I'm out traveling at the moment, hitchhiking mostley, and havnt got alot of money... (in sweden atm) Anywho, the thought of traveling with a horse has crossed my mind a few times... Is there anybody who has any advice on this topic.. Is it possible in the land of the motorways? Are there certain countries that are better suited for traveling alot with a horse? (except the obvious mongolia) Is it expensive to keep a horse while travling? To my knowledge horses can survive just fine on grass, which is everywhere and free, so it must be pretty cheap? i guess the medical stuff and vaccines is what costs a lot? Hugs!
do you have experience with horses? travelling with one is something i have considered, but there is A LOT more to it than you may think. it sounds easy to just let them graze as you go, but horses eat a shit load and in most places theres not much to eat in winter. horses are prey and will flee if threatened by predators (or wind, snapping twigs, scary birds, nothing at all...), they are strong enough to easily break a rope, small tree, etc. if he threw you (very likely) and you hurt yourself in the middle of nowhere, youre fucked. their feet need regular maintenance (expensive), they need regular clean water, depending on your breed (anything but a tough pony, icelandic, canadien, etc.) they may need shoes as well as daily grain for energy. vaccines and wormers may or may not be necessary but are expensive and vet bills are huge, like massive. also, your start up costs would be huge. a good horse will cost you upwards of 2 grand, tack will be several hundred. the most important thing: unless you have years of experience working with horses and are an accomplished rider and know how to take care of a horse (i dont mean like youve rode a friends horse for x number of years. you pretty much need to have trained under a professional) dont even try it. it will end very badly. hope that was informative i nkow people have done it for hundreds of years, but it makes a big difference if youre riding with a group. if you had some friends who were doing it with you, it would be a lot safer. but still, you need years of knowledge to know how to deal with horses.
scatteredleaves speaks the truth. Horses are wonderful animals, but they can be very quirky to work with. They're immensely strong and you can get hurt very easily around them if you don't know what you're doing. The logistics of caring for a horse is not rocket science, but it's not simple, either. Horses are surprisingly fragile ... they've been known to get colic or founder if they're suddenly fed from a different batch of hay, for instance. Planning to graze them alongside the road is not a good idea because of pesticides and auto exhaust absorbed in the grass. If they only get grass and no other feed, then they need to graze for many hours a day. Grass is not nearly as nutritious as grain or even good alfafa hay, so you'd have to let them graze for most of the day. They can graze at night, but then you have to hobble them so they don't wander too far, and you're still not sure where they are, or who's found them and decided to keep them. Their feet and legs are also fragile. You saw what happened to Eight Belles during the Kentucky Derby this year. That sort of thing is thankfully not very common among ordinary saddle horses, but it can happen. I think your idea could probably work, but you really, really need lots of experience working with horses before you even think about it.
Sonfield Your dream is one I share with you! However, what people have said on here is true. I have been rehabilitating and retraining neglected/ psychologically damaged horses for 5 years, and I have been looking after horses since I was 4 years old. Unfortunately horses have been domesticated and need special care to survive. Here are 2 points not mentioned already, the first, there are many legal issues which you would not be able to aviod. horses need to have passports and taking horses into different countries is taken VERY seriously by authorities due to the spread of diseases. Also, horses are herd animals, they need eachother, even the calmest most relaxed horses will not travel by alone and will become very difficult to handle due to fear. Travelling with animals is not the same as travelling alone, being free and living in the moment. If you travel with horses you are responsible for their care, they need you and that makes it a very different experience. However, I am going to set up a horse caravan.I want to create a community of like minded people who share a love for earth and want to spend their time, travelling, living for free and teaching people about nature and our planet with the help of beautiful horses. But this is a long way off, I have firstly to find horses which would be suitable for this though, then train them and prepare them for this sort of new life, and also sort out the funding. I am very experienced in many areas of horse care from nursing to foot trimming so luckily that would not be a problem for me. However, It is going to take time and preparation and it will not be so easy. If you still want to do it, stay in touch, maybe you can join the caravan when it starts! blessings
