On The Trail

anyone from Texas? where to ride?

madel_equestrian — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 23:37:03 GMT

I just recently moved to Texas (45 mins. north of Fort Worth) and still haven't found many good places to trail ride. Of course we have been to LBJ Grasslands, but I'm already looking for something new... maybe a little less crowded or a little more interesting. Does anyone know of any good places to ride in the area?

Market value of a trail horse

WillowLark — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 00:31:26 GMT

I am currently in the market for a good, sound, experienced trail horse. I don't care if it has any show experience or extensive arena work, although I would like it to be willing to walk, trot, and canter around the arena. I don't care about papers, although I am not interested in gaited breeds. I want one safe enough for an intermediate rider and one that is easy to ride. What would you expect to spend on a horse like this? I'm just curious what the trail horse market looks like out there in the world.

trail riding

Grandma Trail Rider — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 18:24:26 GMT

In an article about low hanging branches, it tells how to get passed them. Carry a small clipper and just clip the branch off. Only takes a minute to do. Someone has to clear the trails and that someone is us. I hope that everyone stops and clips when the trail needs it. I have spend many days clearing trail for myself and others. Come on and help. That's the only way that we will keep the trails that we have to ride. I hope that the trails will still be there for my grandkids.

Do You Trail Ride Alone?

bassclef54 — Sun, 25 May 2008 02:29:36 GMT

When I was a kid I used to trail ride alone all the time. But, being middle-aged, a not-so-experienced rider/horse owner, and more conscious of all that can go wrong, I'm kinda hesitant to do any trail riding alone. Where I board there's a trail thru the woods to some power lines, which are out in the open and have access roads. They're surrounded by the woods, and are an ideal place to ride. The thing is, my trainer/barn owner is reluctant to let non-clients and their horses onto her property to ride the trail to get access to the power lines. I'm going to work to persuade her to let just one person at a time on the property, get a release for that person to sign, etc. It's either that or go alone. I got my horse for the express purpose of doing trail riding. Am planning to always wear a bright orange reflective vest, always wear my helmet, carry a cell phone, maybe even one of those locator things backcountry skiers use. But, a little voice is saying you'd be crazy to go out alone. Thoughts?

Thanks,

Mary

Wine Country on Horseback Warning Several Pictures

NWBuckskinLvr — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 23:46:19 GMT

Sunday afternoon was a gorgeous autumn day with a light wind and a chill in the air. My friend and I took off on horseback through our vineyard and surrounding vineyards. We are in the Willamette Valley in Oregon. These are pictures from our ride.

Here is my friend on Buster as we were heading out:

This is a neighbor's vineyard:

We have horses on both sides of our property, but these horses were new to one of the properties on our lower border:

It was an unexpected surprise to see this tribute to our fall harvest in such a distant rural area:

As we returned via the back of our vineyard, we found these small clusters left behind from the harvest:

Small clusters were left throughout the vineyard. They were so delicious and sweet, we ate our way home:

And here I am on Ginger in front of another vineyard:

Buster and Ginger had never bothered our vines until my friend fed Buster some grapes. After that we had to monitor them closely to prevent them from eating the vines along with the grapes:

It really was a most perfect day. I had to share it.

