July 2001

Serving Horse Owners Across the State

Vol 1

Articles

Please Note: All of these articles are copyrighted by the authors. Do not copy them for re-publication. Thank you.

Keeping Trail Riding Safe (and Fun)
By Bill Hampton, REINS Volunteer
NC Agricultural Extension Service

Introduction 

Trail riding is a fun activity for horse enthusiasts.  I love of the beauty of the outdoors and the sheer joy of riding in the wild.  It’s pure pleasure for my friends and family to have an outing and trot along the seashore, race up a mountain trail and meander through a wooded trail.  However, keeping trail riding safe for you and your horse is the key to making it fun.  A tragic event involving your horse, your friend, yourself would certainly ruin the ride or (depending on the severity of the accident) permanently ruin someone’s health.

I’m an avid trail rider who loves to “hit the dusty trails” about once or twice per week (except during icy conditions).  I plan and attend several multi-day rides in the mountains in TN, NC, VA and a few longer treks in Colorado.  I expect a few bumps and scrapes along the way when I ride. However, I have seen horses getting injured (requiring them to be put down), people killed or seriously injured and equipment damaged on trails.  In my experience, most of these injuries or problems could have been prevented with a bit of “common sense” (which is not that common anymore) and understanding of equine nutrition.

Let me review in this article what I feel that you need to have a successful trail ride.  Here are the major categories for this topic:

·         Basic Training for the Trail,

·         Preparations Before the Ride,

·         Activities During the Ride; and

·         Actions After the Ride (to keep it fun for you and your horse)

Basic Training for the Trail: 

A horse that is not familiar with trail riding has to be taught what to do.  It has to be shown how to go over water obstacles, how to follow other horses at a safe distance, how to proceed in an orderly manner through the trail, etc.  A large trail ride with many different horses in new surroundings is a scary thing for a horse that’s use to a stable or pasture environment.  I’ve seen horses rear, kick and generally “explode” when they are forced too quickly to go on a trail ride. 

I recently bought a new horse – a seven-year old, Gelding, named “Spudley” in December 2000.  Spudley was “green broke” and only had three bad habits – bucking, kicking and biting. Needless to say, I got him for a “good deal” as the previous owner gave up on him.  I spent several days getting use to the new horse, disciplining him when he bucked and making sure that he knew my style of riding, my queues for speeding up, slowing down, turning, etc.  Then, I taught him several basic moves that are important in trail riding like backing up, side passing, turning on the hindquarters, etc.  These basic movements will enable you to get out of a few jams or just reposition horses on the trail.  I then experimented with going over boards, water obstacles and through wooded areas near my own pasture (familiar territory for the horse). This lasted several weeks until I was comfortable that Spudley and I were communicating well.

After Spudley had somewhat mastered basic riding, I focused my attention on horse leading and loading to ensure that trailer loading would not be a problem.  I can’t remember how many times that I hear lame excuses from late trail riders who have not properly trained their horses.  They say… “It’s not my fault I’m late, my horse didn’t load in the trailer…”.  But, what this means is that their training techniques are poor OR they have not invested the time in their horse to achieve a good result.  If you spend the time, your horse will eventually load properly.  Keep in mind that it’s ALWAYS your fault if your horse does not load well (or to your credit as a horse trainer if they do).  You have to adequately teach your horse how to load and how to get over their natural fear of a small, confined space.  John Lyons and other horse trainers spend a great deal of time teaching horse owners how to get a horse to load (which I won’t go into here).  However, the main problem with loading a horse is that horse owners don’t adequately practice loading their horse before the first ride.  Needless to say, you need to ensure your horse will load consistently before the first ride is even scheduled.  

