Horseback Hunting Stories

[.300 R.U.M. Grizzly]

I really enjoy hunting off my horse. I've been very fortunate to not have any major wrecks with the ponies. Anyone have any good horseback hunting stories to share?

[proguide66]

I got to watch 4 horses full packed and tail tied go cartwheeling down a mountain once....what a shitshow that was.Most people dont realise just how bad of a pounding a horse can take and keep on goin .
Got to the 'pile' after the tree tops stopped getting bashed(all we could see to track their tumble progress) they were mostly tangled up in a heap , upside down , sidewyas , on their backs. Started cutting through rigging and POP , up stands a horse( thought we were going to have to shoot em all while hiking down to them) , more rigging off , pop up another and another , all were good! crazy..they must have went 150 to 200 yrds ,one hell of a sight to witness.:shock:

[Rodd]

Glad it worked out Proguide, sounds like it could have ended up a lot worse... Funny how the bad experiences with horses stick in my mind.. I have had tonnes of great trips with the horses over the past 30 years, and love hunting with them. From Ashnola to the Toad... Many great times, and I certainly eat better on a horse trip, than i do on a backpack trip..
Had one loaded a little top heavy that fell off the trail, and ended up all 4 feet in air in the creek at the bottom of the hill once, but all worked out, other than a broken pack saddle! :(

[BCRiverBoater]

I have only been on two horseback hunts and both time produced a few rodeos. I think it goes with the territory. Helps make it an adventure you will never forget. These two hunts have been the most memorable for sure.

Sounds like this year we are leaving the boats at home and trying the horses again. I can not wait.

[bridger]

have lots of horseback trips that are memorable. the worst wreck we have to date was in the prophet canyon years ago during a spell of high water. we were not able to cross the river in normal fashion as the water was to high so we had to take a shoo fly up and over a really steep hillside. about halfway across the hillside a fallen tree was blocking the trail. as we were cutting it out one of our packhorses decided to turn around bumping the horse in front of him. both stumbled down the hillside and fell 100 ft straight down in the river. one was killed instantly and the other washed up downstream about a half a mile on an island in the middle of the river. i found my top back with my clothes and sleeping bag about a down river later in the day. I get still see tequila going over the cliff backwards landing on his head.

[proguide66]

Horse death sucks.Especialy if you know em or worse,own em. Have seen a few deaths from their handcuffs at night , but the majority of horse death I have seen was due to so called self proclaimed ' horsemen' that shouldnt be allowed within 50 yrds of a horse.
I remember years ago ( good memory) leading a big pack horse with a 58" moose rack on him. we were in mature spruce and all the sudden he stops like a wall hit him and damned near tore my arm off. Look back and he stopped himself 'before' the rack hit the two trees as the rack was 'maybe' 2 or 3"'s too wide to fit....never seen a horse do that one before ! ( or since) as most you guys know , they usually try to plow through everything with them !

[budismyhorse]

Horse death sucks.Especialy if you know em or worse,own em. Have seen a few deaths from their handcuffs at night , but the majority of horse death I have seen was due to so called self proclaimed ' horsemen' that shouldnt be allowed within 50 yrds of a horse.
I remember years ago ( good memory) leading a big pack horse with a 58" moose rack on him. we were in mature spruce and all the sudden he stops like a wall hit him and damned near tore my arm off. Look back and he stopped himself 'before' the rack hit the two trees as the rack was 'maybe' 2 or 3"'s too wide to fit....never seen a horse do that one before ! ( or since) as most you guys know , they usually try to plow through everything with them !

!! .......and then the wreck is on!!

Yup, the best pack horses are the ones that don't bang the boxes and seem to have a proximity in mind. ya don't sell those ones ;)

[waistdeep]

It is always interesting when the third horse in the string decides to go right around a tree when the trail the others are on, goes left :) Had a horse ride its face up the tree as the horse infront kept going, tree came over created quite a rodeo for sure .. keeps everyone on thier toes :)

[budismyhorse]

I hate talking about the death stories so heres a funny one.

