Good Stories

My first real pack trip…

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I recently read a blog post by West Taylor, Extreme Outlaw Rides| Wild West Mustang Ranch, about his first pack trip. It recalled to my mind the first real horse pack trip I ever took.

It was 1977, and I was 18 and just about to graduate from high school in Tucson, Arizona. My dad was a Boy Scout leader over a group of boys, age 14-16 years, who were wanting to do a “super-activity” for the year. Early in the year they had decided (with a little input from their illustrious adult leader) to make a 100-mile horse pack trip through the White Mountains of Arizona that summer, after school let out. The idea was to give the boys an appreciation of what pioneers of the mid-19th century might have experienced. They weren’t very excited about it at first, but it grew on them. At the time, I think there were about seven or eight boys in the scout patrol.

The plan was for the boys to participate in a series of horsemanship and riding lessons, so they would be competent to handle their own mounts and gear throughout the pack trip. Dad asked me to help teach them. At first they all showed up and all went well, then the enthusiasm started to “peter out”, as they say. For a while there we had a hard time getting anybody to show up at all at the training sessions. Once Dad started them on food preparation, such as making jerky and dried fruits, the boys started getting into the spirit of things.

Somehow, Dad learned about a man in Mesa, Arizona, by the name of Jess Shumway, who had a whole string of horses he would “lend-out” to church groups for activities. Dad got in touch with Mr. Shumway and explained our situation. We ended up going to his place in Mesa and meeting with him. As advertised, Mr. Shumway had over 200 head of horses, all in various stages of breaking and training.

Dad talked to Mr. Shumway about the possibility of getting horses for the trip, having no idea what his terms would be. As it turned out, Mr. Shumway was willing to lend the horses to my dad for the trip, amounting to 30 horses, under one solitary condition: “I get to go too!” So, the deal was made. Jess would lend the horses, assist with the transportation of the livestock, with his stock trailers, and come with us on the trip. What a deal! Jess, I believe, was 65 years old.

A funny thing happened then. The patrol started to grow. By the time school let out and the date for the trip was fast approaching, we had twenty-two boys, all in various stages of their training, anxious to go on the trip. Now the problem was finding several adult leaders who could also ride horses for 100 miles. In the end, we found a couple who could trade off and ride portions of the trip. Dad asked me to come along as another “adult” leader. In truth, I think he needed to have another body along whom he knew he could depend on to help with the horses. I accepted the invitation, of course.

Dad and I busily put our gear together for the trip. Dad bought a couple crossbuck pack saddles and paniers. He bought himself a pair of Batwing chaps, then used it as a pattern to make chaps out of naugahyde for me and each of the boys. They were water proof, I’ll say that for them. We already had our saddles and horses. We planned on taking our two Quarter Horses and my sister’s appaloosa.

The day finally arrived and everyone was excited. We started early in the morning, headed for Mesa, where we loaded the stock into the several trailers, and started our caravan for the mountains. I recall that driving through the Salt River Canyon was a fairly slow and painstaking process, but we made it through without mishap. We arrived at the starting point of our pack trip, about 15 miles east of Show Low, Arizona, just off of highway 260, late in the afternoon. We set up camp and turned our livestock into a corral there at the campsite. Most of us were pretty bushed.

The following morning was when the fun really started. The plan was to be on the trail by about 9:00 am. The camp was stirring and abuzz with life and excitement. The boys worked over breakfast fires and cooking, and exploring, and about everything one can think of, except getting their horses and gear ready to ride.

We finally got them all herded up and going in the right direction – catching up the horses, picking out a mount for each, haltering, brushing, taking them to water, saddling…all the things we had taught them. I was in charge of riding herd on them and making sure everything was done safely and correctly. Boy, was that a chore. I figured out pretty quickly that very few of them had absorbed any of the information we had tried so long to teach them.

I remember watching Dad tie his bedroll on the back of his saddle, but then he got interrupted by a scout who needed a hand. He let go of it for a second and the bedroll unrolled off the back of the horse, spilling his bedding and clothing into the dirt. The horse didn’t like the unrolled sleeping back hanging off over his hindquarters and headed off bucking through the camp, tearing up Dad’s saddle bags and scattering his personal gear around camp. We got him settled down before anybody got hurt, got the clothing and gear gathered up, and the bedroll tied in place.

By this time, the boys were starting to doubt the sanity of all this. I spent all my time rolling, tying, and retying bedrolls, and unpacking and repacking the scouts’ packs, then tying their gear on the saddles, while Dad worked with getting the pack animals rigged up and loaded.

As I was diligently covering my task, suddenly a real ruccus broke loose right in the middle of camp. I looked up to see a pack horse in a full-tilt rodeo-quality buck, heading right through the middle of the camp, with ol’ Jess holding his lead rope and leading the way! Actually, Jess was trying his best to just get out of the way, but as he ran around in circles, the horse just happened to buck in his direction and followed him around. It was quite a sight. Boys, equipment, supplies, and gear were scattering in all directions! Eventually, the paniers went separate ways and the horse ran off and bucked himself out. So much for our eggs! We had gear and food and horse feed spread from one end of camp to the other.