How a great trail ride can take a turn for the worst in a heartbeat

spragueme — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 15:21:58 GMT

Saturday was the first good day for a ride all week. I think it has rained every day for a week here. Sometimes all day, other times, just the morning. DH gave me the "ride safe" before he headed out. I saddled up for a nice relaxing ride. It was kinda windy, a little bit brisk but oh so refreshing. The fall colors are starting to come out. Just an all perfect day. That was until I decided to take a path through some woods I have never ridden in before. We had rode for about 1 1/2 hrs when I came to a spot in the woods that had some puddled water on it. Nothing really strange about is since we had ridden in some wet spots earlier. So why did that little voice in my head say "what would you do if you accidently rode into some quick sand?" Now I don't know of any spot in NY for quick sand, so I quickly dismissed such crazynest. Just then, Glis's first step into the wet spot, she sank up to her chest in mud and water. Whoosh, it was so fast and startling. She thrusted herself forward as far as she could but she didn't make it far and she couldn't really get her front legs on solid ground. I jumped off to the side onto a small spot that was like a very, very small island. Enough for me and soon Glis got herself up there. But it was not solid under her wieght. It was nothing but mud and she was struggling on it. I had to direct her to the narrowest spot to reach the other side. We did make it though, non the worst for wear. But we did make it. We both came out if, covered in mud, head to toe. I even had mud in my ears. It was everywhere. I thank the lucky stars that Glis and I both remained calm and got ourselves out. But it does make you think, "what would I have done if Glis couldn't have pulled herself out?" I always ride with my phone on my person so I could call for help if I ever need it. Thank goodness I didn't need to and the ride ended well. Glis got a nice bath and treats and was turned out in the lush pasture after we got home. Her only reminder of that ride was she ripped off one of her rear chestnuts. Nothing bad and I put some meds on it. Its healing just fine.

So everyone out there, remember, Ride Safe!!

CHIGGERS

cagneysgirl — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 13:24:46 GMT

went out on a trail with my horse this past week and just had our first experience with chiggers---NOT FUN---my mare is uncomfortable and irritable and of course i now have unwanted extra work but we are dealing with the situation---any suggestions on preventing this in the future?---i am sure someone out there has a few good ideas---HELP

Oregon Riding Trails?

Emolee — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 19:43:57 GMT

Hey all. :)

I'm an avid trail rider but haven't had much luck in finding good riding trails. If anyone knows of any in the state that are really good, do let me know! I've done some research but haven't found anything really all that amazing. I've hauled to Cougar Reservoir with no luck, simply because the "groomed trails" there were actually overgrown, horrible, rocky. I haul to Elijah Bristow very often since it's close and a good, relaxing ride. But my list of options are growing thin. :( Any thoughts? Are there any good resource websites that map out horse-riding trails? The ones that I have found are vague and aren't helpful.

My road ride. Long winded with lots of pics

spragueme — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 14:58:16 GMT

I had a pretty busy weekend ahead of me this past weekend and I made myself a little time for a Saturday morning ride. I decided to take Glis out on her first all road riding, ride. Since I’ve had her, we’ve mainly stayed in the fields to ride. But now that the corn is getting taller, it’s harder to get from field to field. Glis has always been a bit nervous with the cars and being in new environments and I just haven’t found the time to just ride the roads before. I live out in the country without much traffic on most of the roads but there are a few that tend to have more traffic than the others. OK so I may have 3 cars at the most go by me on the busy road but still that’s more than none at all on the others so…. LOL.

Glis did very well considering. I shall have a picture blow by blow of our ride.

Here she is all ready to go. I packed a few things in my horn bag. Had a hoof pick, fly spray and my sun glasses. I also had a bottle of water attached on the other side that you can’t see. It was in the 70’s at 9 am and kinda cloudy so it was perfect riding weather.

Just up the road after leaving our place we came to the neighbors. The place on the left is a barn with lots of field equipment and the farmer was getting a tractor ready to take out. No problems there, but the other side of the road, is the horse eating stump that lurks behind the hedge. Glis did a little side step into the road, with her staring down the stump. I took her to the other side of the road and rode her in the grass where it was safer footing. The road is just no place for fancy foot work.

We come to the end of our little road and I cross the “main, busy, 3 cars may pass me road” and head over towards the Mennonite farm. Do you know that they have horse eating objects over there too? I’m not sure if she was more nervous of the young boy who was playing with toy tractors in the lawn, the fan in the window, the smell of cows or what. But I was not gonna try to get her past that until we did numerous circles until she settled down enough to pass. I’m sure the boy was wondering what the heck I was doing, going around in circles one way and then another. But when I got her calmer we road past without any problems. There was a hay field after the farm so I let her have a nice short, controlled canter. Very nice.

