Gear

Gear for the road

This is what I took on my seven and a half month trip. 2 months in the middle I was lucky enough to have the vehicle support of my friend Alex, and so obviously didn't carry anything except what we needed during the day. For the final 10 days, it was only me and Micky, and so I stripped my gear down to a minimum to fit on one horse. I still feel like having all your gear on one horse is not sustainable indefinitely. For a week or two, and possibly in kind weather when travelling through grassy country, but for months on end, crossing variable terrain with long distances between resupply points, the two horse system is the way to go.

SAFETY AND COMMS

• Comprehensive yet lightweight single person First Aid Kit (before heading out on long remote expeditions, take a Wilderness/Remote Area First Aid Course. You won't regret it.). Horse First Aid Kit, mostly large self-adhesive bandages, antiseptic and suture kit.

• Leatherman multi-tool (invaluable!) and head torch.

• Wire cutters.

• Garmin Inreach Explorer+

• Mobile network enabled tablet. I found this to be far more useful than a phone. The larger screen was great for looking as maps and images, and it was possible to write quite large documents at a reasonable speed. And I could still make phone calls and text.

• Goal Zero Nomad 7 solar panel (I would definitely upgrade to a 28 watt panel or even more, as I found the 7 could only just meet power needs when in all day sunlight everyday – not a realistic real world scenario).

All the above gear lived in my daypack and was on my person at all times, so that if I ever lost the horses, I would have emergency gear.

• Large power banks x2.

• Multiple spare USB cords – these kept breaking!

HUMAN GEAR

• Sleeping bag. I used the Sea to Summit Ember III with a silk liner. This was perfect for an Australian winter trip where temperatures never got below about -4 degrees Celsius.

• Sleeping mat – Sea to Summit EtherLite… Or the saddle blankets at a pinch!

• Tent. I LOVE my One Planet Goondie 1. It's a one-man tent but is roomy and has large vestibule space. A 4 season tent that I have tested thoroughly, from the endless drenching rain and squalls of Scotland to the icy Kyrgyz mountains.

• Toilet kit.

• SteriPen for water purification.

• Personal sanitary items.

• Sunscreen and lip balm (Goat make the best lip balm I have ever used).

• Set of thermals plus a set of “town clothes.”

• Synthetic puffer jacket.

• Beanie and gloves (mittens and waterproof).

• Riding clothes. I found standard athletic tights to be the most comfy pants to wear – nothing worse than trying to mount in restrictive denim! A long sleeved silk shirt for summer/warm weather. Lightweight merino layers for colder conditions. Merino-based socks.

• Sunhat. Would you really be a horseperson without an epic hat?!

• Rain jacket. Overpants if needed.

• Stove. I used an MSR International, which is a multi-fuel stove ie can run on petrol or, preferably, Shellite (white gas). This meant I could always get fuel, no matter how remote. If undertaking a shorter trip or going through well populated areas, I might consider taking a Jetboil for convenience.

• Cup, spoon, fork, plate for chopping.

• Water bladder with 3l capacity.

HORSE GEAR

• Riding saddle. Trekker Aussie. A flexible ultra-lightweight saddle for my crazy-shaped Arab. Low profile string girth and fenders. Would I recommend all long riders use such a saddle? No. But it is absolutely perfect for one of my horses, and the only thing that matters with saddles is that it fits your horse (and maybe doesn’t make you cry…).

• Pack saddle and panniers. By Custom Pack-Rigging, Canada. Low profile string girth.

• Saddle blankets – the more the better!

• Hoof boots plus repair kit. I use Renegade Vipers and LOVE them.

• Halter and lead per horse. I found a simple rope with no clip to be best for whoever was the packhorse that day, as the heavy metal clip on a lead rope tended to swing around and smash them in the face.

• High line and runners. This is just a simple 20-30m rope plus a small (1-1.5m) rope with swivel clip on each end for high-lining the horses at night.

• Hoof kit – nippers, rasp, knife, pick, hoof oil, and NT Dry.

• Lightweight plastic brush.

• Fly masks in the summer.

• Salt and mineral supplements.

• Collapsing bucket. Sea to Summit have several excellent lightweight designs.

• Hi-viz vest to attach to pack saddle for visibility on the road.

• Extra webbing, string etc for repairs, plus spare bolts for saddle.

• Rugs for the winter. I am not convinced that rugging is best for horses. However, on the road one often has to camp in exposed places, and the horses are secured and so cannot move about and seek shelter. Feed may also be limited, which severely impacts a horse's ability to stay warm. Hence rugging during cold weather definitely helped ME sleep at night!

WHAT I WOULD GET FOR MY NEXT TRIP

• Larger solar panel, as mentioned. Goal Zero Nomad 28 or similar.

• Portable lightweight solar electric fence. Alex had the kit made by Digger Dog, a small Australian manufacturer, for the Nullarbor. It was great and the boys were so happy to have a yard every night! I would probably get the Sureguard Pro-Tech 5 solar electric fence energiser. It only weighs 900g! But I haven't yet tested it out.

• A decent camera!