave you that title Painted. Congradulations.)

Nokota, if you try doing a practice pack up, let us know how it goes! Especially if you pack up and then go for a local ride to see how it all carries.
 
#30 ·
There is a 32 mile loop through the Adirondack wilderness area that my daughter and I are planning to do. Hoping to do it in one night. I figured we would be able to get it done without a pack horse by leaving early one morning, and getting back to the trailer in the evening of the second. This would give us the time to ride a little more leisurely and take our time. I have done 10 mile rides in a day in around 3 hours. Hunter paces and just trail rides so I feel 15 miles a day is not too much if we take our time and give ourselves the whole day to do it. Being one night, I figure there is a LOT less stuff needed so we could pack light.
 
#31 ·
Nokota, the show stopper for me for packing was actually clothing. I refuse to do laundry every day when I'm out in the sticks! I figured 3 days of clothes would be fine for a week trip 'cause I could stretch them to only do laundry once on the trail. Clothes are both bulky and heavy.

Food can be bulky but doesn't have to be heavy. But, a week's worth is just more than I can get into the luggage on my saddle horse. Sigh.

Especially with my hammock, an not a tent, I don't expect any trouble with a single night without a pack horse. I've done that load out and everything was fine.

As soon as the weather clears up I'll be trying it out either up on Moscow Mt. or down in the Craig Mountain Wildlife Area. :)

Having two people/horses lets you spread the "community" gear load a bit which will also help.
 
#32 ·
Nokota, Having done 50 mile endurance rides, and a LOT of CTR rides that were 25-28 miles in one day, I don't see a problem with squeezing in a 30 mile if I made a long day of it.

I'm a big guy and don't want to over load my horses by loading gear on them in addition to my weight. I do have saddle bags and cantle bags, That I load with water food, spare jacket, fire starting stuff. But Sleeping bags, tents cooking utinsels bulk of my food etc all goes on the pack horse.

You have to remember than I frequently see snow in July at 11,000. So I carry a decent sleeping bag, jacket, raincoat etc. I'm more concerned about Hyperthermia than I am about going hungry. Often the trails I ride get blocked with blow downs, So I almost always have an axe or saw. I just can't get all that stuff on a single horse and still ride it. I've seen my horses in terrible shivers in July because of the temps or storms. So I usually carry at least a rain sheet that I use to cover my packs, That I can cover the horses with at night.

Camping at the base of a 13,000 foot peak in july is not like a hot humid night at lower elevations.
 
#34 ·
I use real leather western saddles. I had several of them custom made years ago and they have lasted and held up very well. I did buy a cordura saddle for my daughters when they were younger. But we only use it now for little kids who come for a ride.

I am blessed to have several great tack store within driving distance. So most of my major purchases are done in person so I can see and feel the product. I had several western saddles built many many years ago. They have held up extremely well. and will probably last me the rest ofmy riding career. even with me throwing panier over them and tying dead deer or elk over the saddle horn.

If you want some online places, Try

Wain Soper is a local store to me. He has great products, But is more money than most online discount stores. But very very good stuff
Wain Soper Pack Station Home

Outfitters Pack Station for true pack supplies
Custom Pack Supplies at Outfitters Pack Station

Don West Have Saddle will Travel makes a good single horse pack system
Have Saddle Will Travel

for Canvas products
Davis Tent and Awning makes a great wall tent and good saddle paniers and top packs
Wall Tents, Canvas Tents, canvas wall tent, canvas wall tent frames,


For custom western Saddles, Dan builds a great one
High Quality Saddles by Dan High
 
#35 ·
I am so glad we have this thread. I have a syntheic saddle, but it seems to work fine for us right now but I wonder if it will be sufficant for longer trail riding. I've been shopping for a leather saddle but can only afford so much at a time. :) If only paychecks came as fast I my urges to buy new tack!

