Prepper Handbook Blog: Transportation

Tuesday, January 16, 2018

Prepper Livestock - Horse

Through out history, horses have proven to be reliable transportation and a strategic advantage for those who have them, yet most people don't even know how to ride.

In our BEST Prepper Transportation post, a Horse was one of the highest rated. They are:

Quite - No loud exhausts that will attract danger. In fact, few modes of transportation are quieter. No headlights to give away your position when you ride at night. Using Night Vision or Thermal Vision while riding can be a huge advantage.
Security - they are alert, can smell and hear danger at great distances.
Reliable - Low maintenance, no maintenance, rarely break down. EMP hardy with no electronics. Horses can also reproduce so they are sustainable long term.
Street and Off-road capable - Ability to go places many vehicles cannot go. When being pursued, or trying to stay off the beaten path, you can ride through a field, the woods, a narrow alley, foot trail or down the train tracks, which is a big advantage.
Carrying Capacity - Sufficient capacity for your individual needs. See Rule of 3's to prioritize the supplies you pack.
Long Travel Range - A horse is excellent for a Nomadic life style and great for regional scouting. You can get where you are going without running out of fuel.

But horses are useful beyond just transportation. They can carry/pull heavy loads, including wagons, plows or a travois like the Native Americans used. They make good companions and provide security as well as a large amount of meat as a last resort, i.e. much more versatile than cows.

Travois

While soft earth tone horses blend in to their surroundings better, Native Americans preferred horses with a pattern. This provides a decorative value but also a broken up pattern is harder to distinguish lines and see vs. a solid color as shown below.

Wild horses were hunted for food and appeared in Paelo cave art as early as 30,000 BC, New DNA testing suggests they were domesticated starting 8,000 BC or over 10,000 years ago. Solid evidence suggests they were clearly domesticated by 6,000 years ago.

The point is, the Horse has been tested and proven reliable for thousands of years. Take riding lessons and consider horse riding as a hobby. Perhaps this will evolve into owning your own horse some day. Popular Breeds include:

Arabian - is one of the oldest breeds, known for its spirit and endurance. They are versatile, intelligent, and loyal. Suitable for advanced owners and generally healthy.
Quarter Horse - is arguably the most popular breed in the United States and the American Quarter Horse Association is the largest breed registry in the world. Known as the fastest breed of horse over short distances (up to 55 mph), they are used for pleasure riding and western events such as barrel racing, roping and cutting, but they can also make excellent hunting mounts and even racehorses. Suitable for slightly experienced riders and known to have below average health.
Morgan - compact, brave and agreeable, best known for its versatility. Small in stature but big in heart, they are used today as a riding horse and cart pulling horses. Suitable for slightly experienced riders and known for being healthy with no genetic diseases.
Appaloosa - were developed by the Nez Perce Native Americans They are genetically diverse, versatile, tough, independent, hardy and sure-footed, with big bodies and sparse manes and tails. Appaloosas are often used as stock horses and pleasure mounts, and also make excellent trail horses. Suitable for Slightly experience riders and known for being healthier than average. This would probably be my first choice as a Preppers horse followed by a Morgan.

Here is a Horse Breed Selector this is obviously biased to a POA breed but also suggests an Appaloosa, Paint and Quarter Horse are ideal for me which is confirmed by my own personal research. I've included links on each breed above to help you select one. IF you already have horses, I'd be anxious to hear what breed you like best.

Good luck and may I also suggest visiting our Livestock link below.

For additional information see the following links:

Blog Table of Contents

List of Top 10 Lists

Top 10 Prepper Websites

Best Prepper Transportation

Bug Out Vehicle Criteria

https://motoped.com/survival/

Reliable - Doesn't break down. EMP hardy with no electronics requires a pre 1970's vehicle in most cases, but that is only a factor if we are hit with a Nuke or Solar Flare.

Street and Off-road capable - Ability to drive where most other vehicles cannot go. Under normal vehicle use, you need to be able to cruse comfortably at 70 mph and under SHTF circumstances, able to handle the worst dirt roads you might encounter. When being pursued, or trying to stay off the beaten path, you can drive through a field, the woods, a narrow alley, foot trail or down the train tracks which is a big advantage.
Fast - speed to outrun most other vehicles; unfortunately this will consume a lot of fuel and is likely reduce the range and quietness, but could be a huge advantage trying to escape a large SUV full of gangsters.

Quite - No loud exhausts that will attract danger, the quieter the better. Few modes of transportation are quieter than an electric vehicle. Another huge advantage is to drive at night with the lights out. To do this, we can install optional fog lights using infra red (IR) lights and use rechargeable Night Vision (plugged in to the vehicle) or Thermal Vision. If no IR, we can use Red Infrared Light bulbs used as heat lights. Having a Look Out or Scout checking ahead and surroundings with with
Thermal Vision can be a huge advantage. Also see Group Movement.

Carrying Capacity - Sufficient capacity for your needs. More if traveling a great distance to a Bug Out Location, less if used for regional scouting. Extra fuel, ammo, water and food are heavy and can require a lot of space in addition to passengers. Ideally most of your supplies are already at your Bug Out Location (BOL) but you need to carry enough supplies to last double your expected travel time. See Rule of 3's to prioritize the supplies you pack.

Long Travel Range - Ideally you can get where you are going without refueling. More range is needed if traveling a great distance to a Bug Out Location, less if used for regional scouting. Fuel efficiency and/or fuel capacity can deliver the desired results. For example, a 50 MPG Prius (or motor cycle) with an extra 20 gallon tank (31.9 total) will travel over 1,500 miles without refueling. Los Angeles CA to New York NY is 2,800 miles. So this would get you half way across the United States. Make this a Plugin Prius (Hybrid) and add a few 150 watt solar panels and you can extend this range 10 miles per day as well as have fuel when there is no gasoline available. Its also quite, but likely not EMP compatible. Gasoline with government mandated ethanol has a shelf life of about 6-12 months so supplies could run out fast. An RV is good for a Nomadic life style while civilization holds up.

Easily Maintained - Low maintenance, no maintenance, easy to work on with common tools and has spare parts available. This means no oddball or highly specialized vehicles. Low maintenance is a big plus as you won't have a lot of time to work on it.
Intangible - that something special or extra that makes a real functional difference. Solar powered, eat grass, able to reproduce, sea worthy away from crowds, are all examples.