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In many areas of the state, Wyoming Game and Fish Department biologists and game wardens spend time in the backcountry as a routine part of their jobs. Often, this fieldwork occurs in remote settings …
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In many areas of the state, Wyoming Game and Fish Department biologists and game wardens spend time in the backcountry as a routine part of their jobs. Often, this fieldwork occurs in remote settings and is accomplished with the help of horses and mules.
Because of that aspect of the job, Game and Fish hosts what it describes as “a unique and highly specialized” horse training for employees every three to four years.
The 2020 training — led by Game and Fish staff with years of experience working with horses and pack animals in a backcountry setting — took place in Meeteetse this year at the Fiddle Back Ranch.
“Essentially, the training is preparing both horse and rider to work both effectively and safely in remote backcountry settings,” said Meeteetse Game Warden Jim Olson, lead instructor and organizer of the training.
The four-day event attracted 24 participants from around the state.
They and their horses learned how to deal with hazards or obstacles they might encounter in everyday situations, Olson said — like making contact with an ATV rider, backpacker or other horseback riders. Horses and riders were also put through their paces in an obstacle course, he said, working through obstacles and becoming desensitized to potential dangerous scenarios.
