The very first and most important thing you must take into consideration when trail riding is safety. If you think of safe practices first and have good common sense, you will enjoy the experience without hurting yourself or your horse. These are really essential, especially when you decide to experience riding on your own. Also, you will not always be guided or helped by your instructor.
Here are the top 7 rules you should keep in mind when trail riding.
1. If you go trail riding, always inform someone where you plan to go and when you plan to return. On a trail ride, it is not surprising if you or your horse becomes ill, lame, injured, get lost, or get stuck. Anything can happen on a trail ride and when it does, at least, one person will notice that you still have not returned. If something unexpected happens, help will come and you will be found because you have told someone where you planned to go.
It is not advisable for a child or an inexperienced rider to go trail riding alone. Experienced riders can trail ride alone. It is also recommended that riders always bring communication device such as cell phone that is fully charged. This will help them get help during emergencies.
2. Do not forget to bring a hoof pick and a pocket knife with you. You can use the hoof pick to get stones off your horses hooves. A stone stuck in your horses hoof can cause pain so it has to be removed. The pocket knife will come in handy when your horses feet get wrapped up in vines or get caught in a thick bush.
3. Horses cannot discern playtime from work time, so do not teach them to become lax. As much as trail riding is relaxing, you do not want your horse to relax as it may do it even during work. This will cause for you to lose control over your horse, which you do not want, especially when trail riding.
If the horse learns how to relax, it might relax even if you do not want it to. For example, whenever you trail ride, your horse grab bites of grass as you walk. It might do this even if you are on your way to a show ring gate.
4. Without creating unnecessary anxiety among the horses, always ride a respectful distance from the other riders. Horses always communicate with each other, which can sometimes lead to violence. This is why you have to keep at least one horse length between you and the next rider in front of you. But, because of their herd instincts, you should not do anything that will cause them to think that the herd is getting split up.
5. Be cautious when trail riding on a terrain that is not familiar to you. When trail riding on an unfamiliar terrain, always be careful and do not run. You do not know if there is an overgrown ditch or a covered up hole along the way. It will not be good if your horse stumbles on one of them and get its legs hurt.
6. You should know what to do when something scares your horse. What usually scare a horse are unfamiliar objects. When something scares your horse, you must ignore it so your horse doesnt make a big deal out of it. This is because the bigger the deal you make out of it, the bigger the deal it will be to your horse.
In case you are thinking that you will teach your horse to get used to whatever scares it by going back and forth in front of the spooky object, you are mistaken. This can even make the situation worse. Instead, let it look, walk slowly and sniff the spooky object to make it think that the thing is not scary at all.
7. Walk along your horse comfortably on the trail, especially if you meet other riders. Your horse tends to react the same way you do. If it senses that you are nervous, it will get nervous too and might cause for it to bolt unexpectedly. Therefore, you should always be calm so that your horse will calmly walk with you.
While there are other rules to follow, these are the top 7 rules to keep you safe on the trail. And these are important so that your trail riding experience will be enjoyable. - 25481
About the Author:
About the Author: Pat Brooks is an equestrian, an attorney and Arabian horse training and breeding business owner and operator. She hosts the Horse And Rider Radio Show in Atlanta, Georgia, where she discusses information relevant to the newcomer. For more information on horses go to Horse Riding Lessons and Equestrian Rider.