EAST TEXAS HOG DOGGERS FORUM

Last time I checked, my horse was a little finicky about saddle bags. Well, here he is practicing being a pack mule. I have all kinds of stuff in those bags right now - bottled water to empty coke cans for noise factor. The shirt is tied on so that the sleeves flap in the wind. There are two pommel bags hanging off of him as well. I was going to tie some cans to the saddle strings, but I spared him the embarrassment. It sucks to be a horse around my house when it is cold and muddy and I have nothing better to do.

Cheers
M

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i hear empty milk jugs with a few loose rocks in em hangin off their sides work good for "de-sensitizing" ;D

I like Cooper, he is a good horse.  Does your hitching post "sap" your lead ropes?  I really like the way it looks by the way.

Matt,
   
    No "sapping" so far.  Here is a pic of the other hitching rail we put in by the round pen. Don't pay any attention to the good lookin bald dude, or the hot chick... the rail is behind us.   They are 42" in the ground and about 42" out of the ground. The top rail is attached with 10" lag bolts, then on top of the lag bolts I used some 2" flat bar and made a strap that is lag bolted in.

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WTF, I didn't get a Christmas card from yall  ;D

Matt,

Most days cooper spends 8 hours tied to those rails contemplating about the mysteries of life. No sap on his lead rope yet.


Do you really think I am organized or domesticated enough to send Christmas cards? Hell no! I'm feral! Chris is lucky I'm housebroken.
Cheers
M

Cant wait till you tie some shoats inside the saddle bags or a raccon or 2 to help him get "used to it".....  Have you shoot off of him yet????  Nice horse, great to see somebody training a horse before he goes hunting on em!!!

No such luck, knightstock. That sorrel was in the woods on a midnight hunt the 5th time he had ever had a human on his back. I'm just downloading some stuff on him that I have been meaning to for a while. He is five now and I don't even have to show him where the bay is. I thought toothless old hound's donkey was a hoot making a beeline to the bay when he heard dogs barking, but now cooper seeks out the bay himself. I never would have thought it, but cooper really gets into hunting.

cheers
m

Ok never hunted horseback, I am just curious, when you get to the bay, how close do you get? does horse ground tie or tie to a tree? I was reading this thinking my luck I would loop the reins over a tree and the hog break and run straight for the horse and I would be walking home.  lol  I think it would be great to have a horse to hunt off of. I guess I have been around thoroughbreds to long

I just about can't keep that sorrel from trying to help out at the bay. If I leave him somewhere he usually shows up at the bay anyhow. I have been trying to tie him to a tree or I just tie his head to the side of his saddle where all he can do is turn circles. I tried that on Chris' grey horse this weekend and he fought the rein enough to loosen it so he could go loping around the pasture. He ended up coming to the bay, but probably only to find his buddies. I suppose there is a chance you would have to go hunt down your horse any time you go out horseback. I can ride up to a bay on the sorrel horse, but I think you are better off riding to a safe distance and then d itching the horse so you can have your hands free.

Cheers
M

thats the only way i hunt horse or mule.21 years now. its quite you can hear every thing an so can youre dogs!it makes for a peace ful hunt.not all the noise of wheelers!i ride mine right in on the bay if i can an ground tie.

Mandy if you bring that horse to where we are goin next week and the miles i plain on riding you will be able to put rattle snakes in them bags and a chicken on his back and he is not goin to care after we get done ;D

Lion and boarhunter, I was hoping to shoot a hill country trophy chicken. I think I am bringing cooper, he is ready to log some miles and get the Hell out of the arena.

Cheers
M

haha :D yea this trip will be good for him

I am having the farrier put pads under his shoes so the rocks don't hurt his soft little gulf coast feet. Your ground is pretty treacherous!

Cheers
M

That is the sorriest mule I ever seen. Man that is a scrawny mule ;D

You bet he is scrawny! He has a skinny butt, too.....

