I have haflingers - relatively short (14-15 hands), with stout legs and big feet. They are also rather round in the body and have low whithers and a flat back.

I'm going to put packs on them from time to time to carry gear, and more importantly,meat.

My question is whether a decker pack saddle would be better or worse than a saw buck saddle, given the size and shape of my horses.

Bear proof panniers have a certain appeal and are required in grizzly country so, to the extent that they are compatible with the type of saddle, that is a factor as well.

Finally, I see something listed as saddle panniers that appear to work with a riding saddle. Opinions?

Thanks,
Brent

It really comes down to how you pack a horse. Geographic area has alot to do with how horses are packed. And that has more to do with who taught you to pack horses.

Deckers have a following,but when you lookat how most people use a decker,they're just loading it like a saw buck anyway. Low withers isn't that big of a deal with saw bucks.

The riding saddle panniers are pretty much a waste of time. You've already got problems with low withers keeping a saddle centered. Hanging shit off the saddle isn't going to help things

Sledder,
I think I know what you mean. In WY where I was last week, saw bucks were cool, and deckers were yuppied.

I get the impression that in Idaho, deckers are cool and saw bucks are primitive.

Does geography matter for more than fashion trends? Steep vs flat for instance (lots of steep in both regions so far as I can tell).

The saw buck packer I was riding with was a fan of higher withers to some extent to avoid spinning a pack. So, I thought it might matter.

Brent

Anybody that deals with horses day in and day out is going to prefer horses with a good wither,because it makes their life easier. They have to adjust things constantly as it is and low withers just adds to things.
Most horseman will live with low withers on a horse,if the horse is a good animal and worth the extra hassle. Your BLM mustangs are notorious for no withers,yet a good mustang is worth having around,and dealing with.
On a dude horse,low withers is a real pain in the ass,because you get saddle shift and inexperienced riders won't take the time to adjust the saddle,resulting in a sore horse or even injured horse.

I've got a friend that guides in idaho and they use deckers. However most of them use modifications to the decker making it nothing but a saw buck. Then they tell you how superior it is to a saw buck.

This morning I shot a whitetail out back and decided it was a good, opportunity to introduce my horses to dead animals and blood, so after gutting the little buck, I went back and lead each horse out to the deer one at a time. Each of them approached from the downwind side and walked up to the deer, sniffing the gut cavity, nudging the deer, and each managed to step in the gut pile.

We stood around for a few minutes over the deer, and frankly, they looked bored. So, I led them back.

I later tied the buck to a fence post next to their pasture and one of them fell asleep next to it, after nudging it a few more times.

Both ended up with blood on their noses and neither seemed to much care.

I don't have a lot of opportunities to have the horses around large bloody critters, so is it "safe" to assume that these guys mihgt do alright with packing out an elk next year,provided I learn to properly load them with paniers and such?

Is there anything else I should do to acclimate them to the idea of packing dead animals?

What's everyones thoughts about about this outfit for saddles and panniers?

http://www.packsaddleshop.com/deckerps.html

I'm strongly leaning to bear-proof panniers, but not sure of what style just yet.

Brent

My friends and I do a lot of packing,and I can think of only one sawback among about a dozen pack outfits,all the rest are deckers,and these are people who make there living horse back.I think bear proof paniers would be a waste of money we use canvas and fiberglass.There is a guy in Livingston runs the yellowstone boot co. he has the best prices on deckers and panniers of anyone I have found.I cant emphasize enough how important a scale is and keeping your load balanced,sometimes when coming out we use rocks to balance with.A good leather punch along w/copper rivets can be invaluable.w/regards

Gopher,
Keeping in mind that I'm a total novice - three weeks ago I was packing with one of my old students who is now a wildlife biologist for WY G&F. Along the way we ran into the game warden as well. Both of them pack with sawbucks. Probably for more days per year than the average hunting outfitter. They claim that most everyone in WY, or at least the regions that they frequent (or have been posted to in the past) use sawbucks. So, seems like a regional preference.

The bear proof paniers or some other bear proofing methods must be used in some areas and the Absoroka's are loaded with bears like no other place I've ever seen and "bear-rules" are in effect there and many other regions. Not sure what they entail, but bearproof paniers look a lot easier than hanging packs in spruce trees. I've done way too much of that...

Brent

The bear proof panniers work,but they're dowside is they are rigid. They don't conform to odd shaped loads. I've seen more guys carrying booze in them then food and neccessary shit.