How to hunt with horses?

[Deadfall]

Be careful tieing up lead rope. They getting a foot through it can be big problems.
Might try using a piece of heavy twine. Small hemp rope.

Tie a loop in twine attach it to saddle. Then loop the lead rope through that and half hitch the lead to itself. Leave just long enough he can get a drink. Thats when leading from from foot. Lots of other ways to go about it.
Even good ones mess up from time to time same as humans.

 

[Deadfall]

Get a proper pack saddle with a Britchen. Use rope to tie horns on. Make sure not to use knots.
If your horse is pretty good to handle as he looks like, then get rid of the d ring snaffle they pinch and are for beginner horses to get use to a bit.
Don't get a spade bit unless you completely understand horses and pressure and collection.
A short shanked solid bit with a roller. Will be fine for you and him. Just try to stay away from anything that pinches. Everyone has different tastes when it comes to head gear for a horse.
Also us a head stall with a throat latch, that way they can't rub the bridle off and step all over it/tare it to hell.

 

[blackdawg]

I took this same plunge a few years ago. My advice is to do a few more tests run close to home. I have concluded if you don’t want rodeos on the mountain you better go through all the motions before hand. It takes a lot of time, thought and preparation to get and keep them ready to go. I think if you don’t continually do something with them, a refresher course is going to be required every year. But it’s a great journey and I hope to be riding in long after my atv/utv buddies have hung it up.My horses are a better off road version of an atv/utv, Save those legs in and out. The possible ways do use the horses is so widely varied I wouldn’t let myself get pigeon holed into only one way, keep an open mind, just do it and figure out what works for you. Would sure like to see more about the falconry, that is definitely a cool type of hunting!


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[Elkhunter8]

Congrats on the nice bull!

Hunting on horseback has its advantages for sure but can get dicey real quick if you are not prepared. I hunted exclusively off of horses in the elk woods for years but know there is times its not the best option.

A couple of tips:
Don't tie to young or rotted trees and tie high. They need a little head room so they can sleep but if they can reach the ground you are in trouble. I've seen horses get their foot over the lead and it is a mess. Make sure you have the rope over a limb or a knob on the tree so it doesn't slip down.

Always use a quick release knot so you can get em untied in a hurry. This applies to packing as well. Never tie a hard knot. If a horse goes down and you tied a hard knot there is no way you are getting that pack off without a knife.

Keep medical supplies, gauze, salve, wrap and extra shoes or atleast a boot on hand.

Know the limits of your horse. Never load more than 20% of its body weight or go too far in one day. It will kill the horse they don't know when to quit.

Shoot near your horse often so they are used to it. I have been within 25 yards of elk on my horse a handful of times and within 500 yards a bunch! You wont have a ton of time once you stop and dismount but my family has killed a quite a few elk this way. If you have friends with you a way that works well is to stop briefly and then have your buddy keep riding. This distracts the elk and gives you a few extra seconds to get a shot off.

Never leave a horse alone. They will kill themselves trying to get loose. And if they do get loose, good luck finding them.

Get a proper pack saddle and learn how to use it. Over the saddle panniers are great but pack saddles keep the load a lot more stable. A manny will help keep a loos load tight.

Lastly never hobble a whole heard. We did that in the Wind Rivers once and lost 9 of 12 horses. Found 3 the next day and 3, 3 months later and the other 3 we assume were found by an outfitter. Always tie at least the lead horse. Hobbles are great for horses when you are able to watch em but I have seen a horse at a full gallop with them on. Once they figure them out they can move quick!

 

[rayporter]

pay attention to the tieing lessons above. they are hard earned lessons.

i once took an old timer way back in the mountains. he had had animals all his life and had good mule but his rider was not what i would have chosen. any ways we got to camp and tied up to unload after a 4 and half hour ride up the mountain.

he promptly tied his rider with a 10 ft lead about 3 ft high in the tree and walked off. i asked if he had taught the horse to picket and the answer was no, but i want him to eat. no sooner said than that horse made a circle and had all fours in a wad wrapped up in the lead. i looked at the knot he had tied and at the eyeballs growing big and the nostrils flared as the horse gathered his self to blow up. one more circle and he had that rope tight and started to fight as i cut the rope. the guy hit the roof about me cutting his new lead rope.