Just after our canter.

Come to the end of that road and instead of taking a left, down a dirt road, I took her to the right where there was a house, barn and other things to look at. Again another field for a nice canter until we came to the barn. They used to have some cows housed in the pasture there but none that day. They must have moved them. I was hoping for her to see them so I could see how’d she react. Oh well.

I then took another right and started heading east. Again there was a nice big hay field that we cantered all the way around. I must say, this girl has stamina as she is never winded after her canters. And she settles right back down to a nice walk afterward.

I get to the top of the hill here and snap a picture of the view. It’s so nice and peaceful here.

Come to the end of the road which takes me back to our “busy” road. I cross over and have a nice canter in this hay field. Here I let her have her head and just let her go. The wind in my hair, fresh air in my lungs and a great horse to ride. What a great way to spend a day! When we come to the house next to the field here, their dog Missy, comes out to say Hi. Glis is used to dogs and is not bothered but I do here the husband yell to the wife to come get her dog and tie the BLANKING thing up. LOL. I had to laugh, couldn’t help it. She apologizes to me and I tell her the dog is fine, we’re not bothered by it.

We come to a dirt road here. The town in the middle of repairing this road and getting it ready to blacktop over it. At least I hope so cause this road is a bear to get through in the winter and I can’t imagine the trouble they’ll have if they leave it like this.

We can now start up the hill and head for home. I keep Glis in a nice slow trot up the hill and across the top. Man she sure is a nice ride when she trots like that. Here we are on the top of the hill looking down towards the dirt road.

And now our house is in sight. I can hear Scout giving Glis a call but she is not answering him. He is not panicked or loosing his noodle for her. Just calls every so often to her. Its not until we’re in the yard that she answers him back.

Glis did great and she enjoyed her hosing off afterwards. The whole ride was just 1 ½ hrs.

Problems alone on the trails

Bassmaster031 — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 03:32:04 GMT

i have a gelding tennesse walker named charlie. when me and him ride with one person with us or multiple people on the trails it is a great ride. this all will chang if i try to take my horse out on the trails alone. he always has his ears forward and dosent like to walk he is constantly at the minimum a trot it seems he wants to get back to the barn. i really wouuld like to go out alone but i dont feel that comfortable. i need some help on what to do about this. all comments are greatly appreciated.

Dealing with a dangerous dog on the trail

kitastrophe — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 02:08:57 GMT

I ride in a public park that has early morning off-leash hours for dogs. 99% of the dogs I have encountered are great-- they're well-behaved, or failing that, under the control of their owners even when off-leash. However, for the past 2 weeks, I've been having encounters with a Shar-pei who had begun charging and threatening (barking, snappng, circling). The dog (ironically named Marshmallow) does NOT respond to the owner. The woman has absolutely ZERO control over her animal, admits that the dog has never had any training other than housebreaking, and the bad behavior is escalating with every encounter.

What I am looking for here are suggestions on how I should respond the next time the dog tries to attack. I am very fortunate that the horse I ride (lease) is tolerant and has not yet spooked when confronted with an out-of-control animal, but I need some defensive driving techniques.

My barn owner suggested "taking the dog for a run" and letting it wear itself out and giving the owner a cheap scare, but that hardly seems like a responsible option for a number of reasons (encountering joggers & other dogs, not knowing how fast the dog can actually run, etc). The horse's owner said I should charge the dog, or carry a crop long enough that I can swat the dog from the saddle, but I have concerns that this might only make the dog more aggressive.

I have filed reports with the police and parks dept. (they're not interested in "animal on animal problems."), and I have told the owner repeatedly that she is endangering all of us with her inability to manage Marshmallow's behavior, but she maintains that she always gets the dog back on the leash eventually. "Eventually" is becoming an extremely dangerous proposition for all parties concerned, so at this point, I am less concerned with legal recourse and more concerned with having a gameplan for the next time Marshmallow spots us and goes on the rampage.

