Page 1 One- Packing with an English By CindyFurse ([email protected])

One of my favorite things is horse packing — any combination of camping and is just right for me. Thanks to my great friends at BCHU, I had so much fun on my first pack trip that I determined to find a way to ‘horse pack’ with my one horse and my (because that is what I had!). Now I carry all my own gear (food included in many cases), and have a spare hand for a useful pack animal for someone else (like last summer when we packed wood into the High Uinta Wilderness Area to build bridges over a marshy area near a lake).

Horse packing is not that different from packing. The lighter the load, the better. I try to limit my pack to 50 pounds, which still feels like camping in luxury. The biggest (yes, even in dry Utah, I figured difference between horse packing Let’s start with LIGHT. Here is my this out AFTER sleeping on a and back packing is that very few list of stuff to take, grouped into the damp pad my first pack trip). And I boy/girl scouts actually try to BUCK sections of the pack. use the plastic garbage bag later to off their packs. LIGHT and TIGHT store my saddle and tack outside are the essential elements of horse [1] FANNY PACK my tent and out of the rain and packing, no matter how many dew. horses you take. There should also Tent, ground cloth and foam pad. be a word in there for Balance, be- cause there is nothing that falls un- der your horse’s belly faster than an off-balance pack. So let’s say that a horse pack needs to be LIGHT, TIGHT, and UPRIGHT.

This fanny pack is for the horse, not you. It sits on the horse’s hips, behind everything else, so I made it my lightest element. Buy a nice little back packing tent, and add a small ground cloth (I use a plastic shower curtain because it is small and light and I can replace it as Buy or sew a drawstring bag that needed). Wrap the foam sleeping fits all of this. It really helps if the pad around the tent, and be sure bag has straps that can be used to there are no rough, solid or ’pokey’ tighten/squeeze all of this together. parts sticking out to rub on the Mine has 3 straps, as shown in the horse. Wrap all of that in a plastic picture. I found it at Kmart in the garbage bag to keep it from getting camping section. Very important! wet in a summer thunderstorm Add a clip to each end of the bag where the white arrows are. I just Page 2 One-Horse Packing with an English Saddle

(like coats and sleeping bag) in the sewed mine on after the fact. (If bottom, with the camp stool in the (either with a pack scale, which you don’t sew, most dry cleaners top, and zip it all into the top pack. many packers carry, or by hand, have someone who will do it for you, and most cobblers will do the Don’t skimp on the sleeping bag. which has been accurate enough) heavier duty parts too). You MUST A nice small bag rated a lot lower to be sure they are close in weight. have a way to keep the fanny pack than you think you will need is a I use one side mostly for personal from sliding side-to-side. It sits on wonderful thing. I also included a items and the other side mostly for the horse’s hips, where it gets the most bounce, and will sort of squirt picture of this nifty camp stool horse items. out the side and hang down in a (Packstool is what the label says) I horse-scary fashion if you don’t take found at REI that is a standard 3- Here are a few tricks on the per- care to anchor the side-to-side. legged stool where the legs also sonal side… a pillow is one of the

[2] TOP PACK fold in the middle. Since the top great luxuries of camp that takes up pack rests right behind the saddle, too much space. You can get an Sleeping bag, camp stool, solar be sure there are no lumps or inflatable pillow, but I just take an shower, warm coat,/hat/gloves bumps against the horse (BUCK empty pillow case and fill it with my extra jeans, horse pellets (if prevention). coats. That way I can always find needed in low feed areas) my coat quickly, even at night, and I The top pack and saddle bags [3] SADDLE BAGS have a soft pillow. I take leather came together, and the top pack Left: Clothes, pillow case, water slippers with rubber soles just in was supposed to Velcro on/off, purifier, towel (small or larger can case I have to get up in the night which seemed nice at the time (less double as extra blanket), slippers (It’s not what you think … like when to hoist up over the horse’s back). (luxury, but with rubber soles, can the coyotes had the horses all up- Unfortunately, in practice it just vel- double as spare shoes), first aid kit set, or when one of the horses got croed itself OFF, so I had a cobbler (for people and horse), camp tangled in his too-long rope, fell sew it to the saddle bags perma- stove, food, matches, mess kit, down, and had to be extricated in nently . I found this pack at the lo- TP, wet wipes, camp soap, sun the middle of the night…And they cal horse supply store (Callisters). I screen and other personal items, can double as shoes if mine get put another large garbage bag in head lamp, extra batteries for wet). The food, water purification, the top pack, fill it with soft things head lamp, camera, and GPS, and cooking is pretty much just like Extra rope just because. Rain backpacking. There are entire gear (put over your sleeping bag books on this subject, so I’ll leave at night for added warmth). that part out. Right: Horse grain, Horse boot, Bug spray (horse AND people), On the horse side, pack the highline grooming supplies, collapsible and hobbles near the top of the bag bucket, gall salve, hobbles, high where you can get to them first. line/tree savers. When you get to camp, tie your The saddle bags carry the most horses solidly to a tree, put up your weight, and it is very important that high line, and get them safely tied. they be even in weight. I sewed a There are many great yarns told light nylon drawstring bag from round the campfire of ‘when the waterproof material for each side. pack horses got away’. Teach your This way, I can load them up and horse to high line and to at weigh them apart from the pack home.