I live in southern Michigan and most of the horse people I've met are into showing or English riding. While I respect these sports, they do not get me fired up. I became a horse owner as an adult and I am still have so much to learn, and confidence to build. But I have found that I get the most enjoyment with Lola from trail riding. In Northern Michigan there are large (well, maybe not when compared to out west, hehe) state parks/campgrounds that allow horseback riders to use the trails. I've always wanted to take Lola "up north" and experience these places. Sadly, I've never met another horse person that is interested or willing to share their knowledge in this activity. I have recently found a mounted orienteering club (kinda like a mounted scavanger hunt) that does "day rides" in these areas, and plan to join over the summer. I am very excited to join this group of people and explore these wilderness areas. But I do not want to join unprepared, and be the silly newbie who doesn't have a clue. Hearing your stories and seeing you pictures gets me so pumped up. I worry that the activities we do in the arena or around the local farm land isn't enough to prepare Lola for the trails. The area I live is mostly flat and arigcultural with small pockets of forest that are usually privately owned. While the farmers do not care if riders follow the edges of their fields the private land owners to not allow people onto their properties. And unfortunately the edges of fields are not the same terrain we will experience on a true trail ride. I know that time in the saddle is the most important way to prepare... But, I assume walking over logs and water obstacles are two main areas to train a horse. How would you recommend someone (novice) to attempt this? Would you just get a log and encourage the horse to step over? In the saddle? From the ground? For a water obstacle would you use a tarp with water? Or maybe a small plastic pool?

P.S. On a side note... I got a 3 horse stock trailer today! Gonna pick it up over the weekend. Needs a bit of TLC, but my fiance is a mechanic and promises to have it fixed up in no time. Puts me one step close to getting out on the trails... So forgive my pestering... I've become a bit, well, obsessed...
 
#36 ·
Glad you are having fun with it.

My advice is to use the equipment and tack you have and over time you will learn what deficencies it has and buy new tack to fix those weak points. Nobody knows what you will decide a weak link is. So I'm not here to tell you that your stuff won't work.

If the group you join this summer makes a big deal out of you being the Newbie, They are not the group you want to hang out with. I did CTR when I first got back into horses. We would do a weekend camp out and 40-50 mile trail rides. 40-90 other horses and people. I had a vet and horsemanship judge looking at me 3-4-5 times a day. I got a score card at the of the weekend of where I messed up. I went with the attitude of when the judge asked me to do an obsticle. Can you do this? Don't know let me try. Oops, guess not, But I will be able to do that by the next time I come. Most horse people, I find are very willing to share their knowledge.

If your horse trust you and works with you at home, He will learn to deal with the new obsticles out on the trail. Set up some obsticles that are cheap and be creative. Lay a log on the ground, get the horse to cross it and to start at one end and side pass up. Stand two barrels and have the horse back thru them, circle them. Find a ditch and have the horse walk thru it forward and back thru it. "Horses don't like backing up when their heels are bumping stuff. The blue tarp on the ground, a piece of plywood on the ground. Look around your farm and see what you can be creative with. We use anything we can find along the trail to ask our horses to cross. I'e shown this picture before. But ti illustrates the point of seeing something along the trail and asking the horses to deal with it.


Best Advice, Just go and enjoy, next trip change what ever didn't work for you and adjust. Trail riding is not a showring, ever ride could have something new and different to deal with.
 
#37 ·
Well, I'm commited. Just booked a weekend at a horse ranch in northern MI. They are doing a trail riding clinic for newbies. Wish me luck. Maybe I'll have some awesome pics of my own? My own adventures start. :)
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#38 ·
I would love to ride all day, camp out and ride more. We kinda do that at Ebenezer but we go back to the trailers. I would love to ride out, pitch a tent, sleep out there and ride more. Humm...that is a goal I could maybe get Honey Darling Precious to do. I think the packing would be half the fun - trying to figure out what I could or could not take!
 
#39 ·
Well Painted Horse. You inspired me. There is a three day CTR clinic being held in June close to me. I have filled out the paperwork and am sending in my application to go. Hopefully it is still too early to have filled up. They will cover some great topics from health and fitness to saddle fit, conditioning, traveling in varied terrain, footwear(for the horse) and a lot of other informative topics. My wife even decided she wanted to go with me so it should be a great weekend. Thanks for the endorsement of CTR!!
 
