Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

I start all of my horses with a "safety" rider.  Someone who has a completely trained, controllable and safe trail horse.  The rider is also someone I trust implicitly so that I know that they are focused on me, my horse and our safety.  I only have a few people that fall into that category.  I know that if something goes drastically wrong that this person/horse will do whatever is necessary to keep me safe.  That includes letting me go first or last, block the trail if the horse gets out of hand and also includes chasing us down if necessary.  We have a set of code words so that if I am talking to my horse and saying "stop" to the horse, the safety rider keeps going.  But if I yell the safety riders name, followed by "stop", then that person knows I am in trouble.

 

But even before the safety rider, I do what I call "walking trail rides" with all of the horses I start. This is taking them on the trails, tacked up, but in hand, not mounted.  I do this as much as I think each particular horse needs.  They learn the trails in a safe way.  What the woods are like, what obstacles will we encounter, people, dogs, baby carriages, wildlife, bridges, etc.  They get used this stuff first on their training loop so that when we do go out under saddle for the first time, the only thing that is new is being under saddle instead of in hand.  Some horses get it after only one time out.  Some require weeks of hand walking before they can be calm enough to be ridden on the trails. 

 

I also start with a very small training loop in the woods.  Maybe 2 - 3 miles, we loop around it to the point of it being boring so that the horse has a comfort zone.  It is much easier to get them used to trails if you can give them a comfort zone and then expand the zone. 

 

Carolyn Burgess