First LD next month! nervous about camping...

[BigHorseLittleHorse]

Just like the title says never camped before with this horse…

I keep going back and forth between a high line and a portable corral - can’t decide.

My horse ties very well… I can wrap his lead rope once around a fence rail and walk away, and as long as he has hay, he’s totally fine. When he pulls back, he instantly gives to the pressure. But I have no idea how he would feel about doing it all night. One website I was on suggested trying it at home for a night to see how it works, but I can’t figure out how to do it so he has company - none of the other horses at the barn would stand to be tied to a high line.

As for the corral, I don’t know if he knows what electric fence is, but I can certainly introduce him to it. He’s wimpy and ultra-sensitive, so I don’t think he’d challenge it. But I’m not sure how quiet he would be if he was loose vs. being tied up, and again, testing it at home could be kind of complicated.

So I guess I’m interested in hearing how others have approached the first-time camping situation. Which method do you prefer and why? Any suggestions for how I can test my set-up at home?

[Shadow14]

To me a high line is the most safe. NO horse can break free from a proper high line. It is far safer then any portable electric fence or corral. One night in a real thunder storm the whole camp had a stamped and the portable corrals were run down. The horses on high lines remain safe.
I run the high line with a swivel that can run along the line and use a neck rope and halter to keep the horse safe.

[Mtn_trails]

I agree about the high line. I go horse camping a lot and there are far more problems with portable corrals than with high lines and usually those problems are in the middle of the night. So everyone ends up awake while horse is running around causing trouble if he’s not dragging the corral through camp with him. I like the idea of using a swivel and letting the horse run the length of the line so he’s not stuck in one spot. However, I would put in some rings at either end so he can’t get close to tree roots and damage them. Also, don’t forget your tree saver straps. Most horses take to high lining pretty easily. I just go ahead and do it and unless they’re a total fruitloop, they figure it out fairly quickly. Don’t worry, and have fun!

[pj1]

Have to agree with the others. I don’t like the electric corral at all. I’d rather just tie to the trailer than to use them.

[DistanceHorse]

Electric Corral

I use a portable electric corral. I started doing LDs last year and started out by just tying my horse to the trailer at the first two rides. I slept next to my gelding in a tent. Then I got a portable corral and used it for the first time at last years Michaux ride. It worked really well and my horse even touched his nose to it to check it out. It delivered just enough of a shock to make him back off. We parked at the end of the field and he had a really lovely turn out area where he could graze and roll. At some of the rides there is limited area for corrals but even when I hauled three horses down to the Mustang Memorial ride we had tons of room. Basically if you park further from the action you will have more room for your corral. I have never tried a high tie but when I tied one of my geldings to the side of the trailer he pawed and pawed until he dug a hole to China. He didn’t dig when he was out in the portable corral. Pawing may not be a problem with a high tie. Not sure. If you go with a corral they take about 15 minutes to set up. I got one for about $150 new. It won’t last forever but if you go to the rides you will see some of the tape corrals have been tied and re-tied back together a jillion times from being broken. I have seen horses get loose from the corrals but not with any great regularity (this is the beginning of my second year riding LDs so I certainly am not an expert). Someone told me that a couple horses were loose at the last ride from an adjoining campsite but I never heard/saw them. If you use a corral place the top tape as high as it will go if your horse wears a blanket. He won’t feel the electric if he touches it with a clothed piece of his body. BTW-before I started doing LDs I had never people camped-let alone horse camped. It is the best thing ever!

[Painted_Horse]

I camp a lot with my horse. Used to do CTR and endurance. Mostly just hunting trips and camping trips now. I use both. During daylight hours, I like to put the horses out in a electric fence, So they can move about stretch, maybe graze. At dark I tie them. Either to a high line or a HiTie.

I like a Highine, Since I will sleep more comfortable in the trailer with out the horse tugging or bumping the trailer.

I do put out hay for the horses to eat all night. this seems to help pacify them. It’s the night before the ride that is more of a problem. they are more nervous. After the ride, they are tired and more willing to just sleep.

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p259/Painted-Horse/2008/Jackson%20Lake/GirlsTrip554.jpg
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p259/Painted-Horse/2008/Jackson%20Lake/GirlsTrip247.jpg
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p259/Painted-Horse/2008/Hunting/Hunting08004.jpg

[Shadow14]

Str![](der tied to a high line showing the swivel and slider so he is free to walk along the high line. He is also wearing a neck rope which he could not possibly break if he paniced. Neck ropes are very popular hear because of the amish. It was a cold cold rainy night so he is wearing a rubber rain coat.
[IMG]http://i42.tinypic.com/oqlq2t.jpg)

[JackSprats_Mom]

testing it at home could be kind of complicated.

how come?

I did that with my guy before I ever took him to a ride just to make sure he was ok. I put him in his corral in a field (in case he got out) and he was a’ok.

