[Danneq]

Is there a concern for predators? Whenever we camped as a kid, we always had to take precautions with the food in case of bears. I'd be nervous that bears or a big cat or some such would see the horses as prey.

 

[ACinATX]

I don't know about grizzly bears, but black bears wouldn't see them as prey. Mountain lion attacks on horses do occur, but attacks on full-grown horses are rare. Also I'm not sure how excited I would be about camping in mountain lion territory. I'd have to think about that.

 

[its lbs not miles]

This scenario is a little far out for us right now, but my husband brought it up (I mean camping with the horses) so I thought I'd ask.

Are there places you can camp overnight with horses that have corrals or paddocks already set up that you can rent? Is this a thing? I feel like if I went camping with my horses and didn't have them really secure, I wouldn't be able to sleep. I know that people hobble, or high line, or use portable electric panels, but I see problems with all of these and I can't imagine myself ever being comfortable using one.

I've camped since in my teens (i.e. in the early 70's) and so long as your horse is trained there is no need to worry about having corals, etc... Those sort of requirements will severely limit your camping options. I've camped using a hobble and secured line without problems, but you do need to train the horse (which is obscenely easy to do). In fact, by this point, even with my current horses, I can take them out and if there is a place where some trees are positioned properly I can even stretch a line of rope around the trees, about chest high for the horse, and they'll stay inside all night. The only potential item I have to keep in mind is finding a place with a water source nearby and getting permission to camp on someone's land (but so far that has not really been a problem over the decades). People tend to be very friendly about it (no doubt because of the horse LOL) and I've even had people bring me something to eat or come out to have a beer with me after I set up camp. But then I don't haul my horses some place to camp. I ride out of my driveway, turn left or right on the highway, and ride. Generally 20-25 miles a day depending on our speed and how much daylight I have.

I have lightweight gear. Horse transports everything. If you look close in the photo with her water bucket you can see where there's a rope along the ground that is attached to her hobble. There's also a couple of photos showing the hobble and line. I'll even attach one showing her eating breakfast inside the sort of rope corral I made at that location (she did have her hobbles on during the night, but I'd already removed them so I could get packed while she ate). Also an older photo of me on my way home from camping trip that someone took and sent me.

Camping can be as easy as you're willing to make it. Clearly, if you train your horses it requires very little and it only takes about a day or two for me when I train them to hobble and be picketed.. I find keeping everything lightweight to limit the weight to 20% is the toughest part of it all for me.

 

[PoFoSho]

This scenario is a little far out for us right now, but my husband brought it up (I mean camping with the horses) so I thought I'd ask.

Are there places you can camp overnight with horses that have corrals or paddocks already set up that you can rent? Is this a thing? I feel like if I went camping with my horses and didn't have them really secure, I wouldn't be able to sleep. I know that people hobble, or high line, or use portable electric panels, but I see problems with all of these and I can't imagine myself ever being comfortable using one.

Absolutely there are places that have corrals/paddocks and places w/ barns/stalls! We also have an electric portable fence we have used before for places that do not have those options. The paddocks are ideal, of course, but you can use electric fence, too!! Here in Florida, you can find really good information on different state parks that already have corrals and through Facebook trail/horse camping groups.

 

[newtrailriders]

I have been so pleasantly surprised at how many places have horse camping. You can't reserve online at most places around here - you have to call. Online, they always show every horse camping site as "booked" - this is to prevent people without horses from reserving the sites. Every place we've been either has a paddock or a tying pole at each campsite. You can also buy a "HiTie" system for your trailer - it extends out so the horse has much more room to walk around, and has a bungie so the horse can lay down, eat etc. without getting tangled. I was really surprised this weekend to see that my mare really did not mind the tying pole at all - in fact she seemed happier there than in a paddock.