[pct-l] horse interests on the PCT

[ned at pacificcrestcustombuilders.com]

Many of us, hikers, fail to realize the depth of the relationship between 
man and horse as we haven't had the opportunity, nor desire, in some part, 
to allow one to develop. To find a good horse is priceless. The relationship 
is like a compassionate partnership, really, or a "best friend"; each 
looking after the other. In the "wild west," if someone stole or hurt your 
"best friend," the offense was punishable by death. In Arabia, the lead 
mare, the herd watchman, if you will, would spend the midnight hours in her 
owner's tent as he valued her ability to perceive danger approaching and 
knew she would waken him in such a case.

The relationship with a good horse can be like those we have with our dogs. 
Although one is prey and the other a predator, the relationship we can have 
with them, when they know they can trust us, is much the same.

This man was absolutely distraught with grief because he had just lost his 
best friend who had travelled beside him and had worked for him for months 
and miles. Each knew what the other needed and met that need without 
complaint.

"There's something about the outside of a horse that's good for the inside 
of a man!"  -was it Teddy Roosevelt?

Mtnned


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Diane at Santa Barbara Hikes dot com" <diane at santabarbarahikes.com>
To: <pct-l at backcountry.net>
Sent: Thursday, August 28, 2008 9:03 PM
Subject: Re: [pct-l] horse interests on the PCT


>
> On Aug 28, 2008, at 6:55 PM, pct-l-request at backcountry.net wrote:
>>> Would like to know if anyone recently has ridden the PCT (as much as
>>> possible) in it's entirety? Planning to do that in 09 and would
>>> like to make
>>> contact with equestrians.
>>> Gray-haired rider
>>> Susan
>
>> Dr York is a veterinarian and experienced horseman, and he still and
>> lost a horse in the Sierra. That is when I first heard of blowing up a
>> horse carcass as a way of "cleaning it up." I met some people who
>> helped him in Oregon, and they were (privately) appalled at the
>> condition of his stock when they met him. Then again, most thru hikers
>> are pretty lean and ratty by then too.
>>
>> He had a dedicated crew to bring him horse feed and water, especially
>> in the desert sections, and he trailered around snow sections. I
>> suppose a true thru-ride is possible, but it would be very difficult
>> and very hard on your stock.
>
> I met a man at the Heitman's house who had ridden his horses (he rode
> one and used another as a pack horse) from Kentucky or Tennessee
> across the Southern US and up the PCT and was planning to ride back
> along the Lewis and Clark trail. He lost one of his horses, the one
> he loved the most, on the Hat Creek Rim. It had become spooked by
> something and ran away. He searched for a long time before someone
> saw the dead horse below the Rim. He was really ruined by the loss. I
> never saw such a sad man.
>
> He had to skip a lot of the PCT because of snow and maybe other
> reasons I didn't catch, and find alternate routes all along his
> route. He told stories of following fences in Texas and coming to an
> impass and having to backtrack up to 50 or 100 miles to find another
> way. It sounds really difficult to travel by horse! I certainly
> couldn't imagine riding a horse over something like Forester Pass all
> half-way covered in snow.
>
> One thing he did not do was travel with light gear. He kept trying to
> give away heavy coats and things no lightweight hiker would ever use.
> He had used his second horse to carry so many heavy things. Maybe
> with ultralight equipment he could have done it with only one horse.
> But I don't know what is required when you travel by horse. Maybe
> living like an old-fashioned cowboy is part of the deal.
>
> His remaining horse, the pack horse, looked healthy enough. But he
> did not seem happy and said he was not having any fun. He kind of
> looked like nothing would be fun for him though, so your mileage may
> vary. You would have an interesting story to tell at the end, that's
> for sure.
>
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