Trail Riding - Part Two
In Part I we talked about the importance of "sacking out" training as a prelude to a trail ride.
In many parts of the world where horses are used daily for transportation and carrying loads, a "bombproof" horse is highly valued.
Every day represents a new kind of trail ride for these horses and they have to learn from a very early age not to react to passing cars, trucks, motorcycles and bicycles.
They also have to get used to standing tied for extended periods as their owners go about their business in town before returning on horseback to their homes in the country.
Often the "sacking out" training for these horses is carried out in a passive but very effective way.
The owner will simply saddle up the dam and go about his daily business with the very young foal following along behind.
The foal follows his mother and takes his cues from her.
If she is calm when a truck passes, the foal sticks close to her for protection and doesn't react either.
Over the course of a few months the little foal becomes desensitized to every kind of stimulus you can imagine.
We've seen a horse stand quietly while a chicken lands on his back.
This might be the best way there is to "sack out" a horse for trail rides.
Unfortunately, for most of us this is a bit impractical, to say the least.
One of the most frightening things for a horse is a loud, sudden noise.
A horse will undoubtedly react violently to a slammed gate, car horn or gun shot if he hasn't been desensitized to that kind of noise before.
If you're going on a trail ride during hunting season, as we mentioned in Part I, it makes sense to desensitize your horse to gunfire.
How can you do this? You should take several weeks to desensitize your horse to gunfire.
Begin by using something like a BB or pellet gun that makes a pop but not nearly the noise of a real gun.
Begin by shooting the BB gun 20 or 30 times at a distance of 50 yards or so with your horse in the round pen.
When he appears unperturbed by the shots, progressively move closer 10 yards at a time.
At each new position fire the BB gun another 20 or 30 times.
Eventually you will be in the round pen with the horse.
When he doesn't pay any attention to your firing the BB gun in the actual round pen, we can go to the next step.
Now repeat the same process with an actual gun but only use half loads, so the sound is quite a bit louder than a BB gun but still not as loud as a shot with a full load of powder would be.
After you are able to fire a number of shots using half loads of powder within the round pen without adverse reaction from your horse, try the same process using a full load of powder.
By the time several weeks have passed, the horse will have experienced several hundred shots fired and should be pretty desensitized.
You can then try the experiment while mounted with the help of a friend to fire the gun.
In Part I we mentioned that a horse should accept the rider mounting from either side in case that becomes necessary in hilly terrain.
Before taking your horse on a trail ride, he also should have a good stop and be able to back up easily.
This becomes very important if you are riding on narrow trails with a number of other horses.
You do not want to have your horse keep walking after you've signaled him to stop.
If you invade the space of the horse in front, you may elicit a kick from the offended party.
This kind of situation could deteriorate rapidly as your horse then kicks the horse behind him, etc.
Always ride one to two horse lengths behind the rider in front of you.
Before you leave the staging area on a trail ride, be sure to check your equipment.
Check the condition of all straps, cinches, latigos and the breast collar if you're using one.
The leather should not be cracked or torn.
Having your equipment fail and the saddle slowly slide off the back of your horse is bad enough if you're in a riding area.
It is another thing completely if you are 5 miles away from your horse trailer in the middle of a long trail ride.
Mares in heat and stallions are combinations to avoid at all costs on a trail ride.
A mare in heat even by herself or a stallion by himself on a trail is sometimes problematic because you never know what types of horses or riders you will encounter.
The combination of the two can be unpleasant to say the least.
There's nothing more annoying on a trail ride than to meet another rider who cannot control his stallion or mare in heat.
At times it can be dangerous.
Some people like to bring their dogs on trail rides.
Horse people love dogs and it seems like the most popular "horse people" breeds vary from decade to decade like fads in fashion.
Whatever the breed of choice is during a given year, leave your little friend at home.
While he may follow you and your horse calmly, he may enjoy charging and barking at an unfamiliar horse and rider.
In many parts of the world where horses are used daily for transportation and carrying loads, a "bombproof" horse is highly valued.
Every day represents a new kind of trail ride for these horses and they have to learn from a very early age not to react to passing cars, trucks, motorcycles and bicycles.
They also have to get used to standing tied for extended periods as their owners go about their business in town before returning on horseback to their homes in the country.
Often the "sacking out" training for these horses is carried out in a passive but very effective way.
The owner will simply saddle up the dam and go about his daily business with the very young foal following along behind.
The foal follows his mother and takes his cues from her.
If she is calm when a truck passes, the foal sticks close to her for protection and doesn't react either.
Over the course of a few months the little foal becomes desensitized to every kind of stimulus you can imagine.
We've seen a horse stand quietly while a chicken lands on his back.
This might be the best way there is to "sack out" a horse for trail rides.
Unfortunately, for most of us this is a bit impractical, to say the least.
One of the most frightening things for a horse is a loud, sudden noise.
A horse will undoubtedly react violently to a slammed gate, car horn or gun shot if he hasn't been desensitized to that kind of noise before.
If you're going on a trail ride during hunting season, as we mentioned in Part I, it makes sense to desensitize your horse to gunfire.
How can you do this? You should take several weeks to desensitize your horse to gunfire.
Begin by using something like a BB or pellet gun that makes a pop but not nearly the noise of a real gun.
Begin by shooting the BB gun 20 or 30 times at a distance of 50 yards or so with your horse in the round pen.
When he appears unperturbed by the shots, progressively move closer 10 yards at a time.
At each new position fire the BB gun another 20 or 30 times.
Eventually you will be in the round pen with the horse.
When he doesn't pay any attention to your firing the BB gun in the actual round pen, we can go to the next step.
Now repeat the same process with an actual gun but only use half loads, so the sound is quite a bit louder than a BB gun but still not as loud as a shot with a full load of powder would be.
After you are able to fire a number of shots using half loads of powder within the round pen without adverse reaction from your horse, try the same process using a full load of powder.
By the time several weeks have passed, the horse will have experienced several hundred shots fired and should be pretty desensitized.
You can then try the experiment while mounted with the help of a friend to fire the gun.
In Part I we mentioned that a horse should accept the rider mounting from either side in case that becomes necessary in hilly terrain.
Before taking your horse on a trail ride, he also should have a good stop and be able to back up easily.
This becomes very important if you are riding on narrow trails with a number of other horses.
You do not want to have your horse keep walking after you've signaled him to stop.
If you invade the space of the horse in front, you may elicit a kick from the offended party.
This kind of situation could deteriorate rapidly as your horse then kicks the horse behind him, etc.
Always ride one to two horse lengths behind the rider in front of you.
Before you leave the staging area on a trail ride, be sure to check your equipment.
Check the condition of all straps, cinches, latigos and the breast collar if you're using one.
The leather should not be cracked or torn.
Having your equipment fail and the saddle slowly slide off the back of your horse is bad enough if you're in a riding area.
It is another thing completely if you are 5 miles away from your horse trailer in the middle of a long trail ride.
Mares in heat and stallions are combinations to avoid at all costs on a trail ride.
A mare in heat even by herself or a stallion by himself on a trail is sometimes problematic because you never know what types of horses or riders you will encounter.
The combination of the two can be unpleasant to say the least.
There's nothing more annoying on a trail ride than to meet another rider who cannot control his stallion or mare in heat.
At times it can be dangerous.
Some people like to bring their dogs on trail rides.
Horse people love dogs and it seems like the most popular "horse people" breeds vary from decade to decade like fads in fashion.
Whatever the breed of choice is during a given year, leave your little friend at home.
While he may follow you and your horse calmly, he may enjoy charging and barking at an unfamiliar horse and rider.
Source...