Backcountry containment

Whats everybody's preference for keeping stock in camp while hunting all day? Picket, electric fence, high line or other ideas?

Hobbles when I'm in camp and electric fence when I'm out hunting. At night hobbles and electric fence.

My parents used to picket 1 or 2 horses and the other 4 or so would get hobbles. My mom has several stories of hobbled horses making long journeys.

Helping get this forum going, here's a related story:

About ten years ago I went on a horseback hunt in eastern Yukon for moose and bear(s). We took an entire packstring about ten miles up-drainage from the permanent basecamp. I ended up killing a bull and a blackie with my recurve in a 4 day span. I took the bear on day one, and we rode into camp at dusk. The next day was given to fleshing and preserving a very gorgeous hide, so we...and the horses were fairly idle. Evening rolled in and the horses (8 of them) didn't show up for their feed. Rod went for a walk to find them and check the portable electric fence. He figured to find them close as they were all hobbled. I stayed behind and worked on gear for the next day. It got dark and Rod didn't return. I recalled he had a Harris tweed jacket, basic Bean boots, no gloves or chaps and a felt hat. He also had no weapon, the only firearm was laying in the tent. I had no way to contact him. I guess it was midnight before I finally gave up the watch and laid down in my bag for a sleep. I figured to get up in the morning and assess things. If no Rod by 10:00 am I would get on the sat phone and notify...somebody. Then I would prep a pack and get ready to hike down to basecamp on the White River. I fell asleep...

I woke to a distant sound and dreaming of Christmas. It turned into a gruff command and the sound of neck bells jingling into camp. It was 3:00 am, and Rod was back with the stock. Turned out they had breached the electric fence sometime the previous day and despite the hobbles had started for basecamp. When he finally found them in the dark he was unable to gather them all and get them turned. After much trying and knowing he was far down from our camp, he simply mounted one and proceeded to drive them...hard...into basecamp. He wore them down, gave them some feed and then gathered a few things from the camp. He saddled one properly and tied them all together then rode them all back up to camp. He had one little Petzl headlamp, some Skoal and I believe 2 cans of beer when he walked in. He covered all that distance and terrain in the night...in big grizzly country...and nary a scratch from a tree branch.

We picketed the horses after that during the day, and had no further problems. It was an interesting ride out several days later. Like an Easter egg hunt....a full Skoal can...couple AA batteries...handkerchief....all found along the trail. Dang horses...always interesting and never boring.

Love that story. Been on more than a few night tracking jobs myself. I'm on my phone so it would be torture to write on but when I get some time I'll recount the time I left poor old mom alone 13 miles back in while I chased the €%#?!!! horses to the truck

Here's a good one, I did a solo trip with 2 mules for a few day last year and on my way out I got down to pee and my saddle mule walked a few feet to get some grass and pulled the reins out of my arm and made me wiz on my boots. No big deal so I finish up and walk to grab up the reins and he walks on a bit, then a bit more, then I'm jogging and so is he. So I cuss and yell and decide to stop and grab my pack mule and we walked about 2 hundred yards with my ride in front and me walking the pack mule. Lol I told him if anyone saw this they were sure to be laughing. He finally stopped and waited after he figured I'd had enough.

Do you picket front leg or rear? I've seen or read about both, but it seems front leg picket is preferred.

What about leaving stock in wolf and grizzly country?

I always used a highline for horses, day and night. When it came time to feed I would hobble one and turn all the rest loose. The one that got the hobbles was the least athletic one that I didn't have to worry about him running off with them on. One horse I had could lope down the trail and jump a waist high drift fence with hobbles on.

Foot pickets are nice if you have the appropriate place to use them, we rarely did.

I've never had an issue with grizzly bears and horses.

I can't speak from experience but I know some guys who work the Bob marshal every year and they run electric fence and use pickets as well. I remember reading some think mike Eastman said , he said he would never hunt griz country without horses. Always wondered why? I know a lot of guys run bells but I've heard bears are sometimes drawn to them for easy meals of camp food

I was always taught never hobble 1 always hobble them all. If the one tries to go with the others they can get hurt trying to keep up.