When I was a kid my dad's hunting partner Ken wasn't the greatest rider......one particular boggy crossing was very wet due to relentless rainfall that trip. On the way home we pulled up to it and got a game plan together....which simply involved telling Ken to "just hang on and the horse will figure it out". We rode ahead with the packhorse led my the old man. Well it was deep and nasty and started suckin the boys in so they all started lungeing. On the other side I look back to see Ken's saddle had rolled sideways. Not good. ........He was now hanging onto the horn with both hands white knuckling it while his golfball-eyed horse made short work of that bog the whole time Ken's face roosting mud up like a jet ski.......... At the top of the bank Ken lets go, stands up and looks at us both stunned and says, " you said to hang on". It looked like someone took a brush and painted the blackest mud on the planet on exactly half of his body, right between the eyes to splitting his jeans......even had his still-lit trademark Colt hangin out the clean side of his mouth! 25 years later we still howl about that one.

[waistdeep]

I hate talking about the death stories so heres a funny one.

When I was a kid my dad's hunting partner Ken wasn't the greatest rider......one particular boggy crossing was very wet due to relentless rainfall that trip. On the way home we pulled up to it and got a game plan together....which simply involved telling Ken to "just hang on and the horse will figure it out". We rode ahead with the packhorse led my the old man. Well it was deep and nasty and started suckin the boys in so they all started lungeing. On the other side I look back to see Ken's saddle had rolled sideways. Not good. ........He was now hanging onto the horn with both hands white knuckling it while his golfball-eyed horse made short work of that bog the whole time Ken's face roosting mud up like a jet ski.......... At the top of the bank Ken lets go, stands up and looks at us both stunned and says, " you said to hang on". It looked like someone took a brush and painted the blackest mud on the planet on exactly half of his body, right between the eyes to splitting his jeans......even had his still-lit trademark Colt hangin out the clean side of his mouth! 25 years later we still howl about that one.

I can see that one as clear as day, been there done that !!

[calvin L]

People that have not been on a horse back trip have no idea the amount of work it is . Four of us has have gone with 12 horse and more gear than anyone could ever use ( nice to have it though) with some minor rodeo's The pack string for the most part is good until they want to pass each other . Most of the problems have been with horse spooking @ what how know's .

[Jim 1367]

One of the first horseback hunts I was on I had a guide who knew less about horses then I did(which was not much, but I have learned alot since then!!) We were riding up a hill and stopped to bugle. We got a reply pretty quick from a good distance. Rode a little farther up hill and stopped to bugle again. Another reply a little closer but still pretty far. Rode up a little farther and bugled again. No reply. The "guide" says " you know this bull could be closer than we think". With that the bull steps out about 60 yards.

Now what I left out was I was the "guide's" first hunter ever and he was pretty anxious to prove himself. He had the foulest mouth of anyone I had ever heard, ever. Anyhow we had arranged that he would look at the horns to determine if an animal was legal and I would concentrate on getting settled down and ready for a shot. So to finish the story the bull steps out, I get off my horse and hand him the reigns. Thats when he said "good six point , kill him" and I did, with a 300RUM. Unfortunatly he was still sitting on his horse! The last I saw of him for the next hour or two was him, his horse and my horse heading over the mountain with him screaming and cussing the whole way. Between that and a few other incidents I have since learned that if I was going to continue this I had better learn a few things myself and I have. The thing about it is even now 15 years later whenever i look at that mount all I remember is him yelling till he was out of earshot. We got a good moose two days later.

[.300 R.U.M. Grizzly]

Horse death sucks.Especialy if you know em or worse,own em. Have seen a few deaths from their handcuffs at night , but the majority of horse death I have seen was due to so called self proclaimed ' horsemen' that shouldnt be allowed within 50 yrds of a horse.
I remember years ago ( good memory) leading a big pack horse with a 58" moose rack on him. we were in mature spruce and all the sudden he stops like a wall hit him and damned near tore my arm off. Look back and he stopped himself 'before' the rack hit the two trees as the rack was 'maybe' 2 or 3"'s too wide to fit....never seen a horse do that one before ! ( or since) as most you guys know , they usually try to plow through everything with them !

So true proguide66 and you see more and more "horsemen" popping up all the time on the net!

