PACKTRIPS, SADDLES, PANNIERS, & PACKING

Unfortunately, every experienced packer has lost pack animals, rolled a pack animal down steep hills, had pack saddles and loads slip to the side, had horses step off trails, been kicked and stepped on by horses, had wrecks in steep terrain on narrow trails, and unexpectedly met other pack strings and wildlife on narrow trails in steep rough terrain.

Packing can be dangerous depending on the terrain and how well trained your pack animal are. Use the packing tips that you know you can safely apply without causing injury to people or pack animals.

For legal reasons I have to include the following disclaimer reference equipment items sold and packing tips. All equine activities are inherently dangerous. Nothing in these "Packing Tips" will hold Pack Saddle Shop (Pack and Wall Tent Shop Inc.), or any of their successors or assigns as responsible or liable for injury, disease, illness or death using Pack Saddle Shop (Pack and Wall Tent Shop, Inc.), equipment, recommendations or packing tips.

The packing tips below are primarily for beginners and covers topics not explained in most packing books. The packing tips are not in any order of priority.

We all had a “first” packing trip and experienced packers have learned some hard lessons. Hopefully, these packing tips will help you avoid some hard lessons and make your packing trips more enjoyable and safe.

If you have a good packing tip email me and I will include it next time I update these packing tips.

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BEFORE YOU LEAVE:

Make a detailed check list for all items you need on your pack trip. I update my list annually to insure I don’t forget items.

Check trails in advance Before going on new trails call the nearest Forest Service to determine condition of trail and when was it cleared last. There are many trails not cleared annually by the Forest Service.

US Forest Service: Horse Sense Packing Lightly on Your National Forest pamphlet R1-02-47. Horseperson's Creed: "When I ride out of the mountains I'll leave only hoof prints, take only photographs...and all the extra garbage I can pack out!"

FEEDING YOUR STOCK:

Feed and Water Many people incorrectly assume there will be grass and water basically anywhere in the back country or Wilderness areas. Unfortunately, many Wilderness areas have little grass and water is mainly in lower areas. Contact the Forest Service for info on grass and water in the area you plan on packing in.

I always take alfalfa cubes on my pack trips using Utah Panniers to insure my horses receive sufficient food/nutrition. If using alfalfa cubes, always start feeding alfalfa cubes 4-5 days prior to pack trip in small amounts and gradually increase amount each day.

Feed requirements: A working pack horse requires 15-20 pounds of alfalfa cubes per day, less is okay if you supplement with available grass. Feeding a horse a full ration of alfalfa cubes with no transition could cause your horse to colic and die.

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PACK SADDLES, RIGGING, & PANNIERS:

Beginners at packing should start with panniers instead of manties. Manties require knowledge of tying knots and manties are more difficult to load on the pack saddle. Having pack gear come loose on narrow trails in steep terrain can be very dangerous to you and your pack animals.

Decker vs. Saw Buck pack saddles I prefer Deckers as they have half breeds with one inch thick felt and wooden side boards to protect the pack animal when packing. Additionally, if a pack animal with a Saw Buck rolls down a hill when packing the wooden crutches on a Saw Buck are normally broken. And you now have a pack saddle that is useless on your pack trip.

Cinch Length I prefer a 28” pack cinch as it provides more adjustment. Your horse will lose weight during packing and a shorter cinch provides more adjustment. On occasions, when I go on 2-3 week pack trips I have had to adjust my rigging straps to get a tight pack cinch due to my horses losing weight.

Quarter Breeds A quarter breed is a piece of canvas, with appropriate slits for decker rings, that protects and helps keep clean the half breed and pack saddle.

Lash Cinches When you put a lash cinch on panniers or manties you prevent the pannier/mantie from sliding back on the horse’s side when panniers/manties hit a tree or rock. Consequently, when using a lash cinch the pannier/mantie hits a tree, there is no give, and hitting a tree/rock will jar the horse and possibly force it off a narrow trail.

Using a Lash Cinch A lash cinch is a cinch with a hook on one end and rope attached to the other cinch end. Some people use a lash cinch to secure a top pack or also secure manties. Throw the rope over the top pack and place the cinch under the horse. Run the rope through the lash cinch hook. Pull up hard on rope to tighten around horse’s stomach and then tie a diamond hitch. Attach excess rope to pack saddle securely. Some inexperienced horses will buck if they unexpectedly step on a dangling lash cinch rope.

Top Packs are commonly used on pack saddles. However, top packs raise the center of gravity on the pack saddle which causes more rocking. Top packs need to be low, compact and as secure as possible. Check your pack and cinch more often when using a top pack. Higher top packs increases the likelihood the pack saddle will rock and slip to one side.

Hooks for panniers Hooks make loading panniers quick and easy on decker pack saddles. With hooks you just hook the pannier to the decker rings. Loading panniers w/o hooks requires you to hold up a heavy pannier while you are buckling the two panniers straps to the decker rings/arches.

