Overnight Camping and Driving

[shelterwood]

Hey all,

Just thought I'd start a new topic of conversation that came to mind when I posted yesterday about my mares and my training plans for them to be fabulous trail driving machines. Anyone out there done any overnight or extended driving that included camping, or travel to a far away locale by trailer to drive? I know the Northwesterners on here do the beach drives, and I think stay overnight and camp. Please share stories, experiences, and ideas of places and things to consider. Oh, and PICTURES!!

I am particularly interested in hearing from Northeasterners who drive and camp, with special interest in Acadia National Park in Maine. I have been there, but didn't realize one could take a horse to drive of one's own until one of my patient's family members (I'm a nurse) got talking about horses and said she took her Halflingers there years ago and LOVED it. They have like 60 miles of maintained carriage roads, stables, and camping facilities. Anyone ever been? Where else have people been to drive, anywhere in the country, that was amazing?

Has anyone used picket lines with their minis while camping overnight? My husband and I are backcountry hikers, so we know we can pack light for trips. This picket line looks awesome and light weight, with little bulk, and could fit easily into the gear one would need to take. http://www.ezpicket.com/. Also, how have you carried feed etc for the horses? Obviously water would have to be planned to be available on your route of travel or at the campsite.

I know I can use my mares as pack animals too, but would really like to plan some trips around driving. We have lots of old logging roads here that lead to bodies of water, all on state land, so this would be my preferred place to start some brief drives with overnight stays. Can anybody comment on safety concerns, or anything else that comes to mind about making a trip like this?

Any other related thoughts anyone has are welcomed....

Katie

 

[Field-of-Dreams]

I found a cool website for parks here in Texas that you can camp and several even state they are drivable!

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/state-parks/parks/things-to-do/equestrian

My friend and I are already planning a fun weekend sometime this spring before it gets roasting hot out!

 

[targetsmom]

My driving trainers take a pair of (usually) Morgans to Acadia each summer and it does sound like great fun! We go there ourselves but have never taken our minis. We take our bikes and ride and hike the trails used by the drivers. They are fabulous, but not all that easy, especially for minis. We are not sorry that we didn't bring any. You can camp or stay in other accommodations nearby.

I think there are also horse trails in New York in the Lake Luzerne area??? Again, my knowledge is from mountain biking, but from several years ago. The trails I am thinking of were pretty beat up with hoof prints and would not be very good for driving minis unless they did some work on them!

Our CT driving club does some drives in eastern CT and RI and at least one state park in CT (Patchaug) has camping facilities for horses. So it is possible!

 

[Lori W]

My girlfriends and I love to overnight camp with our horses. In fact, we just set up all our dates for 2012.

We take our full size horses, but one of our group doesn't ride, so she brings her Standardbred mare and cart. We typically ride on the back roads and on trails wide enough for her cart. I've been a passenger with her a couple of times, and boy, does that horse fly! What fun!

We all take our LQ trailers (I feel so blessed to have one!) and stay at an equine campground, using a high picket line for the horses. They all take to it so easily - even the first timers are great.

I've thought about taking one of my driving minis to our campout, but was concerned that she wouldn't be able to keep up with the full size horses. I'm sure she would do fine hanging out with everyone on the picket, though.

Good luck to you if you choose to camp with your mini! I'm sure you'll have a blast!

 

[susanne]

In addition to our annual beach drive, Keith, Mingus and I have also camped and driven at nearby Stubb Stewart State Park. This park features hundreds of miles of horse riding trails, some of which are also great for driving (minis, anyway...the trails are most likely too narrow for the bigs). They have a beautiful horse camp area with about 15 sites, each with 4 stall/corrals.

I asked the rangers before driving on the trails, and learned that they had no idea what I was talking about -- one thought I meant a dirt bike ~~ ! I had them come out and meet Mingus and check out the cart; they were totally charmed by my little ambassador, and from then on they were extremely helpful and curious about which trails worked for us.

We quickly discovered that while the corrals were well-built, they are designed for big horses, with only a chain for a gate, which Mingus knew instantly was no barrier. He delighted in proving each of our lead rope gate attempts to be utterly ineffective, so we finally used the plywood sheet that we use as subflooring for his stall in the van.

Only one other group camped the night we were there and they were far from us, which meant that Mingus was by himself. This frightened him, so we ended up pulling our van (now converted into camper mode) out of the site driveway and right up next to the fence and slept with the doors open. He still called to us continually, to which I'd wake up and say, "It's okay, Mingus...we're still here." Don't tell anyone, but Mr. Cool is actually a mama's boy! I'd definitely advise having at least one other horse along for security.