I put mine in a metal corral normally but this time I’ll be putting him in an electric fence pen.

[gabz]

Here’s a good place to get neck straps
www.hobbleman.com
The reflective ones are the best … These have a excellent hardware and are lined with neoprene.

If your horse is okay being tied for several hours to your horse trailer, he will be just fine on a picket line. I stick tiki torches into the ground around my camp site and fill them with the citronella to repel bugs. I put one behind where my horse is, so that if I look out my trailer window, I can see if he’s okay on the PL.

Practice tying him on the PL with a hay bag during daylight. Take a recliner chair and a book and haul him someplace if you have to. I try to always hang my bag from the post, not the picket line, because when they pull hay out, they stretch the PL.

I use the EZ Ratchet for my line. I also use the tie-safe cross tie on the picket line. It’s the velcro lead. If he does “get away”, he still has the tag end hanging from the collar or the halter (I use a leather halter on one horse).

[Icecapade]

For you picket people…

how do you picket w/ no trees?

We have always done panel corrals and have never had issues. Ours were made for us, no rods to try to balance no chain to fuss, we used clamps and butterfly nuts.

Now I don’t have the ability to have panels made and my guy can handle tying but for so long ( I don’t think I’ve ever had him tied over night, he will paw sometimes)

So I have no issues w/ picket, except how do you deal with no trees?

[sign_of_Grace]

I was nervous too…my guy is a 17.1H 1400# warmblood who loves to spook at, well, everything. He is ok to tie but when he sits back, look out. I had reservations about the whole line tie concept, but he did fine. The second time out camping, he actually laid down on the line. Never sat back, never got caught up. Good luck.

[Simbalism]

First time I went camping with my horse the place happened to have some stalls. So I put her in one of those. She was such a b***h the next day to ride because she is used to being out 24/7. The next time I went camping(happened to be the same place) I decided to get the stuff to put together a portable electric paddock. I figured if she wouldn’t tolerate it she could go back in the stalls as a last resort. I never had a chance to set it up at home, so went with it and set it up at the campsite. No problems. In the first pic we were camping at weekend trail ride. Someone’s horses got loose during the night and she was fine with all the mayhem that insued. http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3039/2966657014_b0531348e4.jpg Here is another pic of her hanging out before I hit the sleeping bag.http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3205/2949233708_75ae2d5f03.jpg

[Auventera_Two]

My horse wouldn’t touch an electric fence if her life depended on it. So she stays in a corral at rides:

http://www.hphoofcare.com/soaked%20at%20palmyra.jpg
http://www.hphoofcare.com/grandisland.jpg

I use a bunch of step-in plastic posts (about $1.50 each) and a roll of white tape. The fence charger was about $50 I think. The whole setup was right around $100 ish. Set your excess roll of tape inside an empty water bucket. It keeps it safe, and insulated. It takes 20 mins. to set up and take down the paddock.

The first two rides I did, I also tied my 2 mares to the trailer. That worked fine, they had no problem. But I took a hint from somebody that posts here and my husband made a wheel cover out of plywood for my trailer. They can paw and break the stems off the tires, then there you sit with a flat :eek:

But I found that my horse is MUCH more comfortable and happy in a paddock. She eats better, lays down, rolls, drinks. She was ok at the trailer because her buddy was there, but she’d never like it if she had to stand there for 2 days tied up, alone.

If I were going to tie, I’d do a High-Tie that swivels and moves so they can walk around and lay down and all that. I would not tie to the trailer as a permanent solution.

When a neighboring horse ripped down his paddock and ran through my horse’s paddock, tearing hers down too, she came to the truck and stood by me instead of running off with him. She is really bonded to her mum. I set up her paddock so that it butts up near the trailer because she wants to stand close to me. She’d really love it if I pitched a cott inside the paddock with her so she could crawl inside my sleeping bag. :rolleyes:

[Auventera_Two]

@Icecapade;3965511

how do you picket w/ no trees?

Some ridecamps have large posts set up. You can see that in one of the pics I posted above. Other people use one tree, then their trailer as the other end of the line.

But different parks have different rules about tying to trees - and a lot of them don’t allow it at all.

The people I’ve seen who tie up their horses use one of the springy arms that attachs to the side of their trailer.

[Movin_Artfully]

If you are only hauling one horse- park within proximity to someone else’s trailer where your horse can see them. It does wonders to calm nerves. If you are hauling with an experienced horse- they will be fine. Horses are used to sleeping in the dark/outside- it’s just that you aren’t

I personally have had no luck with electric paddocks. If you are dead set- I’ll sell you mine with some horror stories My vote is for the picket or the trailer. How fun…good for you!

[katarine]

I’d get one of those Hi Tie swing arm things if no trees are available.