Where and when do you like to trail ride??

Anna — Tue, 05 May 2009 17:00:18 GMT

Where do you prefer to ride? I like the woods! Its a bigger challenge for me and my horse! All of the obstacles keep my horses mind on me and the trail!! But I also like to ride in the open! So me and my buddies can drag race!

**Drag racing is when you line the horse and riders up at the bottom of a hill! You count to 3 and you run as fast as you can up the hill!! Its really fun if you like to go fast! Its even funner to be the only girl racing and beat all the boys!! So the girl can have bragging right!!! HAHA!!

When do you like to ride? Spring? Summer? Fall? Winter? I like Summer/Fall!! It warm but not to hot! Cool but not to cold!! Also if you can ride in the cooler weather your horse doesnt sweat as much!!!

Hosting a Trail Ride

GiGisbuddy — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 10:18:14 GMT

Hi everyone! I'm thinking about hosting a trail ride at my home. I live right in the middle of acres of state game lands. I usually ride by myself (I'm the only horse person in my family), but it would be fun to have someone to ride with every once in a while. There are quite a few people within a 5-8 mile radius of my house that have horses and I don't know any of them. I figured it would be a good way to meet them if I got word out that I was having a trail ride. My question is...can I get into any trouble by hosting a big ride? Should I write something up on paper to have everyone sign before we go?

Horse Behavior on the Trail

sophiesteel — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 00:16:24 GMT

I have a 4 year old mare who will do a trail ride just great by herself. She is sensible, refuses nothing and behaves very well around other horses. However, when I ride with others, she is very determined to stay within a few feet of the rest of the horses. If I make her pause and wait for someone or just stand because I say so, she becomes distraught. We rode today and she finished the relatively short ride on a cool day, in a complete lather over being so unhappy because I was using the ride as a teaching experience. The ride was not fun for either of us and was wondering what methods others have found successful to discourage a horse from being so needy. I can successully head her the opposite direction and she will go along with no trouble because the others are not in sight, but if she knows they are ahead of her, she is determined that she is going to catch up, even if it means prancing and hopping for several miles. Please share your success stories if you've had similar experience. I'm hoping it's an age thing and she will outgrow it.

Thanks,

Horse Riding Tips

adambaker — Sat, 23 May 2009 13:46:27 GMT

Before riding on a horseback the most important thing taken into account is to master the skill of balancing, without which you cannot enjoy your ride. There are some tips that can help you improve your balance while horseback riding.
a)Riding on a bare horseback it is not that difficult as it sounds when done with proper care and supervision of a trainer.
b)Saddles make the rider too dependent as it allows riders to be too sloppy as they don’t require a lot of effort.
c)When you ride on a bareback, it’s just you and your horse and you have to learn to control your body movements when the horse starts moving. Lack of concentration or focus may result in a fall.
d)While horseback riding the posture of your body should be straight with your heels down and eyes looking forward.

freaking out over mud

Valkyrie34 — Mon, 11 May 2009 02:36:07 GMT

I haven't had my horse very long, so we are just figuring one another out. I haven't been able to ride him much since I bought him, and for the past 2 weeks it has rained so much where I live. I took him out on a trail today, and there was a lot of mud. He was very distressed about walking in the mud. He wanted to charge through it and refused to walk through it calmly. It was really quite a problem at times, and this horse is otherwise very sedate, very well behaved, and very well broke. Anyone have any ideas for me on working on this?

Thanks!

very forward walk

Valkyrie34 — Fri, 01 May 2009 18:51:01 GMT

My 7 year old paint is a very forward walker on the trails...he loves to ride and he moves quickly. He always wants to be out in front and he gets agitated when I try to keep pace with anyone else. It makes it all but impossible to ride side by side and chat with someone, unless their horse is also a fast walker. I hate to discourage a fast walk, as I much prefer that to a sedate plod a long. But I also don't want to trail ride by myself! He moves around like an old man in the arena...it's just when we're on the trails that he walks out. Any schooling suggestions or should I just accept him for how he is??

