Have you ever dreamed of going on a long ride with your horsey companion but always end up turning back when it starts to get dark. You no longer have to turn back just because it’s getting dark. You can find a nice, safe location and spend the night under the stars with your horse.
When you are planning a camping trip with your horse you should never camp or ride alone, so bring a buddy along. You also want to make sure that you will have an accessible and safe location to set up camp for the night as well as having somewhere for the horses to stay comfortably over night. Locations like horse friendly parks, national forests, and well known trails are great places to camp with your horse. It’s important to remember that you need a camp site located near fresh water. You can carry the amount of water you will need but carrying a horses supply of water is very troublesome.
When you are preparing for a ride you need to remember to bring…
For You…
- extra riding clothes
- sleeping clothes
- socks
- boots
- rain gear
- small tent
- sleeping bag or blow up mattress
- food and extra food
- water and extra water
- knife/machete
- lighter/ waterproof matches
- blanket
- first aid supplies
- cell phone
- duct tape
- towel
For The Horse…
- saddle
- pads
- girth
- bridle
- halter
- lead rope
- extra ropes
- water bucket
- feed bucket
- grain/ beat pulp
- grooming supplies (brush, curry comb, hoof pick)
- leg wraps
- first aid supplies
- rope or way to contain them through the night
- saddle bags
Before you have your mind set on camping on a trail with your horse make sure that your horse will be okay with long trail rides and carrying more weight that they are used to carrying. You shouldn’t take a young on inexperienced horse on a camping trip because they are more likely to cause a problem. You should be on a stable mount that will be able to work through situations with your help. You also want to be sure that your horse gets along with the others that you bring, you don’t want to be woken up to the sound of a horse fight in the middle of the night.
Camping with your horse can be a fun and exciting thing to try, if you think that you are up for the challenge find locations near you that offer camping and horse trails. Happy camping!