Between that trip and the beach drives, we've learned to not count on fencing/gates being mini proof, scout the campsite for plants and footing (we treat with Metamucil after our beach drives to ward off sand colic), to expect your horse to be uneasy overnight in a strange location, especially if they're not in an enclosed area. Expect the unexpected and plan to meet lots of new people, as your horses will garner a great deal of attention.

Have a plan for wildlife encounters. A bell on the cart (not just the little guardian bells) can help avoid surprise meetings with bears, but take bear spray and/or wasp spray just in case. An extra whip is good to have in case you come across unfriendly dogs. Scout your campsite for places predators could hide.

Be sure to take your horse and human first aid kits and a well-stocked spares/emergency kit. Even if you don't ordinarily blanket, take at least a sheet and preferably both sheet and blanket in case the night temps drop lower than what your horse is used to.

I've never used a picket, so I can't comment on that. Perhaps experiment first on a day trail drive. Definitely watch what trees and shrubs are within reach. Many woodland plants (rhododendron, kalmia, mahonia, etc.,) are extremely toxic. Keep in mind that your horse may feel extremely vulnerable out in a strange area at night.

I'll need to look on my old computer, but I have a blog bookmarked of a Welsh Cob driver who talks about driving in Arcadia -- sounds like heaven on earth.

 

[shelterwood]

Awesome! Thanks everybody!

In regards to the Acadia trails, do you think that at least some of the trails would be mini friendly? I don't anticipate driving ALL 60 miles of trails, but what if expectations were fairly low like a few miles a day on the easiest trails? My mares are also 40" and stout (that's being really nice right now!!), so they are larger than average and do well even on challenging terrain. I'll have to do some more research about the trails themselves. My farrier has also been with his Morgans, and said "you'll need a full size horse to really enjoy Acadia", but I struggle to place such a boundary on my tough little mares.

We do have locally a horse trail system that has a set of lean-tos and a horse barn with about 10 straight stalls approximately 4 miles in. The trail is generally wide enough for a cart, but it would have to be something like a Hyperbike, and there might be parts that require slow speeds and/or getting out of the cart to allow for a hill climb etc. This might be the place to start as the horses would at least be in a barn. I think I would just hike with them out to the barn and lean to first, hang a while, feed them something, and head back in the same day first. See how they do. Then carefully plan a trip. The good thing would that we would be pretty close to home, like ten miles by truck travel, so if it seemed not to be going well we could hike back out.

Thanks for the picket line pictures. I have actually practiced a little with picket lines with my mares as I knew they would be hiking with us eventually, and they do OK. I think the investment and training are worth it, and I do hear the concerns about them feeling vulnerable. Any one have any experience with this? We used to overnight camp with our stock horses and this was common practice. I think the minis can handle it!

Susanne, great pointers! We are experienced backcountry folks, but adding horses AND carts adds to the mix considerably! I was thinking contacting the rangers locally to get some ideas and also rules would be good, as we live in a pretty restrictive 6 million acre state park with all kinds of land use rules. But I also bet the rangers could point out some good wide easy trails that are accessible.

Now, I need a trailer!! On my list.....

Katie

 

[targetsmom]

If I were a few decades younger, I could join in your enthusiasm! I remember going horse camping in a nearly state forest with our 4-H Club 50 year ago and it was GREAT fun. We built a corral and then tied the horses at intervals around the edge so that when one got loose (every night it seemed!) they wouldn't be able to go far. We rode to a spring several times a day to water the horses and then did trail rides all over. We slept in Adirondack shelters that faced the corral.

There are plenty of maps of the carriage trails in Acadia - just study the contour lines because one goes up the mountain and is quite steep. Also, some are closed to horses and some are closed to bikes. As I recall it isn't real flat near the stables, so you would need to do some hills. Our driving minis are only 32" (for now, til we get new ones trained!) and it would be difficult for them, at least as singles.

 

[MajorClementine]

What a great idea! I camp with my big horses so why not the minis? Some in my family use picket lines for their horses and love them. Hubby and I just tie ours to hitching post but I would feel better with minis on a picket line. Don't see why there would be a problem if they are introduced to it before the trip. How fun would it be to drive though the national parks with the minis! I may have to think about this when I get my two trained up good. Great topic

 

[MiLo Minis]

I will have to go through my disks and see if I can dig out some photos from our Mini traildrives for you.

They are a ton of fun and I bet you will really enjoy going!

