Horse Power As Transportation

Transportation is important in any survival plans. There may come a time when leaving your immediate area could be the difference between living and dying. Possibly your BOV just will not do the trick. Perhaps the roads are out due to adverse weather or the number of people who have the same idea has impacted your ability to depart on public highways. In either case it is important to have alternate plans to leave the area and get to your established retreat.
 
I do not claim to be any sort of horse expert, in fact, I know very little about the animals but it would seem to me that they would be the perfect way to get from point A to point B when all else fails. You really would not need to be an experienced horse rider in the least as what I am about to propose involves a small cart in which to transport your emergency supplies and equipment in. I am in no way advocating riding the animal as the particular one that I am considering is one of the smaller breeds.
 
Selection of a small horse or pony can save you a lot of money over the larger animals. They eat less and require less maintenance. They are still strong enough to pull a small cart with supplies in it. In all reality you would not want to sit on these small animals backs for the possible 30 mile trip to your intended location but as mention use them as pack animals. I mention 30 miles per day as it is considered the norm for horse travel across the United States. As I understand the paved roads could tend to take their toil on these animals feet if not properly taken care of.
 
An important point that I would like to make here is that shoes on horses are an un-natural occurrence. Wild horses travel vast distances without shoes of any sort. This barefoot routine used on horses is actually quit popular these days and there is a process known as barefoot trimming that is used to keep the hoofs in great shape.
 
Simply put barefoot trimming is concerned with simulating the horse's feet. It is similar to that which they would receive in the wild if they were free to roam as they desire and exercise accordingly. This method of foot care would keep the horses feet trimmed naturally. Natural barefoot trimming is slightly different than merely leaving the horse barefooted although the exception would be if the horse were to reside on terrain adequate for self trimming. These trimming techniques should be accomplished every 5 to 6 weeks. The major goal involved with the natural trimming is simply to encourage hoof health and in our cases for survival to allow the horse to be used comfortably over all types of terrain.
 
One of the major advantages of this form of horse care is that there are no shoes to worry about as you are roaming the country side. In addition, your horse will have better means of traction on concrete or asphalt without the use of shoes. Lastly, trimming the hoofs is much cheaper then shoeing your animal As an example shoeing your horse every eight weeks can cost approximately $600 or more while the cost associated with trimming every 6 weeks is only $40. More information on this method used for horses can be found by searching one of the popular internet search engines.
 
From a survivalist point of view it is an easily learned skill and the tools needed to trim the horses feet are totally portable thus in the event that you had to bug out with your horse you could readily take the necessary tools with you.
 
That is the types of horses that would be needed in the event of an emergency or survival situation. There won't be a horse shoe maker around the corner waiting for your business and eventually even the source of the shoes may perhaps be gone as well. In conclusion, I leave these thoughts for you to ponder as for an alternate means of transportation from your current home to your retreat location some miles away.
 
Copyright @ 2009 Joseph Parish