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Outpost:  Elk Camp  |
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traildancer
True Blue Farmgirl
485 Posts
Loyce
Glide
OR
USA
485 Posts |
 Posted - Oct 14 2011 : 10:01:23 AM
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Yesterday I packed my husband in to his elk camp. We had two pack horses strung together. The younger one, Dancer, is used to packing. The older one, Shorty, has packed very few times.
Well, Shorty did okay except for not realizing or remembering how much wider he now was. After bumping in to yet another tree he pulled back. Now he was hitched to a small loop of baler twine which is supposed to break so that a bad situation doesn't become worse. Well, it didn't. The leather straps on the pack saddle broke and were hanging down around Dancer's hocks. He was not amused but took it okay.
Now we have 150 pounds on this horse and no britchin'. I was able to lengthen some straps and the broken one's were just long enough that I could use the last hole before the broken end of the strap. We got in to camp just fine.
However, on the way out, now with three horses in tow, Shorty again pulled back and broke the thinner loop of twine. I was so disgusted that I just left him loose to follow which went okay unless he passed us and got in front. He's a veeeeeerrrrrrry slow walker.
What a pain. Now I have to get the saddle fixed before next Thursday before I go in to bring them out.
The trail is the thing.... Louis L'Amour |
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traildancer
True Blue Farmgirl
485 Posts
Loyce
Glide
OR
USA
485 Posts |
Posted - Oct 21 2011 : 09:35:10 AM
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Got the saddle fixed, brought them out, no elk.
The trail is the thing.... Louis L'Amour |
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StrawHouseRanch
True Blue Farmgirl
1044 Posts
Paula
Holt
Missouri
USA
1044 Posts |
Posted - Oct 23 2011 : 08:44:04 AM
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Loyce, Maybe you could switch to mules. Are you going to try for elk again, or are you at the end of the season? I've read so many wild and crazy packing stories about pack strings falling off of drop offs and bears coming in and scaring the bunch. It truly takes some serious organization and coordination efforts to make one of those trips a success....not as easy as it looks in the pretty photos in other words. When the trainer started my mule, he took her out with paniers and packed rocks in the bags to get her used to things banging around on her sides. He had a nice rock wall built at his place after all of those training trips.
Paula
Farmgirl Sister #3090
Yesterday is History, Tomorrow is a Mystery, and Today is a Gift.
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traildancer
True Blue Farmgirl
485 Posts
Loyce
Glide
OR
USA
485 Posts |
Posted - Oct 25 2011 : 09:31:48 AM
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Yes, I've thought about getting a mule. The key is a GOOD mule and that is out of my price range. Lots of people have mules for sale and I think if you are looking for a deal, you will get what you pay for.
We had a Fox Trotter mare with a wonderful personality and we thought about breeding her to a jack. Never followed through. Didn't look very hard for a jack and didn't need one more animal to feed.
The guy that went with my husband last week--his brother has a muzzleloader tag for elk. I may get to pack his out.
The trail is the thing.... Louis L'Amour |
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Outpost: Elk Camp |
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Elk Camp