Page 3 One-Horse Packing with an English Saddle

[4] DAY PACK reason, be sure your saddle fits your horse Water bottles (full!), camera, cell well before adding a phone, GPS, compass, map, rain pack to it.) the gear, sun glasses, helmet, light doesn’t do much for jacket UPRIGHTness of the pack, it is mostly for If we are setting up a base camp keeping it from sliding and day-ridng from there, I usually forward. take my day pack too, just on top of the camping pack. I use the water Loop with D-ring connected to the metal that My saddle didn’t have a bottle holders going in, and then fill holds the leather ring for the crupper. I it back up with my rain gear, first aid tried a commercial kit, etc. for the day rides. in this pack arrangement, because crupper holder … a piece of plastic it keeps the saddle from slipping that fit under the two pads in the PUTTING IT ALL back, particularly when going up back underside of my saddle, A D TOGETHER hill. Since all of the extra weight of ring on a loop was connected to the Essential tack: Saddle, , hal- the pack will also be trying to pull plastic piece. This worked fine for ter, 12’ lead rope with quick release the saddle back on the horse, the regular rides but was not durable clip, crupper, breast collar, saddle breast strap is an essential ele- enough for packing. I cut a piece of pad, extra saddle pad for pack ment. It also makes it less likely a wooden ruler about 4” long, put a that the saddle will flip all the way D ring on a nylon loop around that, around and under the horse. It and jammed it tightly under the pad- Start with the saddle. There are isn’t enough to keep it from listing ding in the back underside of my four important connection points — to the side, however, so you will saddle. It was worked great ever breast strap, crupper, strap from the need to maintain the UPRIGHT- since, and I never take it off, even if pack to the seat, and saddle bag ness of your saddle & pack by I am not using a crupper. connection to the . shifting it back to the center with your while riding if/when it First is where the breast strap con- gets off center. nects to the saddle. This needs to The second major con- be connected to the tree, not just to nection point is for the a little of leather somewhere. crupper. The crupper Some have rings in the keeps the saddle and front, but mine didn't I added two pack from slipping for- nylon loops with D rings. Each loop ward and is particularly goes onto the bar that holds the important when going stirrup leathers with the D ring point- downhill. Otherwise, the ing out in front of the saddle. These saddle is likely to pinch loops can be purchased at most the horse’s shoulder and English tack stores (including Callis- make him stumble or Piece of wooden ruler between padding at back ters), but I just sewed them. The buck. (For the same breast strap is absolutey essential of saddle, nylon loop & D ring for crupper Page 4 One-Horse Packing with an English Saddle

or any place the pack weight will Now let’s talk about the crupper. be distributed. I used the straps croed together. Velcro this as The crupper is going to lie under from the extra saddle pad to con- tightly as you can. You will be sit- your pack, which means there will nect the saddle pad to the Girth D- ting on the Velcro of the strap, un- be weight sitting on the crupper rings. I also ran them up through der your seat pad, with the D-rings strap the entire distance from the the D-rings on the top pack for of the top pack snugged right up back of the saddle to the horse’s added security as shown. against the ‘hips’ of your saddle. hip. All of the commercial crupper This will hold straps I found have a buckle some the pack place along that distance. The first firmly to your year I packed this way, my horse saddle, and did a really good when I first if it gets a got on, which is quite uncharacteris- little off bal- tic for him . I got off, checked for ance, you anything that might be poking or can RIGHT hurting him, didn't find anything and it by shifting wrote it off as uncertainty about the your saddle newness of the pack. When we got back into to camp, the crupper buckle, which place. Since even had a plastic protector be- the top pack tween the horse and the buckle, You will need some extra straps for is sewn to the saddle bags, they had worn a buckle-sized chafe in your pack. The first will go from stay in place this way too. I tried my horse’s rump. No wonder he one D-ring on your pack over the several other arrangements for was trying to buck it off! I felt terri- seat of the saddle to the other D- keeping the pack reasonably cen- ble. Good thing I had brought along ring and back. Use a 2 1/2 ft piece tered, and this is the only one that gall salve … No amount of padding of 1” nylon webbing, and sew 8 “ of really worked. This connection will eliminate this problem, so you Velcro on the straps on either end must be TIGHT for the pack to stay will need to custom-build a crupper. so that it forms a circle when vel- RIGHT. I used a 2” wide nylon strap, had the cobbler sew the buckles for my old crupper on one end, and I sewed about 4” x 2” of Velcro on the other. Now I attach the crupper to the saddle with this Velcro patch, and the strapping is soft enough not to cause galling.

