Packs while horse backing in?

[Fourteen]

Anyone with experience with a 30ish lb. pack while riding a horse 6-7 miles in? Not a problem on my feet but can’t help but think of the balance while riding.


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[Beendare]

Its Do-able but it's always better for inexperienced riders not to have a pack or be carrying anything. Better for them to be nimble. Experienced guys have no problem.

 

[Tilzbow]

Having ridden horses during 8-10 hunts I wouldn’t say I’m an experienced rider but I’ve not had an issue riding with a pack on my back and a bow carried over my shoulder using a sling. Getting on a horse with the bow has been a challenge but that’s a different story. That being said a pack will definitely raise your center of gravity and you’ll need to compensate as Beendare mentioned.

 

[Pony Soldier]

How the pack fits the saddle is an issue too. I had one that tore the rawhide off the top of my cantle. Make sure things fit.

 

[weekender7]

Be careful getting off the horse. The pack can change your balance and cause you to fall over backwards. ASK ME HOW I KNOW, or don't!

 

[Ralphie]

Many who aren’t used to riding have a hard time getting on, especially if the horse is above average height. A 30 lb pack is going to make it lot harder. It always surprises me how hard it seems to be for even decently in shape people to get on a horse.

 

[grfox92]

This is never advisable. Would not recomend it. I passed on a horseback hunt this weekend because there would not be a pack animal for my gear.

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[Yoteassasin]

9 out of 10 times I have a 2300cc pack on while riding and hunting . If get on a hay burner is so hard you can't manage a pack it's likely you shouldn't be doing it . That being said I rarely if ever wear a pack when not hunting . I'm not willing to be separated from essential gear

 

[missjordan]

Hunters ride all the time with backpacks on and it’s very cringe. For all the reasons mentioned here. Plus it’s a major safety hazard if the rider ever were to get dumped. The risk of a strap getting hung up on the horn or other parts of the saddle would seriously injure or kill you. That includes bino harnesses as well. People who make a living training horses get hurt or killed every year on horses for various reasons and don’t wear that stuff. Put the odds in your favor to not have that happen by not wearing things that can get hung up and consider wearing an approved helmet as well.

You hear about pack weight being hard on the kidneys of the horse as well but I’ve never seen professional advice as to why. But that is also a thing that a lot of people talk about too with backpacks and saddlebags.


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[jmez]

Just tie it on behind the cantle.

 

[6.5Express]

Its one thing to come out with a bull elk and not have space for your pack occasionally but to be planning on that from the start makes no sense to me. If theres not enough stock for all the gear on the way in, where will your meat and antlers go on the way out?

Backpacks slide in and out of soft Utah type panniers easily or can be top packed. Thats where we put them.

 

[Jmoore]

It's gonna effect your balance while riding, and that's assuming on the 6-7 miles ride in that nothing spooks the horse. Even a misstep in rough terrain will shift your balance point and you may wind up in a bad situation. I wouldn't feel comfortable doing it.

 

[RockAndSage]

There's a pretty big difference between doable and advisable. That center-of-gravity shift is a big deal.

It's weird enough getting on a horse with a pack on, or a lot of upper body gear, especially if it shifts in the slightest - and nobody's going to have their gear cinched down tight like it's just part of your torso. Now imagine what happens with that shifting weight-blob if that horse bucks, side-hops, or just bolts. It's going to supercharge your momentum away from that horse, with awkward timing like a kind of two-strike blow on your muscles, with you trying to control your body mass to stay in the saddle as the horse does something, and then that pack hitting against your body or pulling it away from the horse again a second after - all while the horse has already shifted again underneath you.

So, wearing heavy gear - especially something like a pack that sticks off your body a bit, is the kind of thing you do if you just have no other choice. So find a different way to carry your gear, because there's virtually always a different choice.

Separately, horses safely max out at carrying 20% of their body weight, especially if we're talking working them over long distances and rugged terrain. A normal quarter horse is going to be about 1000 pounds, give or take a hundred. A dude in his hunting clothes alone can easily be 200 pounds. Add on a 10 pound rifle and a pound or two of scabbard, a 30 pound pack, 5 pounds of binos and bino harness gear, a couple pounds of water, and you're putting more strain on that horse than is healthy for it. People get away with more all the time, sure, but it's not healthy for the horse - especially if there's bouncing, jostling, or a lot of rugged terrain causing that weight to pound down.

 

[SloppyJ]

I leave wednesday for a second rifle horseback hunt. The outfitter is pretty strict about not wearing a pack at all while riding. After looking into it, I think it's for the best.