Camping With Horses and Mules
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Riding into the backcountry and camping with horses and mules can be a lot of fun if you plan ahead and are well-prepared. When riding or camping on public land, however, be aware that there are rules established by the land management agency (Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, National Grassland, or some other national or state entity). Know the rules and any particular concerns for the areas you visit, and abide by them.
Only designated camp spots can be used in some areas (such as national parks). The administrative agency may have a limit on the number of animals per party, so check the rules. Usually, one pack animal for every two people is adequate, depending on the length of your trip and the availability of forage. In areas where grass is sparse or where grazing is prohibited, you must pack in all of your feed, increasing the number of pack animals needed.
Managing Your Animals
in Camp
Accustom your horses or mules to the method you plan to keep them close to camp — hobbles, temporary corrals (rope or electric), a high line, or staking. Lessons ahead of time will reduce problems for you and the animals at camp and create less impact on the environment; you can move the horses/mules periodically and reduce the impact on any one spot.
If there’s grass near camp, you can turn the animals loose for short periods unless there are rules about no grazing in that area. The horses or mules can be hobbled or watched by a member of your party unless they are experienced camp animals that stay close and come back to camp every morning and evening for grain. If you turn them loose to graze, keep one horse or mule tied at camp in case you must go looking for the herd. A horse or mule stationed at your camp may help keep the group interested in staying nearby. If you don’t have a horse or mule that remains calm (not pawing holes or trying to break loose in nervous frustration) while the others are loose, keep two at camp to keep each other company, and rotate so they have a turn at grazing.
Mules are often easier to keep track of than a group of horses, especially if they are bonded to a buddy — which is often a horse. They generally stay with that animal. Old-time packers always had a “bell mare” that they turned loose with their mules. The mules stayed with that mare, and she (and hence the whole herd) could always be located by the sound of the bell she wore.
If your animals aren’t dependable enough to be loose without leaving the area, let them graze in a portable pen or on stake ropes for part of the day. An easy, dependable, portable pen can be made with electric wire, step-in posts, and a battery fence charger. If penned or staked, however, don’t leave the animals in the same spot very long, or they will trample all the vegetation. Move the stakes or pen often, and don’t leave them in that situation overnight. When confined for long periods, use a high line between two tall trees in a dry area with very little vegetation to trample. Avoid wet, marshy areas for grazing or tying; hoof impact on soft, wet ground is more pronounced.
A high line is the preferred method for tying horses or mules in the backcountry — stretching a rope between two sturdy trees about seven feet above the ground. This keeps the animals away from the trees, so they can’t chew off the bark or paw at the roots. A tree saver strap (which can be purchased or made from old car seat belts), an old string cinch (that won’t be used on a saddle afterward since it may have pitch on it from the tree), or some kind of padding (burlap sack) should be used around each tree so the bark will not be injured. The horses’ lead ropes are tied along the high line, or loops are made in the line at intervals for fastening the ropes.
Use Insect Repellent
When camping with horses and mules, ensure you’ve packed an insect repellent. A horse or mule who is miserable and constantly fighting flies and mosquitoes will paw, stomp, or try to rub on trees. Biting insects are a big problem in most backcountry areas, and you’ll do the animals and environment a favor by making it less miserable for the animals!
Leave a Clean Camp: Pack It Out or Dispose of It
A few moments spent tidying up before you leave camp will ensure the next campers won’t have anything to complain about. Pack out all unburnable trash and garbage (burlap bags work well for this — or the pack bags you used to pack supplies). Don’t bury garbage, burned cans, or food scraps; don’t try to burn aluminum foil (these disposal methods are illegal in some areas); pack it out. Scatter the manure piles left by horses. Use a shovel or tree branch to break it apart. Manure that’s spread out dries and decomposes quickly, leaving less odor, fewer flies, and less evidence: broken-apart manure looks like dried grass. If manure piles are in a designated campsite, carry them into outlying areas for scattering.