Ride for the Cure

RidefortheCureCT — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 21:41:52 GMT

The 9th annual Ride for the Cure CT will be held on October 4, 2009 at Tyrone Farm in Pomfret, CT. This event hopes to reach the $500,000 mark of money raised for the Susan Komen Foundation and their battle to find the ultimate cure for breast cancer. This event combines a compelling reason to be in the saddle with a spectacular trail ride on a autumn day in beautiful northeastern CT. For more information, please visit our website atwww.rideforthecurect.org.

Have you tried trail riding under a roof?

OHC — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 16:59:47 GMT

I know it sounds funny, but the Oregon Horse Center has been putting on trail events for several years now, and people love it!

What we do is bring in the outside elements like trees, ditches, ponds, hills, waterfalls, logs, rocks and much more into our large arena so people can come and compete with their horses. It helps give you who stick to trail riding, or just enjoy trail riding with your horses one more thing to do.

It's been a big hit, and this year at our May Northwest Mountain Trail Spring Adventure we're having a "Straight Off The Trail" class for those of you who have never shown your horse at any competition, and would like to try out our great event. You will be competing against other just like you, first timer's to the Oregon Horse Center's Trail Shows, and any competition for that matter.

There really is a lot we have to offer, you should check out the entry form on the home page of our website for more information. www.oregonhorsecenter.com, if that doesn't answer all your questions then feel free to call us as well. Our number is (541) 689-9700.

Hope you take a look at our great show!!

Glis's first official trail ride. With pics.

spragueme — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 16:25:49 GMT

Our ride Sunday was great. I switched her bit to a med port curb with copper roller. For 2 reasons, she was a bit strong in the open fields and I don't have an arena to work her in a snaffle and work on my seat better and she was a tooth chatterer, bit chewer in the snaffles and broken bit curbs I tried her in before. Her mouth was very soft and quiet for our ride so I'll keep her in this bit for a while to see how things go. I rode her in the pasture first just to see how she'd react to the bit. I wanted to make sure she was comfortable in it. I took her to the side field after that and both places she was great. So since she was very comfortable, I took her to the woods across the road and over a piece. It's a nice jaunt to get to the woods. But I wanted her to go through a ditch by the road to get to a field and she wanted no part of that, so I took her down the road where it's not so deep. And when we got to the woods, I found a path that is not too steep to get in. There was a big rock that she was not sure of but after a bit, she went right by it and down the hill. These are 4 wheeler trails so they are pretty good except a few wet spot that get really dug up. Oh yeah and she is not fond of getting her feet in the mud or water for that matter. She will not cross the creek that runs in the bottom of the gully so we had to stay on the one side. The trails run back and forth across the creek. I have a friend with a "steady eddy" who will give her the confidence to cross the creek. We ran into a small group of 3, 4 wheelers on our journey. I just got off the trail and they came up to chat for a bit and go on their way. She never flinched when they came up on us. She really seemed to enjoy the trails. When I was done at the bottom of the gully, we came out and went into the woods in a different spot that was not so clear. LOL. We more or less made our own path. She was great, even when we got caught up in a vine once. I just had to back her up and she stepped over it. I really liked how she would step over the logs and not just jump over them. Oh and there was one really, really tight spot that we needed to weave through and I totally smashed my left knee on a tree. I have a small mark on it now that I know will turn into a big ugly bruise that will look much worse than it really is as I bruise very easily. Anyways, on to the pictures.

Going to the woods.

On the trails

The picture does not do this justice as it's really a very, very steep hill. Back when I was a kid, I would ride trails up and down like this without a care in the world. And it wouldn't bother me to ride this if I was on Vanny as he was so careful but I'm not 100% confident in Glis's abilities as of yet. Although she did very well.

