Ep. 1097: Jesse McNeal - Riding a Horse Across America Revisited

Riding a Horse Across America: a 3,800-Mile Equine Journey

This episode follows Jesse McNeil (Alex) as he recounts riding a horse named Pepper from the Pacific to the Atlantic. It’s a practical, soulful look at cross-country horsepacking, long-distance riding logistics, and the evolving human-animal relationship that enables extreme travel. Expect lessons on navigation, gear, training, and the social dynamics of traveling slowly through diverse landscapes.

How to plan a cross-country horseback expedition

McNeil describes a compass-bearing strategy rather than strict route plans, using laminated gazetteer maps and staged resupplies. He emphasizes flexibility: shoot a general bearing, look for hay and water, and adjust for fences, private property, and busy highways. This produces a low-tech, resilient approach to navigation for equine overland travel.

Training and early-stage equine preparation for long-distance travel

He chose a Tennessee Walker for its smooth gaits and trained Pepper for months in winter conditions. The episode explains basic mounting, hoof handling, and the value of incremental daily lessons to build trust. Treating the horse with consistent, patient training — almost like dog training — accelerated bonding and minimized anxiety for both rider and horse.

Logistics, camping, and feeding a traveling horse

Camping with a horse requires planning for continuous forage, supplemental hay and grain, reliable picketing strategies (like sagebrush anchors), and frequent rest. McNeil describes improvisation when roads and towns don’t accommodate horses, such as using aluminum pickets, long ropes, or tying to deep-rooted scrub on fragile ground.

Challenges, river crossings, and human encounters

From dense coastal ranges to highways around Nebraska and urban encounters near Chicago, the ride demanded constant adaptation. Notable moments include a solo river crossing with Pepper, training the horse to pull a cart (sulky), and leveraging the horse as a social ambassador to meet locals who provided help, water, and stories.

Why this story matters for adventure travel and self-discovery

More than a travelogue, the expedition explores slow travel, humility, and the shift from goal-oriented finishing to savoring the journey itself. Readers and listeners can apply these low-tech traveler strategies to other modes of long-distance exploration — bicycle, plane, moped — and learn to depend on hospitality and improvisation.

Related search terms: cross-country horsepacking, horseback expedition planning, long-distance equine logistics, training a travel horse, river crossings with a horse.