Horse camping allows you to ride on trails in areas you’ve always dreamed about. Everyone — regardless of age, physical condition, or finances — can camp. It doesn’t require pack stock or equipment. You simply select a site, set up a camp, then saddle your equine friend and hit the trails.

On your own horse, you’ll be able to access thousands of miles of trails, from oceans to lakeshores, mountain meadows to desert sands, local open space to wilderness. All you need for a safe and fun adventure is the ability to get there, and the know-how to plan ahead. Here are some tips to get you started.

Find Time

If you work fulltime, plan to camp on the weekends, long holiday weekends, or during your vacation time. For short trips, select†a horse camp close to home. Hauling 500 miles to camp for a few hours is stressful for both you and your horse. You’ll spend more time on the road than on the trail. Save long trips for an extended four-day weekend or longer.

When choosing when and where to go, consider the time of year. Camping in high altitudes in November can mean snow.†Desert camping in July can mean 100-plus-degree heat. Two or three days before leaving, contact the agency in charge of the camp, and ask about the weather and any "temporary regulations" (seasonal restrictions).

Also check moon phases. It’s nice to camp under a full moon the first couple nights. Moonlight will allow your horse to see better in a strange environment. He may be used to a barn light at home, so complete darkness can be unnerving. During a full moon, it’s also easier to check on your horse as he moves around the corral.

Select a Camp Type

When deciding where to camp, first consider how much camping experience both you and your horse have had. Camping can be hard on you both. This is especially true the first few times, but even seasoned campers experience some stress. (Of course, the payoff is worth it.) Keep in mind that your horse might’ve lived most of his life in a barn. Or, he might live in a pasture but has never seen a pine tree or a deer.

Just like hotels, horse camps come with a variety of amenities. Essentially, they can be divided into three categories: "five-star"; developed; and primitive. Here’s a rundown of each one.

"Five-star": This type of camp is usually private, or developed and maintained by a local riding club. It offers such amenities as corrals,†covered shelters, hot-water showers, flush toilets, wash racks, picnic tables, and recreational-vehicle hookups. This type of camp is recommended for your first camping experience, to enhance your enjoyment and reduce stress. Fees for this type of camp range from a few dollars to $50 or more per night.

One "five-star" camp is Jack Brooks Horse Camp in the San Francisco Bay area. It not only offers corrals, wash racks, hot showers, and electricity, but also equipment for cleaning paddocks and a complete cooking area, with griddles, hot plates, fire pits, and tables on green grass. If you’d rather not cook, area restaurants will deliver everything from pizza to complete dinners. There’s also a feed store nearby. Wandering wildlife is usually limited to deer, raccoons, and low-impact critters.

Developed: You’ll find developed camps on public lands, but some are privately run. Here, you might find a corral, a toilet (usually pit), a couple picnic tables, and a fire ring. Some don’t have corrals, so your horse will have to be high lined, picketed, tied to a trailer, or contained in some way.†A developed horse camp is great after you have a couple trips under the trailer tires and wish to move into more pristine territory. Fees range from free to a minimal cost.

Primitive: In this type of camp, you’ll find no amenities; there’s simply nothing there. The federal government owns the largest amount of primitive lands; of this land, the National Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management own the greatest percentage. You can camp anywhere on NFS or BLM land unless posted otherwise, accessing areas where few people wander.

For primitive camping, you’ll pack everything you need into your trailer and tow vehicle. Then you’ll simply head down a dirt road, find a nice setting, and set up camp. You’ll need to know basic survival techniques. In remote areas, you may not see another human being for days or weeks on end. I’ve camped for up to six weeks in primitive camps and never saw another person. It was just me, my horse, and Mother Nature!

Pick Your Spot

To locate horse camps, read guidebooks, trail-riding magazines, and other publications. Talk to other horse owners and to equine organizations.

Note that almost all federal lands have horse camps and trails. Contact the regional offices in the area you’d like to go, and ask about horse camping. Check the phone book for federal listings. Many state parks and forests also have horse camps; contact state officials, and ask for a state-parks map showing trails and horse camps. Or, contact the parks directly.

You can find private horse camps in travel directories and, of course, the phone book. An Internet search will also bring up federal and state agencies, plus private horse camps. (Tip: Set aside a few hours for online searches; you might have to follow several links, and the vast quantity of information can be distracting. One good place to start  is www.horseandmuletrails.com.)

Gather information, make a list of likely camps, then narrow down your choices. Consider each camp’s location. What are the roads like? Are you prepared to drive on rugged, unpaved roads? What about one-lane roads with turnouts? Consider the size of your trailer and tow-vehicle. Often, a small, two-horse trailer will allow you to access remote areas better than a larger one.

