Most of the books and classes which teach horse-packing, teach a very different style of horse-packing than I practice. They focus on long strings of pack horses and extensive amounts of large, heavy gear. I want to teach you a different way.
For many decades, the backpacking world has been focused on a minimalist mentality - take as little as you can and make everything you take as small and lightweight as possible. This trend was driven in large part by necessity - when your back is all you have to carry everything you need to live for weeks at a time, it is essential that this gear is as lightweight as possible. With horses this is not usually a necessity - your horses can carry heavy, bulky gear in large amounts and do just fine. Given this, is there any reason to stick to a minimalist mentality when horse packing?
Yes, there is.
The Advantages of a Minimalist Mentality in Horse-Packing
Connection to Nature
Hand-in-hand with the rise of Minimalist backpacking came the Leave-No-Trace moment which, among other things, helped people to have a deeper connection to the natural world. This is not a coincidence. One of the side-effect of minimalist backpacking is a heightened awareness of nature and an increased connection to the natural world. The less human detritus you carry with you, the more time, energy and space you have to experience nature on its own terms. This is true for horse packing as well.
The less stuff you bring with you, the more you will be connected to nature, and the more time you will have to experience nature and bond with your animals. You will also be a much better steward of the natural world, having less of a detrimental impact on the land and animals around you, and be much more likely to see wildlife.
Hand-in-hand with the rise of Minimalist backpacking came the Leave-No-Trace moment which, among other things, helped people to have a deeper connection to the natural world. This is not a coincidence. One of the side-effect of minimalist backpacking is a heightened awareness of nature and an increased connection to the natural world. The less human detritus you carry with you, the more time, energy and space you have to experience nature on its own terms. This is true for horse packing as well.
The less stuff you bring with you, the more you will be connected to nature, and the more time you will have to experience nature and bond with your animals. You will also be a much better steward of the natural world, having less of a detrimental impact on the land and animals around you, and be much more likely to see wildlife.
Accessibility
There is another advantage to Minimalist Horse Packing, which has a lot to do with why I chose that style in the first place. Minimalist Horse Packing can make horse packing more accessible to people who don't have excessive amounts of physical strength and stamina. I have a chronic illness which reduces my energy, sometimes drastically, and yet I greatly value my time horse-packing.
I can only do trips if I am careful to keep all energy expenditures at a minimum. This means It needs to be easy to pack and unpack the horse. No three hour organizational sessions before I get on the horse in the morning - if it took me that long to get ready, I would be too tired to ride before I even got on the trail. I need my gear to be simple to put up and take down and to pack away easily and quickly.
I have trouble lifting anything very heavy, so my pack horse's saddle bags need to be lightweight, even when full of gear.
My energy is low enough to be depleted by mental efforts as much as physical efforts, so I need as little to think about and keep track of as possible - another reason to keep my gear to a bare minimum. Basically, the only way horse packing is remotely possible for me is if I have the least amount of the lightest weight, most compact gear possible. I've spent years developing a system that works for me and along the way I have found that it isn't just valuable to me. Many others (especially women) have expressed an interest in horse packing this way either for physical or spiritual reasons.
I think their is a real interest out there (especially from women) in Minimalist Horse-Packing. The standards have always been set by the old cowboy who takes cast iron fry pans, a fold-down-stove and a whole kitchen, complete with table and chairs. But some of us aren't interested in that. Maybe that's because we have physical limitations the old cowboys didn't have, or maybe its just because we want a different experience from the wilderness than they were looking for. Either way, Minimalist Horse Packing is the up and coming way for many of us to experience the wilderness with our best, hoofed trail partners.
There is another advantage to Minimalist Horse Packing, which has a lot to do with why I chose that style in the first place. Minimalist Horse Packing can make horse packing more accessible to people who don't have excessive amounts of physical strength and stamina. I have a chronic illness which reduces my energy, sometimes drastically, and yet I greatly value my time horse-packing.
I can only do trips if I am careful to keep all energy expenditures at a minimum. This means It needs to be easy to pack and unpack the horse. No three hour organizational sessions before I get on the horse in the morning - if it took me that long to get ready, I would be too tired to ride before I even got on the trail. I need my gear to be simple to put up and take down and to pack away easily and quickly.
I have trouble lifting anything very heavy, so my pack horse's saddle bags need to be lightweight, even when full of gear.
My energy is low enough to be depleted by mental efforts as much as physical efforts, so I need as little to think about and keep track of as possible - another reason to keep my gear to a bare minimum. Basically, the only way horse packing is remotely possible for me is if I have the least amount of the lightest weight, most compact gear possible. I've spent years developing a system that works for me and along the way I have found that it isn't just valuable to me. Many others (especially women) have expressed an interest in horse packing this way either for physical or spiritual reasons.
I think their is a real interest out there (especially from women) in Minimalist Horse-Packing. The standards have always been set by the old cowboy who takes cast iron fry pans, a fold-down-stove and a whole kitchen, complete with table and chairs. But some of us aren't interested in that. Maybe that's because we have physical limitations the old cowboys didn't have, or maybe its just because we want a different experience from the wilderness than they were looking for. Either way, Minimalist Horse Packing is the up and coming way for many of us to experience the wilderness with our best, hoofed trail partners.