Before leaving make sure your horse is used to eating hay cubes - a lot of the parks don't allow hay which could contain seeds from weeds not native to the area and hay cubes are a lot easier to pack in then hay. I found mixing electrolytes/jello powder in their water well before leaving to accustom them to the taste allowed me to use the water available on site once I added powder to it. Make sure your horse is well trained to tie or picket before leaving but don't panic too much about a horse getting loose as they seldom wander far from their buddies. I would advise you to go with other equine company at least for the first time or two - horses are more relaxed and confidant with company when in a strange environment. Make sure you take a sheet for your horse and a well stocked human and equine first aid kit in case of accident. Do take really comfortable walking shoes just in case. Your spares kit will be ultra important for this type of driving - make sure it is well stocked. You will need to practice packing everything you need into a nice tight load for your cart that won't fall apart while travelling or upset the balance of your cart. I have a little collapsible camping shovel that I use for cleaning up the trail and campsite. Some places require you to pack the manure back out with you (this is when having a Mini is a real BOON!

) so do be sure to check regulations before you leave for your trip. For yourself if you are tenting be sure to pack a light roll of high density foam to sleep on - it will really improve your enjoyment of the trip

I wouldn't worry about your Mini being able to handle it - as long as you make sure he is fit and ready before you leave. Mine have always been able to keep up with the full size horses and even handle it a lot better than some of them. I kind of think that because I worry about people thinking "poor little horse" that I go to greater lengths to condition mine than some of the full size horse people do. I hope you enjoy your trip/s!!!

 

[paintponylvr]

I have only done day trips, thus far with our driving ponies. When I have more equipment and "proper" harness for everyone going out to camp, I'm looking forward to doing a camping trip or two.

Thanks for the recommendations on the hay cubes - I never would have thought of that and hadn't had anyone say anything about that. All the pictures I've seen lately show horses at the picket lines with haybags of some sort. I LOVE that picket line idea - I've always had problems gettin my pickets not to sag!!! Thanks for the link.

As for conditioning - our ponies are also a little larger (my three well trained mares are 38, 40 & 41" tall, w/ a green 43" and several 2 yr olds coming on that range from 38 to 40). BUT when we've gone out with full size horses - both our own and others - the ponies are usually out in front and "frothing" to go further and faster. Except when the Arabs were doing their racing - then they didn't keep up...LOL. I have always been surprised by the number of peopel around here that ride for only 15 minutes 1 or 2x weekly then expect their mounts to handle 6 - 8 hours of riding daily for 3 days over a 4 day period - neither the person doing the riding or the full size horses are in great shape when we've finished a ride! AND again, my ponies are on their toes wanting to do more! For day rides - 4 hours is my limit w/ me in the cart (so far). We'll see what happens when I get my marathon vehicle - I CAN"T WAIT!

If your ponies are going out regularly during the week, being worked to the cart with your weight and equipment that you'll carry with you, I don't see why it would be a problem with your mares. Now can they keep up with gaited horses - maybe not! But then our Arabs and paints couldn't either - and our ponies, when in riding shape by my daughters easily kept up - ah - youth - the ponies and kids often spent most of the rides jogging and cantering/galloping back and forth from one end of the line to the other when the terrain permitted it. Trust me - my older stallion still remembers and the last time I took him out to trail drive him he wanted to race with the riding horses when they all cantered ahead of us...

One thing no-one has mentioned - coggins and health paperwork. Here in NC - if you are transporting a horse or pony, Coggins w/i 12 months has to be with you. The trails that allow you to ride/drive - require coggins to be posted for each horse at the rig (we usually had copies in doc protectors on the dash) and Rangers can stop and check you while you're riding. So - carry a copy in your spares bag or butt bag...

O AND a collaspible bucket for dipping up water at a stream to water with if your mini/cart can't reach the edge! They can easily be attached somewhere to the cart. We carried at least one on one of our riding horses - it seemed we always had one that couldn't be gotten to the edge of the drinkable water OR couldn't get any of them close enuff due to terrain... Teaching your carted mini to drink while driving is helpful as well - so that if you cross water that is running/clean enuf, you can stop and your little one can drink.

 

[hobbyhorse23]

Great advice here! All of our camping trips we've ever done with big horses or with the little guys at the beach have used a central base camp so I've never had to worry about packing feed in the cart. We used to high-line the Arabs and they took to it without any fuss; I have no doubt the minis would be the same. Kody had been staked out (yes, with a ground-line

) by his original owners and is quite savvy about ropes around his legs so I'll often tie him to the trailer with a soft cotton lunge line and let him roam at the end of it as long as I'm near. I was incredibly nervous allowing Turbo to do the same but he proved as a yearling that he's the type who will stop when he gets tangled and either figure out how to get out of it or wait for rescue so I went ahead and started tying him out too. (To be clear, I do NOT recommend this! It is terribly unsafe and if Kody hadn't already been accustomed to being tied that way I would never have dared do it.) There's no way I'm leaving them like that overnight or unsupervised though so I either bring a small metal corral and put up a pop-up tent in the middle of it for shade/shelter or I'd highline if the base camp did not have corrals we could use.

