I'm beginning to think planning this venture is going to be half the fun. I love horse shopping! No, still haven't found the right one, but the options have rolled out in front of me, and I have only to choose. I have been offered a client's horse, one that I am very fond of, and solidly confident in his physical ability and mental capacity for this venture. . . and he's just a gas to ride. The drawback? I would be training this horse, for free, for at least the next 4 months. The money I'd lose from training is much more than I would have to spend on a new prospect. Option B may be the Enumclaw auction held the first Sunday of every month. In the April auction a 15 hand 4 year old Mustang filly (PERFECT for me) sold for $75!!! She would have been JUST the ticket. And even after gas and ferry I'd only be into her about $500. But it's a gamble - the horses could be sick, drugged, lame, crazy - or I could spend $400 on gas and ferry to find that there's nothing suitable for me to buy.
I've seen some promising ads, but nothing good enough to warrant the costly trip to the mainland, and the horsey budget continues to shrink in direct relation to the list of gear I'll be investing in which seems to be growing faster than the weeds in my garden!
Speaking of gear, I've decided to ride in my Isabell Werth Wintec dressage saddle. I know it may sound crazy at first, but it's extremely comfortable for me, has an adjustable gullet and Cair panels for the horse, weighs less than my Bona Allen western saddle by about 15 lbs, and it's synthetic, so it'll be easier to care for on the trail. Greg will be maxed out for weight with him and a western saddle, it will be up to my mount and the pack horse to carry feed for three horses, and all the human gear and food.
The first thing I'd like to have accomplished (aside from finding a horse) is a gear list..... I've got a few things in mind:
Pack saddle and bags/boxes
Stowaway Bags for my dressage saddle
Rain sheets for 3 horses
Feedbags (nosebags) for 3 horses
Collapsible bucket (for watering when horses can't get to the source - could double as feed container)
Tree savers
Sheepskin for lining saddlebags, hobbles, etc
Oh, it goes on and on. I'm anxious to start buying what I can, little by little, but am waiting to figure out the best values, reading up on what worked well for other riders.... Really need to get out on a Backcountry Horsemen ride so I can pick a few brains. :)
have you considered a 'gear/supply' drop along the trail - this is how border to border hikers do it - they arrange for drops in towns in close proximity to the trail that they can reach without too much detour...and you could eliminate the need for a third horse for pack items. Just a thought
ReplyDeleteHi Lori, Greg here. Even with supply drops we'll need the pack horse. I think that I can get our personal gear and food down to 30 lbs for the two of us for 7 days but we would still need 140 lbs of feed for two horses. Jessica can carry an extra 50 or 60 lbs at best. WA has the longest sections without resupply so we need to really plan the drops as carefully as possible. The pack horse also double as a back up rider in case something happens to one of the horses we're on. Fortunately we have months to get the details worked out. My job is to figure the human food and pack distribution so that we have a great adventure and not a survival ride:-)
ReplyDeleteComplete pack frame, harness and panniers sold for $500 at the Redmond show. Don't know if thats a good deal or not but it was the price they had. Sis said that it sold quickly too.
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