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.