I've never seen Acadia but I'm always flummoxed by how little people think our horses can handle. At one of our NW CDE's one of the mini competitors from a flat part of the country was expressing great worry over how her horse was going to handle "that big hill in the back" of the marathon course and several big horse drivers were obviously equally concerned about our little guys. I walked the entire course and literally said "WHAT 'big hill??'"

I hadn't seen anything that would have qualified as more than a mild slope. They finally walked me back there and pointed to it and I had a hard time not laughing. A few short lunges at a canter and you were back on flat ground- not one mini had an issue with it. What worries me far more is deep footing...sand will wear my guys out and risk injury far sooner than a brief burst of high-intensity activity because they are not used to it.

I agree with everyone else- condition for the sort of exertion you're going to be asking your horse to do, get them used to camping and make sure they either have buddies to keep them company or are used to being out alone or with only one or two other herd mates, and have fun!

Other important trail skills I remember from riding are teaching your horse to accept all positions within a group (both leading and taking the tailmost position calmly), not to panic if others in your group speed off without you, and to be willing to leave the group without a fuss if you need to head back to camp. Take the time to teach your horse those skills BEFORE you go out on the trail in a group and you'll be much happier! Also teach them how to hold the cart back down a hill and how to pull properly uphill. Take off any checks you might have or use a sidecheck and loosen it so the horse can get her head down to her knees and use her neck as a fulcrum. It isn't fair to ask them to pull with their greatest tool for exerting leverage restricted.

Leia

 

[shelterwood]

Thanks Leia!

My mares have never known a check rein, and they never will! I just simply see no need, especially for my interests of trail driving, but wonder in general about the need for them too. That's another whole topic of discussion.

We have a pony here semi-locally that I see tethered out on a long line. Makes me cringe. He seems to do OK, but one day I saw him down in a creek on their property. I don't know, it just seems so unsafe. I can see doing it for short periods while you are in sight and know the horse's response, but otherwise, I think it's asking for trouble. My mares would always be picketed on high lines, not tethered. Another horse we know of locally is only ever out on a zip line, like dogs are sometimes tied to, because the owners "rescued" him and then had no where to actually keep him! Good thinking. So he lives in a little shed, and is let out onto this zip line twice a day while they shovel manure. Oh well. At least they are shoveling manure I guess. We keep a close eye.

Yes, good advice on teaching calmness in position in group. This is something that I need to work on because unfortunately I usually drive alone. Once my younger mare is going well, they will be going out together whenever I can get an experienced friend to drive with me. Then I can practice having one horse turn back while the other continues etc.

Teaching your horse to drink on the trail from a collapsible bucket is really good advice. Nothing worse than being out with a picky nervous horse who won't drink. Anyone have a link to collapsible buckets?

Yes, hay cubes would be good, or pellets too, or both. That's one of the many advantages of minis.....carrying food for them is much easier than the big guys! My guess is that most of my trips will be short overnight trips, so packing in some feed will be manageable. I saw a mini mule on Craigslist the other day.....hmmmm.....maybe I can convince my husband that we NEED a pack animal! I seriously would have been interested, but some silly person had left this sterile little man a stud!!?? Why would you do that? And of course the ad said "needs work on manners"!! You think? And he was 15 years old.....recipe for disaster with 2 young mares. Man was he ever cute though.

Katie

 

[paintponylvr]

Katie =

I think I purchased mine from horse.com when they were still Country Supply... Besides working well on the carts - great for both drinking & cooling them off when there wasn't a hose avaialbe.

here's a link on Amazon that shows several different types at the bottom of the page - http://www.amazon.com/Intrepid-International-Collapsible-Water-Bucket/dp/B000FOO5CA

 

[shelterwood]

Katie =

I think I purchased mine from horse.com when they were still Country Supply... Besides working well on the carts - great for both drinking & cooling them off when there wasn't a hose avaialbe.

here's a link on Amazon that shows several different types at the bottom of the page - http://www.amazon.co...t/dp/B000FOO5CA

Thanks Paula! Perfect!

Happy holidays!

Katie

 

[susanne]

...

Oooohhh...I need those!

 

[paintponylvr]

On the buckets - I went to a local, predominantly english tack store and found collapsible buckets on Christmas eve. I can't remember what brand they were... BUT they had a hard plastic rim on the bottom and on the top that a metal bail is attached to. The bucket collapses, the two hard plastic rims match up and then a zipper gets pulled around and holds it together - while the handle works to hang it up...

BRIGHT colors! Neat idea.