IS MY HORSE READY FOR THE TRAILS?

 

 

 

IS MY HORSE READY FOR THE

TRAILS?

 

 

    Life as the Blue Creek Trail Riding/Packing Clinic instructor is always interesting, never boring, and often as much a learning experience as it is a teaching experience. Personalities, both human and horse, always provides for a lively program, particularly this year as guests brought a few of their own horses. Mixing guests horses with our proven trail herd is not always a good idea. For one thing horses can bicker as they find their way in the social order. New horses may or may not be calm minded and properly desensitized to trail conditions. Body type and durability varies, particularly with the foot, and last but not least riders worry about their personal horses in a new and challenging environment, to the point where the worry can take the fun out of the adventure.
    But this year the mix went smoothly and I learned that a horse does not necessarily have to be the perfect trail horse for riders to have fun on the trail. I have always stressed the importance of good bone, good feet and a good sized foot for trail use, and will continue to do so, but when a couple of 1200 lb Quarter horses showed up with the large, rounded rear quarter muscle typical of quarter horses, and ought or double ought front feet, I was understandably skeptical about the chances for a successful introduction to rocky mountain riding. But the trails were not overly taxing and much to my delight the minds of these the horses were calm, steady, and friendly. And it brought home an important point to me - that the horses mind, disposition, and training can play the larger part in the enjoyment of your ride or outdoor horse camping adventure, provided trails are reasonable.
    One afternoon the trail riders wound up a narrow skid trial headed for alpine and majestic views. Shorty, a Morgan cross recently introduced to our herd was ridden by a very capable 16 year old rider who asked to ride Shorty because he had some extra ‘life’. But Shorty had the attention span of a fish and every time the horses stopped for a break he continued to want to head out and fussed with any correction, to the extent that he backed up over the edge of the trail, at a point where it dropped directly down in to a wooded gorge. As the horses rear quarter dropped over the bank everyone gasped, expecting the young man to go for a tumble, but in a panic the horse’s back feet scrambled and had enough purchase to push himself and the rider back up to sure footing - an excellent example of a horse with good trail conformation but an erratic mind. And I can tell you in an instant I would rather have had that rider on a horse with what I would describe as less than desirable trail horse conformation but a calm, forgiving mind.
    So when we talk about a trail horse being ready for the trail, first we need to know that the mind is ready – by its nature and training, and that the horse is properly desensitized. Let’s look at ten key areas that we need to be sure about.
1. Our trail horses need to have a ‘guessing’ mind. A ‘guessing’ mind is when you apply a variety of cues or pressures each time you are with your horse so that the horse does not know what you are going to ask next. This puts you in control of the horses’ mind because it does not know what you are going to ask next, and so naturally waits for the command. With the variety of commands you keep the horses mind both patient and expectant to a variety of tasks – a very important concept because on the trail you meet many obstacles and give many cues. It is, in a very real way, helping to instill the rider’s position as dominant. Training for the guessing mind begins with the ground work - lunging or round pen - when just after join up, at that moment when the horses mind is soft, responsive, and you are alpha, you apply pressures (cues) and get the desired response ‘pulse’ the face left or right, ‘back’ from the chest while bumping back with the halter or bridle, moving the body over left or right, head down, stops, starts, turning left and right, etc. (see the Blue Creek Training manual). Again, you do this in varying order, creating a guessing mind that also teaching patience and earns you the horse’s respect, which is critical under trail conditions.
2. Stops and Starts. Trail horses are constantly stopping and starting because of conditions on the trail and often do not agree with the choice you make in terms of the direction you choose, or the obstacle you are going around, over, or through (brush, water, bog). Your horse must move out both crisply and briskly upon command. There is nothing more frustrating on the trail when you need to make miles and the day is long, than a horse that dogs it or is balky when you lead. Fix these problems beforehand, on the ground, with lots of leading and crisp stops and starts. Always use verbal commands first, before the physical cue, as you are aiming for the horse to move out or stop on verbal commands alone. Do not give the horse second and third verbal commands before applying crisp physical cues. One kiss or cluck to move out and the horse moves immediately or it gets a tap from the rear with the training whip. Same with the butt rope, one verbal command and then the tug. And the same with stopping, one whoa and a crisp bump back on the halter if it does not respond. The horse will soon understand that responding to stops and starts is immediate. But remember, proper, genuine, join up comes first!
3. While on the trail you are constantly in tight spaces – between two horses, between your horse and a tree, between your horse and a building or gate post, between two pack horses. It is paramount to your safety that the horse respects your space and moves ‘over’ when asked. We train a horse to move its rear quarters over as we say ‘over’ and apply pressure by pulsing a thumb just behind the last rib. The horse understands, responding to pulses as nearly all of our applied cues are in pulses.