After the horse loaded consistently, I then brought Spudley and my daughter’s mare to a trailhead for the next phase of training.  Spudley was fearful of the new surroundings but willingly followed my daughter’s horse (who had been a pasture buddy for several weeks by that time) over water obstacles, up steep hills and along steep cliffs.  Spudley was nervous but he soon learned what to do on the trail.  After several successful trail rides, I brought two excellent riders with me on the trail to train Spudley to handle other, unknown horses on the trail.  During this ride, we kept switching positions on the trail (so Spudley was, at times, close to my daughter’s mare and, at other times, was far away).  I tried to keep Spudley’s attention on me versus the other horses by keeping him busy (side passing, speeding up or slowing down, moving his head, and generally getting his attention off the other horses and listening to me).  If I did not keep him busy, he might have kicked one of the other unknown horses (since he took a threatening stance with a few geldings that got too close to my daughter’s mare).  Just remember that it’s easier to get you horse’s attention and keep him doing “good” versus punishing him if he kicks out.  Watch for the warning signs (flattening ears, threatening looks, etc.) so you’ll know when to intervene before the kick.  In time, he’ll learn to relax and ride on the trail with other horses.  Spudley is still not perfect in this area but we’re always training our horses – every ride is a training opportunity. 

After doing all this training, you finally need to ensure that your horse is properly conditioned for the trail ride.  I use to run 3 miles a day when I was in my twenties but I could not do this at age 45.  However, I could slowly condition my body to be ready for a 3 mile run over the course of a few weeks.  Getting your horse ready for a trail ride is the same idea.  Make sure that you don’t bring your “couch potato” horse on an aggressive, all-day ride or you might have a muscle pull, an injury or coronary (as I might if I immediately starting running a 3 mile race). 

Now you’re both ready for the “Big Ride”.  Failure to adequately train you horse might potentially injure yourself or your horse.  I’ve seen nervous horses rear in unfamiliar, trail situations that have seriously injured the riders (broken backs, paralysis from neck trauma, broken bones, etc.) that could have been easily prevented if people spent time to adequately train their horses.  

Preparations Before the Ride:

You need to plan for a trail ride to make it fun.  You’ll need a safe trailer that has good electrical brakes, working lights, reflectors and is large enough for your horse (headroom and length so you’re not whacking him in the head when you stop or rubbing his tail raw on the rear door). Your vehicle should be powerful, stable and have sufficient braking power to stop the trailer even if the trailer brakes fail.  I have an F-150 Ford with a 4.6 Liter engine with the towing package (hitch, larger cooling capacity for both the engine and transmission, etc.) which is sufficient for my two-horse trailer (even for trips into the mountains of NC, VA and TN).  However, I see people pulling horses in a two-horse trailer with a smaller SUVs (Explorer, Pathfinder, Land Rover, etc.) and using smaller SUVs does not typically work well.  While you can get-by with a smaller SUV for a short duration and infrequent trips but regular trailering of a two-horse trailer will burn-out the SUV’s transmission, wear-out the brakes and generally be unstable (basic physics – when the vehicle is too light, the trailer is harder to stop).  If you’ve ever seen a trailer flip or a smaller SUV lose control, you’d never consider anything less than a full-size pick-up (half-ton or larger), Expedition, Suburban or other substantial vehicle (two tons or greater in weight).  A flipped trailer usually means a crippled or killed horse since horses will panic and injure themselves trying to escape the trailer.  Don’t risk your horse on a second-rate vehicle/trailer combination.

I also bring along food for the horse (forage/hay, grain and alfalfa cubes) in addition to salt and electrolytes to ensure I can quickly replenish salts and minerals that sweat out (think of electrolytes as a “Sports Drink” for horses).  I also bring a small supply of water (a key, necessary “nutrient” for the trail) in the event that I get caught in a traffic jam or if can’t find adequate supplies of water at the trail-head or along the trail.  Without an adequate supply of food or water, your horse suffers on trail rides and may become sick.

