I want to take our two horses camping a few times this summer overnight. They are both sensible, tie well, and trailer well. We are looking at staying within an hour from home the first few times. (Lexington, Ky). Do you who are more experienced campers have any suggestions or things you would have known? We will be using a camp site and just riding out daily and back :). No packing at this point 
Bring at least 2x the amount of ice and hay that you think you need. This also applies to buckets.
Bring the gnat spray. And fly masks and sheets. The bugs can be notoriously bad when away from home, and so annoying to horses tied up or trying to eat.
Are you tying the horses to the trailer overnight, or have pens? Where are you sleeping?
Most of the camping areas that I frequent (Ohio) require the horses to be on high lines. (I find that the horses really do like the high line as they can move around eaisly and will even lay down to sleep over night.) You will need a plastic fork to keep your area of the high line clean and to rake the footing smooth if your horse decides to paw a hole. Also, before you take off on your ride, set a bucket of water in the sun. That way you will have warm water to sponge off your horses when you get back to the trailer. And, I second ehwaz in bring 2x the hay as they will really munch away whenever not out on the trail. Camping/trail riding makes for hungry, hungry horses!
I should add, for safty sake, braid a simple lugage tag into you horses mane with your contact info in case you should get seperated from your horse.
Find out if water is available and from what source (creek, spigot, cistern etc) and plan accordingly. Those hoses that shrivel up can be great if a spigot is available. I second the bug spray for everyone, ear nets, fly mask etc.
What kind of place is available to tie your horse or set up a small pen?
Even if you are only going out for the day, saddle bags or cantle bags (I carry both if I am going out for more than an hour or two) are a good idea.
I carry:
Fold up hoof pick (my ss gift from another cother!)
toilet paper in a zip lock bag
small first aid kit for horses and humans
fold up rain poncho
water and soda
apple nutrigrain bars (for me and my horse)
hard plastic sandwich case
zip lock bags of ice instead of just dumping ice in, for use for first aid if needed
trail maps or handheld gps
One word of caution, if your horse is not used to carrying saddlebags get them used to it before you try on the trail. Most of the stuff listed above fits in my cantle bag with the exception of the ice, water and sandwich case and I find horses generally accept the cantle bag easier than the saddle bags.
If you message me your email address I will send you a 5 page paper I wrote Called Camping with your horse. It provides alot of good info on what you need to bring, food ideas, etc.
Great! Thank you everyone… My boy eats hay like no bodies business so I plan a bale plus per day just for him. (He says it is hard work to move that draft body and my big butt all day). Heart’s. Can you email it to bry2@AOL.com? The places we are considering going have high tie lines. The draft horse will move a paddock around if it isn’t hot wire and has in the past walked out of a hotwire because the grass was better over there. So…to prevent him from wandering I think tying is best. I don’t like to tie to the trailer with fenders etc when they aren’t directly supervised.
Great! Thank you everyone… My boy eats hay like no bodies business so I plan a bale plus per day just for him. (He says it is hard work to move that draft body and my big butt all day). Heart’s. Can you email it to bry2@AOL.com? The places we are considering going have high tie lines. The draft horse will move a paddock around if it isn’t hot wire and has in the past walked out of a hotwire because the grass was better over there. So…to prevent him from wandering I think tying is best. I don’t like to tie to the trailer with fenders etc when they aren’t directly supervised.
Don’t tie them too long. If the horse’s nose can reach his shoulder, he’ll be fine overnight.
tie hay bags off the highline as well…where they can just reach them- or they will get entangled in them.
Make sure their leadropes have swivels on them or the ropes will get twisted.
The worst thing you can do with highlined horses is give them enough rope to literally hang themselves, or hook a hind foot through.
Second worst thing is letting them be tied too close together.
http://www.horseforum.com/trail-riding/using-highline-secure-stock-40737/
just emailed the article enjoy
We do 1-3 night camping rides (coming back to camp in the late afternoon) quite a bit and prefer portable electric pens for the horses. If you choose that route, my suggestion is that you set up pens at home and do some practice runs. I set mine up about a week before our first camp and ride to test out the system. Put them in it to remind them of the drill. Not everywhere you camp will have places for high lines. It’s less common here in the east.
[QUOTE=jazzrider;7554958]
We do 1-3 night camping rides (coming back to camp in the late afternoon) quite a bit and prefer portable electric pens for the horses. If you choose that route, my suggestion is that you set up pens at home and do some practice runs. I set mine up about a week before our first camp and ride to test out the system. Put them in it to remind them of the drill. Not everywhere you camp will have places for high lines. It’s less common here in the east.[/QUOTE]
I do the electric pens also. It is a way of life here as there really are very few places to high tie. We will go for a week at a time with the horses in electric pens. I always have more than one horse from my herd so even if one of mine gets out I never really worry about them going far. I know your situation may be a little different as you have one horse. I sometimes tie a glow stick in their mane so I can check on them easily out of my trailer window during the night.
I also set up the electric pen, have a tie out system (rope, knot eliminators, tree savers) and have a Tie-Rite system installed on my trailer, so I always have a way to contain my horse and never have to worry about what facilities a place might have.
