Equine photographer Shawn Hamilton has traveled all around the world and been on dozens of horse-powered adventures. We asked her to share some of her packing tips for horseback riding vacations.
The amount of clothes and other items that you bring on your trip will really depend on mobility. If you are staying in a luxury dude ranch where you may be “glamping” or staying in a comfortable cabin for the duration of your trip then by all means bring an average size suitcase. If you are moving camp every day, then that’s another story.
When I crossed the Andes mountains on horseback with Pioneros from Argentina to Chile we were only allowed to bring that which we could stuff in our saddle bags plus our sleeping bag on the back of the saddle. The mules were available to carry excess baggage but they also had to move the tents, tables, chairs, food and wine, and you wouldn’t want to take up wine space with excess clothing, now would you?
In Alberta with Wild Deuce Outfitting we rode to base camp while a horse-drawn wagon brought our bags. A soft-sided duffle bag is good for these types of trips. In Mongolia we had a truck which followed us with our goods but everyday we had to pack up and lug our stuff from our tent to the truck so packing light and having a bag with wheels was helpful.
In the Yukon we packed everything into base camp on packhorses. Waterproof sacks came in handy for that trip as there were some deep water crossings that the pack horses had to go through. Do the research and find out how much moving you have to do and how the bags are transported from place to place.
I usually pack once, then unpack everything and stack the similar clothing together: riding apparel; sleeping apparel; casual clothes etc. Then I’ll pare it down once again before repacking. Take your favorite comfortable clothes as those are the ones you will most likely live in for most of your trip.
I typically bring jodhpurs as they take up less space and roll up easier than bulky jeans. For non-riding clothes for the evenings I usually pack yoga pants and sweat pants with a fleece shirt. I always change all of your clothes after riding, especially footwear. You can get cold at night if you keep wearing sweaty or damp clothing. It’s a good idea to wear a hat, put some gloves in your pocket and have your headlamp accessible before nightfall.
I have seen many people over-pack but under-packing can be a worse mistake. While crossing the Andes we got extremely wet one day and my tent mate only had the one pair of jeans. She shivered the entire night.
Sleeping in minimal clothing is the best way to stay warm in a sleeping bag. Most people don’t believe me until they try it. The insulation of the sleeping bag gets warm with your body heat and clothes simply create a barrier to the heat. I keep my clothes for the following day in the sleeping bag with me so they are warm when I put them on in the morning. I keep all my riding gear in one stuff sack and my after-riding gear in another and my undergarments in a separate one. I also bring a spare stuff sac for dirty clothes. You can use your stuff sacks as a pillow as well.
Read all about Shawn’s horseback trip in Mongolia in the January 2016 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!
Equine photojournalist Shawn Hamilton resides on a small farm in Ontario, Canada with her husband Joe and three horses. Shawn enjoys trail riding and eventing and is a level 2 ski instructor. www.clixphoto.ca
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