A common mistake with trail riders is that horse owners switch and provide only grain on trail rides instead of a mixture of hay and grain.  This is either laziness or ignorance on the horse owner’s part since grain is easier to transport to the trailhead than hay.  This practice could potentially kill your horse through colic since a horse should never get less than a 50% supply of forage (grass or hay) by weight.  Radical switching of a horse from a 100% forage (pasture) diet to a high grain diet on the trail is deadly for a horse’s digestive system (which I’ll leave for a vet to fully explain in a separate article).  Two horses have been lost this spring at local NC trail rides that I have attended.  This useless waste of two healthy horses was a direct result of switching from a high-forage to a high-grain diet for an extended ride.  Both horses suffered for 24 hours before finally dying – a horrible death – one that was completely preventable.

            On the day of the ride, feed your horse at the normal time, if possible, try not to trailer a horse immediately before or after a large feeding.  You can immediately load a pasture-feed horse (since their food consumption is more continuous).  However, a horse that’s fed a large amount of hay and grain before immediately being loaded in a trailer might develop a colic or other digestive problem that can be life-threatening to the horse.  Also, never feed grain in the trailer (which they can choke on) - only feed hay in the trailer feed bins.

Your tack should be in good repair as well.  I have an 8 year old saddle but I oil it regularly (to keep the leather from cracking or decaying), replace the stirrup leathers and re-stitch the skirt, as needed.  Headstall, bit, reins, etc. are also kept in good repair with spare tack in the trailer in the event of a failure.  Bring along a leather repair kit for on the trail that can fit into your saddlebags.

You also need a first-aid kit for the trail that will work for humans and horses.  Many bandages will do double duty as a treatment for a horse wound as well as a human wound.  I purchased a trail riding first-aid kit from the NC Horse Council (www.nchorsecouncil.com) but you can make up your own kit.  Just ask your vet what he or she thinks is most important to include.  Good first-aid on the trail is an invaluable first step in managing an injury before quality vet care can be obtained back at the trail-head.

Activities During the Trail Ride:

            When you unload the horse at the trailhead, try and calm the horse.  Place the horse in a spot where he can relax (away from the other horses).  I give my horses a hay net to munch on to calm them down.  I don’t let them eat too much hay – just a small amount to distract them and get their minds off of the new surroundings.  I also try and sing (low volume), hum or speak to the horse in reassuring tones when tacking up.  The horse is looking to you for leadership and comfort – if you’re nervous about a new trail ride, you can’t expect the horse to be calm.  I also pack a few treats for the trail (a few alfalfa cubes) but only small volumes so I don’t cause a digestive problem later on.  

            During the course of the ride, I look for clean, flowing water along the trail and let them drink for up to two minutes (to limit intake of the colder water) and then get back on the trail.  Giving water on the trail is controversial since many say giving water may potentially colic a horse.  However, if you give water and then hit the trail again, it should not be an issue since the movement will help the horse adjust to the new, colder water.  Allowing water intake is only a problem if water is quickly given after a ride and then the horse is tied up at your trailer (not allowing adequate movement).  Keeping the horses hydrated is also essential to avoid colic from over-compaction in digestive passageways due to a lack of liquids.   Before and after the ride, I provide my horse with electrolytes to ensure they have essential salts and minerals if I know it’ll be a hot day or I’ll be riding hard and long.  Remember a horse that is electrolyte deficient will not be feel thirsty and therefore, will NOT drink water – even if they’re dehydrated.  This causes a deadly cycle that may lead to a colic emergency.  A few trail riders bring electrolytes on the trail and give their horses electrolytes every two hours (before a stream or water source so they can wash down the electrolytes).  I mention this practice since several NC State University veterinarians recommend it and it makes practical sense.  However, my friends and I have never had a problem with our horses in this area – even with a long, aggressive ride in the summer so I avoid this ritual for expediency’s sake.