I also have bucket hangers installed on the sides of my trailer, so I can hang a water bucket, hay back on the horse tie, etc and my horse is quite happy to eat, drink, and graze.
if there are no bathrooms, or if they’re too gross to use, I have used a dedicated bucket with cedar shavings in it in the privacy of my dressing room. I think you can even buy a toilet seat for buckets for more comfortable seating, lol.
cedar shavings are better than pine, as they have a strong enough odor to keep things pleasant enough, if you know what I mean.
also when I camped I preferred the horse space for my bed, as the gooseneck was cramped and too hot. I carried a foam twin mattress which was super comfortable and inexpensive.
I swept out the horse poo and shavings, used hay or shavings bales as a bed platform and for tables, and hung a mosquito net from the ceiling. my friends went the extra step and hung shower curtains along the inside walls to cover stains, i didnt bother.
I had a tiny little bedroom in there which was cozy and bug proof, and the mosquito netting was the envy of every other camper I encountered.
add a string of little lights and it’s super spiffy, lol.
my horses high tied well, and I used tree savers to minimize impact on the trees we used.
My husband and I go horse camping a lot. What everyone suggested is good but one thing to bring that I don’t see mentioned, is a way to dispose of manure. If there are no manure bunkers, bring a muck basket, fork, and industrial strength garbage bags - called contractor’s bags and you can get them at any hardware store - and load the manure in them and bring it home for disposal. Do NOT leave it at the trailhead or sweep out your trailer. Unless there is a designated spot for dumping it, bring it with you. Nothing will close trails to horseback riders faster than horse crap left behind.
Have a great time and don’t forget the bug spray.
stepping off my soap box
[QUOTE=quarterhorse4me;7557660]
…I sometimes tie a glow stick in their mane so I can check on them easily out of my trailer window during the night.[/QUOTE]
We started doing this last year too. SO helpful in the middle of the night when you peer out the window and want to see your horse safe and sound in the pen.
And yes – always understand the policy for manure disposal before you go. It varies location to location. But a manure bucket, fork, and a box of trash bags should be a normal part of your trailer/camp gear.
Oh, and BigPaintHorse, one of our guys is a 17.1 SSH who sounds a lot like your guy. He’s run through electric fences here on the farm in the interest of getting to the grass on the other side, but has always done fine with a well charged pen. We found if it’s hot enough for him to hear it, he respects it. Hence the reason we always do a test run before a trip. 
A friend actually had this happen 10 feet from her trailer and no one heard a thing. The horse laid down and got his lead wrapped around his back leg and when they found him the next morning he had struggled and his leg was cut to the bone and he was dead. I have been terrified of picketing ever since. We either rent stalls if available or if not set up small electric pen.
I have also seen two horses tied too close get wrapped around each other. Great suggestions Katarine.
If you’re camping somewhere with showers and toilets get a spot as close to the shower house as you can. Pick up a cheap pair of crocs or water shoes for showering. Check with the campground to make sure it’s okay if you plan on bringing in your own firewood. If you’ve got a battery charger for your truck, bring it just in case. Spare halters and lead ropes, and spares for your spares especially for your lead ropes. Duct tape and baling twine come in handy when you least expect it. Oh and did I mention lead ropes? Do a little googling and put together a quick list of numbers for vets nearby, stick it in your glove box. A spare bridle is always good to have on hand for parts and an extra saddle pad or two never hurts.
Check your tire pressure and fluids before you roll out and also make sure your spares are in good shape (for truck and trailer!). Also make sure you have the necessities to change a tire on both your truck and trailer. If you want to know how bad it sucks sitting on the side of the road kicking yourself in the ass waiting for a tow truck because the tire iron for your truck doesn’t fit the lugs on your trailer tires I can tell you. It sucks pretty bad. Invest in a jiffy jack. If you have one chances are you’ll never need it but if you don’t…
First aid kits, one for people and one for horses. If the camp has a quiet time respect it along with any other camp rules. If you aren’t familiar with the trails and there is no cell service where you are going a set of walkie-talkies can come in handy should you and your riding buddy get separated. Keep your trail map in a zip-lock bag in case you get rained on or end up in the water. Those things can get pretty dang confusing when the ink starts running. Rain gear tied to the back of your saddle, if you leave it in camp the likelihood it will rain while you are out increases twofold. Before heading out on your ride make sure anything you don’t want to get rained on is in the truck or the trailer. Don’t carry your truck keys on you while riding, find a discreet place to stash them (learned this one the hard way too). I just lock them in the truck and keep a hide-a-key in a wheel well on the trailer.
And above all else…have fun!
I bring vetrolin liniment and a sponge. That way the princess can have a nice sponge bath after a hard day on the trail. We also use electric fencing because Angel likes to lie all the way down on her side with head on the ground. I also have hay in a net available for her whenever she is in her corral. She likes to eat. Don’t forget electrolytes and salt lick (or can just add table salt to grain). Also baby wipes are very handy for cleaning up.
