4-Day Packing Clinic
With Spencer Dominick
June 13 - 16, 2024 | Big Timber, Montana
The adventure of a pack trip is at your fingertips
Join us for a 4-day horse and mule packing clinic - everyone is welcome!
This experience includes:
A unique opportunity for an intro to hoof trimming and backcountry shoeing demonstration.
A half- day horsemanship with clinic with Spencer Dominick, geared towards backcountry travel with stock.
Loads and hitches and other packing skills.
Discussion around backcountry vet care.
A two-night pack trip through the prairie on southwest Montana ranchlands.
During this experience, you will gain knowledge of frequently-used hitches, ponying stock, stringing together pack animals, camping and animal restraint, and balancing loads. You will also learn to balance the hard work of packing stock for recreational use with the fun times that these amazing animals bring us.
This class is intended for riders who want to gain confidence as they get more recreational packing experience under their belt, with a goal of self-sufficiency, building confidence, and safety. We will blend traditional packing skills and learn systems using both a sawbuck and decker pack saddle. You will have opportunity with repetition of the basics both on and off your saddle horse so you can develop your own feel within these systems to pack safely. With two nights out at camp, we will stay at two different camps to get more practice loading, unloading, and setting up and breaking down camp. Although we will introduce you to mantying cargo, we will generally use basket hitches with iron cloth bags; box hitches using lash cinches around panniers; both with and without top loads.
Many of us aspire to spend more time in the wilderness, and this class is a low-key way to prepare you for just those types of adventures. This packing experience will be taught with our horses and mules, entirely on private ranchlands - a great opportunity for learning skills and still seeing some pretty country. We will ride across contiguous ranch properties in native prairie grassland ecosystems to the east of the Crazy Mountains. We may run into a couple beef cows, elk, pronghorn, deer, coyotes, and native birds, but we will likely not see any other people. Food will be prepared for you, and participants will help with all aspects of animal care that come up (restraint, tacking up, setting up and taking down camp, loading, making decisions as a group depending on what comes up during our time together).
The goal is to improve our skills, empower you to learn, have fun, and stay safe. Please come ready to share your goals with the group.
Clinic Itinerary
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1030am shuttle pickup from Bozeman airport / hotels.
1:00 pm Arrival at the ranch, orientation
Welcome and orientation
Farrier demo
Intro to packing systems & practice with loads
6:30 Dinner.
Sleep at home base camp
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7:30am Breakfast
Introduction to horsemanship clinic
12:00pm Break for lunch
Load mules for overnight
Ride to camp, set up camp, discuss & implement restraint devices overnight.
Dinner
Sleep at Prairie camp #1
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7:30am Breakfast
Break down camp & load up mules.
Head out to Prairie camp # 2 with a stop for lunch along the way.
Arrive at camp, set up, take care of mules and horses
Dinner
Sleep at Prairie camp #2
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Breakfast
Discuss wilderness equine medicine.
Pack up camp and load mules
Head back to home base camp with a stop for lunch along the way.
3pm arrival to home base camp.
Dinner and camping at home base camp included for those traveling out on monday. If travel sunday night is needed, participants can take off.
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7:30 Breakfast
8:30 Airport shuttle departs for the bozeman airport.
10:00 Shuttle arrives at the Bozeman airport
A few notes on gear and accommodations for this trip:
The first night will be spent at our home base camp. Here you will be staying in comfortable canvas tents with a cot and mattress, while we learn skills at our home base before heading out.
The second night will be spent out at one of our Prairie Camps. While camping out, you will be sleeping on the ground with a mattress in a backpacking-style tent to cut down on the group weight we have to pack on the mules.
We ask you to bring your own sleeping bag. If you have your own camping mattress and can bring it, please do. If either is not possible, we got you - you can borrow from us, just let us know ahead of time.
For more information on our camps, click here.
A note from Spencer Dominick
Horses are the gift that keeps on giving! When I was born, we had horses. My first real job was as a wrangler on our family's 7-D Guest Ranch in Sunlight Basin, Wyoming at the age of nine. I have led pack trips for 20 years, and had a professional training business since 1999 in Wilsall, Montana. I have done cow work, hunting, and farming. I earned a degree in art education from MSU. My main profession is to start horses, mules and donkeys, refine horses, teach lessons and teach clinics .
My goals as a trainer are:
To learn from every horse and every horse person.
To help create positive communication and relationships.
To build skills that make versatile horses.
To have safe experiences.
My life is blessed by thousands of wonderful relationships with horses, mules, and donkeys. They have given me sustenance, wonderful adventure, kindness, hardship and all the colors of life.
Thank you for your interest,
Spencer
Travel & Trip Details:
Airport Shuttle Arrival: Schedule your flight to arrive into Bozeman no later than 10:30am Thursday June 13th (10:30am pick up time). If you need to fly in the night before, give us a call and we can either pick you up that night if it works out with other participants or we can pick you up at a hotel the morning of June 13th. We will offer stops at a ranch supply and beverage store if there is interest.
Airport Shuttle Departure: Schedule your flight to depart no earlier than 12pm on Monday June 17th (we will arrive at the bozeman airport by 10:00 am).
If you are driving: arrive at the ranch by 1pm Thursday June 13th. Farewells by Monday June 17th by 9:00am (after breakfast). Also, if you wish to depart the evening of Sunday the 16nd, this will be possible with our itinerary.
Minimum horseback experience level: Confident beginner. Need to be able to enjoy prolonged stretches in the saddle (up to 4-5 hrs). If you have any questions about skill level/ ability with this clinic, please give us a call: 406-931-0285.
Booze? You are welcome to byob, we can make a stop on the way to the ranch from the airport.
Gear: while packing we will use backpacking tents. We will email you a gear list upon registration, but generally we have things you can borrow so that anyone can come on this regardless of whether you have gear.
Price: $2400
A deposit of half the total cost ($1200) is due to reserve your spot.
Final payment of remaining half is due three weeks before your experience.
You are also welcome to submit the full payment at once. To do so, add both the deposit and final payment to your cart.
*SOLD OUT*
If you registered for this clinic and need to make a final payment, please add it to your cart below:
June 13-16, 2024.
Airport shuttle included.
All important trip details including directions to the ranch, packing list, waiver, and questionnaire will be included in a confirmation email received after completing your reservation.