Hunting from horse questions

[khart_6882]

So, I’ve had horses my whole life. Grew up riding, spent 5 years starting colts, roping and brandings, team roping, blah blah blah but never really hunted off them. But I’ve found a few spots I’d like to hunt that using my horse would make it so much easier.
I’m certainly not against hiking, done quite a few backpack hunts 5-10 miles in and I stay in good shape. But these are spots where backpacking in wouldn’t be ideal because it’s so far to water or the only places flat enough to camp are where the deer bed or feed.
So my theory is day hunting with my pony to save significantly on how sweaty I get in the dark coming in. But, I’ve got some questions and I figured this might be a good place to get legit answers.

Riding in the dark: I’ve always heard not to turn your headlamp on because you’ll throw off your horses ability to see in the dark and create a bunch of shadows for him. My question is, a lot of these trails I’ll be on get into some open and rocky country and it can be tricky to pick the trail back up, even on foot in the day light. Do you guys just flip your light on for a moment to steer your horse in the right direction? Or just leave it off?

Leaving horses: I can’t guarantee it, but I have a very strong suspicion that if I tied my knot head to a tree and took off hiking, I’d spend the rest of the day listening to him whinny and paw and pace on his lead rope. Any tips here, besides bringing another horse along?

Riding through deer country: I’ve found a few places where there is simply no place to tie my pony and get off and hunt when I’m near the place I wanna be. I could tie him miles before I get there, which defeats the purpose of evening riding in. Or I could ride through the area I’d like to hunt in the dark, keep going a ways where there are good places to tie, then come back into the good country to hunt on foot. If a guy doesn’t make any noise while riding, how much do you think a horse walking through in the dark is going to effect the deers behavior?

Thanks!!


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[Mike 338]

Riding in the dark: Hmmmm, not a lot of experience here but something to consider... I know of guys who riding fairly long miles to get to and set up camp for opening day. You can see their headlights winding through the trail. They've done it before and their horses are good about it. I've also been on a horse that went nuts with every crack in the pavement after dark. Had to leap over the cracks and even bucked me off. That one hurt for a very long time. I think the takeaway here is like a lot of horse stuff. You figure all that out long before you go to be sure they're good about it. You know, instead of jogging or riding a bike to stay in shape, just lead you horse on long walks with a headlight on your head over anything and everything to see if they're good before you get on their back and try it. Also, if you go up a day or two early, you can go over the trails during the day a time or two, so you horse knows the way and is comfortable with what you're asking him to do in the dark.

Leaving horses: Again... training. Work 'em hard and tie them up way away from you, the barn and other horses. The reward from all that work you're putting them through is being tied up away from you or their buddies.

Riding in deer country: Pack in a portable electric corral and set it up early. Also, assuming your horse is trained early, you could 3-leg hobble it. No guarantees there how it turns out but it's a thought.

Bottom line... all the things you ask you horse to do will go better if he's been trained to do it but you're really just playing with odds because horses and mules have an element of danger to them. Best to manage those odds.

 

[rayporter]

either take one that will tie quietly or take a buddy for him.

 

[missjordan]

I’m curious on the headlamp thing too

For leaving knot head tied. You could spend some time riding and then tying him up for a bit, mount and ride a bit further then tie him up again. Rinse and repeat. Not necessarily making him work hard on purpose, but just riding and hanging out. Then on some of these practices go glass for a bit and see if he stands quiet.

For having no place to tie him too in deer country. You could pack a portable fence, or possibly 3 way hobble. Not sure if I’d feel personally good about hobbling a horse out of view but is an option. Or maybe ride him the entire day and keeping him stationary only becomes a thought if you need to make a stalk. You sure there’s no cattle fences around for knot head to stand tied and patiently wait at like a perfect gentleman?


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[mntnguide]

Use a headlight that has a red lens as well.. it doesn't shock them as much. I will turn it on or ride with it if i need to pick through stuff or find my way etc... but when i use to guide, i would ride 2hrs in the morning in pitch dark plenty.. horses knew the trail and a bright light will throw off their depth perception some.. but when it comes down to it, get your horse use to it, and they will be fine. But a bright light with a red lens over it, is my preferred method for the dark rides

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[Hardtak]

I find it easier to see at night with no lamp. Once your eyes adjust and hopefully have some trust in a good horse so he doesn't take your knees or head off. Your horse can see well enough to know where he is walking.

With regards to tieing, lots of patience practice before you go. Bring him from pasture, tie him up around the yard while you are puttering around on the daily for a few hours. When he paws get after him. After a couple weeks he will stand calm especially if you have time to get him sweaty first. You do not want him to panic and lose his marbles tied to a tree in mountains when you are away from him he could kill himself.

Also hobble train if no place to tie. Pickets are another option but again I would practice a lot with them before leaving unattended.

 

[wyosteve]

I always 'broke' mine to a one foot picket with about a 25 ft. chain/rope combo. That way I could tie it around a stump, rock, log or anything sturdy when I'd leave them. As a last resort, I'd carry one of the 'screw in ground' dog tie outs and use that to tie them out while I was hunting. Never had one come loose, knock on wood.

 

[BjornF16]

I've used white, red and no light in the dark on trails...I try to avoid white light now; use red light or none.

Bring a pack horse for company.

