In the summer and fall we go horse packing.
The rest of the year we talk about packing, dream about packing and get ready for packing.
Even for horses that may never pack tents and sleeping bags into the backcountry, packing is a great way to get them ready to ride and prepare for some weirdness life may throw at them.
These are old canvas panniers I bought used for a good price, and in them are blankets (and Tay Martin ‘s extra layers because I had guessed wrong on the weight of said blankets).
This is the good pack saddle because I figured Spur could be trusted with it. I have an old one that came with those panniers. That’s what I use on the real greenies.
$200 in practice tack is cheaper than an ambulance ride and a week or 6 of missed work, plus shattered confidence for both rider and horse. You could get a similar result with an old beater saddle and over the saddle panniers or a couple of old tires on ropes.
This is one of several steps – two if you count ponying – I take to prepare a horse for its future as a riding partner. It has served me well.
Out here you also never know when you’ll need your saddle horse to pack out shed antlers, game, a weak or injured dog or calf, or even other people’s trash, so carrying dead weight that sounds, rides and smells different than what a horse is used to is one more useful skill to have.
Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy Ambassador Mustangs Lacy (dun), Spur (roan, ponied) and Tiny (sorrel) as well as Taylor’s Mustang mare Oak (ponied off of Tiny) did well on this sunny winter day outing.
What do you do to prepare your young/green horses for riding?
