[Mountaingirl89]

My mare and I have certain spots that we stop at to graze. She will start to stop and graze, but if I put my heel on her she knows she isn't allowed that time. As long as she doesn't pull to get to the grass I am more then happy to let her when I feel she deserves a break! I too go on very long trail rides and feel it would be unfair to the horse, particulary when my horses don't get any grass at home.

[ParkedOut]

Originally Posted by Beeks

OK...rant over...guess I have a bit of a chip on my shoulder after years of watching the "pro" trail riders look down their noses at me and my horse as he happily munches along.

I get a mental picture of your 'well-fueled' horse munching green grass, while the pro's horses watch with disdain!

LOL

[Beeks]

It's actually funny how the "pro" horses poop out waaaaay before mine. My friend and I ride at least 2 to 3 times a week in the hills surrounding our homes. We have places where you can gallop for miles. Our horses are super fit. A couple of weekends ago, 8 of us went way up into the mountains for an 8 hour ride. I actually felt pretty bad for the other 6 horses...their were really draggin by the time we got back to the trailers. One couple actually stopped and had somebody go get their trailer and bring it to them. Oh yeah.....they didn't let their horses graze. Hello000?

[BitsnBits]

sorry i'm just getting in on this thread. i had a question about an earlier post. how do you teach a horse to stop if a rein is dropped. my mare knows how to ground tie, but likes to sneak steps forward when left behind. if i catch her and say 'ah' she'll stop. but anyway, how would you transition it to when a rein drops. and another BIG problem of hers is she is terribly afraid of large trucks, ie: buses, UPS, tractors, and will try to bolt away, if i can get a safe distance from them, she will dance in place but what can i do to get her over this. i don't really have any large things to drive back and forth around her till she relaxes.

[Auzzie Honey]

Generally, you want a nice, sensible horse to go riding with .. one that can think for himself where his feet are going, able to walk/go over logs, move off the leg, back up, stand quietly, STOP lol, able to ride both up an down hill, over ditches, thru water, pony another horse/pony, be ponied by another horse, accept traffic (cars, buses, trains .. depending on your area), trust you and listen to you at all times for direction, accept wildlife, not panic with dogs/other bikes/etc .. etc, what others have said too.

[Grey Wolf]

Where we trail ride and drive cattle, we go up and down a lot of hills, and cross some revines. The use of a breast plate and rear girth are things they've been trained to accept. In fact, they wear them on every ride whether we might need them or not. You never know.

[Beeks]

oh yeah....I almost forgot. Highlining is also very handy. Britchens and cruppers could also be useful, but I haven't gotten the guts to try them yet.

[Dusty1979]

Originally Posted by Xiphias

Be willing to walk through mud and puddles, and not hop through them, I mean take their time and walk, so they don't hurt them selves or you....That I think is learned through trust your horse has to trust you....

Sit back and go down steep hills slowly, taking their time, not to stumble...

Walk up steep hills, and not try to run up them...

and what everyone else has mentioned......

Cathy

Good post Cathy.

I was thinking, "MUD, MUD, MUD" and Cathy beat me to it! LOL

This is a pet peave of mine (in addition to an improperly adjusted flank/rear cinch! ). Sometimes out on the trail, there is only one way that is safe to proceed and that is directly through, not around, a muddy spot. Sometimes these can be deep mud with standing water (and even softer bottoms) on either side. To try and "skirt" the area will get you into trouble.

There is a beaver dam trail at Pillsbury State Forest where we ride that has such a crossing. There is no way through this area except right straight through the deep mud. We had a horse in our group almost go over the edge of the bank one year, and another group had a horse with an inexperienced rider actually go over the bank. The horse drowned but the rider somehow escaped injury.

It's important that each time you encounter mud puddles, standing water, or soggy wet mud to insist that your horse continue straight through the middle. If you get in the habit of letting them go around, you can't expect that they will follow your request when you really need for them to stay on the trail.

Trail riding demands that you and your horse become a team. He/she has to be willing to follow your requests, whatever they may be. We all have our own ideas of what a good partnership should consist of. With time and experience, you will come up with your own list of what you want/need your horse to be able to do. Safety should always be on the top of the list.

Enjoy your trail riding.

[Beeks]

I guess I have gone from what my horse knows...to what we need to work on....BAD.

I rode him over to a friends house the other day. Been there 100's of times. This time? NO DICE!!! I couldn't figure it out. Then my friend came around the side of the house with blood all over his shirt. He was skinning a beaver pelt. While my guy stood his ground, his nostrils were the size of dinner plates and it felt like I was sitting on a granite counter top. He kept giving those airy nostril warning blasts and I could actually feel his whole body pulse to the beat of his heart.

So....maybe bloody carcasses might be a good thing too.

[alaskahorse]

You all have got it all covered, can't find anything you misses LOL. One of the biggest thigns we stress in a pack string is that no one ever jumps over anything. That is a great way to yank a pack horses head off.. so matter how steep, or deep a cut or a creek bank is they walk down them one step at a time. To walk quietly into a river, no pawing, lunging, or laying down and taking a roll ( had tht happen a few times with young horses). One more thing is make sure your horse doesn't spook when the lead rope gets under his tail..The first thing they do if they aren't used to it is clamp their tail down hard and then the party is on..nothing less fun then getting all tangled up in the pack string with lead ropes bucked over and getting yourself hog tied. We also teach all of our horses that we have raised to pickett on a 30 foot rope. But when we acquire older horses that were never picketed we usually highline them.