#40 ·
There are several organization that put on CTR rides. I'm not sure which organization is popular in your part of the country. The one that I competed in was North American Trail Ride Conference (NATRC.org)

regardless of whether you enjoy the competition. What you learn about camping with a horse will be extremely valuable. I've heard very experience endurance riders say that every endurance rider should attend one or two CTR to learn how to spend time with their horse.

NATRC rides in my region were always weekend events. You arrive Friday afternoon/evening and went home sunday. When you checked in Friday, the judging started and continued through check out Sunday afternoon. So the Horsemanship and Vet judges looked at how you camped with your horse, how you rode and controlled your horse down the trail and the conditioning of the horse. It's where I learn to watch my horses pulse and respiration, his hydration, his gut sounds, filling in his legs, soreness or stiffness, Their way of movement when being trotted out. I mean where else can you go and have a Vet watch your horses movements for an entire weekend, while you push your horse to his limits AND explain to you what he is seeing.

QOS, There is nothing wrong with riding all day and returning to your trailer. I do that a lot. I especially like to sleep in the front of my Gooseneck on a rainy night.
 
#41 ·
Well, a bit of progress today. I got a 24" cinch strap so I could actually tighten the new saddle onto Tam. I don't have a pack saddle pad, yet, hopefully order one tomorrow, so I put several saddle pads on him to simulate the thickness of a pack pad. Everything fit just about right, although if the saddle were a touch bigger or he was a touch smaller it wouldn't work.

As it is, we saddled up and went for a walk out to the mailbox, about 1/4 mile round trip, I suppose. Tam was nervous from the wind and I don't think he much liked the britchin around his rump but he marched right along, just like he should.

So far, so good. I feel like I'm on my way to being able to go horse camping, with a pack horse, in style! :) Now all we need is better weather. Well, and a pad and some pack panniers (the Mrs. doesn't want to start with manties).
 
#42 ·
Sounds like you are well started on being a packer. I would like to get the gear myself someday, but for now I can live vicariously through you. Good luck on the training sessions.
 
#45 ·
Yeah, Painted. I was at the tire store today getting a trailer flat fixed and forgot to ask for a couple of old tires. Both a way to let him bounce off of a few trees and a way to add a little (but not too much) weight to the pack saddle to help him get used to it.

I hope to order the pad tomorrow or the next day (sent some questions to the outfit that sells the one I want) but panniers can wait until I'm actually ready to go packing. Until I'm ready to do a test load tires will work just fine!

I'm hoping the Mrs. will be well enough to go for a ride on Sunday. We'll try ponying Tam with the pack saddle on him on that ride, I hope. :)
 
#48 ·
Well, we decided the pack saddle I got is too big for our little Arab. It's a standard size saddle and he's a small horse. I've only actually seen one outfit that even sells a down sized pack saddle. Might end up getting one just 'cause the little guy likes to go along and he's not going if he's not working!

So today we put the pack saddle on our warm blood three year old filly. She's had a riding saddle on her but she's not been ridden. We won't start riding her for another year, or so.

But, she can pack, if she's willing! She handled the "newness" of the saddle very handily! Even the britchin' didn't seem to get her all wound up. The Mrs. took her for a couple of walks on the lane, for training, and she did really well! I guess she tried kicking once or twice but calmed down when the Mrs. said (using a whip for emphasis but probably not actually hitting her) that kicking wasn't allowed.

We both walked her some. I just walked her around the driveway loop, but it helps get her used to being with more than just one person. We both worked with her to stay behind us, not try to rush in front.

Overall, for a first time in a pack saddle and, maybe, the first time being walked in any saddle, she did GREAT! We'll keep working with her and see how she does. I hope to pack into the Wilderness Area with a friend in early June. If she's ready I might try to take her along--not so much to carry much, but for training. If she's not ready, yet, we'll try taking her in later in the summer.

:)
 
#53 ·
Well, tommorrow I'm driving over 300 miles each way to get a 3 horse trailer. Couldn't find a four horse I liked and could afford so we decided on a 3 horse.

That'll take our two big riding mounts and a pack horse. Gee . . . no room for a horse for the kid. Ah, shucks. ;-)

Then the little pack horse gets to go with us to the trails and learn his new living. Just as soon as Mrs. leg is well enough for her to ride!
 
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