4. Just think of all of the surprises your trail ride can offer – vehicles, atvs, bikes, plastic bottles being stepped on, bears, birds, ropes around legs and jammed under tails, rain gear flapping in the wind – your horse needs to be absolutely desensitized. The good news is that it takes only minutes and some repetitive lessons early on in a horse’s career to familiarize the horse to these demons. The problem comes when your horse is nervous and spooky by nature, rather that calm and forgiving. You have heard the truism - there are two kinds of people in the world, those that make things better and those that make things worse. It is not an absolute and with many variables, but ditto for horses. You know which type of trail horse you need. Do not get hurt and ruin your good times because you fell in love with the wrong partner.
5. I can remember the last ‘battle’ I had with a horse while on the trail. It was a few years ago at a point where I left the trail string heading in one direction and I went off in another to find a better route. The horse gave me major grief as he struggled to get back to his buddies. Normally not a herd bound horse he was feeling mighty lonely that day, and we had an uncharacteristic battle with the reins. If possible, avoid these tug of wars like the plague. Since your horse is trained with pressures in a pulsing action or ‘bumps’, and not steady pulls, these battles should be rare or nonexistent. This is very important because as the horse begins to understand what you ask with firm bumps and pulses, you steadily reduce the intensity of each pulse to only a touch, building a soft mind and soft mouth. If the horse misbehaves you can increase intensity until it gets the message, and then reduce it and get back to being soft in only moments. It is important for correcting horses on the trail, for example your riding horse who pressure horses in front or wants to pass, and other situations like crossing streams and rivers when a horse wants to drift downstream and you need to pulse his head back up yet give him the freedom of his head.
6. Trail horses need to learn patience, and to ground tie (stand still when you drop the reins or lead rope and walk away). There are many moments when you ask a horse to stand still on the trail, including tying it to a tree for a few moments, retrieving a dropped glove or an Eatmore chocolate bar, or having to relieve yourself. A horse that walks off is not only a nuisance but can leave you stranded. Do this training on the ground, with a lunge line, driving lines, or simply stopping and saying whoa and lots of standing time, longer periods of time as the horse gets the message. Standing patiently tied to trees and fence posts is also a prerequisite of a good trail horse because there are many times when you want to tie up and go investigate something or you search for a missing trail, or you hike up for a nice view, or you stop for lunch. Horses that fuss at these times will benefit from hobbles and hobbles also help protect the tree from damage. Again, if you ride a nervous trail horse your problem is compounded. Experienced trail horses learn that standing calmly is a good thing, very welcome, as the alternative is more hard riding, so they are glad to stand and quietly say their prayers thanking the horse gods for the rest.
7. Trail horses need to be catch friendly, they need to be easy to catch and are better companions if they like people. Before your trail rides bring the horse into close quarters and repeatedly go into their space with affection, over the course of a few days, until they look forward to your company. Giving some treats is acceptable while building this friendly relationship but do not go overboard and spoil the horse into thinking it is ok to come into your space without being asked. A shy horse placed in hobbles will often encourage the horse to stand as you come to it repeatedly, and speed up the process of accepting your approach and presence.
8. Your trail horse needs to be bush savvy, it needs to be comfortable walking through brush, through some mud, lifting feet over logs and debris, getting slapped with branches (just like you will). Lazy horses typically get their legs scratched and bumped and bruised far more than bush wise horses. Horses raised in this environment are well ahead of the game and if your horse is a stabled horse or in a clean field, you are at a disadvantage. If you can turn your horse out in a brushy, variable terrain, it will be to yours, and the horses, advantage.
9. We just cannot escape considering our horse’s body type when asking ourselves if our horse is ready for the trail. We already admitted that a good mind is key to enjoying a safe and fun day on the trail but that does not mean that you do not need to match your horse’s body type to the trail. This would include things like good bone, withers, height, etc. but mostly when I say ‘match’ what I really mean is do not expect too much from a horse that does not have adequate foot or bone or strength. This is something that is difficult to explain or understand without experience as many horse owners are genuinely unsure about how much their horse can handle, what it may be capable of, or what its short comings may be. Let’s start by saying that if your horse has a thin and soft hoof wall then even if shod the shoe will generally come off sooner under many trail conditions – leaving you and your horse in a serious bind if you are back in typically rocky country a day or a few days. Let’s continue the theme by saying that trail work is a pounding exercise and that breeds of horses or individual horses who have been bred for movement, conformation, color and a host of performance disciplines, may not have the durability in their foot and leg to take the punishment, and may end up with laminitis, navicular, or who knows what. By comparison, horses with tough and larger bone, for example draft or draft cross lines, can give you years of service with few, if any, issues.
    Well, I am hopeful that this insight leads to some progress with your plans to put a trail savvy horse into use rather than time spent with challenges. It’s a big bushy and bumpy world out there. Here’s hoping for years of enjoyable trail adventure!