Put your regular un- der the saddle, and add a light blan- ket for the pack. Put this extra sad- dle blanket under the crupper strap for extra comfort. Be sure there are no lumpy edges under the saddle, Page 5 One-Horse Packing with an English Saddle

the girth. My pack had D-rings meant (I think) to connect to the back cinch of a . Instead, I made two straps about 2.5 ft long with Velcro to make a loop and connected them to the cinch of my saddle. This picture shows them connected to the back cinch buckle, but I have since changed and put them on the front cinch buckle instead. I also added a leather ‘keeper’, because they sometimes got undone by the movement of my leg. This connec- tion keeps the saddle bags from using a buckle, but I haven’t had flapping to the sides and from shift- You will also need to add a D-ring as much flexibility in getting that ing to the back, particularly when on the girth buckles of your saddle tight enough. And I’ve tried Velcro, going up hill. to connect the pack to the girth. I but that piece is too short and used about a 10” piece of 1” nylon, tends to come loose. So, for now, Now your pack is in place, and you added a D-ring and closed it with it is a shoelace. The Day pack are ready to add the tent/sleeping Velcro as shown. Do this for both straps are also connected to the pad bag. I added two D-rings to the sides of your saddle. I leave this on Girth D-ring. back of my pack, that matched the my saddle all the time now. I chose two clips I added to the to connect one part of my pack (the The last connection is between the tent/sleeping pad bag. I can quickly top pack, as shown here) to the saddle bags (near the bottom) and and easily clip the bag to the pack, back girth buckle. The lower part (the saddle bags) is connected to the front girth strap. This was a deliberate choice to distribute the force on the girth buckles. Be sure your girth buckles are in good shape, so they don’t tear or give way.

I connect the saddle bag D-ring to this Girth D-ring using a shoelace in this picture. This is tied in such a way that it can be quickly untied (although pulling the Velcro on the Girth D-ring is an even quicker emergency release). I’ve also tried Page 6 One-Horse Packing with an English Saddle

training’. Along with this ‘pack so that it isn’t falling to the horse’s on the pack trail, but no one teases sacking’ we also did plenty of high side. But it still isn’t tight. So I me (much) about it any more. line tie practice and learned to hob- added two nylon straps that go Like any other horse activity, pack- ble. Most pack books talk about around the top pack and the tent ing takes judgment. Be sure both how to train your horse for those bag, strapping the bag tightly to the you and your horse are ready be- things. top pack. This tends to lift the bag fore trying each new thing. Prepare slightly off the horse’s rump, so I try well in advance, Practice at home. WAS IT WORTH IT? to adjust is so that it sits on or close Get help from an experienced to the rump. The last thing most You betcha!!! We’ve seen some of trainer if you need it. Be sure your horses need is something tapping the most beautiful country, been to tack is in excellent shape and suit- or slapping on their rump! places we would otherwise never able for the task. Wear a helmet. have gone, and enjoyed camp fires Be careful and have fun! Your duster or rain gear can be with some of the nation’s finest SAFE AND HAPPY strapped under the tight strap used hombres. to hold the tent bag, too. And how important was the ’pack PROPER PREPARATION sacking’? Well, on our 3rd pack Hopefully by now you have decided trip one of the pack horses took a to ‘try this out at home’ long before fit — the one carrying dinner for 15 you hit the trail in earnest. I started people — and took off up the by ground training and then riding mountain with the wrangler’s riding with clunky pans in my regular sad- horse in tow. Since I was the only dle bags, leaving them flapping so (sort of) experienced rider without they made plenty of racket. Then I a pack horse, I took off after the added a sheet and eventually a rus- pair, galloping up a steep, brushy tling piece of plastic tarp behind my hillside. And my packs held! saddle, over his rump, so there was Nothing broke loose! Everything plenty to flap in the wind. Then I stayed upright! And my horse did- rode with just the top pack & saddle n’t seem to care one iota about all TRAILS! the stuff he was carrying. No bags, again with plenty to rattle in — Cindy Furse & ‘Friday’ them. Last, I added the tent bag. ! I caught the riding horse DISCLAIMER: easily, and eventually the panicked First I rode with it tied tightly, as it is By using this guide, I/We recognize on the trail. But before we went out pack horse, whom I had to lead out Utah State Law UCA78B-4-201- on the trail, we also rode with it through about a mile of dense as- Limitation on liabilities for Equine and Livestock Activities – and re- loose and bumping against his hips pen underbrush. My horse (and I) lease the author and publisher from had never ponied a horse before, (connected just by the clips with any responsibility due to its some twine to help just in case the let alone a skittish pack horse, but use. Also, I/we recognize the fact clips broke or tore loose). Be sure it we did just fine, and brought him that whenever saddle stock use is involved, there is a potential for inju- is light enough that this bumping back to the group an hour or so ries to horses/mules, riders and later. That’s the stuff that campfire won’t actually hurt your horse in any spectators. I/We also recognize the way. I used just the soft foam pad yarns are made of. My English fact that the author and publisher of when we did the ‘bump and thump saddle may be a bit of an anomaly this guide cannot know the condi- tion of the trails, the tack used, or