 

[Brooks]

I’ve never had a problem using a head lamp riding at night. I’ve rode down some pretty rocky, steep canyons in pitch black night where without a light I couldn’t tell what was front of us. No problems. It makes it a lot easier on your knees and head when you can see a tree in your way.

When ever I have a young horse he spends a lot of time tied to a trailer or a hitching post until he will stand tied for hours by himself and quietly just look at the scenery.

 

[Pony Soldier]

I work really hard to keep mixing up my horses so bonds are not formed. They spend time in the stalls, tied to trees for the day, always alone. They get over their fits fairly quickly.

Ride your ponies enough to form the bonds and develop the trust going both ways.

 

[TaperPin]

I’m not sure what kind of country you’re going to be riding, but determining if yours is a good mountain horse should be done early and often. Not all horses are mentally fit for steep trails, strange smells, and things that go bump in he night. I think of the guy who was bucked off during deer season 10 miles from the trailhead and his horse wasn’t seen for a month. Then there are the crazy paranoid horses that freak out and end up skiing a steep embankment into big rocks and belly high blow down - more than one freaked out horse has been put down in the mountains. On the plus side they make great bear bait. I also worry anytime someone says their horse just goes where it’s pointed and never questions it. A good horse is smart enough to call bs on a bad idea from the skipper.

Im just rambling . . . Lol

 

[khart_6882]

I’m not sure what kind of country you’re going to be riding, but determining if yours is a good mountain horse should be done early and often. Not all horses are mentally fit for steep trails, strange smells, and things that go bump in he night. I think of the guy who was bucked off during deer season 10 miles from the trailhead and his horse wasn’t seen for a month. Then there are the crazy paranoid horses that freak out and end up skiing a steep embankment into big rocks and belly high blow down - more than one freaked out horse has been put down in the mountains. On the plus side they make great bear bait. I also worry anytime someone says their horse just goes where it’s pointed and never questions it. A good horse is smart enough to call bs on a bad idea from the skipper.

Im just rambling . . . Lol

I hear ya about not all horses being fit for the mountains…the one time I tried to do some packing and I planned on using my rope horses my wife asked me if my horses would be fine packing in. I believe my exact quote was “These SOB’s can run down a steer, go left on the dally and then turn and face in 5 seconds flat. How hard can it be to walk down a trail.”

Let me tell ya, that pack trip was pure hell!


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[Pony Soldier]

We are back to experience and temperment of your trail pony. Many of the performance horses I have seen are wired pretty tight and not entirely fit for the experiences in the pucker brush.

I was out on a mare one time where we were working our way to the top of a ridge. The mtn mahogany was about shoulder high. I pointed her through a thick patch and she declined. Rather than push the issue, we worked our way farther up the hill and she declined again. We went a little farther up the hill and this time she crossed without question. I glassed what I wanted and returned down the hill to go to my next spot. As we passed the point of first refusal I saw fresh mtn lion tracks in our tracks.

An experienced horse can save you a lot of misery if you just pay attention. It's just part of the partnership that is developed over time and trail miles.

 

[Preston]

In the winter time with short daylight I feed my horses in the dark and after dark during the short days of December through February and they don’t seem to be effected by lights. I would just try leading and or riding them after dark. I know for myself I have a difficult time going from using a flashlight to turn it off when walking outside.

 

[BKehoe05]

Getting a horse comfortable in the woods and on trails are completely different than anything else. I’d never take one of my performance horses into the backcountry. With that said, I’ve had 15-20 mustangs and another half dozen papered and unpapered QHs over the past couple years and I’ve whittled it down to the horses that can hit the trails in the dark, walk the ridges and drop offs and not be skittish retards. Then I figured which of those can handle the abrupt sound of gunfire. The smell of dead animals around them and on them. Needless to say, I’ve suffered broken bones all over and a broken back a few years back from my search. I’m down to about 4-5 that were worth keeping for what I wanted to do. It’s ridiculously hard to find a horse that will avoid freaking out for the most part but once you do, do not get rid of it.

Friday midday a couple fellas thought it would be a good idea to bring new horses up into the bitterroot’s on the season opener. The trail for the most part was less than should width apart anymore. They made it a mile, before one horse had just had enough. Needless to say, they weren’t prepared and they ended up wasting time, energy and money and still didn’t get to hunt.

 

[Pony Soldier]

Even then there is a chance that your tried and true pony will have a brain fart and take you for your experience of a lifetime. The more time you spend with them under field experiences will diminish the surprises.

 

[Pony Soldier]

For those concerned about tree wacking- manny up a couple bales with a pack saddle on your ponies and let them rickochet of the trees on a narrow trail. After they have beat the hell out of themselves for a while they get pretty good about steering clear of the knee knockers. Some do need graduate school occasionaly.

 

[6.5Express]

For those concerned about tree wacking- manny up a couple bales with a pack saddle on your ponies and let them rickochet of the trees on a narrow trail. After they have beat the hell out of themselves for a while they get pretty good about steering clear of the knee knockers. Some do need graduate school occasionaly.

This. Or, with hard plastic or aluminum bear resistant panniers. Mules learn this much quicker.

 

[Hardtak]

This. Or, with hard plastic or aluminum bear resistant panniers. Mules learn this much quicker.

Or push off the tree with your arm just enough to push them off balance a few times. They associate getting too close with the uncomfortableness of it. Works well and super easy.

 

[MustangPacker]

You can also use old trailer or truck tires when training, around 50 lbs each.