Much of the Western Wilderness is best accessed by horseback. Unfortunately some folks don’t adequetely prepare their horses for the narrow trails and steep grades.   Every year, ill prepared horses get hurt or killed in remote locations.  On the other hand, there are folks that are great horse handlers who take the time to condition beforehand, expose their stock to narrow steep trails, and distractions such as wildlife, flapping tarps and  backpackers.

One of my feed customers, Ann Sands was telling me about her latest ride; A 5 day, 250 mile trail ride in the Schell Creek Range of Eastern Nevada. Now THAT is being a Western Wanderer.

As a competitive trail rider, she has put a lot of time and miles in conditioning her horse Bella over the last two years and exposing her to a variety of obstacles and sights and sounds throughout her training rides.

She sent me this picture below from the ride we talked about and I think it illustrates what a mountain horse is all about. When the path is too steep to ride up, a savvy rider will step off to allow their horse to climb the ridge. But the BEST mountain horse will pull you up as they find their way to the top.

So think of that before you catch the pack horses for hunting season. It might save you some headaches on the trail, and some hard hikes too.