We Ride Sport and Trail Magazine August 2019 | Page 16

16 / Sport and Trail Magazine

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Many horses are in charge the moment their rider hits the seat

hat makes a great trail horse? Trail gaits is the first thing that hits me as I’m out testing a new hoss. I’m not talking the kind of gate you open, but the kind you ride. A trail horse needs to be able to maintain a consistent speed comfortably and for a distance. “No place for a show trot here, please,” I remind my Arabian mare whose level of trot suspension I’m trying to iron down a bit, (although I’m secretly admiring it).

So, here’s a quick pop quiz for you students of riding: Can you ride your horse at a trail gait (a jog, or its gaited equivalent) for a consistent length of time and keep that consistent speed while the terrain changes? Can you go up and down the hill without leaving the pace you set? And can you move around trees and bushes the same way?

Oh, you can? That’s great, Pearl. Let’s do a test then.

Step one. Picture in your mind this scenario: You’re on "The Lone Trail" headin’ back towards town where your home fire's burnin’. As you weave around all the rocks in your path, you notice a den of mean lookin’ rattlesnakes curled atop each rock looking at you! So you gotta ride clean and cool around all the rocks, or you're gonna get bit. But wait there’s more.

You're travelin’ fast, but maintaining a steady speed along the trail, ‘cuz a pack of hungry wolves found you and they’re trailin’ fast behind you. Too fast and you’ll burn your hoss out. Too slow and you’ll git eat’n.

Rattle rattle, hiss hiss. Howl howl. Clickity click.

With all that pictured in your mind, here’s step two. Set up a series of ten cones, ten steps apart. From one end, start your horse in a jog, then ride down through the cones keeping an equal distance from each one, while maintaining the set jog speed. If you are successful to keep an even speed throughout and with an even distance, congratulations, you are riding all four corners of your horse. If you faltered and slowed or changed speeds too many times, well, you’ve been bit by a rattlesnake, and later today will find yourself regurgitated into a wolf cub’s belly.

Rein Photography

consistent speed comfortably and for a distance. “No

place for a show trot here, please,” I remind my Arabian

mare whose level of trot suspension I’m trying to iron

down a bit, (although I’m secretly admiring it).

We need to navigate around rocks and bushes, up hills

and down them, without surging forward in either

direction, and to be able to keep our balance as we travel

the terrain. Horses come with three speeds; walk, trot and

canter. As riding horses we have to teach them the other

speeds in order to have any kind of a sane, calm

experience on the trail, right? Confidence says, “A trail

horse needs trail gaits.”

Willingness to try is number two. That’s not a qualification

for you, I’m speaking to your equine. I horse that won’t try

is a reflection on the handling and training it has received.

If you are a timid rider, so will your horse be—timid. There

has to be a leader. One who takes charge. That’s the rider,

and that’s you. So, for your trail riding etiquette, the horse

isn’t allowed to pick the speed. It will be a lousy back-

splitting trot if you do. Confidence says, “I pick the speed

we’re going.” A timid horse is created out of a rider who

doesn’t lead the charge, so to speak. They will become

suspicious of everything with a rider who is silent. The

horse will navigate the riding world with, “This mud hole

is certain death, and over there, quicksand!”

Being able to securely lead all four corners of your horse

forward—and keep them forward—is why working

professionals like me get to stay in business. Helping

people understand and implement this idea into reality

is to be transformative in every horse’s mind, teaching the

horse that riding is an equal opportunity equation. Many

horses are in charge the moment their rider hits the seat

—everyone just hopes for the best.

A willingness to be touched in the mouth, or to use a

dressage term: The horse accepts contact, is my final end

of the equation regarding what makes a great trail-riding

horse. If your reins are flapping in the breeze, your horse

is getting a busy signal from you and might just decide to

hang up! Confidence says, “Support your horse, and speak

your decisions to them as you ride by touching their

mouth. I realize many, many horses (and their riders) balk

at this level of training, but the conversation with your

horse starts there.