[olharley guy]

Howdy, been out a few times on horseback hunts -the first one was with a friend of mine for a goat hunt close to the Stikine River where the horses were at his father's ranch. First thing he said when you get off the horse to give them a rest remove the rifle from the scabbard.
First stop took the rifle out and 30 seconds later this horse is rolling around on his back!!!

Same trip buddy did something that made me shake my head. One of the pack horses kept cutting out and heading back to the ranch after we were about 10 miles out. After the third time bringing it back he got it back in line and as soon as he turned around the horse was turning to head back again.
He grabbed it yelling at it and hit it with his fist extremely hard on it's head. Horse stayed with us the rest of the trip. Unusual to me but it worked.

On another sheep trip elsewhere - told one of the guys about the rifle/scabbard thing - he just nodded and about 5 minutes later we heard this big crack and I instantly knew what it was. He did not take it out - the horse was feeding and walked in between two trees -end of stock on a new .243.

It is also amazing how they can sense or smell things before a person - leading the way my horses ears started twitching and some low snorts coming out of him. He was looking to the left in the willows and all of a sudden I saw a sow with 2 cubs at about 75 yards. We had been glassing the whole hillside 5 minutes before and saw nothing but the horse let me know a couple minutes in advance there was something around.

Lucky for us and the bear -she stood up and looked and then they started walking away from us.

Not real exciting but did learn a few things about horse hunting on the trips I have been on. Later

[bridger]

I have had a pack string for forty odd years as have most of my friends. In my experience (observed and lived) when you travel in rough country bad things happen once in awhile. It is incumbent on hunters that participle in back country horse travel to prepare themselves and their string for the adventure to minimize the possibility of a bad wreck.

[Bear Chaser]

I've been fortunate to be invited on four horseback hunts in the last several years. Every time the first few nights I sleep just like a baby. I sleep for an hour then I roll the wrong way and I moan and cry for a half hour from all the sore spots. It usually takes a few days for me to stop being such a wimp and toughen up.
There truly is nothing finer than riding a steady horse through pretty country.

[proguide66]

Funny , I tell all my hunters that " B.C. horseback/ hunting = PAIN AND SUFFERING",:lol:

[Bear Chaser]

Funny , I tell all my hunters that " B.C. horseback/ hunting = PAIN AND SUFFERING",:lol:

My hunting partner used to be a guide. Once he started getting a little older he started to feel sorry for all the pain he caused his fat out of shape older clients when he was a young guide.

I will say that after experiencing his "Hold onto Your Nuts Trail" and "Snotnose Canyon" camp looks pretty good at the end of the day.:-D:-D:-D

[budismyhorse]

I've been fortunate to be invited on four horseback hunts in the last several years. Every time the first few nights I sleep just like a baby. I sleep for an hour then I roll the wrong way and I moan and cry for a half hour from all the sore spots. It usually takes a few days for me to stop being such a wimp and toughen up.
There truly is nothing finer than riding a steady horse through pretty country.

you said it......its those momentst that make it all worth it. Everything in between usually is some form of suffering. I've taken many of my buddies out for pack trips over the years and they all think we are 'nuckin futs' for doing this. I had one guy last year equate it to taking toddlers camping.....constantly watching them, keeping them out of trouble and lengthening your ears at night listening to them.

I have to ask the guides/long packers one thing........do you watch the grazing horses like a hawk the whole trip? or do you eventually tire of it and just leave them be? PG66 mentioned death by "handcuffs" , this is what I fear the most.....and I don't sleep much on my 2-4 night trips. How are those horses dieing? Caught up with logs?

[.330 Dakota]

One of the first horseback hunts I was on I had a guide who knew less about horses then I did(which was not much, but I have learned alot since then!!) We were riding up a hill and stopped to bugle. We got a reply pretty quick from a good distance. Rode a little farther up hill and stopped to bugle again. Another reply a little closer but still pretty far. Rode up a little farther and bugled again. No reply. The "guide" says " you know this bull could be closer than we think". With that the bull steps out about 60 yards.

