You are out on a beautiful Sunday afternoon trail ride with
your trusty horse.The soft rays of the
sun are drifting down through the trees.There is a slight breeze in the air that lifts up the soft scents of the
forest.As the trail winds down a small
hill and around the bend, things begin to change.Your horse’s energy begins to rise and your
grip on the rein begins to increase, in anticipation for what is to come.Then all of the sudden, for no reason at all,
your trusty stead is not so trusty anymore.The slight breeze is now a sudden burst of wind as your horse jumps off
the side of the trail.Grabbing for a
pile of reins and mane, you soon recover, and get back on your way.However, this is short lived.As you approach your next trail obstacle, you
are once again faced with a sudden burst of wind - this time from your horse
doing a quick 180 degree turn in an attempt to avoid the water.From here, things go from bad to worse.Your horse won’t stop jigging and any attempt
to calm him down is useless.Fortunately,
the ride is almost over. After a quick
30 minute trailer loading session, you are on your way home, from yet another
calm pleasant trail riding experience.
For many of us, all or part of this scenario is all too
familiar.We are able to get the horse
out onto the trail, but it does not always go as planned.This can make us frustrated, confused, and
sometimes scared.So let’s talk about
some options…
KEEP YOUR HORSE FOCUSED:
Focus!I don’t mean focusing on the deer or on the
water, but focusing on controlling your horse’s feet and mind. This is a simple
thing to say, but not always a simple thing to do .If you are lacking control
of your horse at obstacles or scary objects, you are probably lacking control
in the first place.Most people are
fairly content with a horse that walks, trots, backs a little, and maybe even
side passes.However, in order to have
control at an object you need more than good
control – you need greatcontrol. Can you side pass your horse
at a trot and a canter?Can you back
your horse in a figure eight pattern?Can you lope them for five minutes without slowing down, speeding up,
changing direction, or changing the size of your circle?When you are faced with something that your
horse may not have confidence in, they will look to you for guidance.If you can’t provide much more than just
trying to slow them down, petting them, and even circling a little - then you
may not have the partnership necessary to face many trail obstacles.
KEEP YOUR HORSEMANSHIP FOCUSED.
While riding your horse down the trail are you practicing
your horsemanship that you have practice at home?All too often we get in the habit of letting
things come to us, instead of us going to them.What I mean by this is: sometimes we may be riding along, then all of
the sudden our horse might spook.We
then gather the reins and try to get control.It should be the other way around - you need to be sure that you have
control of your horse, before they spook.Doing it this way means they often won’t even bother with spooking.Rather than meandering down the trail on a
loose rein for very long periods of time, try picking up on the reins from time
to time.Ask your horse to side pass
from side to side, do a couple of circles, and speed up to a fast trot, then
down to a slow walk. Then up to a slow trot, turn your horse around and back
down the trail for 50ft. Once you have done this, continue on a loose rein at
walk for a while. This way you will be ready for things that may come your way.
Why?Because you have control of your
horse’s mind and feet.
CROSSING OBSTACLES:
There is nothing quite as frustrating as a horse that won’t
cross over a bridge, creek, or even a small log on a trail.Many times this simply boils down to your
horse not trusting your request at that moment.What can be very helpful is taking the time at home to improve your
horse’s obstacle ability.It is amazing
what you can create at home with a little creativity.Tarps, barrels, ground poles, water,
streamers, and a shovel can go a long ways in making a very creative home-made
course.The key is to get out there and
have fun with some challenging - but not impossible - obstacles that will allow
you and your horse to work outside of your comfort zone in a safe
environment.I wish I had a nickel for
every person that said: “what if you are
out there on those trails that are straight up on one side and straight down on
another.What do you do then?”I simply tell them: “If you horse is truly that bad, then you shouldn’t be out there in the
first place.If you have truly done your
homework, then just trust your horse and go for the ride.”The key is being ready before you get there.
However, if it truly gets that bad, just get off and deal with it on the
ground.
PREPARE YOUR HORSE
Often, before we go out on a trail ride, we have a tendency
not to warm our horses up properly.The
purpose of your warm up is not just for the physical aspects, but the mental,
as well.Sometimes this may mean getting
your undependable trail horse out on Thursday and Friday, in preparation for
your Saturday trail ride.During these
warm ups, take the time to not just ride your horse, but to test them out as
well.Put them into situations that you
might find out on the trail.Test their
emergency stops out, spook them and see how they handle it.Ride them straight through puddles at a walk,
trot, and canter. Try backing through and over ground poles. Expose them to
dogs, llamas, goats, etc… Get creative!I
always advise trying these warm-ups from the ground first, before attempting
them under saddle.
USE TRAILER LOADING AS A WARM-UP
We can learn a lot about our horses when we put them into
awkward situations around a familiar object.Before you go out on your ride, do a quick mental check with your horse
at the trailer.Try standing 20ft from
the trailer and sending them into the trailer at a trot.If you can do something like this, you will
be riding a much better partner than a horse that NEEDS you to lead them in
every time.Sending them in from this
far away may take a couple of sessions, but it will be time well spent.It is not just about skills that your horse
will learn, but also ones that you will learn (while you are teaching them).
BE SAFE AND HAVE FUN
At the end of the day it is about being prepared ahead of
time for situations that may arrive.Many
trail riding hazards are very avoidable if you can simply make a plan before
you go for your ride.Learn from your
past experiences, test out your horse, and make a plan that will fit you both. The
most important thing is that you and your horse are safe and having fun. My
newly released Ultimate Water Crossing DVD
breaks down the steps needed to cross many common trail obstacles.So get out there, get creative, and enjoy a
great year of trail riding with your equine partner!