Highlines are my preference. Learn your knots so it’s easy on you and it means less/no hardware. Take tree savers. Bell your horse if that makes you feel better- you’d hear them if things got western out there.

personally, I don’t like portable corrals-too much stuff to haul around and fool with and I’ve always got 2 horses to fool with. I just highline and forget it. I just think highlines are simpler and easier. My 4 YO spent her first night on one and laid down to sleep, no worries. You can run a second line right with it to hang the hay bags from if you like, so the horse line doesn’t want to sag under the weight.

[Auventera_Two]

Paddock vs. tie is totally an individual thing. I had much more worry with tying. I don’t worry a minute with a paddock. You could string up a line of dental floss and my horse would not go near it. Clearly some horses don’t respect it, and they tear through it and take off. Every horse is different. At a ride last year, the same gelding tore his paddock down TWICE. The first time, the electric was on. The second time the owner said the electric was OFF because she thought the ‘ticking’ of the charger was what spooked him in the first place. Sheesh. The first time, half of ridecamp was searching for him for 3 hours. The second time, we searched for another 2-3 hours. Between the prison breaks, the owner did have him in the trailer for awhile, where he pawed and kicked and kept everybody awake. So she finally put him back in the paddock and he made another break for it. Nobody got any sleep that night. So that’s a horse I’d never put in a paddock again.

But at a different ride, the horse next to us broke his leadrope while he was tied to the trailer and took off. I also watched my friend’s gelding set back and fight till the rope broke when he was tied to a tree in her backyard. So each person has to know their own horse, and their tendencies. I tie my 3 hard and fast, regardless of where they are and I’ve never had a problem. Some horses can’t handle that though.

FWIW - I’ve hauled 3 horses and kept them in the portable paddock and had no trouble. I tied them up to the trailer while I put up the paddock. As for the time involved, I don’t mind because I like to get to ridecamp early enough to go at my own pace and just relax. There’s not exactly TV and internet for the hours that you’re sitting in your camp, so I don’t mind the extra task.

[saratoga]

The electric corral would be my last choice- I’ve seen and heard of way more problems with those than anything else. Even if your horse won’t go through it, loose horses could run through it and yours could get out.

I tied directly to my trailer for years with no problems and then when I bought a new trailer, I invested in a few Hi-Ties. I chose them over corral panels because it was cheaper and easier to set up. I like my Hi-Ties, more convenient than tying to the trailer. Most of the rides I go to dont have trees so its not feasible to plan to tie that way, though I have done it before and that worked well.

It seems that most horses tie to trailers or high lines very well. Of course there are exceptions though, but if your horse is good tied, I am sure he will be fine overnight. What someone suggested about parking where your horses are fairly close to other horses and can see them easily is a really good idea.

[BigHorseLittleHorse]

thanks for the info and reassurance I’m leaning more toward a highline, I just don’t know if there will be a place to set it up. I love the HiTie idea, just no money in the budget to get one right now. I guess I can always tie to the trailer in a pinch!

[Auventera_Two]

@saratoga;3967638

The electric corral would be my last choice- I’ve seen and heard of way more problems with those than anything else. Even if your horse won’t go through it, loose horses could run through it and yours could get out.

I tied directly to my trailer for years with no problems and then when I bought a new trailer, I invested in a few Hi-Ties. I chose them over corral panels because it was cheaper and easier to set up. I like my Hi-Ties, more convenient than tying to the trailer. Most of the rides I go to dont have trees so its not feasible to plan to tie that way, though I have done it before and that worked well.

It seems that most horses tie to trailers or high lines very well. Of course there are exceptions though, but if your horse is good tied, I am sure he will be fine overnight. What someone suggested about parking where your horses are fairly close to other horses and can see them easily is a really good idea.

This always makes me go “hu?” because when I go to an endurance ride, 80% of ride camp is using portable paddocks, and the other 20% is tied either on a High Tie or to the trailer. When I tied to my trailer for the first 2 rides, a long-time competitor told me to get a paddock because that’s the “right way” to do it. But you go to the internet and everybody says how horrible paddocks are. I wonder if its different culture for different areas of the country?

Around here is mostly farm land and reclaimed dairy properties converted to horse. Lots of people have their horses out in barbed wire, or 2-wire electric fence. I think out East you see a lot more fancy wooden fences, so horses might not grow up with the flimsier fences? Around here, people have puny 2-string fences right near the highways. I’d be scared if it were me, but people do it. My fence at home is 5-ft high, tight 3-string white tape fence and I’ve had no problems with horses getting out. I go for months and don’t plug the electric in. On another bulletin board, somebody commented - OMG, my horses would tear that down and head for the hills - they have to be in 4 rail wooden with electric strung on the top. Hmm, weird.

I just find it interesting the differing opinions on this, because what I see at local ridecamps is different than what people report on COTH. :lol: Interesting conversation though.