            My friends and family tend to ride long and fast along the trails.  However, you should be aware of the breathing and heart rate of your horse.  If the horse “blows” excessively, you need to slow-down and let him catch his breath (condition issue) and you need to periodically check the heart rate of your horse on an extended trail ride.  Ask your vet how to do this the next time he/she visits your farm.  They can also give advice on how high to let the horse’s rate elevate when on the trail.  This heart rate recommendation will vary based on your horse’s age, breed and condition.  When the horse is very active, checking the heat rate is quite easy since the heart is pounding hard (unlike checking the heart rate when they’re standing still or quietly grazing in the pasture).

            Why do people drink alcohol heavily and then ride their horse?  I know two recent cases of drunkenness that have cost the lives of two horses and seriously injured their riders.  I’m not a prude and might have one drink AFTER the horseback ride but never within two hours of trailering my horse back home.  Drinking along the trail, having a few beers after a ride and then immediately driving back home is a recipe for disaster.  I’m personally tired on seeing animals killed, people injured and equipment destroyed because impaired judgement that comes from alcohol.  Has anyone ever ridden along a beautiful trail only to notice a pile of beer cans along a stream or trailside?  Please remember to pack out your trash and act courteously on the trails when passing hikers, bikers and four-wheel drive enthusiasts.  Poor trail manners and drunkenness has to stop or else all of the horseback riders (good and bad) will be kicked out of a nature area or national forest. 

Actions After the Trail Ride:

There are still things to do after the trail ride.  Just before arriving at the trailhead, slow down to a walk and attempt to cool-down the horse as much as possible (try and walk the last half-mile of the trail if possible).  It’s fun to race but don’t race back to the trailhead – it’s not good for the horse. If it’s summer, upon arriving back at the trailhead, you need to quickly unsaddle the horse and begin to walk the horse.  Wait until he has caught his breath and then try and spray off the horse’s legs and breast area to speed the cooling process, if a water hose is available.  Do NOT spray off the entire horse (back, barrel, etc.) as this might cause the horse to cramp up.  Keep walking the horse until his temperature (as felt on the breast area) has cooled and is approaching normal. 

After about a half-hour to an hour of cooling down (depending on the heat and aggressive nature of the ride), I give my horse up to 2 gallons of water.  I try to give him water that I brought with me on the truck since that water is the ambient temperature (75 – 85 degrees F) versus cold water from a well or pump.  This avoids a cold shock to the horse’s system.  I then give electrolytes either through a tube (similar to a de-wormer delivery tube) or sprinkle the salts onto a small amount of grain.  I then give the horse more water (to help wash down the electrolyte) and give them a hay net with up to two flakes in the net.  They’ll need more food later on in the evening but you don’t want to give them too much too soon.

I see so many people who immediately end the ride and load their horses in a trailer without properly re-hydrating their horse.  If you do not properly cool down and then re-hydrate your horse (which entails both electrolytes and water) after an aggressive trail ride, then your horse suffers.  After a particularly long trail ride (8 hours) during the summer, I waited two-hours for the horse to cool-down, re-hydrate, rest and eat hay before I loaded the horse in the trailer and headed back home.  I wanted to go right back home but I did not want the horse the horse to suffer or become ill on the way back home.

During the winter, you still need to re-hydrate your horse after a trail ride but it’s important to keep the horse from getting too cold or cooling off too rapidly.  Blanket the horse after you unsaddle or leave the saddle pads on the horse to more slowly cool down the horse.  I don’t have blankets (I’m cheap) – but I have good success just using the saddle pads as blankets to keep them warmer.  I periodically lift up and brush the horse under the saddle pad to dry off the horse.  Remember that cool-down a horse too rapidly could cause the horse to cramp up or become ill.

****KEEP TRAIL RIDING FUN BY KEEPING IT SAFE FOR YOU AND YOUR HORSES.**** 

William (Bill) Hampton is a REINS volunteer working under the NC Agricultural Extension Service, NC State University and the NC Horse Council.  REINS is an educational organization that was formed to provide horse nutrition, forage management and farm management advice to horse owners in North Carolina.  REINS trains their volunteers to provide support for the tens of thousands of horse owners in NC who care, ride and breed the 265,000 horses in NC.