As it turned out, to the best of my recall, here’s what brought on the rodeo. One boy came to my dad and told him something was wrong with his horse. It was trying to kick him. Dad guffawed and told him to just get him saddled up and quit messing around. Well, the kid came back a minute later and said he tried to take the horse to water, but it kept trying to kick him. Well, Dad got impatient, because there was a lot to be done and he couldn’t saddle all the horses for the boys, but he went to help this one boy (I was fully occupied helping others). Dad grabbed the lead and started to lead the horse off to the water hole, and by golly, it tried to cow-kick him. He quickly realized this horse wasn’t yet broke. He called Jess over and asked him about the horse. Jess looked the horse over and exclaimed, “Now, how did this horse get mixed into the stock? He’s not even broke!”  So, the decision was made to turn him into a pack horse.

They decided to blindfold him and see if they could get a packsaddle on him. That actually went ok. Then the paniers.  Surprisingly, that went ok, as well. Then Dad asked a couple of the adult leaders for a hand putting the cover tarp on the packs. That was his mistake. The two inexperienced men grabbed a canvas tarp and walked up behind this unbroke bronc and simply tossed it up on his back without a second thought. That’s what started the rodeo I described above.

Well, after the rodeo, we caught him back up, recovered and re-packed the gear and supplies in the paniers, and I went over to help Dad try him again. We blindfolded the young horse and had Jess hold his lead. We made sure the pack saddle was cinched up good, then, with me on one side, and Dad on the other, we simultaneously lifted the paniers onto the saddle. He stood for it. He didn’t like having the tarp pulled over the packs, nor did he like it when we cinched up the diamond hitch, but he stood for it. Once we got his pack tied on well, we let loose the blindfold. He went round and round a bit, but didn’t buck and with the weight of the packs he soon settled down.

By this time it was long after lunch. Most of the pack horses had been loaded and waiting for hours. They laid down where they were and waited. We finally got all the boys loaded up and mounted. By the time we rolled out of camp, it was about 4:00 pm. We had 22 Boy Scouts, five adult leaders (including Dad and myself), Jess, 34 horses, and one little donkey to carry Jess’ packs.

What an undertaking!

So that was the first day of my first real pack trip. Sort of baptism by fire. Sad thing is that we have lost all the pictures we took of the trip. Not a one to show for it. Good memories, though, and sometimes pictures can hinder the telling of a good story.

I’ll write up the rest of the trip in another post.

 

Great Western Trail, Western Trails

Roughed out my route through the bottom third of the state of Utah…

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After much consideration, and with advice from friends who have been there and done that, I have roughed out what I think will be my route through southern Utah up to Panguitch. It will go something like this:

After coming up out of the Grand Canyon, we’ll follow the Arizona Trail up to the AZ/UT border, with one small deviation. I think we’ll probably stop at Jacob’s Lake for a hot meal and whatever else we can get there. It looks like we’ll have plenty of water and grass for the stock, but a soda pop might sound pretty good about then.

A few miles north, the trail turns northeasterly and eventually intersects House Rock Valley Road at the AZ/UT border, or thereabouts. We’ll follow that road north to US 89, cross under the highway at the culvert, then continue north about another 8-10 miles, until we pick up Paria River. We’ll follow Paria River northwest to Sheep Creek, and follow that until it intersects with Willis Creek.

Pictures Jon Tanner has posted of Willis Creek, indicate that we’ll likely have to remove the packs from the pack horses to get them through a couple narrow passages in the canyon, but it’s just too intriguing to pass up.

We’ll follow Willis Creek up until it meets The Grandview Trail (GVT) near the eastern border of Bryce Canyon National Park. BCNP doesn’t allow horse packing or camping with horses in the park, and they have very tight restrictions on dogs, so we’ll be staying outside the park boundaries. The GVT will take us through country similar to Bryce and we’ll be able to see much of Bryce Canyon from not too much of a distance, so we won’t completely miss out on it.

The GVT follows the Paunsaugunt Plateau’s edge from BCNP, around the southern point, then back up northerly to Red Canyon, through which Route 12 passes coming down off the plateau. We’ll follow Rt 12 west to Casto Road and follow that on north to Panguitch.

Panguitch will be one of the major rest and resupply stops for us. My dad was born and raised in Panguitch. He and I talked for many years about making a horse trip from Tucson, AZ, then later from Eagar, AZ to Panguitch, but we were never able to put it together. Now that I have the opportunity, I couldn’t miss the chance to incorporate that segment into my Mexico to Canada ride. I am hoping that Dad can make the ride with me from Eagar, through the Grand Canyon, and up to Panguitch. He’ll be turning 81 shortly after our arrival there.

I’m deep into planning the next segment of the trip, from Panguitch to Strawberry Reservoir. I have a few details to figure out, but I should be able to post a rough draft of that segment within a few days.

One thing I have learned as I have planned my routes, is that looking at topographical maps on a computer is a frustrating and uncertain thing. Looks like I’ll be spending a fortune on maps before I make the trip. Not only that, but there are so many trails and optional routes in Utah, that I would not want to travel through it without actual paper maps with me. Besides, I have no doubt we will alter our routes here and there, as we go.

You see, I have this terrible illness. It’s called “What’s over there-itis.” Sometimes I just have to see “what’s over there”!

Roughed-out route in blue, route under consideration in orange
Roughed-out route in blue, route under consideration in orange

Click on the map to get a larger image.

🙂

Great Western Trail, Saddlery, Tack and Gear

Bork Saddlery Hardware

This morning I had one of the most pleasant conversations I’ve had in a long time.

