Horse riding: Stupid Question

[BCDJR]

Horses and especially mules can kick you so give a wide berth when behind them

 

[Thinkingman]

Thanks for all the responses. Yes, I need to get in a horse, I've been putting it off, but it needs to happen soon...


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I admire your dedication!...Spellcheck is your friend....

Actually was having this same conversation with a coworker who is doing a backcountry NM elk hunt this fall...I have about 3 hours experience on horses in my life.

 

[EastHumboldt]

I wear size 13 Lowe mountaineering boots and have ridden in them. Definitely need oversized stirrups. The advice about not putting your feet in too deep is spot on, also mounting from the uphill side. Same advice goes if you have to bail, do it on The uphill side. You don’t need to be afraid on the back of a horse, but you do need to retain a tactical level of awareness. Sort of like riding a motorcycle. Always be looking for and expecting trouble and you’ll most likely be ok. And remember the first rule of Australian Horsemanship….”Keep the horse between you and the ground at all times”

 

[Duckhunterbrad]

Lots of great reply's on here already. I ride performance horses daily and have been actively seeking out a sheep hunt that incorporates horses! Most outfitters will put you on the best horse they have, don't be worried if the guide has on onery one, he's probably trying to train a new one. Take a lesson or two and DO NOT HESITATE to ask questions or voice concerns over what you're seeing or feeling with either your guide or who you are taking lessons from. Enjoy the hunt!

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

Thanks for all the responses. Yes, I need to get in a horse, I've been putting it off, but it needs to happen soon...


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I wouldn't worry too much. I agree that getting your boots dialed and some basic fundamental training before you get there is absolutely a plus. However, I wouldn't put yourself out over the deal. The outfitter, if they're worth a darn, will run through the basics with you and make sure you're all set before you hit anything too challenging. Having an accident on the trail with a client is a worst case scenario for them.

I had some trail riding experience on nags in Iowa before a backcountry hunt in the Bob, but I was a newb upon arrival. Between this previous experience and the outfitter's session before the hunt started, I was good. We did 18 miles one way to camp and rode out of camp every day in some of the harshest trails around. My brother had zero experience and he made it through fine. Having good stock and excellent outfitter hands is huge.

That all being said, if you've never been on a horse, and you have anxiety about their size, temperament, etc..., I would 100% recommend getting some trail riding or even some fundamentals from a local horse trainer. Before my daughter's hunt last fall, a local gal that used to ride barrels professionally and now trains horses gave my daughter a few lessons in the ring. When we got to the hunt, she had the basics down, was comfortable covering a horse, the outfitter had excellent stock (shout out to @wymtnpounder), and she did awesome. Having a positive attitude and being confident in the saddle will pay huge dividends on your hunt.

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

Wearing a base layer under your pants will help with that.

for days you're riding long distance, pack a pair of pants one size too big and wear padded biker's shorts underneath with some monkey butt or other powder in the crotch. My brother and I took this advice and never had any saddle sores or issues even after super long days on horseback.

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

Lots of great reply's on here already. I ride performance horses daily and have been actively seeking out a sheep hunt that incorporates horses! Most outfitters will put you on the best horse they have, don't be worried if the guide has on onery one, he's probably trying to train a new one. Take a lesson or two and DO NOT HESITATE to ask questions or voice concerns over what you're seeing or feeling with either your guide or who you are taking lessons from. Enjoy the hunt!

Look up @wymtnpounder for once in a lifetime backcountry horseback sheep hunts.

 

[taskswap]

FWIW Ariat makes a range of "Trail Riding Boots" that are designed for riders who also do a fair bit of hiking. I haven't tried them yet but one of the folks at our 4H swears by them for hunting so maybe give them a look?

 

[WCB]

Wear your hunting boots. If they allow you to wear your pack on the horse don't pack a bunch of shit in it. Keep it small and light. We normally matched the horse to the rider. No experience you get old train rail that follows along not questioning anything. You said I ride horses all the time and show up with chaps on...you get a horse that takes a little more know how. But all in all issues out of hundreds and hundreds of miles of riding were minimal.

Be honest with the outfitter on your experience and confident in your interactions with the animals. Let your outfitter tell you the best way to handle or move around their animals. Unless you are 6-7 ft back from a horse you are safer right against its butt. And when you are in and around a pack train of animals no one is walking WAY out and around....at times it is literally not possible.

If you want to be somewhat comfortable on a long wet ride. Get a slicker or long rain jacket. One that goes below our knees when standing/ Keeps your thighs dry when riding and also keeps you way warmer on cold rides. You can get them for $50 or less and have them tie it on the back of your saddle so you can get to it quick.

Enjoy it...not much better than backcountry in a squeaking saddle.

