Hey LJ. We have two horses but one is a hot blooded TB that should be a barrel racer instead of trail horse (My Wife's) And my horse is a Perchron/quarter cross that has been a great trail/pack horse over the years but she's getting very old so try not to burden her to much.
She packed out those big hind quarters many years back and has earned her keep in the past. Now she is there just to keep the hot blooded youngster headed down the right trail.
Last year we took the new one on his first pack trip. He did fairly well and we only had a few rodeo's. Once he stepped on his own lead rope while getting a drink in one of the lakes. Freaked him out and he rared up so hard that he went over backward. :oI think he was a little emberrased about it,
seemed to settle down after that. We had Him hobbled in a meadow by camp and one evening some elk were trotting across the other end of the meadow and he came loping back towards camp as fast as he could blowing and looking like he had seen a gost
Guess it's probably time to pull some hides out of the frezzer and let him get familar to the smell and look.