…and the only thing worse than realizing that you forgot your lunch in the saddlebags is coming back to find your lunch on the ground trampled and covered with dirt and horseshit
I keep it under my stirrup on my on side-it’s flexible and you forget it’s there. That saw IMO is the most essential item for recreating in the mountains safely while horseback.
I'm not super experienced but I think a lot depends on the person's weight, fitness, and how they carry themselves in a walk/trot. They say 20% with tack is a full load. I see people at riding events and the woman is like 300 lbs, I feel really bad for the horse. It's not right on the animal unless they are riding a draft, but their ass are so big they can't get up on a horse over 14 hands. I also think that keeping the tack balanced, whether it's the rifle, saw, lunch, binoculars, watee/beer/soda, etc. I think keep as much weight on the horses shoulders and using your stirrups.
I'm leaving my horse at camp in either an electric fence or steel panels with food/water and going hunting on foot. Once I shot something I will use saddle panniers to pack out half or use a game sled and drag out the quarters in an otter sled. I have ridden up on a bull once in Colorado while we were packing out an elk but I think it was a fluke. Ridden up on lots of deer, but I want to pretty quiet and I'm not very confident about riding a horse two hours before daylight in the dark on snowy icy trails.
As to ‘suggested weight limits’ of a horse, I packed out (11miles) an entire quartered 6pt bull on one riding horse with those trail max panniers and some parachord. Not ideal but when my planned pack horse punctured its sole 2 days before opener, the one horse was all I had. On that hunt I packed my entire (minimalist) camp in my backpack and rode my horse to where I camped without needing saddlebags. Ideally I have a riding horse with the panniers tightly rolled up behind the cantle and a pack horse.
As to ‘suggested weight limits’ of a horse, I packed out (11miles) an entire quartered 6pt bull on one riding horse with those trail max panniers and some parachord. Not ideal but when my planned pack horse punctured its sole 2 days before opener, the one horse was all I had. On that hunt I packed my entire (minimalist) camp in my backpack and rode my horse to where I camped without needing saddlebags. Ideally I have a riding horse with the panniers tightly rolled up behind the cantle and a pack horse.
At the end of this many mile day my horse was totally fine…me, I ended up puking my brains out from all of the exertion about 1/2 mile from the truck at 2 in the morning
