Cam Horsemanship
Cameron Advanced Mobility’s Horsemanship Course was designed to provide a service whereby students of varying degrees of experience, from bare novice to seasoned horsemen, are able to learn about, practice and participate in controlled interactive educational experiences with and about horses and mules, their care and uses. In particular, this seminar will focus on the uses and possibilities of horses and mules where packing teams are self-contained in mountainous wilderness environments. The seminar shall have two areas of emphasis: (1) communal class time where discussions will be led by persons of differing specialties, and (2) hands on experience where there shall be no more than two students per instructor. Instructors shall be knowledgeable, competent and experienced in packing and horse travel. During the week long seminar the learning environment will progress from (a) initial introduction to (b) learning about and working with stock and tack (c) self- contained cross country wilderness travel.
CAM Horsemanship training will take place in Nye, Montana, on a working cattle ranch. The ranch is on 4000 private acres in the Beartooth Mountains. All instructors are college educated and have spent decades teaching their craft to the many varieties of people that the outfitting business has brought them in contact with over those years. Their collective experiences over the years have taught them the most effective means of getting the need to know information across while maintaining the safety and well-being of both horse and student!
Over the 5 day course the students will encounter many different types of terrain that the Montana back country has to offer. From mountainous steep ascents to rocky descents and river crossings, the students will walk away from the CAM Horsemanship course with a solid working knowledge of what it takes to move multiple miles cross country on horseback. Living off the horses and learning their needs, the students will benefit from the breadth of knowledge the instructor cadre and their decades of experience in working with these animals outfitting in Montana.
Students will have a working knowledge of the tack needed to operate a single horse cross country as well as multiple horses in a group pack endeavor; as well as the considerations that need to be accounted for like distances, food, water and the overall wellbeing of the animal/animals their operating.
Teaching someone to be an accomplished horseman in just a few days is a lot to ask for but our instructors are confident they can give committed people enough information to know how to choose the type of stock they need for specific projects, how to saddle, pack and care for the animals. And the best way to interact with them while doing so.
- Breakfast served, during or after which instructors will be formerly introduced, handouts containing maps, coordinates, diagrams and written descriptions of exercises issued, and a plan for how the overall objectives of the seminar will be pursued; describing and explaining each individual day of the seminar in detail. Included in topics of discussion will be the basic care for the needs of horses and mules, confirmation, a basic understanding of different equine breeds, their individual strengths and weaknesses, foot care and handling, veterinary needs and equine first aid, the different parts and purposes of tack, both riding and packing, the daily care of both saddles and tack, “horse trading”, and an introduction into the minds of horses and mules and how best to communicate with them to create safe and positive experiences. After discussion, questions and answers, the seminar will move to the arena to meet the horses.
- At the arena and using live animals the instructors will reiterate the basics of the morning’s discussion topics.
- Lunch
- Arena time resumes. Students will be introduced to saddle horses and issued tack. Under the tutelage of their team instructors students will practice fitting, saddling and bridling their horses. One the students are deemed fairly competent handling tack and a comfortable relationship has been established between horses and riders, instruction in mounting and riding will commence.
- Horse and tack put up.
- Free time.
- Evening meal served during and after which the day’s events and tomorrow’s objectives will be discussed with questions and answers.
- The evening of the first day will be free time with the opportunity for instructors and students to get to know each other around the campfire.
- Breakfast, briefing for the day’s objectives.
- After breakfast work resumes at the arena. Students will catch their mounts, groom and tack them up. Instruction in the saddle as well as hobbling and picketing.
- Lunch
- Arena instruction: Instruction to hands on foot care and handling.
- Students introduced to on pack horse per team, pack tack issued. Supervised practice in fitting, saddling, loading and leading pack stock from the saddle.
- Horse and tack put up.
- Free time.
- Evening meal, critique of day’s events, tomorrow’s objectives, questions and answers.
- Evening camp fire.
- Breakfast, daily briefing (discussions of gear necessary for travel).
- Students pack personal duffle
- Students gather at the arena where horses are caught, groomed, tacked up, and packed with full travel compliment. Horsemanship and practice leading from the saddle.
- Lunch, students given coordinates of Tent Camp and assigned different off road routes to travel.
- In addition to their personal duffle and horse tack, students may be assigned various camp objects for packing. Leave Base Camp Arena, riding trails and cross country, over a pass, through open and timbered country to the Tent Camp. Approximate travel time with stops will be 3.5 to 4 hours.
- After arriving at tent camp, horses picketed and tack put up, individual tents will be erected. This camp has a heated shower and blue ribbon fly fishing for free time. Meals are provided at a comfortable outdoor cook shack.
- Evening meal critique followed by free time for fishing and/or time around the camp fire.
- Teams work with instructors to manage stock for the night.
- Breakfast, daily briefing. Each team will be provided with coordinates to pack stations in and around the surrounding timbered and broken country. Instructor’s option will be to construct day’s events as a judged and timed event.
- Catch, groom and saddle all stock, riding and packing.
- The day will be spent riding and packing from station to station, at the end of which all horses will be unsaddled and traded with other teams as they arrive. Each team will address (with their trading partners) the various attributes and liabilities of each horse traded. All horses shall then be re saddled, packed, mounted and ridden to the next station where the process will be repeated until arriving back at Tent Camp.
- Horses and tack put up.
- Free time (fishing, horses, campfire). If a student needs/wants extra horse time instructors will be available.
- Evening meal and daily critique followed by free time.
- Breakfast, daily briefing and coordinates provided, pack for Spike Camp.
- Teams gather, groom, and saddle stock.
- This day will be spent traveling in teams to Spike Camp. Instructors will work with weaknesses and strengths of students throughout the day.
- Estimated time of arrival in Spike Camp.
- Students care for horses and put up camp.
- MRIs optional if students want to bring and eat them, however a generous and well-rounded meal will be prepared by instructors.
- Evening meal, daily critique and camp tasks assigned.
- Students are responsible for all duties of camp including starting fire and coffee at daybreak, gathering wood and hauling water.
- Instructors will decide how the day will go to best address any remaining issues with individual students.
- MRIs optional if students want to bring and eat them, however a generous and well-rounded meal will be prepared by instructors.
- Daily briefing including time to meet back at Base Camp.
- Students will be in charge of when and how they manage their stock but must be saddled, packed, and ready to ride at 9:00 hours.
- Instructors will have already left for Base Camp.
- Teams will leave one at a time. At least one instructor will follow at a distance after the last team has left camp.
- Instructors will appear at sites of their choosing with various route changes, obstacles, additional items to pack, and other exercises to be followed.
- No formal lunch, snacks in the saddle.
- Students and instructors arrive at Back Camp at pre-determined time. Students responsible for putting up stock and tack in appropriate places.
- After packing and stowing personal gear, students and instructors will gather for final critique and farewell.
CAM Mobility TrainingS
From high desert to jungle, on horsepack or with horsepower, CAM Mobility can take you there.
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