If you hauled the horses or mules to a trailhead into the backcountry, clean up any manure left by the horses after you unload. DO NOT sweep manure out of the trailer to leave on the ground. Keep some heavy-duty garbage bags in your trailer tack compartment, along with a broom, rake, or shovel. Collect any manure that was deposited near your trailer and take it home.
Travel Light
Don’t take more gear/supplies than you need. If you bring only the essentials, you won’t need as many pack animals — resulting in less impact on the land. Using synthetic tent material (half the weight of canvas), dehydrated food in plastic bags instead of canned goods, and transferring contents of jars into lighter and reusable plastic containers can cut down the weight and bulk and possibly reduce the need for an extra pack animal.
Feed for the Animals
Many wilderness and backcountry areas don’t have enough forage for grazing if you’ll be camping with horses and mules in a timbered area. Ask the land managers about available grazing, how much feed you might need to take, and the regulations regarding feed. In most public land areas, you can only take certified weed-seed-free feed to prevent the spread of noxious weeds. If you are going into an area with feed restrictions, make sure the hay, grain, or pellets are weed-seed-free. Also, make sure your animals are accustomed to eating this feed before you leave home; feed it for a day or two before you leave. This not only ensures they’ll eat it at camp, but they won’t be distributing weed seeds along the trail and at camp via manure.
Hay is bulky, heavy, and difficult to pack, and it takes a lot of it to feed your animals if you are staying more than one or two days. Hay pellets/cubes have become a lot more popular for campers because they take up less space and are easier to pack than hay bales. Some companies (including one rancher in Montana) sell certified weed-free hay cubes in waterproof 50- and 90-pound bags. He also makes a complete feed cube of 89% alfalfa and 20% grain. These are much easier to pack and feed than taking hay and grain.
Don’t feed on the ground. Use nosebags for grain or pellets, and feed hay in a net hung from the high line or on top of a canvas mantie spread on the ground. This not only reduces waste but also leaves less impact on vegetation.
Watering
Select a watering spot along a stream, pond, or lake shore where the bank can endure hoof traffic without damage or evidence, preferably downstream from camp. Marshy areas, ponds, lake edges, and streambanks are often vulnerable to trampling or bank erosion. Water your animals at a natural ford where wildlife cross or at a low, rocky spot along the bank where there will be little damage.
Tips for Tying
If you tie your animals to trees, choose live trees at least 8 inches in diameter (a dead tree or one too small may break off or get damaged if a horse or mule pulls back). Use a tree-saver strap if you have one (easy to carry in a saddlebag or in a coat pocket in the coat tied behind your saddle) or folded burlap bag around the tree. If you don’t have something to protect the tree trunk, wrap the lead rope around it twice before tying to spread the strain if the animal pulls back. Make sure your lead rope is long enough for this kind of tying. Ride with halters under bridles and a long lead rope coiled in your saddle bag (to be snapped onto the halter when needed), or the extra length coiled and tied to saddle strings at the front of your saddle or tied around the animal’s neck in a cavalry knot.
Another way to tie to a tree (which won’t hurt the trunk) is to select a large tree with a sturdy overhead branch, looping the lead rope over the branch to tie it. Horses/mules cannot pull back very hard if tied overhead (and are less apt to try), and the rope will not damage the tree. The animal is not right next to the tree and cannot expose the roots if he paws.
When camping with horses and mules, the tied animals should be on solid, dry ground with sparse vegetation to reduce the impact on the land, such as trampling and pawing, and at least 200 feet from any water or wet areas. Hitch racks (created with a de-limbed dead tree, 4 to 6 inches in diameter, tied between two live trees with padding under the ropes to protect the bark of the live trees) and high lines should be situated on high ground (hard, rocky soil) where tied horses or mules will have little impact and where any impact will be less noticeable.
What other tips do you have for camping with horses and mules?
Originally published in the July/August 2023 issue of Countryside and regularly vetted for accuracy.
