What would be the best Pack Animal for Backcountry Elk

[MTTW]

Right. And I have seen green horses rodeo for five minutes with just a pair of old tires packed on them ... which would not be unexpected behaviour for a "green broke" saddle horse. The smell of blood and sight of strange fur can unnerve the best of horses. Even when wrapped up, meat always made mine a bit jumpy at first and they were not unfamiliar with it. Yeah, you go ahead and throw raw meat and fur on a green horse. And get ready to put it back on ... again and again. Everytime the load shifts around they think it's come back to life. Been there. I'll be watching ... with my hip waders on.

You wont be watching shit. You will be right here running your mouth acting like packing elk is all scientific and what not. @diamond hitch nailed it above. Next time your dumb ass might try getting the horse used to blood at home before you go to the woods, but if you had actually ever packed elk you would know that.

I see in your last post you are getting back to something that you know something about.

 

[SuperX]

in northern MN we called giardia 'the drizzlies'. I imagine your horse was a bit put out by the time you had to ditch your britches!

 

[OntarioHunter]

You wont be watching shit. You will be right here running your mouth acting like packing elk is all scientific and what not. @diamond hitch nailed it above. Next time your dumb ass might try getting the horse used to blood at home before you go to the woods, but if you had actually ever packed elk you would know that.

I see in your last post you are getting back to something that you know something about.

You did say green horse not one cultivated with elk blood at the ranch corral.

Vaseline in the nose can work too. And blindfold. But once the horse is loaded the blindfold comes off. Best insurance is to have the meat wrapped. Hair can make them just as jumpy as smell of blood.

By the way, Smoke Elser also advised wrapping meat before loading it. Google him. I wonder if he's still alive. Probably not. An interesting guy and a wealth of knowledge. One class back in '76 really sticks in my mind. He was teaching us how to harness up horses. I was given a huge bay mare to work with. As I was buckling together the hames, the bitch reached around and bit me in the back. I instinctively socked her on the side of the nose. Stomp, stomp! Smoke comes walking back to my stall. "Guess I should have warned you she don't like people much." "I guess you don't need to tell her I don't like getting bit much." He chuckled. When we were alone and cleaning up, I asked if that was some kind of test. He smiled. "Oh, I wouldn't do that to ya."

 

[Mallardsx2]

3 strong hunting buddies with 0 tags in their pocket.

1 ELK - 1 TRIP OUT. lol

 

[OntarioHunter]

No this a regular riding saddle and quite comfortable. He used to advertise in western horseman in the 90s. I have ridden on a decker with a lot of padding but at my age not likely. I have packed a number on my Portland and is was built in 1928. I would hesitant to pack on one of those 60s saddles with a little horn and no cantle or pommel. Not much to wedge to.

cushman you are right but I have kids. When they have lots of go it's not for long and you need spurs. When they are about right they get married and leave. Better get used to doing it alone. Partners that are still working are good for two weeks. I wear out a number of them.

My big custom made roper (not made for me) is absolutely wonderful to ride in though I do wish it had more for pommels. But it is a roper so there ya go. $200 like new back in 1980 was a deal I couldn't pass up.

 

[Lilhowie83]

You did say green horse not one cultivated with elk blood at the ranch corral.

Vaseline in the nose can work too. And blindfold. But once the horse is loaded the blindfold comes off. Best insurance is to have the meat wrapped. Hair can make them just as jumpy as smell of blood.

By the way, Smoke Elser also advised wrapping meat before loading it. Google him. I wonder if he's still alive. Probably not. An interesting guy and a wealth of knowledge. One class back in '76 really sticks in my mind. He was teaching us how to harness up horses. I was given a huge bay mare to work with. As I was buckling together the hames, the bitch reached around and bit me in the back. I instinctively socked her on the side of the nose. Stomp, stomp! Smoke comes walking back to my stall. "Guess I should have warned you she don't like people much." "I guess you don't need to tell her I don't like getting bit much." He chuckled. When we were alone and cleaning up, I asked if that was some kind of test. He smiled. "Oh, I wouldn't do that to ya."

Smoke is still alive, and up until this year he has been teaching an annual packing class. The only reason he didn't this year was because of Covid. He has forgot more about packing than most will ever know. I was privileged to go through his class a few years ago.

 

[OntarioHunter]

Smoke is still alive, and up until this year he has been teaching an annual packing class. The only reason he didn't this year was because of Covid. He has forgot more about packing than most will ever know. I was privileged to go through his class a few years ago.

Wow, he's gotta be getting up there. Not just a very knowledgable packer but also an excellent teacher. Definitely an artist in both professions.

 

[Lilhowie83]

Wow, he's gotta be getting up there. Not just a very knowledgable packer but also an excellent teacher. Definitely an artist in both professions.

Oh yeah, he is a tremendous teacher and very personable. I dare say he is about 87, I think he was 85 when I went through his class. I talked to Jordan Knudsen this spring, he has helped Smoke teach his class for the last 15 years, and he said that Smoke was still doing really good. He wanted to teach a class this spring but didn't because he was being very cautious with covid.

 

[MTGomer]

On foot until you kill, someone else’s horses/mules after.

