Horse Packing Training

Packing wild Game

Dear Cherry:

     Thanks for your help with a previous problem.  In the future, I want to break my horse to pack wild game. Do you have any suggestions in this area?

Thank you once again,    T

Dear T,

     You are more than welcome! 

     About packing wild game, I have two things for you to think about as you get ready to train him for this.

     First, be sure you have a very well fitting pack saddle because I've seen lots of problems with horses not taking to packing just because the pack saddle did not fit. Once you start adding weight to the pack saddle, do so in small increments so your horse can learn how to balance the static load.

     Secondly, you will need to do a thorough sacking out program with your horse using all sorts of things such as ropes, tarps, gunshots (unless you are a bow hunter), and, of course, quarters of meat. You'll have to be "creative" when it comes time to choose your props for the meat lessons because until you hunt, its hard to find a good substitute. However, I've used bags of bones that I got from the meat man at the grocery store and they provided the smell that your horse will need to get used to. If you have a fresh or old hide, of course that would be a great lesson prop too.