Now what I left out was I was the "guide's" first hunter ever and he was pretty anxious to prove himself. He had the foulest mouth of anyone I had ever heard, ever. Anyhow we had arranged that he would look at the horns to determine if an animal was legal and I would concentrate on getting settled down and ready for a shot. So to finish the story the bull steps out, I get off my horse and hand him the reigns. Thats when he said "good six point , kill him" and I did, with a 300RUM. Unfortunatly he was still sitting on his horse! The last I saw of him for the next hour or two was him, his horse and my horse heading over the mountain with him screaming and cussing the whole way. Between that and a few other incidents I have since learned that if I was going to continue this I had better learn a few things myself and I have. The thing about it is even now 15 years later whenever i look at that mount all I remember is him yelling till he was out of earshot. We got a good moose two days later.

LMAO,,,,Thats frikin hillarious..thenks for sharing

[bridger]

I have a good friend that years ago wanted to go on a pack trip for sheep. we trailed into the prophet which takes three days. after the first day i could see his enthusiasm waning as he had underestimated the work involved. we were sitting around the fire on the third night when he said. I will never come on a trip like this again. I never realized the work and pain involved. I said hey my wife has been in here. she's been here he said. yes she has sat on the very stump you are on. well he said she is a hell of lot tougher than i am. he never went again.

[REMINGTON JIM]

We were coming down from Mt Young one time and my partner was leading and we had a packhorse in between us. On a steep hill a small powersaw that my partner had tied (shitty knot tier)on top of his packhorse came loose and struck the mare in the back of the head ! Well the biggist friggin horse wreck-shit show of all times took place on that hillside trail - about 5 mins latter she finally stopped from exhaustion ! and the fact of all the rigging and ropes being tangled up in the bush and trees - It was a spectacular show to watch ! - Luckaly the horse was not hurt much -a few scrapes and bruises ! A hour and half later of cleanup and clam down we were on our way again ! I never let him tie anything on after that wreck ! LOL RJ

[proguide66]

I've been fortunate to be invited on four horseback hunts in the last several years. Every time the first few nights I sleep just like a baby. I sleep for an hour then I roll the wrong way and I moan and cry for a half hour from all the sore spots. It usually takes a few days for me to stop being such a wimp and toughen up.
There truly is nothing finer than riding a steady horse through pretty country.

you said it......its those momentst that make it all worth it. Everything in between usually is some form of suffering. I've taken many of my buddies out for pack trips over the years and they all think we are 'nuckin futs' for doing this. I had one guy last year equate it to taking toddlers camping.....constantly watching them, keeping them out of trouble and lengthening your ears at night listening to them.

I have to ask the guides/long packers one thing........do you watch the grazing horses like a hawk the whole trip? or do you eventually tire of it and just leave them be? PG66 mentioned death by "handcuffs" , this is what I fear the most.....and I don't sleep much on my 2-4 night trips. How are those horses dieing? Caught up with logs?
I sleep like a rock. It is what it is , they make for the highway , you go get em in the am....they usually go no more than a couple hrs ( when its serious) and hold up to eat and look guilty as hell when they see you.
We had a newby die from cuffs once. Couildnt believe it , he got both his hind feet up and through both his front , fell over and hung by a 1ft high 8" stump...layed all night basically downhill till the wrangler found him...ended up he broke a leg fighting it.
One other time I decided to go for a stroll after dinner to hang with the ponies and check em over. Walking through a patch of spruce( sheep country) here's this damned mare upside down on a trail.She picked a stupid place to roll and got in a depressiion that leaned her agaisnt a bank and couldnt get up! She would have been dead by morning had I not decided to go for a walk.
Tied a rope to her tail and drug her around with another horse...saved.
One other time was time to head for the highway , we were missing one. We about gave it up for wolf bait , went for 'one more' hike and here;s the damned thing standing there silent ( no bell either) wayyy up a burn and there was a 6" spruce root growing 4 or 6 inches off the ground for 2 ft horizontal. Damned horse threaded her chain links up to the butt of the root...done deal , couldnt move.
These stories are spread over 15yrs...very uncommon to kill em these ways. If the enitire string was my own I would have a bell on everyone of em , cuff the mares and the leaders and sleep like a brick , cut em all loose. 'Picketing' is for PUSSIES !!!..:-P We NEVER picket , unless a very rare ocasion where your stuck and have to sleep on a ram or something .