 

[406dn]

Where there is a will there is a way, to get an elk off the mountain. The saddle I ride is standard issue for horseback fieldtrialing. You don't see them much outside of that. It is styled after the Canadian military saddle,, an improved McClellan, if you will. I've gotten numerous elk off a mountain with one.

All of my horses have accepted packing meat with hide on. One did not really like it, but he'd do it. He is the horse in the avatar photo. He's gone but not forgotten. The others did it like no big deal.

This is Smokey, wearing the Trooper saddle, on a day he did not have to worry about packing an elk.

 

[OntarioHunter]

Where there is a will there is a way, to get an elk off the mountain. The saddle I ride is standard issue for horseback fieldtrialing. You don't see them much outside of that. It is styled after the Canadian military saddle,, an improved McClellan, if you will. I've gotten numerous elk off a mountain with one.

All of my horses have accepted packing meat with hide on. One did not really like it, but he'd do it. He is the horse in the avatar photo. He's gone but not forgotten. The others did it like no big deal.

This is Smokey, wearing the Trooper saddle, on a day he did not have to worry about packing an elk.View attachment 182580

Nice pic. An interesting saddle. I can understand why the Mounties may have found a quick dismount useful sometimes but I prefer a saddle horn and more meat in the pommels, especially going downhill.

My lead rope for packhorse was very thick 1" manila from a huge spool in Hungry Horse USFS district warehouse, presumably left over from construction of the dam '49-'52. I braided a loop in one end, pulled it over horse's head, and through the halter. The other backbraided end came across my thigh, looped around the saddle horn, with loose end held against the pommel by my thigh. That way both hands were always free and rope could kick loose if something went haywire with the packhorse. Worked great! Wonder what happened to that big spool.

 

[diamond hitch]

Because my way of life is fading, I'm always looking for supplies. Multiple sizes in hemp are not as common as they were even 20 years ago. I think because if we don't buy they won't stock it. I like 1" cotton for lead ropes and I make them up my way. Recently I ended up in Great Falls at 40 degrees north. The selection was excellant and the horse Section was amazing.

For other packing choices let me leave you with some things to ponder. I gave a load of hay to a friend of my mothers. They had goats and dogs in the house with poo inches deep. Took me a week to get that smell out of my clothes. However I have an old work mate from the 80s in the Wind Rivers with goats. We don't talk much.

If you look carefully its possible that God made mules before engineers. Afterall they can count or at least they refused to pull more than two ore cars in the Butte mines. I understand that those that work with them say they have a memory and can hold a grudge. I guess it might be hard for me to ride or pack critters smarter than me so no mules.

 

[406dn]

What the trooper saddle has in spades is that it very comfortable and fits most horses very well. At a field trial a normal day in a saddle is 30 miles, give or take a couple of miles. From late August to mid September, I'll do that ride most every day at one field trial or another. By the end of that my horses are in pretty decent shape.

In the photo above, that was, after a field trial in Idaho, on my way home. Smokey is grazing the ridgeline in the nw corner of YNP. It was a very enjoyable ride where I rode into a herd of bighorn lambs and ewes.

I too thought a Trooper saddle might be lacking in steep terrain, but it isn't, if you have decent balance.

Here's a look down the Tom Miner basin from that same ride mentioned. I used a park boundary marker for a tripod.

 

[coleslaw]

Do Pakistani porters from the Himalayas count?

 

[OntarioHunter]

What the trooper saddle has in spades is that it very comfortable and fits most horses very well. At a field trial a normal day in a saddle is 30 miles, give or take a couple of miles. From late August to mid September, I'll do that ride most every day at one field trial or another. By the end of that my horses are in pretty decent shape.

In the photo above, that was, after a field trial in Idaho, on my way home. Smokey is grazing the ridgeline in the nw corner of YNP. It was a very enjoyable ride where I rode into a herd of bighorn lambs and ewes.

I too thought a Trooper saddle might be lacking in steep terrain, but it isn't, if you have decent balance.

Here's a look down the Tom Miner basin from that same ride mentioned. I used a park boundary marker for a tripod.
View attachment 182591

Is he a Walker?

 

[406dn]

Is he a Walker?

Yes, he was a TWH, as are my other three horses, one who now only gets ridden by my granddaughter. Smokey was the fastest walking, smoothest walking horse I'll ever own. He was a great horse, one I'd ride deep into the back country by myself and know he would be unfazed by whatever we might encounter.

 

[RoughCountry]

With good horses it’s not a big deal packing an elk out on horseback. I have my teenage granddaughter train them how, then have her pack them out.

 

[hank4elk]

The Rock.

 

[MTTW]

These two horses had never had a pack on before this trip. I am not saying that this is a good idea but they had lived with an antelope hide for a couple of months before hand.

 

[Pagosa]

Start them young in training with dead things. Agree with MTTW it’s not overly difficult with broke horses, good tack, and even loads. And I prefer to drive a truck/utv to them if possible!

You wont be watching shit. You will be right here running your mouth acting like packing elk is all scientific and what not. @diamond hitch nailed it above. Next time your dumb ass might try getting the horse used to blood at home before you go to the woods, but if you had actually ever packed elk you would know that.

I see in your last post you are getting back to something that you know something about.