Best horse breeds for roaming mountain trails after big game

[BeastOfTheTrees]

Looking to buy a horse in the next few years... going to train him or her up to take on many western and northern mountain trips. My wife grew up raising horses so I won’t be totally blind about it. Looking for recommendations on breeds that make great mountain horses.

 

[wyosteve]

Quarter/draft crosses seem to be the 'flavor of the month' in NW Wyo. these days!

 

[elkguide]

Quarter horses do seem to be the most common but I prefer a gaited horse....
Tennessee Walker or Spotted Saddle or a Missouri Fox Trotter would be the horse that I would choose.

 

[rayporter]

the breed will not matter. what you want is safe. one that will ride and let you throw a pack or animal on in a pinch.
preferably one raised in the mountains or at least in rocky hills, so he will look where he is putting his feet.

I have trained more than my share of equines and they all don't make the grade- in spite of what a big time trainer will tell you.

I highly recommend buying one ready to go. you will have enough trials and tribulations learning at it is.

a calm animal not easily excited with good bone and very good feet.

going fast in the mountains just don't compute. and if you are leading you don't need a fast walker.

the draft cross puts a lot of these attributes into the animal. calm and slow going with big bone and feet. and they are strong. however I don't feel the average part time rider and hunter needs one. he just wont put the miles on for the these attributes to make a difference. don't make this a high priority but if you find one it is a plus.

 

[BeastOfTheTrees]

the breed will not matter. what you want is safe. one that will ride and let you throw a pack or animal on in a pinch.
preferably one raised in the mountains or at least in rocky hills, so he will look where he is putting his feet.

I have trained more than my share of equines and they all don't make the grade- in spite of what a big time trainer will tell you.

I highly recommend buying one ready to go. you will have enough trials and tribulations learning at it is.

a calm animal not easily excited with good bone and very good feet.

going fast in the mountains just don't compute. and if you are leading you don't need a fast walker.

the draft cross puts a lot of these attributes into the animal. calm and slow going with big bone and feet. and they are strong. however I don't feel the average part time rider and hunter needs one. he just wont put the miles on for the these attributes to make a difference. don't make this a high priority but if you find one it is a plus.

Thanks ray once again your a wealth of knowledge

 

[Matt Cashell]

Ray's post was awesome. I have gone in the hills with quarter horses, paints, appaloosas, and even a fjord. That fjord was awesome except for stepping over deadfall.

Temperment is the most important part to me. That and good feet.

Riding mules are good too.

 

[Akwoodchuck]

Damn a mule....I still have nightmares about taking them up into the Eagle Cap as a kid....lol....that said, they don't stumble.

....we would love to invest in horses again sometime in the next few years, milady is mostly interested in the Rocky Mountain breed and morgans, me in Appaloosas....

 

[mlmtx01]

Make sure they're hard footed.

 

[mntnguide]

As Ray stated.. breed doesn't matter as much as being broke to the mountains. Ive ran just about everything there is in both horses and mules in the hills and don't have a major preference. I personally don't care for Arabians which usually have a high-strung type personality which doesn't work great in the mountains. Gaited horses are good for covering ground smoothly, but can be a bit of a pain if you are pulling pack strings as most likely your pack animals will not have the same gait.. quarter/draft crosses are great and their demeanor is usually calm and very good for the mountains. I just don't like the ones with big barrel bellies that stretch your knees on long rides...I also prefer blue hoofed horses if possible as they tend to hold up better over white hoofs even with shoes on, especially if being used in rocky country. Most important factor is having a horse that you can throw a saddle on.. ride 2 hours in the dark with confidence, and then throw meat and horns on that afternoon and know you can trust that animal with no worries.

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[rayporter]

I did not want to be the one to comment on a fast horse dragging the packers down the trail.

and those be big tall ones have fallen out of favor with me too.

 

[Fatcamp]

A short one.

 

[wyosteve]

How true ray. I'm tired of having to find a stump or depression to mount up!

 

[Mike 338]

Pretty much what Ray said. I have a couple riding mules that work well but I wouldn't rate them any better than any other good horse. They tend not to lunge when going uphill which is a good thing. Just a steady Freddy and nothing more or less will do fine.

 

[goodgrouper]

good manners are far more important than breed color or size. with that said I had some great quarter horses over the years but I think my favorite mountain hoses I ever owned were a pair of Norweigan Fjords.

 

[theleo91386]

Damn a mule....I still have nightmares about taking them up into the Eagle Cap as a kid....lol....that said, they don't stumble.

....

Just because you griped about the combo, here's my 71 year old father on his mule at the top of Burger Pass last summer with Caps in the background. I'm not a fan of his mule because of its temperament, love mine though even if he's a little on the tall side for my liking.

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[Akwoodchuck]

Just because you griped about the combo, here's my 71 year old father on his mule at the top of Burger Pass last summer with Caps in the background. I'm not a fan of his mule because of its temperament, love mine though even if he's a little on the tall side for my liking.

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Fantastic country...we used to elk hunt up the Lostine River trail...my grandpa actually had a heart attack and passed away in the early 90s up there on a pack hunt....

 

[missjordan]

The best breed of horse for mountain riding is a safe one! I wouldn’t get too caught up in finding one that’s papered, however your going to be better fit with a breed that fits into the stock horse category. Good disposition, confirmation, feet, and bone go along ways. I’m a fan of geldings that are in that 14h-15h height range

You could mess around and consider gaited horses, but in my opinion if you pull the trigger on one your whole string has to be gaited just to ease the fact you won’t have “normal horses” slowing you down.

The biggest thing i look for when i step onto a horse is how he respects myself as a rider. I like my horses soft in the face and to show a willingness to move off my legs when asked softly. Lot of riders think this might be too much to ask but i hate horses that fight me in these terms. Even though for mountain riding it can be overkill most of the time.


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[brunse]

This is my current one. Registered QH. She was given to me the day before heading to the auction as a yearling. Not great at anything but pretty good at a lot of stuff. Most folks may not like her as she marches. Fast. Kind of like riding in a box car. But she provides year round entertainment and packs elk out of any terrain a similar sized horse can.

Easy to mount as well

 

[brunse]

Packing out last year. The other horse was a perch cross. The gentlest horse I have ever met. While we were breaking on the way out he took rest.

 

[brunse]