Your first horse packing trips with one or two horses can be a learning experience and, like acquiring pack gear, can be an act of progress. A sturdy riding saddle, a couple of duffel or hockey bags, and a lash rope can do the trick. The purpose of this article is to help readers become familiar with basic pack gear and hitches.

We trail riders experience the contradiction: we live in the modern world but experience the solitude and loneness of a trail ride. And this quiet time spent with ourselves in the hugeness and solitude of the outdoors affects us differently, in ways that are unique to each of us.

As each riding season winds down I find myself reflecting on the ups and downs of the past season and make a short list of issues and concerns that need to be addressed. Each season the problem of horseshoes falling off prematurely ranks high on that list. Trail riders regularly describe their frustration with shoes that fall off after several days or even several hours of use. We can put a man on the moon but it seems that we can’t keep shoes on our trail horse’s feet!

If you are a trail rider or a hockey parent you have likely heard someone say, “Wow, does that horse/kid have heart!” But saying it is one thing and understanding it is another. If you have been riding in the hills or the mountains for a few years you may have experienced the difference between an average horse powering its way up a hill and a horse with exceptional “heart.”