Horses, Mules , Donkeys and gear?

[GameSlayer]

Using critters to get into the back country is great! My advice is to just get a couple animals, horses mules whatever and get out on the trail. You will learn alot of tricks on your own. But if you have a friend or someone that has been packing alot they would be great to take out and show you a thing or two. The nice thing about packing is it hasn't changed much in 100 years..

[Edelweiss]

I talked to Dad yesterday morning about packing, and told him we were talking about it on the forum.

He said he had not met anyone in Wyoming that used a decker from his Generation (born in 1939), and most of the Vietnam-1990s time frame outfitters in Wyoming were using crossbucks.

[mntnguide]

Yea..like i said..Montana and Idaho almost entirely decker...every other place in the U.S. sawbucks. People dont like to learn new ways if you dont have to. Sawbucks work just fine, I personally believe the Decker style is a much better style for the animals and how the saddles are designed to protect the rib cage and shoulders. Whereas sawbucks is just a pad and a wood sawbuck, nothing to protect the ribs from bouncing loads especially when heavy. Deckers have a side-board that distributes weight evenly across the rib cage on both sides no matter the size of the load. Example- A 50lb. cube of salt, though small compared to most loads, will distribute its weight across the entire rib cage when on a decker, while on a sawbuck(unless in a box) it will bounce on the same spot of the ribs all day long with nothing protecting the animal. I guarantee you will find more white blemishes, from sores, on stock that use sawbucks rather than deckers...I say this with personal experience and having packed both extensively.

[Edelweiss]

Got it, I am on the decker band wagon.

Mail plane comes on Tuesday, hopefully those books and DVDs are in there that I ordered.

I broke my tail bone and it healed wrong so the doc here ended up cutting it out 2 months ago. I have been on med leave for a long time, and hopefully will be riding by the time we get back to the states full time.

[Edelweiss]

Anyone using an Australian saddle? Should I get a couple while I am down here?

[Big Sky]

I spent a lot of hours in a stock saddle while I was down there but havn't seen one sence getting back to the states. I actualy brought one back with me but is was a cheap one and I have only used it once.

[Edelweiss]

The DVD showed up on Mule packing using deckers, kind of amazed at how different the decker system is.

Crazy amazing!

[Grizbacker]

Definitely not a law or anything...its entirely regional...Montana and Idaho- Deckers...everywhere else for the most part sawbucks. The sawbuck system has been around for nearly 300 years whereas the Decker system was invented by the Decker brothers in northern Idaho for hauling heavy loads of ore out of the mines roughly 100 years ago. Its just a different system but, in my opinion of having packed both extensively, the decker saddles are better for both horses or mules in terms of not preventing sores, and the packing system enables someone to pack any type of load and as long as the weights are somewhat similar, with the proper packing knowledge, you can make them ride perfectly even without the official weights being similar. . If you have an interest in a packing school, I have instructed at one for 5 years now in Montana and would be happy to provide you more information. The school has been running for 17 years as of this summer. We focus mainly in people wanting to become guides, but the whole purpose of the school is teaching backcountry techniques and horse packing. We have people each year who come just to further their own packing knowledge and have no intention of trying to become a guide.

Mntnguide,

When and where is this packing school held?

Thanks

[mntnguide]

It is located about an hour south of Missoula, MT on a ranch in the Pintler range. Schools are conducted throughout the summer. If you want some more info on it here is the website, www.royaltine.com, there is also a forum that you can join free that has many guides and past students if you wanted to get some more ideas about what it is like. If you have any other questions feel free to PM me