As mentioned earlier, choose a camp that matches your camping abilities. Your first horse-camping adventure will determine whether you’ll ever want to camp again. Keep those first few trips simple, easy, and fun. Then decide whether you’d like to progress to camp with fewer amenities.

CHECK IT TWICE

 CHECK IT TWICE  Here are the lists I use when I go horse camping. You may customize them to suit your own camping needs. Horsekeeping Baling wire Brushes/curries Burlap bags Coffee can Feed/forage Folding rack Funnel Grain (measured) Grain bags Grain pans/tubs Hay hooks Hay nets Hoof conditioner Hoof pick/cleaning tools Horse blankets (summer/winter) Horseshoes/nails Insect repellent (equine) Block or loose salt/minerals Manure rack Supplements/bran Water Water buckets/pails Water cans Horse-Health Aspirin (equine) Cold packs First-aid kit Bandages/wraps Prescription drugs/medications Horse-Camping Broom Corral tape Duct tape Flashlight Garbage bags Halters Hammer/nails High-line rope High-line lead ropes Knot eliminators Lead ropes/extra rope Portable corral Shovel Tree-savers Riding-Related Bit/extra bit Breastcollar/crupper Bridle/extra bridle Leather cleaner Leather sewing kit Rags Saddles Saddle pads Spurs Temporary hoof boot Apparel Extra socks Coats (heavy/light) Chaps/chinks Riding boots Riding apparel Riding gloves Riding hat/helmet Camp clothes/shoes Raingear/rain boots Swimsuit Safety Insect repellent Prescription medications Non-prescription medications Sunglasses Sunscreen Snakebite remedy Camping Batteries (for flashlight/radio) Book/s Camera/film Camp chairs Camp gloves Camp hat Charcoal Clothespins  Cooking wares Emergency blanket Firewood Fishing gear/bait Flashlights Food Ice chest Matches/lighter Radio Sleeping bag Tent/accessories Towels/soap Watch Water (one-gallon jugs) Waterproof matches Travel-Related Cell phone Directions/maps Emergency phone numbers Travel papers Emergency road equipment (flares, spare tires, jack, etc.)

Mealtime!

Packing up feed, grain, and water for a horse-camping adventure can be a bit complicated. Here are a few tips to keep in mind. Feed/forage. Don’t take a whole bale†of hay if you’re going camping for just a couple days.Take what you need for daily feedings, plus three or four extra flakes for the return trip. Wrap daily feedings in newspaper and tie them shut with string for easy handling. The hay won’t fall or blow around, and you can use the newspaper to start a campfire. If you plan to take baled hay (or a sacked feed, such as pellets), ask about any federal regulations. On some public lands, you might be required to use certified weed-free feeds to prevent exotic plant growth.These feeds usually come with a colored twine, marker, or receipt attached to the bales. Always keep this proof with the bales. Grain/supplements/medications. Prepackage grain into small, individual bags for each feeding. Avoid using plastic bags, as they hold moisture, leading to spoilage after three or four days. Add any vitamins, minerals, supplements, and/or medications you give your horse to each bag. If you give your horse any liquid medications or supplements, add them to the grain at feeding time, but take only enough for the camping trip rather than the whole bottle or jug. Water. Always consider water availability when horse camping. The majority of horse camps are "dry camps"—meaning there’s no water. Even when water is listed as available, you might arrive to find broken water pipes, a dried-up stream, or another problem, so always take containers to haul water in. Pack several three-gallon plastic water containers, plus a couple five-gallon water containers. Fill them up at home in case you need water on the road. Once you set up camp, remove them from your trailer for refills.

Make Lists

Once you select a horse camp, you’ll need to decide what to take. My personal motto is, if I can’t use something two ways

I don’t take it camping. Packing space is at a premium, especially on long camping trips and when heading to a primitive camp.

Begin your what-to-take-planning with a Camp List for Horses. For feed, grain, and water details, see "Mealtime!" at left.) Be sure to check off each item as you load it into your trailer. And, believe it or not, some people have been known to forget their horses in the mad rush to get ready. Add "Horse" to the bottom of your list.

Once you’ve completed your lists, print copies, and put them in a Horse Camp Binder. Put the date on the cover. Add directions on how to get tothe camp, maps, and emergency phone numbers, so everything is in one place and easy to find. If you’re crossing state lines, add copies of your horse’s certificate of veterinary inspection, proof of negative Coggins test (for equine infectious anemia), proof of ownership, and anything else you might need.

When you return home, file that particular Horse Camp Binder under the camp name for future use. (Tip: If you refer to a binder that’s more than five years old, call ahead to make sure routes are the same, the camp is still open, and the trails are still passable!)