MULEPACKHUNTER said:

I know a lot of guys run bells but I've heard bears are sometimes drawn to them for easy meals of camp food

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We never once found this to be the case. Food should be stored appropriately anyway, making it a moot point.

what bears are drawn to bells? if thats the case we been hunting all wrong!

my ponies get bells.

And why do you run bells on the ponies? Is it to find them easier or to know what they are up to without looking, or to keep critters away?

The bells are to find them, and to let you know when they are getting full/restless and it's time to go back on the highline.

I always picket them out, one leg hobble, front leg. To say I never had an issue with horses would be a lie, but none due to picketing them out. Highline them if I have any worries, that seems to me to be the safest.

10-4 on jason's post. so i know where everybody is without looking.

i had a bad experience teaching the wrong mule to picket, then i witnessed a guys mule get loose by pulling th pin. that is why i went to a fence.
when i was starting to use a fence i had a mule [ the one that tangled in the picket] that would duck under a wire in a flash. did not go anywhere but still got out. so i always put different bells on each animal. a small guy with 3 head can do that. if one is real bad it gets 3 way hobbles.

high lines are fine if you got feed. or have a problem horse. a guy that ties them to a high line for a week gets no respect from me. you can tell they have had nothing to eat all day [or night] and some of the picket circles look just as bad when they dont move them.

and i do wish i had mine broke to picket. i would do it on occasion, just not all the time.

The only conclusion I've come to in learning about pack animals is there is no consensus....lol. Everybody seems to have their preferred way to do it, with lots of horror stories about any other methods. I know a lot depends on the personality of the animal, but it sure is tough trying to decide what to do. I also haven't talked to anyone that just walks in with a single pack animal, which is what I plan to do for awhile until I get better riding skills. My gear for a week of hunting is only about 40lbs, of which I'll only plan to swap 25-30lbs on the mule and keep the essentials in my pack. She is mainly there to get me an animal out in one trip.

My mule has been pretty good with everything we've tried so far. She is 11 and has packing experience, not spooky, and high lines and hobbles well. Have not been able to work on picketing yet, but she does respect the electric fences. She is a bit herd bound, or at least has gotten attached to the pony that shares her pasture. She is reluctant to leave and then gets pushy coming back to the pasture, but a chain halter has corrected most of that behavior.

Still, I am concerned that she will head back to the truck at first opportunity. So I do plan to high line during the day while I'm away from camp for security. I would like to picket over night and/or when I'm at camp, but it doesn't sound like I should rely on that until I get a lot more work in with her. Electric fence is sounding like the best option, since I could hobble her in the corral all night and there is plenty to graze where we will be hunting so I could move it daily. I also plan to pack in some pelletized food to supplement, at least like a good handful a day. I've also heard this can keep them closer to camp if they get loose and know there is some good food around.

In my mind, the daily itinerary would shape up something like this. High line her when I leave about dawn, and then work my way back to camp mid afternoon to let her graze, water, and feed some pelletized food. Then I could put her back on the high line and go still hunt the neighboring wallows/meadows until dark, then turn her out in the corral overnight. Does that sound feasible? Any feedback is appreciated.

you would be wise to separate them for a month before you go, since she will be alone on the trip. they can throw a fit sometimes. it is a herd thing.

When I one foot picket break them I usually start with a rope around one foot and hold onto it in an arena or big round pen, or fenced in pasture at home. They can pull you around some if they get western, but my horses are desensitized to ropes around their feet and under them before so its not really a big deal. Once they understand that it is restricting their movement I moved to something heavy enough that its hard for them to drag but light enough that it will give if it needs too. Doesn't take long and they decide its not worth pulling on and from there you can go to a stake of your choosing. On my line I use a one log hobble, tied to a rope sheathed with a light weight garden hose, and tie off a knot that will allow the rope to pivot around the stake without tightening up if pulled on.