Getting Out With Your Horse: My Simple Camp Set-Up
- Lily
- Apr 12
- 5 min read
As a child, I dreamed of spending the night curled up in a barn, sharing space and warmth with the animals that brought me peace. Now as an adult, I’ve found that camping with my horse fulfills that same desire. There’s nothing I love more than falling asleep to the soft sounds of horses at rest and peeling back the flap of my tent to peek out at my 4-legged companion in the early morning light.
Recently, I’ve had the chance to horse camp at trailheads or endurance rides every few weeks. I don’t have a living-quarters horse trailer and investing in gear isn’t cheap, but I’ve developed a simple and comfortable system that works well for me. Here’s a look into my front country camp setup.
Part 1: Equine Containment
The most important element to having a relaxing night in camp is knowing that your horse is safely secured and able to rest and fuel themselves. Many of the areas I camp don’t offer amenities like corrals, so I always ensure that I have a way to contain my horse overnight.
I added a HiTie attachment made by Easy Care to my bumper pull horse trailer, which functions like a highline and allows my horse to eat, drink, and lay down all while being tied to my trailer. It was easy to install and makes setting up camp super quick.
Another user-friendly and effective option for longer stays is using portable electric fencing to make a pen, which gives horses a bit more room to move around. It’s worth noting that hard ground or gravel can make it difficult to set stakes and horses should be familiar with electric fencing before trying it out in camp.
I typically use a large hole hay net clipped to my trailer to minimize hay wastage. Remember to check where you’re camping for weed-free hay regulations before setting out!
For water, I prefer to clip a 20 qt bucket to my trailer, since I’m usually up multiple times in the night anyway and can check if my horse needs a refill and I like to easily be able to monitor how much they are drinking. I use a bucket bag to prevent it from scratching the exterior of my trailer. Sometimes I use a larger water bucket on the ground, but have found that horses are more prone to knocking them over. Securing the bucket to a tire with twine can make it more difficult to overturn. I have a water tank that I always fill before hauling my horse, even if there’s supposed to be water in camp.
Part 2: My sleep system
I sleep in a 2-person tent made by Eureka. This was a more affordable backpacking tent, but it has served me incredibly well, staying dry in the rain, and giving me plenty of headroom and space in its double vestibules to store my stuff. I love having a tent to retreat to, especially at endurance rides, but I also have a backup set up for sleeping in the backseat of my truck if need be, using an inexpensive collapsible backseat platform I bought online.
When I’m in the front country, I love sleeping on my homemade bedroll, which was constructed from chunks of old memory foam and feels like sleeping on a real mattress. It’s heavy and awkward to carry around, but paired with my Big Agnes sleeping bag and regular pillow from my bed at home, I’ve slept warm on nights that got as low as 22 degrees. A good sleeping bag is one of the most impactful investments you can make to your camp kit. Always check the temperature ratings when you’re looking for a bag or quilt and make sure you get a size and style that works for you.
Part 3: Cooking
For short stays, I like to bring my JetBoil Flash stove, which I only use to boil water to cook ramen or dehydrated backpacking meals. I love how compact and easy this stove is to operate and doesn’t involve any clean up or dish washing afterwards.
If I’m going to be somewhere longer, I’ll bring a larger kit and my single burner Coleman propane stove that I inherited, as well as a small frying pan and pot. Some of my go to camp meals are soup, quesadillas, scrambles, and pancakes. I use a regular camp cooler to keep any perishable items cold, but tend to stick to things that don't need refrigeration for the sake of convenience.
I use a small collapsible table and cheap folding chair, or sometimes logs or stumps to enjoy my meals. No need for anything too fancy!
Part 4: Miscellaneous items in my camp kit:
In terms of hygiene, baby wipes are a trusty standby for getting dirt and grime off my skin. In my hygiene kit, I also bring toothbrush/paste & floss, sunscreen, lip balm, and hand sanitizer.
For myself, I also bring my first aid kit, a lighter, spare trash bags, a good headlamp, a portable power bank for my phone, and my Garmin InReach so I can stay in contact when I’m out of service.
For my horse, I always bring a bit more hay and feed than I expect to need, just in case. I keep my equine first aid kit in my trailer, as well as fly spray, a fly mask, and a horse blanket and fleece cooler since temperatures can drop quickly and my horse wouldn’t have access to shelter in bad weather.
It took me a while to accumulate gear and nail down a camp system that works well for me. I’ve seen a lot of tricked out rigs at endurance rides, but I’ve found this set up to be very comfortable for how simple it is. Spending the night out with your horse doesn’t have to be complicated, and opens the door to so many adventures! If you have any horse camping tips or great pieces of gear that I missed, shoot me an email at rideroutsideinfo@gmail.com