Saddle Panniers are more likely to cause the saddle to slip to one side than pack panniers on a pack saddle. If you use saddle panniers purchase the models that have belly straps to make them more secure.

Breeching and Breast Collar I would strongly encourage you to buy a good saddle breeching and breast collar if you are going to do much packing with saddle panniers. Especially if you go up and down hills. The breeching will prevent the saddle cinch from slipping forward while going downhill. When riding a horse/mule sometimes you can feel when the saddle has slipped forward and dismount and make the necessary correction. However, on a pack animal you will not immediately know when the saddle cinch has slipped forward. A saddle cinch that slips forward on a pack animal will cause a significant cinch gall that will require weeks to heal before you can use yourcinch gall that will require weeks to heal before you can use your horse/mule again.

Triple Saddle Bags are recommended if you are short on pack animals. I suggest you purchase very large triple saddle bags for your riding horses to prevent overloading pack animals or leaving required items at home. You can fill these triple saddle bags with bulky, lightweight items. Ensure that you don't put hard items on the side of the saddle bag that touches the horse. These hard objects will bounce up and down on the trail and cause pain and possible injury to your horse.

Felt Pack Pad vs. Fleece Pack Pad Sometimes a rough felt pack pad will wear hair off a horse's back during long pack trips. Kodell fleece with a canvas top is better for the horse, but are harder to keep clean. However, felt pads are best for pack animals with poor withers because the felt pad does not shift to one side as easily as kodell fleece pads.

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ADJUSTING Packs & Rigging:

Pack Scales are a necessity in balancing the load/pannier on each side of the pack animal. If a load is 3-5 pounds heavy on one side it will eventually cause the pack saddle to slip to one side causing a wreck. Pack scales have a tab that automatically marks exact weight. When weighing, don’t jerk up on the scales but gradually raise the pannier/mantie off the ground to insure an accurate weight. Weigh the pannier/mantie twice to insure accuracy.

Adjusting Unbalanced Panniers on the Trail Occasionally you can have equally weighted panniers and one will start riding lower while you are on the trail. The best and quickest way to make the necessary adjustments is to add 1 – 2 lbs of rocks to the high pannier and then lift the lower pannier to have the proper alignment. Add more rocks if necessary if the first rocks were not sufficient.

Adjusting Pack Rigging I like to have 1-2 fingers looseness at the breast collar and rear britchin.

  • If you adjust the breast collar too tight your horse will continually have too much pressure on its throat.
  • If you adjust the britchin too tight the britchin will rub the hair off and eventually cause an abrasion. (britchin - breeching)
  • Adjust the pack riggin so the riggin rings are on the decker wood side boards
  • In exceptionally steep country, I adjust my rear britchin tighter to keep the packsaddle from going too far forward.

Breeching - Galling An improperly adjusted pack saddle will gall a horse. The breeching is the most likely area where you will gall your horse. I recommend you check your horse for an improperly fitted pack saddle every 1/2 - 1 hour during the first day of your pack trip. If the breeching and breast collar is improperly fitted the hair will be worn off. After the hair is worn off, then the horses' hide will be warn down causing sores/galls.

Flank Cinch on Riding Horse I recommend the flank cinch be no looser than one finger. A horse kicking at flies with a loose flank cinch could possibly get their hoof stuck between their stomach and cinch causing a serious problem.

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PACKS - How to Pack and How to Load:

Pack a Pannier or mantie to avoid rattles. Some inexperienced pack horses start bucking when loading manties or panniers that make noises. Don’t even try to control the horse once it gets out of control. All horses are much stronger than you are and you risk serious injury trying to intervene. Let the horse buck until it calms down or the mantie is on the ground. Repack and insure there are no rattles.

Max pack loads for a horse The general rule is 20% of the horse’s weight including the pack saddle. It is more difficult for a pack horse to carry dead weight than a rider who helps balance the load and leans forward or back in the saddle.

Do a dry run at home and load all items to insure all gear will fit in your manties or panniers and you are not overloading your pack animals.

Balancing a mantie load Mantie loads normally protrude 12-18 inches above the pack saddle. Manties with the high center of balance causes the pack saddle to rock more than panniers. Prior to starting out on the trail - lift the bottom of the mantie up at least 8-12 inches and let go to see how the mantie rocks and if the mantie needs to be reloaded, rearranged or the pack cinch needs to be tightened.

Double check pack saddles Many people only use their pack gear 1-2 times a year. Check it thoroughly prior to packing to insure there are no leather cracks that could cause the leather to break under stress. When I first started packing I had an old pack saddle. As I was leading my horse, packing out an elk, up a steep cliff trail when a strap broke and my pack saddle slipped to the side. It was too dangerous on the cliff trail to make any adjustments. I took the elk quarters and pack saddle off and then proceeded to a safer location and tied my horse to a tree. Then I had to go back down the cliff trail and carry the two hind quarters and pack saddle to where my horse was and repair the pack saddle and reloaded my elk quarters. A hard lesson learned that could have been a disaster if my pack horse would have spooked on the cliff trail when the pack slipped to the side.

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