 

[yfarm]

2 stories:
Going up a trail in heavy,heavy brush and trees, guide in front, 3 of us behind. Guide starts to yell turn around turn around, so I start to look behind me. He is yelling at a sow grizzly with two cubs feeding on a bow killed elk carcass from 2 weeks before. She was standing up looking at him at 30 ft, fortunately she and her cubs took off. Asked the guide what if, he said your mule will not get “et”, just hold on going thru the trees at high speed.
We spot a bull across the Shoshone, guide gets off his horse to glass the bull, my two sons dismount to glass, neither of their horses are ground tied trained, both bolt for the camp, I turn my mule around and take off after the two horses, gradually catching up and all of a sudden the mule turns on the afterburner, then hear the guide yelling to turn off the trail and he goes by at warp speed and catches the horses. Tells me my mule didn’t know what was behind it but it wasn’t going to get “et”.

 

[Lowedown]

I've grown up on horses and my dad was a packer and guide in Idaho. We would recommend the cowboy boots if the weather isn't severely cold for safety reasons. You don't know what the stirrups will look like, and cowboy boots have the best chance of sliding free in the case of an accident. If it's just too cold then go with whatever packs you have, narrow or slick as possible. Enjoy your hunt and adventure!

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

Wear your hunting boots. If they allow you to wear your pack on the horse don't pack a bunch of shit in it. Keep it small and light. We normally matched the horse to the rider. No experience you get old train rail that follows along not questioning anything. You said I ride horses all the time and show up with chaps on...you get a horse that takes a little more know how. But all in all issues out of hundreds and hundreds of miles of riding were minimal.

Be honest with the outfitter on your experience and confident in your interactions with the animals. Let your outfitter tell you the best way to handle or move around their animals. Unless you are 6-7 ft back from a horse you are safer right against its butt. And when you are in and around a pack train of animals no one is walking WAY out and around....at times it is literally not possible.

If you want to be somewhat comfortable on a long wet ride. Get a slicker or long rain jacket. One that goes below our knees when standing/ Keeps your thighs dry when riding and also keeps you way warmer on cold rides. You can get them for $50 or less and have them tie it on the back of your saddle so you can get to it quick.

Enjoy it...not much better than backcountry in a squeaking saddle.

This right here... I used a mil-tech poncho and it worked like a dream.

Squeaking saddles and sparks on the rocks at night... I can't wait to go back!

 

[RockAndSage]

I've grown up on horses and my dad was a packer and guide in Idaho. We would recommend the cowboy boots if the weather isn't severely cold for safety reasons. You don't know what the stirrups will look like, and cowboy boots have the best chance of sliding free in the case of an accident. If it's just too cold then go with whatever packs you have, narrow or slick as possible. Enjoy your hunt and adventure!

I'm going to second what @Lowedown had to say here, even if it's a bit against most of the advice you're hearing. It's worth putting out there so you've got a bit more to consider.

The danger isn't so much about whether you can get your boot in and out of a stirrup conveniently - it's about whether you can get it out in a sudden, surprising, and violent bucking of your horse, and you either need to bail or are just not given a choice and are thrown. Any kind of texture on the bottom of the boot will help bind it in, especially if you fall. The speed and uncontrollable violence of an event like this can be absolutely shocking if you've never seen it, let alone if you've never gone through it on horseback. You only need to see someone get dragged bouncing across a rocky desert by a bolting horse one time, with their hunting boot caught and bound in a stirrup, to never allow you or yours to wear treaded boots on a horse again.

EDIT: The points others have made about oversized stirrups are solid, along with not keeping your feet deep in them, especially with non-riding boots. Smoother-soled pac boots would be preferable in my book to hunting boots, but would only be an option in extreme winter and deep snow. If I'm going in with a pack string especially, I'd just carry my hunting boots with the rest of the gear, and wear the safest boots for the ride. Get a set smooth-soled cowboy boots, wear them around for a few weeks here and there before the hunt, and make sure you can fit in them easily with warmer socks if you expect colder weather.

 

[yfarm]

My last horseback hunt was in freezing rain and snow, ground wasnt frozen and we were in mud in camp and hunting. Wore Tingleys over my Lathrops most of the time, easy to get out of the stirrup, had dry boots the whole week unlike everyone else in the camp.Come off in about 10 secs if you need treaded soles.
I didnt take my Hoffman cowboy pacs, temps were warm enough probably wouldnt have used as the tingleys and lathrops together are lighter and easier to walk in.

 

[TaperPin]

Cowboy boots are easy on and off and you’re used to them. I also know plenty of guys in Wyoming that work and hunt in Whites packers. You have a horse, so most times you’re not walking far and packers work well enough for both. Get them scuffed up enough and the new guys will take one look and think you’re running that outfit.