Ann,

Hunting with horses is very rewarding. Even more when they are your own.

The number of horses depends on:
-the distance you are going. The farther you go, the more horse feed and groceries you will have to carry.
- the size and number of game animals you are going to hunt. It takes horse power to haul weight. Add this to the distance you will travel.

When I hunt sheep, I take my saddle horse and two pack horses. I can go almost any distance. One pack horse carries my grub, tent, extra clothes, stove... mabe, cooking gear, etc. The other pack horse will carry grain and hay, etc. Lots of horse power to spare. I could squeeze a caribou on, or a bear if I had too.
For moose or mixed bag hunts, I like to take 3 to 4 pack horses. If I have to go a long way in, I may pack to the nearest lake and have a plane come in to fly the meat out.
Just like a hunting caliber or horsepower in your pickup, I like to have a little more than the minimum required to get the job done.
I agree with Ray, a 4x4 with a camper would be a better set up.

Gear:

I like to travel as light as possible. My personal hunting gear list is quite small compared to most of the people I have met.
You will need a pack saddle, pack boxes, saddle pads and blankets, halter and lead rope, tarp for top pack, hobbles, and a lash or diamond rope for each pack horse.
It dosen't hurt to carry a set of soft packs that you can tie on to your saddle if you need the horse power. I have wrapped elk 1/4's in tarps and just slung them on my saddle horse.
I will carry and extra tarp. It takes no room, really, and it is nice to cover your tack at night.
It is not a bad idea to throw in some tools with your cooking gear in case your horse throws a shoe.

I feel that one would learn alot on a guided hunt on horse back. People that spend months at a time working with horses out in the bush every day do things a little different than the horse hobbiest or some ranches.

Anouther thing to consider is the training of hunting or bush/pack horses. I have seen well trained ranch horses not do so well in the bush. Some that did not survive. These are extreme circumstances, though.

There is a new book, hot off the press, that I think that would be helpful is:
Trail Riding, Packing & Training
by Stanley Walchuk JR.
www.bcoutfitter.com
Box 758
McBride, British Columbia
V0J 2E0

This book has old pack and training tecniques with modern gear. Colour pictures to boot.


Daryl

I use to really like large horses. But, as I get older it gets tougher each year to get on and off a tall horse. Especially when you've got on long underwear and a full set of wool clothing. And, good luck tying a diamond hitch after yo load that 18 hand horse!

That's the problem with him, fitting equipment. At least the big ones like him have a smooth stride, that's why I like them. He's easy to get on if you have a rock, car, stump, etc handy.