LEADING THE PACK STRING: http://www.packsaddleshop.com/PackingTips.html

Knife Always carry a knife when packing so if you get in an emergency situation you can cut lead ropes, panniers, manties, or pack saddles off if necessary.

Horses that Intentionally Break Breakaway Strings Some horses learn that breakaway strings break easily. This type of horse will cause lots of problems during any pack trip. You have three options 1) Locate the horse at the end of the pack string so when it gets loose only the problem horse is loose; 2) Tie on a breakaway string that is much stronger but you take a risk that there might be an avoidable wreck that gets worse; 3) Have the problem horse first in the pack string so you can have the lead rope in your hand, hopefully, you will be in terrain that doesn’t have narrow and dangerous trails.

Hand Leading Pack Horses While Dismounted Never wrap the lead rope around your hand. Loop the rope in your palm so if the horse pulls the rope, it is pulled out of your hand so then you only have a hold of one strand of the lead rope. If the packhorse spooks with the lead rope wrapped around your hand you could be dragged and seriously injured. One person I knew wrapped the rope around his hand and was drug and almost tore his fingers off and he had to go to the hospital.

Tying Your Horse to a Tree One year my friend Ed tied Rosie to an alder sapling while he was preparing to load elk quarters on Rosie. Rosie reared up and off went Rosie with the sapling. Rosie was gone all day and returned to camp about 10pm. Naturally, she couldn’t be caught. The next day the chase was on. She was finally caught on her way to the trailhead when an Outfitter met her on the trail.

Meeting game animal on the trail You might meet a moose or a “big bear” that won’t get off the trail. Moose will occasionally run through a pack string. I have a friend who had a moose run through his experienced pack string and one of his pack animals panicked and it jumped off a cliff trail. Unfortunately the horse didn’t survive the fall.

Exhausted riding horses and pack animals are very dangerous. An exhausted animal will stumble often and lunge and are more prone to stepping off the trail. Rest your animals often to avoid your riding horse or pack animal stepping off a trail and causing serious injury to you and them. Exhausted horses are more prone to make mental mistakes just like exhausted people.

Leading a pack horse in steep terrain on horseback Some people like having the lead rope of the first pack animal in their hand regardless of the terrain. I DON’T! Occasionally on a narrow trail, your horse will spook no matter how well its trained, or your trail may give way or your horse might step off the trail. You need both hands to quickly control your horse to insure you stay in the saddle or to get off the horse in a hurry. Tie the lead rope, with its break away string, to the saddle D-ring. You can always grab the lead rope quickly if you need to when the lead rope is attached to a D-ring. Another way is to loop the lead rope once around the pommel to allow it to slip loose quickly if there is a quick strain on it such as a horse going off the trail. Do not put the lead rope under your leg as you might be pulled off the saddle. Always keep the lead rope on the downhill side, however you use it so you won't be pulled off the horse.

Meeting other pack strings on narrow trails is a hazard to you and your horses. Trail courtesy requires the smaller string to get off the trail or turn around. Insure you always keep the head of your horse and pack animals pointed downhill when turning around. As long as your horse can see the trail it significantly reduces the probability of it going over the side on narrow trails. If I can’t get off the trail I turn around my pack string. I dismount and untie the first pack animal and turn it around and proceed working my way down the pack string until I reach the last animal in the pack string, which is now the front. Insure you train your horses and pack string to turn around on a trail at home before you are required to turn around in steep country.

Encountering Other Pack Strings in Steep Country Occasionally you will meet pack strings in steep parts of the trail that you can barely go up hill to get out of the way. Some horses do not like going up a hill then side hilling a steep area to get the rest of the pack string off the trail. I strongly suggest you practice going up a hill then side hilling the trail to prepare for encountering other pack strings. Starting off on not too steep of hills and then progress to a level that both you and your pack horses are comfortable with.

Being Under Your Horse on a Steep Trail Sometimes you have to dismount to correct a pack when it’s so steep you can touch the mountain with your hand while riding. At times you can’t be on the downhill side of the trail because it’s so narrow you would roll down the mountainside. When working on the high side, you will invariably slide under your packhorse. Insure you practice working “under your horse” at home in case you slide under the horse on a steep trail A suddenly spooked pack horse on a steep trail stomping you while you are under him would be disastrous for you and the pack string.

Extreme Dangers Areas on Trails There are some parts of trails that are so narrow and dangerous that it is impossible to pass or even turn a pack string around. It is best to send a lone rider forward to insure you don’t encounter other riders/pack strings. The lone rider can signal you or contact you by walkie-talkie.