I called Bork Saddlery Hardware to get some specific information before I order some saddle horns and a pair of Decker pack saddle arches. I needed to talk to Mr. Bork, so he would know exactly what I needed in saddle horns for the saddle trees I’m working on.

Mr. Bork casts his own hardware. I was especially taken with the bronze cast pack saddle arches, which he offers in both a “modified” version, which will accept both Decker and crossbuck style paniers, as well as original-style Decker arches. Very pretty. Rod Nikkel, of Nikkel Saddle Trees, uses these on his Decker pack saddle  trees.

Bork Saddlery Hardware
Bork Saddlery Hardware
NikkelDecker_pack_tree_2
Decker pack saddle tree by Rod Nikkel

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What I expected to be a short conversation turned into a chat that lasted most of 45 minutes, I guess. We talked about saddle horns, of course, then we talked about saddles for a while. Turns out Mr. Bork used to build saddles himself. He said one of his saddles recently turned up in South Carolina. The owners saw the maker’s mark and called him to get information about it. Mr. Bork said the saddle was still in excellent condition after more than 50 years. He was obviously proud of his saddles, but he hasn’t made saddles in quite a while.

We talked about old-time saddles and how they were made to fit slimmer and less muscular horses than we normally see nowadays. We talked about restoring and rebuilding old saddles. He was a wealth of information about restoring life to old leather. In his younger days he would often take in old saddles as partial payment for other services, or as trade-ins on a new saddle. Then he would take the old saddles and rebuild them for resale. He once took in a whole load of old saddles from a ranch in British Columbia, Canada, rebuilt them and sent them back to the ranch for $25 apiece.

Here’s what he would do. Normally the stirrup leathers were shot, so in the trash they went. He would then cut new stirrup leathers from strips of leather from industrial machinery power belts he would purchase at a great price from a mining company in Alaska. They were made of very heavy leather, about 18 inches wide, and made excellent stirrup leathers, once he was able to get them straightened out!

He would also remove the skirts, which were normally in pretty poor shape, remove the fleece, and clean them up. He would put them in a bathtub with warm water and a bit of laundry detergent, and apply elbow grease with a stiff brush. By the time he was done, the water normally looked like chocolate milk. After cleaning, while the skirts were still wet, he would press them between heavy wood planks and set a heavy electric motor on the stack. He would take them out every day and pour sperm oil (it was cheaper than neatsfoot oil) over them. He said the secret, though, was that mold would form on the leather. He would clean off the mold every day and apply more oil. In his opinion, the reason the leather was so stiff and dry was that “it was dead”. The living mold infused the leather with life. As the leather dried, it would become as soft and pliable as new leather. I may have to give that a try.

Sometimes he would encounter a saddle with a broken horn. He would cut off the broken horn, make a new one, then cover it with rawhide and a latigo wrap. For a worn out cantle binding, he would remove the stitching and the old binding, then trim the old leather down a bit, making a regular cantle out of a Cheyenne Roll, and replace the binding with rawhide. He said it would reduce the cantle height by about a half-inch, but worked fine. Because he was selling these saddles to people who were looking for “economical” saddles, he would replace the fleece with thick felt. A lot of work for $25, seems to me.

Then the conversation turned to horses and pack horses, and pack trips. I told him about my plan to ride from Mexico to Canada, and my desire to make my own equipment. I told him about my efforts to plan a route and the hundreds of trails to choose from. He seemed genuinely excited about the trip. He encouraged me to document the trip as well as I can, so others coming behind may be able to follow the same trail. I told him I was doing my best and intend to use GPS and other means to document the trail as I go. We mused at what might have been, had Lewis and Clark had a GPS.

Somehow the conversation got around to how horses are healthy for people and that some people are now using horses for therapy for emotionally and physically handicapped people. We talked about that for a while. We decided that horses and dogs are probably more qualified as therapists than some of the people that claim that profession. I was captivated as he told me about his dog and how she waits for him every morning and is always excited to go with him. Seems we both share a love of horses and dogs.

We got back to saddles and saddle horns then. He asked whether I would consider a horn off an antique saddle, since I was rebuilding and duplicating one. He said he still has quite a few from old saddles he has taken apart over the years. I told him that as long as it was similar in shape and size, I would be happy with that. After all our conversation, I told him to take a look at the pictures of the broken saddle horn that I had previously emailed to him and to make his best judgment as to what I needed. I told him I’m sure I would be happy with that.

He’ll call me back once he has checked his stock of antique saddle horns. I’ll place an order for two pony saddle horns and a horn for the old Visalia saddle tree I’m duplicating. I’ll also order a pair of Decker pack saddle arches. I’m sure I’ll be happy with all of them. I certainly was happy with the conversation.

That was the best experience I’ve ever had with Internet shopping!

Great Western Trail

Made my decision for route through Arizona…

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After quite a bit of study and fingernail biting, I have decided to deviate a bit from the Arizona Trail/Great Western Trail for the first leg of my Mexico to Canada trip.

I have decided to start my trip at the Mexican Border a little east of Douglas, Arizona. There is a road there called “International Avenue” that follows the border. Just east of Douglas is the San Bernardino National Wildlife Preserve, where I believe I can start my trip. I’m sure I won’t be able to travel through the preserve, as it is likely to be fenced in, but I should be able to get fresh water there and start my trip a bit east of the preserve.

From there I will head north. It appears to be open range, so few or no fences. From Google Maps satellite view I can see there are water holes and ranches every so often, that I should be able to make it easily from one to the next. As long as I don’t miss too many, I should be fine. Departing in the early spring, there should be water in some of them and I can hit ranches as well.  That close to the border, I should be able to find well-traveled foot paths between water holes (haha!). I’ll hit I-10 at San Simon, where I’ll be able to cross under it at a bridged wash.

I plan to go north by northeast to the Chiricahua mountains. As I get into the mountains from the southeast, I should be able to cut into the Sky Islands Traverse trail near it’s beginning. I will follow it north until I get near Mt. Graham, where I’ll turn east and pass south of Safford, picking up the Gila River and following it up to Morenci/Clifton.

I will continue past Morenci/Clifton, following the Gila River, until it forks, then follow the Blue River north to the Blue Wilderness Area. I’ll take a break at a friend’s place there on the Blue for a few days, before taking Foote Creek Trail northwest to Hannigan’s Meadow.

From Hannigan, I’ll do a combination of road-following, logging roads, and cross-country north to Eagar, where my folks live. I’ll take another break there to rest up the horses and resupply. I expect it will take me about three weeks to get this far.

I expect I’ll pick up a couple family members there to ride with me a while. I’ve invited them to ride with me to either Show Low or Snowflake, depending on whether I decide to take the General Crook Trail to Camp Verde, or the old Mormon Honeymoon trail northwest, passing north of Flagstaff.

Either way I go from Eagar, I’ll meet up with the Arizona Trail/Great Western Trail at the end of that leg.

Once I meet up with the AZT/GWT, I’ll follow it north, resupply at Flagstaff, then on to the Grand Canyon.

I’m looking forward to crossing the Grand Canyon more than any other single portion of the trip. My dad and I have talked about crossing the Grand Canyon on our own mounts since I was in high school. I’ve invited him to accompany me on this leg of the trip.  In fact, he’s decided he wants to make as much of the trip as he physically can. He’ll be turning 81 about the time we reach the Grand Canyon.

That will get us through Arizona. I estimate it will be a little over 800 miles. The AZT measures 801 miles from the Mexican Border near Nogales, to the Utah state line near Jacob’s Lake.

Now that I’ve made those decisions, it will be a matter of collecting maps, researching the route more closely, making contacts, and finalizing the plans.

Propsed route in red. Alternate in blue
Proposed route in red. Alternate in blue

On the map, my proposed route is in red. The alternate route on the Mormon Honeymoon Trail is in blue. The Honeymoon Trail follows the Little Colorado River and much of it is on the Navajo Reservation, so that would require some special permissions. May not be able to do that route, but it would shorten the mileage a bit.

Only four more states to figure out.

Tack and Gear

Spent a little time in the workshop this afternoon…

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It was a cold, rainy day today, so I couldn’t get some of the things done that I needed to do, however, that presented a great opportunity to hide myself away in the workshop for a few hours.

I got a good fire going in the stove, water in the coffee pot on top to heat for hot chocolate, and started looking at the myriad of unfinished projects I need to finish.

I decided the most worthwhile thing I could do, with the limited time I had available, was to start building some jigs I will need as I get my saddle-making hobby underway. If you have been following my blog, you know I have been in the process of rebuilding several saddle trees for some time now. I am at the point now that I need some jigs in order to be able to make and duplicate some of the parts.

I need a jig to help me cut the proper angles on the cantles, where they join with the bars. I need another jig to help me cut the proper angles on pommel and cantle cuts on the bars. I need another jig to help me cut the proper arch and twist into the bars. On top of that, I need a stitching horse to help me with the hand-stitching I’m going to be doing.

Well, it took me a while to get rolling, as I tend to overthink things before I get started, but I got a couple things done.

Cantle-cut jig
Cantle-cut jig

I made this cantle-cut jig out of scrap 3/4″ birch plywood I had laying around. I think it is going to work ok. I just have to figure out how to set the proper angle before I start cutting on the bandsaw.

Stitching clamp
Stitching clamp

I also cut out the clamp for my stitching horse. I glued-up three pieces of 3/4″ oak, squared it up on the jointer, then cut it out on the bandsaw. I think it turned out pretty well. I made it according to several photos I have seen on the Internet. I’ve never actually seen a stitching horse before, other than in photos. I made it stand 17″ above  the bench, which is just below my eye level. That should allow me to work within my reading glasses’ focal range, without having to bend over. Hopefully that will save my back a little.

The stitching clamp needs to be smoothed out a bit and have some finish put on it. I will build the bench part later this week. I still need to get a buckle for the tensioner strap and a 3″ hinge for the clamp.

I’m looking forward to getting theses jigs done. I would like to be able to get started on the saddles.

A rainy day well used, I think.

 

Tack and Gear

Just received an order from Trailhead Supply: Feedbags

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I just received a couple of nose feed bags from Trailhead Supply. I ordered a nylon mesh one and a canvas/leather one to see which I like better. Both have tags indicating they were made by Richland Yellowstone Mfg., Sidney, MT.

2013-02-20 17.35.49

The mesh one seems to be made well. It has a canvas bottom and the mesh is sewn to the canvas in two places, one line of stitch low down and another near the top of the canvas, which I would suppose would add to the durability. The mesh seems to be made of thin woven vinyl lace, which appears to be pretty durable. My only concerns are the single line of stitching holding the straps to the bag and the plastic buckle. Never liked plastic buckles. A good buy at $14.95, I thought. We’ll see.


The canvas bag was a bit more expensive, at $21.95, still a good buy, comparing at $39.99 from another supplier. I would have to believe this bag will be more durable than the mesh bag, being as it is made of heavy canvas and leather. Feels like maybe a #6 canvas with high-quality leather straps and bottom, which I like. I also like the steel adjustment buckle. It won’t fold up as quite small as the mesh bag, and it’s a little heavier, but there’s not enough difference to be a decision maker. The one concern I have with the canvas bag is that the breathing panel is situated too close to the bottom of the bag for my taste. I have seen horses stop feeding in a bag, because their breathing was restricted. I’m not sure the breathing panel wouldn’t be covered up with three or four pounds of alfalfa pellets in there. If the maker were to raise the air-hole panel up about two inches, I wouldn’t have any complaints.

I’m going to give both of these some use and see which I like best. I’ll report back later.

Horse Health, Western Horsemanship

Chronic Cribbing in horses

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Cribbing, not to be confused with simple wood chewing, is a stereotypical behavior in horses, in which the horse places its upper front teeth on an object and applies down pressure. As it does so, the horse makes a belching sound, then relaxes for a few seconds, before doing it all again. The primary theory behind cribbing, is that the action of applying pressure with the front teeth allows the horse to suck in a gulp of air, which somehow causes the release of endorphins in the horses system, causing a pleasurable sensation. In other words, it’s an addiction. It is considered an unsoundness in horses and causes the buildup of the lower neck muscles in some horses, which can be somewhat unattractive.

Cribbing has also been linked to other equine ailments, such as stomach ulcers, colic, flatulence,  and other nervous obsessive behaviors.

Treatments for cribbing, over the years, none of which has enjoyed any consistent degree of success, involves everything from simply giving the horse more pasture time, to the wearing of restrictive cribbing collars, and even surgery to cut certain nerves and muscles in the neck to make the horse unable to crib.

Interestingly, as I have read various articles about cribbing, I only found one reference to any scientific data regarding the behavior.  Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine, Boston, MA, a number of years ago, experimented with injecting horses with a drug that blocks endorphins in the horse’s system. They saw a marked decrease in the horses’ cribbing while the drug was actively being administered, however the horses returned to cribbing once it wore off. That is the single reference of any kind I was able to come up with in support of the endorphin addiction theory, despite the fact that this theory has been considered doctrinal in veterinary medicine for years.

I recently came across the abstract from a paper on cribbing that indicated the belching sound one hears as a horse cribs, may be an actual belch. The study said that evidence had been produced to indicate that feeding highly concentrated feed, such as grain or sweet feed, may cause some horses to experience gastric discomfort, and that the act of cribbing may actually allow the horse to belch and release gas pressure inside the stomach, or it may stimulate the salivary glands, sending saliva into the stomach to bring relief. I could not find the link for the study again to post it.

In light of this study, it makes sense that cribbing would be associated with ailments such as ulcers, colic, and flatulence, not as a result of the cribbing, but as a result of the gastric distress caused by a sensitivity to the feed. I found an article here from the ASPCA, that discusses cribbing in more detail and more authoritatively than I can.

Robbie cribbing on his favorite pipe fence
Robbie cribbing on his favorite pipe fence

A horse I help care for is a chronic cribber. He’s 21 years old and has been cribbing pretty much all his life. He has lived with a cribbing collar much of his life. His front teeth are worn short. He has selected a section of steel pipe fence as his favorite cribbing tool and has actually bent the pipe flat where he cribs. While cribbing he becomes so intent on what he is doing that it is hard to drive him away from the pipe fence section, and as soon as he can get around me, he goes right back to it. In the picture, you can see he is cribbing with full force, despite his tightly fitted cribbing collar.

Not long after I read the above-referenced abstract, we had a cold snap here in Virginia. I told the owners of the horse, whose son is responsible for feeding the horses, to start feeding a couple quarts of “sweet feed” (a grain feed with molasses mixed in) in the evenings, along with their normal ration of hay, to help them deal with the cold. A few days later I went by to check on the horses and found this particular horse at the pipe fence cribbing. It suddenly dawned on me that I hadn’t seen him cribbing for many months, until then. I contacted the owners and suggested we increase the horses’ ration of hay and stop feeding the grain. I went by this past week to ride my horse and check on the other. He was calmly grazing out in the pasture.

He came up to the barn as I brushed and readied my horse for the ride. I removed his cribbing collar and tossed him a couple flakes of hay (orchard grass). I took my horse out for a 2-hour ride. When I returned, the horse was again calmly grazing in the pasture. As I unsaddled and worked on my horse for a few minutes, I watched the cribber. He walked up to his favorite pipe fence section and placed his mouth on the fence, as he normally does when he cribs, but only tried it once or twice and quit, neither did he do it with the strength he normally does (which bent the steel pipe fence), then he went right back to grazing. It appeared he tried the cribbing out of habit, rather than out of an addictive need.

From my own experience, I think I can safely say that for this particular horse, the endorphin addiction, if any exists, is less the cause of his cribbing than an upset stomach from feed that is too rich for him. Just as there are people who have sensitivities to milk, eggs, and other things that most of us enjoy, it makes sense to me that some horses may have similar intolerances to certain feeds. For this particular horse, it appears that grains and sweet feed cause him sufficient discomfort that he cribs to relieve it. When he is fed orchard grass hay he does not crib, or better said, he only does it occasionally, apparently out of old habit.

While my findings are neither scientific nor conclusive, at the very least it appears to me there may be sufficient reason to question current theories regarding chronic cribbing and to warrant further scientific study.

Here is a video of this particular horse cribbing:

http://www.youtube.com/my_videos_edit?ns=1&video_id=BTV6OalpscY

 

Good Stories, Western Trails

A great memory from a trail ride a long time ago…

A post on the facebook page for Horse Trails and Camping Across America, just sparked a memory for me from my youth. It is one of my most cherished memories and has had a strong impact on my life.

When I was sixteen years old, my father took my younger brother and me on a deer hunting trip into the Blue Wilderness Area of eastern Arizona. Since we were living in Tucson, Arizona at the time, it was quite an expedition for us. We packed up our cabover camper and our 6-horse stock trailer and three horses and headed out.

The drive took nearly all day long, and we arrived at Alpine, Arizona late in the afternoon. We took Red Hills Trail down into the Blue, toward the Blue River, stopping about 3/4 mile above the river at a level spot large enough for our rig to park. We set up camp there and spent the next couple days riding out from there.

My dad took my brother with him and I spent most of my time hunting alone. I would ride the horse to a likely looking spot, tie her to a tree, and hunt on foot. My dad had taught me how to “Navajo” to sneak up on unsuspecting deer, so I spent a lot of time sneaking around trying to be quiet. Didn’t see a thing, of course. On the second evening, Dad killed a deer, but it was too late in the day to get it out. He hung it in a tree and left it overnight. The following morning, he and I rode back in to get it.

We rode our Quarter Horses, and led a Half-Arab greenbroke fillie to pack the deer out. We had no idea how she would react to the smell of blood. When we arrived at the deer, we blindfolded the fillie. I held her while Dad worked on getting the deer up on the saddle and button-holed to the horn (we had no pack saddles or paniers at that time). The fillie stood still and caused no problems. Then my dad started tying the front and hind legs of the deer forward, near the front quarters of the fillie. She turned her head around and started sniffing the deer’s bloody hooves. We stood on-guard, not knowing what to expect. She sniffed a few seconds, then took a big old bite out of one of the deer’s feet! The next thing we know, she’s sniffing my dad’s bloody hands (bloody from getting the deer tied onto the saddle), and she takes a bite out of his hand! Well, we stopped worrying about things and removed the blindfold. We figure we had a carnivorous horse on our hands.

We started back toward the camp with dad leading the fillie and me bringing up the rear. Since we had no trail to follow, we just picked our way back. We eventually found ourselves facing a bluff, with no way around without having to go a long way around. You really couldn’t see much farther than a few feet anyway, because it was so thick with trees and brush, so picking a trail was essentially picking the best way through what was right in front of you. So, we started picking our way up this sandstone bluff. At one point the horses had to jump up a step about eighteen inches or so, then immediately jump up another one about the same height. Dad’s 16+ hand Quarter Horse handled it without problems, but when the fillie made her try, that’s when trouble started.

The fillie made the first step, but when she made her try for the second one, the deer on her back settled to the rear and pulled her over backwards. Over back she went, off the first step, and continued rolling head-over-heels down the steep bank for another thirty feet or so, ending up on her back with her feet uphill and her head against a tree. She was scared and shaking and wouldn’t move to try to get herself up.

We parked our horses where they were, tying them off to whatever we could find, and jumped down to help the poor fillie. We cut the deer off her, then got her saddle cinch loosened. We got the saddle off and checked her all over. Luckily, there were no serious injuries. In fact, she wasn’t all that beat-up, but she was so scared she wouldn’t try to get up. We ended up tying a rope around her neck and snubbing it off to a tree to give her something to brace against. We got her legs turned downhill, and she finally got up. After letting her rest and calm down for a few minutes, we saddled her up, tied the deer back on, and made our way on up the bluff and back to camp without further incident.

The last day of our hunt, Dad had a treat for us. He left my brother and me with the horses, while he drove the truck and trailer up to the top of the Blue. Then he hitch-hiked back down to us, so we could ride the horses up out of the Blue on a primitive trail. We were excited. Then Dad got back and we started saddling up. Turned out we had forgotten our bridles. They were still in the trailer.  Oh well, we just made-do with halters.

The trail was, I believe, called Red Hills Trail, like the road. I doubt you can find it anymore. It was not maintained even then. You could see the trail for the most part, but often you had to look for the old blazes on trees every 50-100 feet. We ascended from about 4,500 feet to around 9,000 feet in about seven or eight miles. It was a tough trail, and pretty scary in a few places, for kids like my brother and me, but we trusted Dad and the horses seemed to take it all in stride.

We arrived at a place that leveled out for a bit at around lunchtime. I remember it because there were juniper trees there that must have been several hundred years old. Some were as much as six feet in diameter. There was grass for the horses and a beautiful vista that spread out before us. Dad pulled out a large can of Van Camp’s Pork and Beans for lunch. Then we noticed we had forgotten to bring spoons as well. Not to worry! Dad pulled out his trusty Buck pocket knife and whittled out a wooden spoon for us. We sat there in the sunshine, eating pork and beans with a wooden spoon, listening to the horses quietly munching grass in the background, and the world was right, just for a while.

I don’t remember much about the rest of the ride, except that we were a couple of tired, but proud boys when we arrived at the trailer that evening. None of us have ever forgotten that meal with the wooden spoon. It has become a tradition in my family to eat pork and beans (and other canned foods) with a hand-carved wooden spoon on campouts and pack trips, in honor of that lunch meal on the side of a mountain in the fall of 1975.

That trail ride was the beginning of my love of horse packing.

Thanks, Dad.

Great Western Trail, Tack and Gear

Pack Saddles: Crossbuck vs Decker

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I’ve been busy remodeling the master bathroom in my house these past couple of weeks. Doesn’t leave much time for messing with the horse or working on the saddles. I’ve been trying to do some research on pack saddles, though, in the early morning and evening hours.

Since I’m going to have to put together two pack outfits for the trip, and likely have a third for a stand-by, I’m trying to decide whether to go with Decker-style pack saddles or the old standard Crossbuck packsaddles.

I have been using Crossbuck pack saddles and Utah-style paniers (big, open grocery sacks made of canvas and other tough materials), since I was in high school, so I had never even considered any other option for my Great Western Trail trip. As I started looking into suppliers for gear, though, I noticed that most of them seem to be carrying Decker-style pack saddles as their main fare and Crossbucks have taken second-seat. So, I have been asking around about the relative advantages and disadvantages of each.

Crossbuck pack saddle and rigging
Crossbuck pack saddle and rigging

The Crossbuck pack saddle has been around for a long time. I haven’t been able to come across anything that tells just how long they have been around, but suffice it to say that when one imagines an old miner with his pack donkey, in the pre-Gold Rush days, wandering around the west, dodging indians and avoiding civilization, he had a Crossbuck pack saddle on his pack animal.  The Crossbuck gets its name from its configuration: Crossed wooden “crutches”, normally made of oak or some other hardwood, attached to the saddle bars, traditionally made of Cottonwood, for the horse’s back. The crossed bars looked a lot like a “sawbuck”, which is a fixture made for cutting wood, consisting of two logs or wood beams, bolted or tied together crosswise, across which the wood to be cut was laid to hold it in place.

Modern Crossbucks are solidly glued and/or bolted or riveted to the saddle bars. They are normally rigged for double-cinches and use breast straps and breeching to keep them in place on the animal. An over-sized saddle pad, normally made of mohair or wool felt covered by canvas is used to protect the pack animal’s back. Modern Crossbuck pack saddle bars are carved to fit the animal much like modern riding saddles, however, when one looks at an antique pack saddle, one can easily imagine a sore-backed pack animal. Many antique Crossbuck pack saddles simply had wide, short, flat boards for saddle bars. The rigging of a Crossbuck pack saddle hasn’t evolved much over the years. It is essentially the same as it was 150 years ago.

In the late 1800s, came along the Decker-style pack saddle, which was developed to more easily haul odd-shaped loads while protecting the pack animal. Decker pack saddles were not named for the inventor, S. C. McDaniels, an old Arapajo packer from around the turn of the 20th century, but for several brothers named Decker, who saw the utility of the new style pack saddle and applied for a patent, which, apparently, was never granted. The name Decker stuck, however, and the saddle has had that name since the early 1900s¹.

The Decker-style pack saddle, rather than using wooden crossbucks, has steel bows, arches, or hoops (take your pick as to what to call them) to which the saddle bars are attached. Modern Deckers may have saddle bars made of wood or polymers, and they may be fixed or “self-adjusting”, or able to move to self-adjust to the shape of the pack animal’s back. Deckers have several hoop configurations, to satisfy varying needs of packers.

The original Decker hoops were simply arched hoops connecting the two saddle bars. The straps from the paniers (the bags that hold the loads) are buckled through the hoops, or are attached using Decker hooks.

A Decker saddle uses an oversized saddle pad, similar to the Crossbuck saddle, however, in addition, the Decker saddle uses an Arapajo, or Half-Breed (apparently in honor of McDaniels, who is said to have been part Arapajo), which is a padded canvas pad that lays over the pack saddle, protecting the pack animal, the saddle, and the saddle pad, from the chafing of the loaded packs. The Half-Breed has slits in it, through which the hoops of the saddle protrude, allowing the paniers to be attached over top of it. The Half-Breed also has side boards installed in pockets in the lower sides of if, which help distribute the load across the pack animal’s sides and further protecting it from the chafing of the load.

Many packers also utilize a “Quarter-Breed”, which is a piece of canvas, which lays over the Half-Breed, to protect it from wear and keeping it clean. Since the Quarter-Breed is simply made of canvas, it is easily and cheaply replaced.

Decker pack saddle and rigging
Decker pack saddle and rigging

The rigging of a Decker pack saddle is more adjustable than that of a Crossbuck saddle. Most Decker pack saddles I have come across have buckle adjustment available for every strap on it. A Crossbuck saddle’s rigging has few adjustments, outside of the tightening of the double cinches. The Decker’s rigging can be adjusted to move the cinch farther back, or forward, as well as use a single or double cinch. In fact, most of the Decker saddles I have seen come standard with a single cinch. Decker-style rigging appears to be more easily repairable, since it attaches to the pack saddle via D-rings, rather than being riveted or screwed to the saddle, as Crossbuck rigging normally is.

Crossbuck paniers, at least the ones I am acquainted with, have hanger straps that are simply leather or nylon loops sewn into the top edge of the panier. These loops are hung over the crossbuck to suspend the packs. Often there is no adjustment. They just hang where they are. You can adjust the way they hang a little by the way your diamond hitch is tied, but for the most part “they is what they is”, as they say.

Decker-style paniers are more versatile. They may have hanger straps, like the Crossbuck paniers, but they have buckles in them, so as to be able to unbuckle them and pass them through the Decker hoops. They can also be used on Crossbuck saddles, in the same way Crossbuck paniers are used, except that you can loosen or tighten the hanger straps to adjust the way the packs hang. This is useful in balancing a load, when necessary. Decker paniers can also be made, or fitted with, “Decker hooks”, which are brass, bronze, or steel hooks, made to hook onto the Decker saddle hoops. Decker hooks can greatly simplify the loading of a pack animal, particularly single-handed.

Decker hook
Decker hook

Decker saddles also lend themselves, depending on the hoop configuration, better than Crossbucks for “top packs.” While I have always simply loaded stuff on top of my Crossbucks, thrown a canvas tarp over the top, and tied it all into place with a diamond hitch, there are available a number of different styles of top packs, made specifically to load on top of the pack animal and the paniers. Top packs made for Crossbuck saddles are generally configured in an “H” pattern, allowing for the crossbucks. Top packs for Decker saddles are rectangular or square and have no need for the “H” shape, in most configurations, and therefore can have more space in them. Never having used one, I can imagine that it would be somewhat easier to pack and load a square pack than an “H” pack.

As for panier shape and configuration, Decker saddles are easily adaptable for a number of odd-shaped loads, from railroad ties, to hay bales, to regular Utah paniers. I have read of Decker saddles having shelves attached to them to facilitate the packing of lumber and other long, straight goods. While Crossbucks have been used to pack odd-shaped loads, over the years, the Deckers have proven to be more easily adapted and therefore more efficient. The original Decker brothers are said to have amazed many experienced packers with their efficiency in packing hundreds of tons of goods into the back country of Idaho in the early 1900s.

 

Now for costs. From my research, it appears a fully outfitted Decker-style saddle will run roughly $100 more than a similarly outfitted Crossbuck. The added expense is in the Half Breed and some extra leather in the rigging, with the option of adding a Quarter-Breed, if one wishes. I have recently (as of January 2013) found Decker pack saddle outfits from the low $500 to the mid $600 range, not including freight charges, if any.  A fully rigged (minus cinches) Crossbuck will average about $500, give or take $40 or so. Some sellers throw in a saddle pad with either type, which is nice and effectively lowers the price of the pack saddle outfit.

Now, before I close this post, there has, actually, been some innovation in pack saddles in the past several years. In my research, I came across the record of a patent application from 2003, by a man named Summerfield. He applied to patent a new style of pack saddle that seems to capture all the good of the Decker and Crossbuck saddles and combine them into one. The new saddle, in fact, has crossbucks, but they are made of metal, each having an eye at the top of the crossbuck, to which Decker hooks or ropes can be attached, as well as being configured to allow Crossbuck-style paniers to be hung over the crossbucks.

Summerfield Pack Saddle Patent Application, Google Docs

The Summerfield saddle bars are wider than either the Decker or Crossbuck bars, and are carved to precisely follow the contours of the horse. The saddle rides on an over-sized saddle pad that has pockets on the sides to hold the saddle bars. The pockets have a closure at the top that captures the bars and holds the saddle pad securely in place. The bars appear to be attached to the crossbucks in a manner that allows them to be adjustable, however, they do not appear to be “self-adjusting.” The saddle can be easily configured for either a double or single cinch, just as the Decker can. It appears a Half-Breed and Quarter-Breed could be fitted to the saddle, as well.

I can see where the Summerfield saddle and the Crossbuck might have one failing in common, that the Decker does not share. I have read on two different sites where the author has said that in the event of a “rollover” wreck of a pack animal, the Decker-style pack saddle is much more likely to survive in usable condition than a Crossbuck pack saddle. Due to the configuration of the Summerfield saddle, I would think it might suffer damage from such a wreck.

Having said all that, I have been unable to locate a dealer who carries the Summerfield pack saddle, as yet.

So, I guess the matter comes down to this: Tradition? Do it like my father before me…and with me…or practicality? While I still have leanings toward the Crossbuck (I just like old-style stuff), the practicality and versatility of the Decker-style saddles is winning me over.

Now, being retired, and not being, by any stretch of the imagination, wealthy, I must also consider costs. I have been in this mode for many years, due to a Chief Executive Officer in my home who is an excellent money manager, my good wife (she is the reason I can be retired at all), which has led me, in many instances, to attempt to build things I want. So I am contemplating whether I want to try to build a Decker-style saddle.

I have all the tools necessary. I have the know-how to use all the tools. The Decker-style saddle is quite simple. Much simpler to build than a Crossbuck, if one has the tools to do so. I have the leather working tools to make the rigging as well. The one fly in the ointment, so to speak, is the canvas Half-Breed. I would need to find a supplier who could provide two or three…not two or three hundred…over-sized 1″ thick mohair or wool felt saddle pads measuring about 32″ by 60″ or so. Dad has the sewing machine, back in Arizona. Good excuse to go see him.

So, here we go again. Another project for me to try my hand at. I’m looking forward to it already. I’ll keep you posted.

1. Information regarding the origins of the Decker saddle were taken from information on the Outfitters Supply website. Many thanks to Outfitters Supply for such an informative and well-executed website.

2.  Many of the photographs on this post were taken from outfitterssupply.com website. Others were from Google Images searches.

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