And this is looking down around the same area.

And did you notice how brown and ugly everything still is?????? We rode for 2 full hours with lots of cantering in the open fields and she never even broke into a sweat.

jumping obstacles

myajibi — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 17:50:05 GMT

I recently went on a trail ride with friends of mine and one of my friends rode my 12 year old mare. This mare has been on trails many times with little issues. We were crossing a small stream and my mare decided to jump this obstacle. I consider my friend a good rider but she was very upset at this, stating that a trail horse should know not to jump obstacles. I'm curious as to how much of a problem this is and, if so, how to train a horse to step over obstacles and not jump.

I Finally Hit the Trails with Tuck.

TwoSoxLover — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 22:07:37 GMT

I went on a trail ride with Tucker with some of the boarders at my barn. This is about the first time weve actually gone on a trail ride. Since theres not really trails around our barn, we improvised. We went to a park and through some fields, down the side of the road. I was soo proud of him becuase he tends to spook at crazy things, but he did really well. We even went over a wooden bridge, though he probably looked hilarious doing it, over roads, near baseball fields, etc. He spooked a couple of times, but nothing too bad. That was exactly what he needed. We tend to spend most of our time in the arena, but he loved getting out and streching his legs. I didnt get any pictures, but I know they(the boarders I went on the trail with) wanted to go up to Hutchins on an actual trail ride and Ill try and get some pictures if i go. :]

How to condition your horse for the trail

janiert — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 18:47:17 GMT

I ride quite a bit, just about daily, but would like to get into more challenging and longer (overnight) rides this summer. My horse is young, 8 years and in great shape for what we do with him. Should I do anything in particular to condition him for longer and tougher rides? There is a group I just joined that goes out on day rides and some weekend rides and I want to be able to hang with them. Do I really have to go out of my way to get him in better shape? The rides will be slow, but the terrain may be moderately hard. Thanks!!

Mounting Aids

Lwilliams — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 14:31:23 GMT

I started this question on the Getting Started forum, but I probably should have put it here since it's mostly a trail riding question. Sorry - still learning my way around here. . . Here's my question: what mounting aids would you guys recommend for a tall horse/short rider?

Ok, he's not really that tall . . . but I AM that short. He's 15.3; I'm 5 ft - ish. We've started riding on the trail with my children and their mounts. My problem - every time a kid needs a hand or a gate needs to be opened, Mom is the one to get off and tend to the problem cause the kids can't re-mount without my help.

Then what? I can't always find an object to park him up against. Do any of you have experience with any of the Easy UP type products? I've seen ones that hang from the saddle horn and ones that fit into the near-side stirrup -- but all seem to me to create a dangling object that could irritate the horse or snag on the trail. I've also seen stirrups that pop down then up again . .

Has anyone tried any of these? Love 'em or hate 'em? I'd be happy for any insights and experiences.

thanks!

No graze reins or muzzle to stop from gazing on trail?

Cheyennes Jewel <3 — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 20:38:08 GMT

I have an 8 yr old paint who LOVES to eat grass on trail.

She has costal round bail acess all the time and gets fed night and morning. She also gets out of pasture to graze every now and then since there is no more grass in pasture.

Everytime were out riding her head is continuously down, i have to kick, pull or smack to get her head up and thet doesnt always work. Her doing this constantly is making riding more of an annoying time instead or a enjoyable time. I hate to always be nagging her and i shouldnt have to.

Ive been looking up on Anti graing reins or no graze reins or a muzzle. I have yet to invest in them. Has anyone ever tried this method?

Ive read the horse still can move the neck/head but not far enough to reach grass. Does it pull on bridle and cause discomfort?

She jerks her head around or hops up into a trot with kicking or pulling and she gets mean and cant stand still if she is not eating the grass around her.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated..