Anyone hunt horseback?

Armoredman

My Christmas gift this year was, stunningly, a horse, a 7 year old roan saddle horse, not trained for firearms yet, and I'm not trained to ride him quite yet, either. Wondering if anyone here has anything to share about horseback hunting. I would like to do so sometime in the future when the both of us get properly trained.

Armoredman

I need to get better pics of him.

Elk creek

You can typically shoot off of any horse once, once.:tooth:

Armoredman

Yep, and then you, gravity and the ground have a short and painful conversation...looking to kind of avoid that meeting. Also interested in just getting them used to gunfire so i can tie him off and shoot on the ground without him spooking and running off.

JasonMPD

Armoredman wrote: »

My Christmas gift this year was, stunningly, a horse, a 7 year old roan saddle horse, not trained for firearms yet, and I'm not trained to ride him quite yet, either. Wondering if anyone here has anything to share about horseback hunting. I would like to do so sometime in the future when the both of us get properly trained.

Beautiful animal.

I've seen some guys hunting coyote from horseback. That's the limit of my experience. Haha.

NCFUBAR

Depends somewhat on the horse himself. Back in my AQHA days we would show in the Trail class and the class's obstacles included most anything to unsettle your horse including sound, one year at Quarter Congress we had to go in an outhouse and blow an air horn ... yep 90% of the horses spooked and 100% of the riders couldn't hear for 2 hours. Anyway after that we started playing classic rock in the barn and gradually increased the volume (our horses loved AC/DC, Zepplin and so on) until the noise was an everyday thing. First thing to do is get him use to noise.

Remember a horse's hearing is actually more keen than a human so a sharp report is going to hurt his just like yours. Also I know you have already thought about it but flash and percussion from a firearm also can spook in addition. The cowboy mounted shooting events have lead to readily available earplugs for horses ... another something for you to get him use to. Think about him as yourself and also keep your field of fire away from his head.

We always played with our horses' ears from when they were foals so we could clean them and clip them. Again just handling time and getting them use to the buzz of clippers like hoof picks, farriers, etc.

If the horse is one with some calmness and has some working sense all it really takes is time and working him into it. Just take it at his pace and don't rush him because getting hi use to something new is way easy than trying to deal with something he is scared of already.

Spend as much time with him doing anything you can ... we get the mail so cars don't spook ours, set up a tent with loose side flaps so the movement is second nature, anything you think might spook a horse can be worked on slowly and dealt with most of the time. Just remember their hearing is like ours and protect it.

1965Jeff

One thing I have noticed when riding you can get right up on deer and other wildlife without spooking them as you would normally by walking up on them. The sound of a four legged animal does not register red flags as much as the two legged. This can be good or bad, depending on how upset your pony is by strange wildlife. They hate snow snakes, killer Mongolian snow pheasants, the occasional suspicious waving weed or tree limb etc.l have been all through the gamut of scary stuff with my horse, fortunately he is now 27 and nonplussed by such shenanigans. When he was a colt not so much.

bullsi1911

Armoredman wrote: »

Yep, and then you, gravity and the ground have a short and painful conversation...looking to kind of avoid that meeting. Also interested in just getting them used to gunfire so i can tie him off and shoot on the ground without him spooking and running off.

Might just be easier to buy a suppressor

Armoredman

Not a bad idea, there. Thanks for the helpful replies!

early

Don't look him in the mouth.:beer:

snake284

early wrote: »

Don't look him in the mouth.:beer:

Man I get seasick ridin horses...:drool:...:silly:...:vomit:...:tooth:

DoctorWho

I like horses !

I am finally in a place in Oregon where I can have one !

Jayhawker

Used to bird hunt on horseback with some big running dogs...and yes..you dismount when the dogs go on point...

Armoredman

snake284 wrote: »

Man I get seasick ridin horses...:drool:...:silly:...:vomit:...:tooth:

I didn't get seasick in deep swells in the deep blue during both Arctic and Pacific storms - this shouldn't be too bad. Of course, I've only graduated to the trot so far.

tennmike

I only have three suggestions for you.

1. Buy ear plugs for your horse. What they can't hear all that well won't spook them nearly as badly.

http://www.earplugstore.com/horse-earplugs.html

2. Reins with blinders to keep stuff from the sides from spooking the horse.

3. Never, EVER, shoot directly over the horse's head, when mounted. Shoot from the side if you can't first dismount. Otherwise, you will be walking back, assuming you can walk. Actually, there's one more thing; some, but not all, horses get spooked by the smell of blood from another animal, so attempting to put cut up game carcass parts on the horse may make for interesting times.

Jay

I used to ride and shoot off of my old roan horse. I never did hunt game on him, but hunted rabbits and did a lot of riding in the mountains where we have hunted deer and elk.

There is so much that goes in to working on horseback. I think you're right on track with learning to ride and handle your horse first, which can take a good while and a lot of riding. A horse will learn to trust you, if you treat him right and know how to handle him. When I first got my roan, I was 13 years old and he was a 2 year old gelding and he was a FIREBALL!!! He spooked at everything that moved and would jump out from under me if I wasn't ready for him, which I had to be pretty much all the time. I probably spent at least 20-30 hours per week on his back. We taught each other a heck of a lot, from team roping to just general horsemanship. He got to where he trusted me and I could get him to do things a lot of horses wouldn't. One of the things that I always did was make him face whatever spooked him. A plastic sack rattling in a bush would send him shooting sideways. As soon as I got him collected, I'd make him go to the plastic sack and look at it until he relaxed. I personally think working like that gets the horse to trusting you a whole lot more than not taking the time to teach him about what's around him.

As far as shooting, I never put ear plugs in my horses ears, but it's a good idea if you're gonna shoot anything that is really loud or if you plan to shoot quite a bit off of him. I started mine off, after we spent a lot of time just riding, with a 22 rifle, then went to a 22 pistol, then my Winchester 94 30-30. That's all I ever shot off of him. I kept my 30-30 in my saddle scabbard most of the time, just to have it, and kept my Single Six in a holster on my waist. Popped a lot of rabbits off of his back with both of those guns. As mentioned, I always shot to the side and never over his head. The most he would do was side step away from the side I was shooting until he got a little more used to it. And he'd get a little flinchy when he felt me reach from my revolver, which I worked out by just randomly reaching for it and not shooting it.

All that to say, if I was gonna get my son started in something like this, or anything related to working on a horse, I'd not let him proceed until he's spent so much time on that horses back that he has counted every hair in the horses mane several times and knows when one is missing.....Then he could start learning how to work.

Also, horses are pack animals. I demand that I am the alpha and that my horse will trust and follow me. Everything I do working with him reinforces that.

Just my $.02. Not a professional by any means, but I managed to stay alive and in one piece, for the most part. :guns:

DoctorWho

"Also, horses are pack animals. I demand that I am the alpha and that my horse will trust and follow me. Everything I do working with him reinforces that."

.��

I have been getting re-aquainted with horses, and so far as it seems to me, horses react to you in a way that reflects your actions and manner, the Brits always talk about being "Masterful" with animals, I guess that means Dominant or Alpha when dealing with dogs or horses.

Jay

Keep in mind, I'm no professional. But I started riding at a young age and was taught by people with a lot of experience. My mom has been a horse trainer for most of my life. She learned a great deal from the John Lyons training methods. I kinda take my own spin off of that, right or wrong. I would recommend some of John Lyons' books and videos for anyone interested in learning about horse training and horse handling in general. I like the thought process involved.