 

[Chase0109]

Get a proper pack saddle with a Britchen. Use rope to tie horns on. Make sure not to use knots.
If your horse is pretty good to handle as he looks like, then get rid of the d ring snaffle they pinch and are for beginner horses to get use to a bit.
Don't get a spade bit unless you completely understand horses and pressure and collection.
A short shanked solid bit with a roller. Will be fine for you and him. Just try to stay away from anything that pinches. Everyone has different tastes when it comes to head gear for a horse.
Also us a head stall with a throat latch, that way they can't rub the bridle off and step all over it/tare it to hell.

Hi Deadfall,

I appreciate the insights! I am learning a lot as I go. Took them up to Colorado for ML season elk this year. Spent 11 nights on the mountain scouting/hunting. I’ve got the basic maintenance pretty well sorted out. I prefer to highline spike camping and during the day base camping. If at base camp I tie to the trailer at night with a HI Tie arm. I run electro braid hot fence at home and they are very good with it. I just don’t trust electric in the woods and feel much better knowing they are physically restrained. I did see some guys bring lightweight panels with them and set up a portable corral at base camp. That seemed pretty slick.

I have always used quick release knots. We use those in falconry for tying birds so that was second nature.

I learned hobbles are no longer happening LOL. My riding horse has an old pastern injury. If he moves around too much in hobbles he reopens the scar. Plus he can get around pretty good in them so no hobbled grazing for him! My other horse will not leave my horse so he gets more options. I feed alfalfa cubes at home so that’s what I pack on trips. I have come to the conclusion that I will need to pack in feed for both horses for any spike camp. Just too much hassle to graze (time, hobbles, ect), plus going to places I have never been its always a gamble if there will be enough food. This year in CO it dumped a foot of snow on me early September.

I have figured out what I like for equipment. I am running a real adjustable pack saddle now (custom pack rigging). Brichen, double cinch, ect. Works very well. I run 5 star roping pads for saddles, and a 5 star pack pad for packing. Switched to a tom thumb bit. I always pony my packhorse in. But a lot of times I allow him to free follow out at night. I wrap his lead around pack saddle arch and tuck it in. Nothing tied so if he does get tangled in any way it just pulls free.

The biggest thing I need to work on is serious off-roading with them in the mountains. It would be so much easier if I wasn’t ponying a horse every time I leave camp. There are a lot of places I won’t ride due to having the other horse on lead. I would love to get out with a really experienced backcountry rider and go through some rough terrain to learn more about the type of terrain that can be covered on horses. Unfortunately in Texas, there are not many options. There isn’t a BCHA chapter in Texas. The conclusion I have come to is that I need to find a hunting partner to come with me on these trips. It would be a lot easier if I could put someone on my other horse and we could ride together. I feel like I would be a lot more effective that way.

My new plan is to have a hunting partner. If we pack into camp I will ride in feed on the first trip with a pack-saddle. On return to trailer switch out to riding saddle and use over saddlebags to pack in camp. That way we both can ride out from camp each day. Carry a second set of over saddle panniers in gear. When packing out if packing elk, use both horses with over saddle panniers. One to carry camp and some meat. The other to carry the majority of meat. Requires walking out leading horses, but much lighter than backpacking out meat lol.

If we base camp hunt. Ride out from camp each morning with over saddle panniers packed in saddlebags. If we kill use pack horse to pack kill out. Partner and or I may have to walk out. But again better than having to have meat out on our backs.

More horse makes things easier (less trips in/out to haul feed/gear) but creates other problems like new new bigger trailer. Trying to keep 3 horses legged up instead of 2, increased yearly expenses.

It’s definitely a learning process. I greatly appreciate all the info and tips on this forum!

Chase

 

[Chase0109]

Congrats on the nice bull!

Hunting on horseback has its advantages for sure but can get dicey real quick if you are not prepared. I hunted exclusively off of horses in the elk woods for years but know there is times its not the best option.