Cheers
M

now your talking brother my kinda hunting   ;),  i think Mandi will go home with a broke horse..

I am soooo jealous!!!!! Hitching post/rails, horses, round pens, hay bales, heelers at the barn............dude, you need to adopt me!!!!!!!!! All I got is muddy a** rice fields around me and I am wanting some Texas countryside!!!!!!!!

On a good note, I will get some time in the cactus soon as my lovely bride bought me a deer hunt down in Freer for my birthday. Awesome photos and nice place you got there my friend, some of us Cajun would love to have a place like that!!!!!!!

Chris i want to know how you keep them from eating that hay when there tied to the hitchin post ;D

Jesse Paul,

     The hay was used as a prop for some dog pics.  Here's one.  If you will look real close, the old black dog on the left has a leash attached. Kailey is hiding behind the hay bales holding the leash. ;D

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I sure am glad to see yall still know how to work that good camera!  Mandi needed to have it last weekend, if I would have had a camera with a little zoom we could have gotten some incredible shots!

 I dont know much about horses but, thats a good looking horse right there.
   Good looking dogs too.

I used to have several jumping mules, every once in a while we would get a really good brushy horse that loved to go to the hounds with us, keep up the good work with that pony, you will never regret training him to dog hunt hogs and especially at night.  I used to have those nightlite headlights that would attach to a cowboy hat, made the mistake once of taking a pony who had never been hunting at night with a headlight.  I turned on the headlight not thinking and the light spooked him so bad he tossed me into a 10 foot tall cactus patch down around Freer.  I never made the mistake of testing a horse or mule for being nightlite shy again, i thinking i pulled out thorns for 2 months.  Same way with hunting hogs at night with horses and mules that had not been shot off of.  I used to coon nd cat hunt off a lil 49 inch jumping mule, we could stand on the mule and shine the mesquite trees for cat fox or coon and he would let us shoot  a tiny 22 short rife while doing this.  One time we had a lot of extra people who brought horses and mules who were suposed to be jumpers and gun broke shy outfits.  Anyways, I let someboby use my jumping mule due to there critter not wanting to jump at night, well he jumped and right away the rest followed him over the pulled down fence, they went up to the bobcat tree and shinned the cat, they asked me can i shoot the cat out, i hollared go ahead, big mistake, they had loaded a 44 mag carbine rife on this mule who had never had anything but  22 short shot off of him, I watched in horror as the flamethrower shot up at the cat in the tree, the headlight on my pard head seemed to be in oribt, it was, the mule was so spooked he tossed him and began running to the back of the 10,000 acre ranch we were hunting onlol   I never let anybody ride him or shoot off of him again unless it was with a gun i had handed them and we awyas used a 22 short pistol or a lil 25 cablier auto handloaded job we got to shoot in the eye of a big boar if we had too.  I love going hunting horseback or muleback espeically at night with dogs, nothing better than that for sure, good luck on your pony, i am sure he will be going your way soon!!!

used to love horseback hunting about 45 years ago or so. we had 3 horses that would carry the hogs out live draped over their neck or behind the saddle hanging down towards thew ground. we rode to the bay sent catch dogs ahead stepped off and tied the hog or hogs. also had a short mule that jumped when we hunted coons at night lot of fun. he would carry dead coons out on him too. but don't hand your foot inhis flank it was rodeo time.

Good looking horses!

Mandi, Cooper is looking really good but not in a mule kind of way ;)

Try aluminum cans in two gunny sacks tied together and tie them behind your saddle bags, hanging to the flanks, its got a different sound to it!

Do you have a tanned hog hide for him yet? Gonna start the hides on the little mule when he gets back home too. might even try the fence humping with him too, Oscar said he was trying to jump out the round pen with his hobbles on, he might just be a natural

yall make sure yall get alot of pics from yall trip for me to be jealous over! Oh yeah bring ne backa  rattler too if you can!