Quote from John Lyons
"Just as a horse has his place in the herd, you'll have a place in your horse's social order. To the horse, you are not a person, you are just a two legged animal. If your horse bites you, he's telling you that you are lower in the pecking order than he is. Whether or not he bites us is dependent upon his perception of where we fit in his social order. Just as he will bite one horse and not another, so he will bite one person and not another. Other signs that the horse thinks he is above you in the pecking order include: walking all over you while you're leading him, walking off when you're saddling him, throwing his ears back at you, kicking, or turning his head elsewhere when you ask for his attention. Don't worry about establishing dominance over the horse, just make sure you get the right answers to the questions you ask. The important thing is not that we think we are higher in the pecking order, but what the horse thinks. For instance, if the horse steps on our foot, we'll slap him and make a big ruckus so the incident is not pleasant for him either. When something becomes important for you, it becomes important to the horse. If it's not important to you, it will never be important to your horse. We need to crawl inside the horse's mind to tell him that we're higher in the pecking order than he is. We can learn from watching other horses in the pasture how they establish their order."

A personal example of mine is; I had a buckskin mare at one time that had an attitude with me. She took some working with to get over it. One of the things she did was, every time I'd feed her, she'd pin her ears back at me and rush the feeder when I approached it. This told me that this mare thought she was my boss and, in human terms, she was demanding the food from me. Not only that, but she was saying "You have my food! Give it to me now or else!!!!" In a horse's world, social order is really put to the test when it comes to food. I would not stand to have this mare acting this way toward me and she got a lesson right then and there, before she got her food.

Again, just my way of thinking based on what I've learned. It is an interesting subject.

JerryBobCo

All I know about hunting from a horse is what those who have done it have told me. Mainly, they have told me it's a big PITA, and often more trouble than it's worth. Regardless, I envy you and would like to give it a try.

IF I were to hunt from horseback, I think I would use it only for transportation to and from the place I wanted to hunt, and as a pack animal if I got something. I can't imagine shooting from the back of a horse, although I know it's done.

That's all I have to offer, and it's worth every nickel is costs.

Good luck!

Armoredman

I'm thinking that would be the best idea, transportation to areas that even a Jeep won't go, if I can train him not to shy from the blood smell, etc., but this will be quite a ways in the future. Right now, I am just enjoying what time I can spend with him, maybe only a couple hours a week, which might go a lot higher if another wonderful thing comes through. Now if I can get my wife to use her camera on her phone, I can get some pics of my fat old rear end ON this great guy.

DoctorWho

Thanks Jay !!!!!

What you said makes perfect sence and actually coincides with everything I have inexpertly observered over the years!
Horses don't try to bite me, I suppose it is for the same reasons in your excellent discussion.

DoctorWho

I like Mules too, they are great at getting around areas with camping stuff etc or packing out large amounts of meat from remote areas.

HAWKEN

Never hunted on horseback but I have rode to within 30' of deer on one. I have a friend that has a saddle broke mule that he hunts off of........robin

Fisheadgib

Good looking horse and good age for training. Did the previous owners say much about why they have a cribbing collar on him?

Armoredman

Thank you, good words. I spent an hour + in the saddle today learning, and towards the end he was testing me to see if I was high horse or not. I think I won. Had a great time.



I have the Horsemanship Fundamentals from Carson James and have been introduced to Rick Gore online. This is only the third time I've been on him, and the first i got him to a trot on my own. I had NO idea how much body language is in riding a horse. This is going to be a fun journey!



Yes, he cribs, but oddly enough he didn't crib a single time with me today, not during grooming, nothing.

NCFUBAR

We have never raised a cribbed but have had a couple come through. Everybody seems to have thoughts on it but I swear it is almost a nervous habit and when a horse is more contented and at ease they crib less. Also I swear one who boarded did it just because she was bored and had nothing better to do. I say make him happy and keep him active and you should continue to see less cribbing.

DoctorWho

I love this thread !
I love horses !
Horses have always seemed to like me well enough too !
Lots of horses where I am at now......

BTW, even though that horse is not a gun, you still get a :yousuck: to the tength power Amoredman, and you look like a proper. Southern cowpoke in the saddle !

Armoredman

If you look closely, you will see a CZ P-09 in a High Noon bison hide Slide Guard holster in the riding pic. :cool:

DoctorWho

You look pretty cool !
And yes, I did notice......

Armoredman

Actually, I look quite fat...need to get away from that desk more often!

DoctorWho

I need to loose weight too, any horse should buck me off if I try to ride it!