A couple of tips:
Don't tie to young or rotted trees and tie high. They need a little head room so they can sleep but if they can reach the ground you are in trouble. I've seen horses get their foot over the lead and it is a mess. Make sure you have the rope over a limb or a knob on the tree so it doesn't slip down.

Always use a quick release knot so you can get em untied in a hurry. This applies to packing as well. Never tie a hard knot. If a horse goes down and you tied a hard knot there is no way you are getting that pack off without a knife.

Keep medical supplies, gauze, salve, wrap and extra shoes or atleast a boot on hand.

Know the limits of your horse. Never load more than 20% of its body weight or go too far in one day. It will kill the horse they don't know when to quit.

Shoot near your horse often so they are used to it. I have been within 25 yards of elk on my horse a handful of times and within 500 yards a bunch! You wont have a ton of time once you stop and dismount but my family has killed a quite a few elk this way. If you have friends with you a way that works well is to stop briefly and then have your buddy keep riding. This distracts the elk and gives you a few extra seconds to get a shot off.

Never leave a horse alone. They will kill themselves trying to get loose. And if they do get loose, good luck finding them.

Get a proper pack saddle and learn how to use it. Over the saddle panniers are great but pack saddles keep the load a lot more stable. A manny will help keep a loos load tight.

Lastly never hobble a whole heard. We did that in the Wind Rivers once and lost 9 of 12 horses. Found 3 the next day and 3, 3 months later and the other 3 we assume were found by an outfitter. Always tie at least the lead horse. Hobbles are great for horses when you are able to watch em but I have seen a horse at a full gallop with them on. Once they figure them out they can move quick!

Don't worry if I tried to leave one of my horses at camp and rode the other out, the entire mountain would hear about it LOL. I didn't realize buddy sour was such a big deal until we got 2 horses. There like Mike and Ike and never far from each other.

I am using a proper pack saddle now. After using both I see cases for each. But for strictly packing my custom pack rigging saddle is night and day better. My herd is 2 and I found out how quickly they can move in hobbles when they want to. I didn't lose them or anything, but they did show me the possibility was there for that to happen. My horse has lost all freedom lol. Lead rope in my hands or tied to something all the time.

I do carry 2 boots in saddlebags and an extra set of shoes for each horse in the trailer. Had my farrier teach me how to tack a shoe back on. I'm no farrier, but could get it done in a pinch. Also created a basic first aid kit this year as well.

The shooting near the horses is interesting. I have never specifically shot near them to acclimate them. I did do a fair bit of shooting near them with a 12ga this year. I was planting pigeons in the horse pasture for training my young dog and shooting near them if they were grazing there. My dedicated big game rifle is suppressed so it shouldn't be hard to get them used to it. I do intend to find a hunting partner for future elk trips. It would be nice to have someone to give a lead rope to if I needed to dismount quickly and make a move for a shot. Never really thought about that until you brought it up.
Thanks!

Chase

 

[Chase0109]

I took this same plunge a few years ago. My advice is to do a few more tests run close to home. I have concluded if you don’t want rodeos on the mountain you better go through all the motions before hand. It takes a lot of time, thought and preparation to get and keep them ready to go. I think if you don’t continually do something with them, a refresher course is going to be required every year. But it’s a great journey and I hope to be riding in long after my atv/utv buddies have hung it up.My horses are a better off road version of an atv/utv, Save those legs in and out. The possible ways do use the horses is so widely varied I wouldn’t let myself get pigeon holed into only one way, keep an open mind, just do it and figure out what works for you. Would sure like to see more about the falconry, that is definitely a cool type of hunting!


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I appreciate the input on many ways to use them. I am starting to lean more towards a base camp at the truck with a nice tent, good food, ect. Riding the horses in/out each day to hunt. It's amazing how quickly you can cover 3-5 miles with them and start out hiking with fresh legs.

