Avoid Pack-Animal Injuries
Even a good-fitting pack saddle can sore or even injure your pack animal,
because of the amount of dead weight it must hold in balance.
Here are seven ways to avoid pack- animal injuries.
1. Get the right tack for the job. A basic pack saddle may be safe for an animal on flat terrain for short trips. When packing into more challenging territory, add harness pieces (such as a crupper, breastcollar, and britchen) to help keep the pack saddle in place.
2. Ensure proper saddle fit. Make sure your pack saddle fits from the outset of your journey. Keep in mind that on extended journeys, your pack animal may lose weight, tone up, or otherwise experience body changes; adjust the fit accordingly.
Modern pack saddles offer special fitting features. Fiberglass panniers simply hang on the bars and contour to the animal’s shape. Canadian adjustable pack saddles, according to DeStarke, adjust automatically through self-equalizing pivots.
If needed, carry additional blankets or other padding to help adjust the pack along the way.
3. Pack feed carefully. To prevent accidentally poisoning your pack animal, never pack feed with poisons, such as fly spray or first-aid potions. Separate these supplies into isolated areas of the pack.
4. Avoid rattles and flutter. Rid the pack of any rattles, squeaks, or other strange noises that may spook your pack animal. Likewise, pack to prevent flapping, fluttering, or trailing objects.
5. Balance every load. An unbalanced pack load will work the pack saddle around the animal to one side. Even if the load doesn’t slip, imbalances of even a few pounds will put the animal off balance. This will cause him to compensate, which, in turn, can cause soreness and injury.
Use a scale that’s made specifically to weigh saddle packs. These scales will accurately weigh the overall load, and will ensure each side of the pack is of equal weight. Weigh each pack twice, lifting them slowly off the ground rather than jerking upwards, for accuracy.
6. Be aware. Before you leave and on your trek, constantly search for anything that might stress your pack animal. Excessive friction and load pressure can cause woeful sores that can become very serious very quickly.
Any part of a pack that pokes into the hide, rather than blending into a continuous, smooth-bearing surface that evenly spreads the load’s weight can result in a galled area. Similarly, a surface that rubs the animal excessively, or has a gritty surface (such as dirt lodged under
a harness piece) can quickly rub the animal raw.
Thoroughly check the entire rig whenever loading, clean saddle blankets and cinches of sweat, salt, and any debris, and check everything over throughout the day. If your pack animal shows any signs of odd behavior, stop immediately to inspect the pack’s condition for anything that might cause a sore or injury.
7. Check cinch pressure. Just as you check the cinch on your riding saddle, check pack-saddle cinch pressure before setting out and at intervals along the way.
Snug the cinch; a loose pack saddle can cause a load to slip and become unbalanced. A slipping load can cause abrasions and can even spook your pack animal, causing a wreck. However, don’t pull the cinch so tight that the animal’s movement or breathing is limited.
Note that over the course of a day (and weeks and months) your pack animal may change weight and tone; change cinch settings accordingly.
Tom Moates (www.tommoates.com) is a widely published equestrian journalist and author. His latest book is A Horse’s Thought, A Journey into Honest Horsemanship.
