What is hiking with a horse or mule?
Everyone knows what hiking is. You put on a rucksack, choose a route, and set off on foot for a few days or weeks.
When evening comes, you can pitch your tent or sleep in a lodge.
Hiking is synonymous with freedom, holidays, happiness, fresh air and fitness.
However, this type of holiday comes at a price: the closer you want to be to nature and the more peace and quiet you want when camping, the heavier your bag will be.
So hiking with a horse or mule in complete autonomy takes you into another dimension of freedom:
• The first benefit is that the horse or mule will carry the luggage. Travelling with a horse or mule means no more back pain. An equine, supported by its four legs, can carry much more than us poor bipeds, provided of course that it is given a comfortable pack saddle. It can easily carry the belongings of three people.
• Camping becomes the norm, as you can carry high-quality equipment: a sturdy tent, thick inflatable mattresses, warm sleeping bags. Sleeping in a tent in the mountains is no longer synonymous with spartan comfort and back pain, but a guarantee of new-found freedom. With a pack animal, you become independent of the accommodation network. You can stop whenever you feel tired, as soon as you find a nice spot and a water source.
• And finally, the most important thing, which captures the hearts of hikers from the very first days: walking with a horse or mule creates a wonderful bond with your animal. Just as its owners quickly become attached to it, it also quickly becomes attached to its owners when they are good to it. From being a carrier, it quickly becomes a walking companion.
• The presence of a horse or mule greatly facilitates relations with local residents along the route. Everyone loves these courageous animals, which remind them of a time when they were the driving force behind society. Any request is more readily accepted, whether it be for water or permission to camp.
One riding animal + one pack animal
This is a classic setup for trail riders.
The rider rides ahead on one animal while another animal carrying the luggage follows behind.
This setup combines the pleasures of riding with independence thanks to the mobile camp.
At the evening stop, there are two animals to take care of: grooming, grazing, and penning.
The necessary equipment
When you want to go hiking with a horse or mule, once you have found the right pack animal, you need to get the right equipment.
There is no point going to the big sports shops, as this activity is not one of their priorities. At best, you will find a few saddlebags there, which will rarely last more than half an hour. In fact, a pack animal respects nothing and will relentlessly destroy the equipment placed on its back by walking as close as possible to sharp rocks, brambles and barbed wire. That’s why it’s essential to choose very sturdy equipment that will last for decades without ever breaking.
• The pack saddle: this is the heart of the carrying system. The most important quality of a pack saddle is that it provides the animal with comfort while working. At Randoline, we use ash wood for its flexibility, strength and durability. We add metal reinforcements and brass and stainless steel bridges. The different Randoline pack saddle models rest on the animal’s back thanks to movable pads that mould to the shape of the back. The pack saddle is attached to the animal by a pack saddle harness made from high-quality leather that we source from the south of Larzac. With proper care, this type of harness will last a lifetime.
For trekking with a horse or mule, we have developed the Bassador, based on the Balissandre technique and their 17 years of experience, but with a number of features specific to horses and mules, in particular the very important withering.
• The carpet: the pack saddle rests on a carpet, which acts as a cushion between the animal and the pack saddle. It must be thick enough to soften the weight, but not too thick so as not to unbalance the load. At Randoline, we have designed a special Couveton for the Bassador pack saddle, with two flaps connected by leather straps and a cover made of very thick technical fabric enclosing a felt pad. To keep the equipment looking good, this Couveton carpet is removable and washable.
• Saddlebags: equipment will be carried in saddlebags. Equipment includes clothing, food, camping gear, etc. In short, everything that people used to carry in their rucksacks before the advent of love. The most important quality required of a pannier is that it be completely waterproof. If your clothing or sleeping bag is soaked on the first night, the hike is over. The second most important quality, even more so than for the pack, is robustness. The bag will take all the knocks that the animal inflicts on it along the way. It will bang against trees, rocks, stumps, low walls, etc. At Randoline, we have been developing the Bagagine since 2009, a bag that is not afraid of much and which, in the evening at camp, stands upright like a small cupboard.
• The roll bag: the roll bag, which is placed on top of the pack, contains light but bulky items such as sleeping bags. Given its contents, it is obvious that it must be able to withstand a whole day of heavy rain. At Randoline, we call this device the Polichon.
• The lead rope: this is the rope used to guide the animal along the trail. As you will be holding it in your hand for part of the day, it is important that it is soft to the touch. At Randoline, we have designed the Longerine, a double-length hiking lead rope with two carabiners and a double layer of fabric in contact with the hand. When you stop, you give the animal the freedom of the full length of the Longerine, allowing it to graze in peace.
• Night stake: you don’t always have a tree or fence to tie your animal up at night, which is why it’s important to have a stake that you can drive into the ground and attach a rope or chain to. At Randoline, we have invented the Tortillon, a sturdy steel stake shaped like a corkscrew that can penetrate even the hardest ground.
• Night tether: you cannot tether your animal at night using its daytime lead, otherwise it will be covered in mud and torn by morning. It is not advisable to use a rope, otherwise the animal risks getting caught in a very dangerous ‘lead snare’. At Randoline, we have designed the Cordelune, which connects the night stake to the animal. It is a steel cable enclosed in a high-strength plastic tube, which cannot form knots.
• Maintenance equipment: when hiking with an animal, anything can happen, and anything will happen. You simply need to have the necessary repair equipment to deal with the animal’s mischief and the damage caused by the terrain. At Randoline, we’ve put together an emergency kit containing all the essentials: a set of leather needles and waxed thread, an awl, neatsfoot oil for leather and linseed oil-turpentine for wood.
At Randoline, hiking with an animal is not just a vague concept. It is the result of 15 years of experience travelling thousands of miles across different countries, cultures and landscapes. It is in our DNA.
Every piece of equipment we create is designed with this experience in mind, with the aim of providing everyone with high-quality equipment at a fair price, so that hiking remains a time of happiness and holidays.
You will find the equipment mentioned above and much more in our shop. It’s up to you to choose according to your animal (donkey, horse, pony, mule) and the type of trek (week-long, long-distance).
