Horse-Camping and New Trails

Spring has sprung and it's time to start thinking about our goals for ourselves and our horses, this coming spring and summer riding season. There are a number of things we can do to enhance our horse-owning experience. First and foremost, think about how you can stretch yourself as a rider and horse-person.

One simple and fun exercise is to take your horse camping. I'm always surprised by how many horse-owners have never made an overnight trip with their equine pal. You connect with one another in a unique way when you travel, stay overnight, then spend time on some new trails with each other.

I suspect part of why horse-camping is such a bonding experience is that as the human half of the equation we're thinking first and foremost about our horse the whole time. It's hard not to, when his cribbing and playing with the water bucket keeps you awake all night. The point is you don't just put your horse up for the night and go in the house to watch TV. Spending a night or two where we can hear and see our horses makes us much more keenly aware of them: their patterns, sounds, and habits.

It's not as hard as you might fear to plan for an overnight—or long weekend—trip with horses. As with most riding-out ventures, use the buddy-system. If you have a friend who has horse-camping experience, give her a call and start planning!

You'll need all the things you need in a stall at home, but many items can do double-duty: two good water-buckets, a rubber feed-pan, a hay-bag ( I like the bags better than the nets for a number of reasons, but mostly they're just a lot safer), your horse's blanket, first-aid kit, and grooming supplies.

If you're going for a single night, you can stuff the hay-bag with three or four flakes of hay before you leave, and take a couple more flakes to refill as needed. Grain can go pre-measured into gallon zip-lock bags. Most horse-camping areas have water available, but you'll want to check into this. A couple of clean plastic five-gallon containers will let you bring water from home, though, and sit nicely in the back of the pickup even if you pull a goose-neck trailer.

Don't forget to pack what YOU need, too. More than once I've gotten to a destination only to realize I completely forgot some essential for my own comfort (like the beer cooler), but I've packed everything I could possibly need for three horses, and several things I never actually unpack. Some of those things (like your equine first-aid kit) I'm just as happy NOT to need, but other things I could just as well have left at home—like the big electric clippers.

Speaking of equine first-aid kits, next time we'll talk about what should be in yours.

Ride on!