Training horses to walk on the inside of the trail is a must. There are narrow trails that will possibly give way if the horse steps on the edge of the trail. Some of my trail pictures show this.

Narrow trails in steep terrain The narrower a dirt trail in steep terrain, the more likely the trail will give way possibly causing a tremendous wreck. If there is any question on trail safety, get off and walk. If the trail gives way, a riding horse has a much better chance of getting back on the trail if you are not riding him. If you jump off to the uphill side when the horse is struggling to get back on the trail - your weight pushing him downhill could make the difference of him going over or his survival. I had a trail give way recently while riding my horse “Soldier” (the big apply with large white blanket in my pictures). Fortunately, Soldier was strong enough to power his way back onto the trail. Both Soldier and I could have been seriously injured or died.

Steep Narrow and Very Dangerous Trails As I stated earlier I dismount and walk. However, on some parts of the trail where it is questionable, I take my feet out of the stirrups so I can dismount very quickly if necessary.

Horses Stepping Off Trails In 1997 I was riding Rocky, a big, athletic 1200-1300 leopard appaloosa in the Frank Church Wilderness. On a steep part of the trail Rocky stepped off the trail when not paying attention. I'm still amazed that Rocky gut me back on the rail. He was an extremely strong horse. If the incident would have occurred another 100 yards farther up the trail where it was very very steep we would have been over the side and rolled at least 500 feet, died and been bear bait. The rest of the day Rocky kept his nose about one foot from the trail. I sold Rocky the next summer because he would occasionally spook. I don't keep dangerous horses no matter how much I like them. Rocky was a trained jumper up to 4' fences, was built like a tank, extremely athletic and was very gentle.

Crossing Water You will invariably cross many small streams in the trail, creeks and possibly rivers. Insure you train your horses to cross small streams without jumping which causes broken breakaway strings or packs to slip. Fording a large stream should be practiced before your pack trip. Insure if you cross a large stream or river there are no unseen, large boulders at your fording site.

Crossing Streams With Soft Bottoms Some creeks have soft bottoms that will cause a horses legs to sink in a foot or more. Even a good water horse will lunge and start jumping when the soft bottom is encountered. When packing out meat, etc. it is best to have one person lead the horse to the stream and start it across while another person is on the other side to catch the lead rope as the horse crosses the stream. Trying to lead the horse while it is lunging and jumping across the stream can be very dangerous because these soft bottom streams are normally in very steep and rugged terrain......

LEAD ROPES & PIGGIN' STRINGS:

Training Pack Horses to Accept a Crupper reduces the risk of a wreck when a lead rope gets caught under a pack horse's tail. (L. Batty)

Lead Rope Adjustment The surest way to have a wreck is to have improperly adjusted lead ropes. The lead rope should be at least 12-18” off the ground when the pack horse has his nose on the butt of the pack horse in front of him. Pack horses occasionally are very close to one another, especially going down steep trails. Sometimes the pack horse in front will start kicking the horse behind when the trail horse has his leg over the lead rope.

Lead Rope Quality Buy quality/strong lead ropes. A big strong horse can break a poor quality lead rope like a string when frightened.

Breakaway String Insure you have a breakaway string on your lead rope. If one horses goes off the trail you don’t want it to pull you and the pack string down with it. Breakaway String Strength I use parachute cord because it breaks at about 500 pounds. If you use hay twine do not double/loop it. Double/looped hay twine is much too strong and does not break when required. I once pulled a stubborn packhorse across a wooden bridge using double looped twine as a breakaway string.

Attaching lead ropes Some people tie the lead rope to the hip pad of the horse in front of it. Tying to the hip pad has a tendency to pull the pack saddle too much. I have a braided rope from one rigging ring to the other. The rope is long enough to go up and between the rear arch. I then tie a 2" ring to the rope where I attach my breakaway string. This configuration allows the pull of the lead rope on the rigging and prevents side pulling.

Attaching Break Away String If you don’t have a rope and piggin ring secured to the pack rigging I recommend you attach it to the rear Decker arch. Never attach break away string to the hip pad as you will break the leather hip pad straps if you unknowingly put on a break away string that is too strong.

Break Away String Tied to a Horse’s Tail-DON’T! You may have seen in books or magazines a breakaway string tied to the tail of the horse to its front. If you have a wreck that break away string can pull the hair off the tail. If you have a too strong break away string, a serious injury to horse’s tail could occur. One of my customers actually had a break away string on a horse’s tail because he had seen it in a book. After a serious injury to the horse’s tail he now attaches the break away string to the decker arches.