I'll post some more falconry pics for you. Honestly, falconry is easy compared to horses lol. I've never in my life worried about an eagle killing me or severely hurting me. Worst case scenario I end up with a few deep puncture wounds in a hand/arm. All the birds we train want to do what we are asking. We teach recall so we can keep them. Then put them in situations where they can chase game with our help. It's what they naturally do so eventually they catch things. We reward the behavior we want with opportunities to catch things. They learn to program pretty quickly. I've been doing it for a long time so maybe it seems super simple to me. But nothing like trying to train a horse to do many behaviors, most unnatural.

 

[Elkhunter8]

Don't worry if I tried to leave one of my horses at camp and rode the other out, the entire mountain would hear about it LOL. I didn't realize buddy sour was such a big deal until we got 2 horses. There like Mike and Ike and never far from each other.

I am using a proper pack saddle now. After using both I see cases for each. But for strictly packing my custom pack rigging saddle is night and day better. My herd is 2 and I found out how quickly they can move in hobbles when they want to. I didn't lose them or anything, but they did show me the possibility was there for that to happen. My horse has lost all freedom lol. Lead rope in my hands or tied to something all the time.

I do carry 2 boots in saddlebags and an extra set of shoes for each horse in the trailer. Had my farrier teach me how to tack a shoe back on. I'm no farrier, but could get it done in a pinch. Also created a basic first aid kit this year as well.

The shooting near the horses is interesting. I have never specifically shot near them to acclimate them. I did do a fair bit of shooting near them with a 12ga this year. I was planting pigeons in the horse pasture for training my young dog and shooting near them if they were grazing there. My dedicated big game rifle is suppressed so it shouldn't be hard to get them used to it. I do intend to find a hunting partner for future elk trips. It would be nice to have someone to give a lead rope to if I needed to dismount quickly and make a move for a shot. Never really thought about that until you brought it up.
Thanks!

Chase

Sounds like you are getting it figured out! A hunting partner is great! Wish I had more guys to hunt with. The family tends to bail last minute.

I can think of 5 separate occasions in the last 4 years where we rode right up on elk. 3 while archery hunting and 2 with a rifle. Unfortunately in 2 of the archery situations I didn’t have my release on and had no time to grab it. On this third we spotted them at 150 yards and I hopped off and snuck in to 40 but was inexperienced and forgot my range finder.

We got shots off in both rifle situations. It was nice having others there to hold the horses. They did spook but we were able to keep them under control. The more they hear gun shots the better. It’s best they are desensitized. You never know when some guy with shoot right next to you or do something else dumb that will spook your horse and it’s nice to know how they will react.

On another note remember horses can’t go everywhere. Lots of deadfall is a bad idea. And lots of rocks are too. Let your horse pick their way and be patient with them through nasty stuff or avoid it if you can.

 

[Pony Soldier]

Pre-season conditioning is an important program. I hate mowing the lawn so during the summer I tether horses on 30 ft of rope to graze off my barnyard and driveway. Initially they wrap themselves up and tip over but they are infinitely greatful when you rescue them. Very quickly they learn how to manage the rope. Since they are alone it solves the herd problem at the same time . I rotate them around to minimize the buddy problems.

I tie them into their stalls during the winter at times And leave them over night. That also conditions them to being tied up. I also tie them up to trees in the pasture for hours at a time. They get use to it.

When I tie them in the woods they are already used to it. It's not a big deal when I tie them up in the morning and don't come back until near or after dark. I have made a lot 4-5 hour trips out in the extreme darkness. It's always amazing when they stop and you turn on the light and see you are at the trailer.

For a little pack conditioning I mannie up a couple of bales of hay and lash them tight aften they are barrel hitched on the pack saddle. It doesn't take hitting too many trees on narrow trails before they learn to avoid hitting them. I had to pack a cow out one time in the dark. My gelding would hestate every once in a while but he marched on. When I returned in a week I could retrace our path by the elk hair and blood on the trees where I had under estimated the size of the opening and my horse just squeezed his way through. Back to the trust your partner has in you when you work with them over years.

Your long tailed buddies deliver for you when you develop that special relationship.

 

[ADub]

Those are some beautiful horses, to boot. Great job on the hunt. Sounds like you got the full experience.