Has anyone done this to introduce a young horse to trail riding? I don’t have any trails on my property, so i would have to trailer my young mare out somewhere to hit the trails. She is green broke to saddle, but still a bit nervous and flighty in new places, so I would feel safer introducing her to the great wide open from the ground first.
Is this something that is commonly done with trail/endurance horses?
I did this with one horse and it proved beneficial ~
I did this with one young horse I owned and started …
it was beneficial BUT
this gelding was [B]SOLID in ground driving / long-lining
and an excellent listener …
PLUS
I knew the property inch by inch !
I drove him down through fields to the river ``` it was sensational !
Returned to the barn and the next day rode to the river ! [/B]
I highly suggest you walk the trail first before taking him ~
Jingles & AO !
[B]
I would pony a green horse before ground driving.
I have started a number of young horses, and retrained a number to be “trail horses” - I always start them out on the trails on foot.
BUT I WOULD NOT GROUND DRIVE THEM.
I would not want to be in a vulnerable position behind them. A place where a quick spin or spook could result in tangled lines, and a tangled horse. I would not expect a young green horse to LEAD me (as in walk in front of me) down strange trails.
I LEAD them on trails. Proper footwear, gloves, good fitting halter, with a chain, attached to a lunge line (with a stopper on the end).
I walk them - I lead by example - nothing scary here, lets go for a fun march in the woods.
I use a chain just in case they act up, a lunge line so I have more line to hold onto (I DO NOT want them getting away). Gloves to protect from rope burn, and proper foot wear should a youngster spook and land on my foot! A helmet would be prudent as well.
Pony him or lead him- do NOT ground drive him in a strange place.
I use ground driving on trails with a most of the horses I start. I want my trail horses to be very independent and I put a very strong base on them. Once they are going well on the lunge, have excellent ground manners, ground drive, do obstacles, etc then I do a couple of “hikes” with the horse in hand, then I’ll switch to ground driving on the trail, then to riding on the trail. I will not ride with other horses on the trail until they are going well solo. If the horse I’m ground driving out on the trail is jumping around and getting tangled then I haven’t done something right with their training to begin with and I’m doing a pretty bad job with the actual ground driving.
I start my youngsters out with lots of leading in the forest trails near my home. And since I have no arena to start them, this is where they also get ridden for the first time. I don’t ground drive as I am not proficient enough at it and I don’t feel I can be light-handed enough with long reins. I don’t use a buddy horse and it is important for me that the horse is comfortable being on it’s own in a strange place and trusting me, not looking to another horse for support.
I use a rope “horsemanship” halter and lead and a headstall with bit but nothing attached to it when I start. And gloves. I don’t like using a bit, but feel it is my responsiblity to get a young horse used to having one in it’s mouth.
I am not “into” horsemanship. I’m not “into” any kind of system other than plain common sense. 
How well does your horse ground drive? Is it competent and steady at home? How proficient are you at ground driving? Will you be using a saddle or a proper driving haness? Are you planning to walk the trail alongside her, or behind her, or both depending upon the circumstances?
[QUOTE=Appsolute;8156142]
I have started a number of young horses, and retrained a number to be “trail horses” - I always start them out on the trails on foot.
BUT I WOULD NOT GROUND DRIVE THEM.
I would not want to be in a vulnerable position behind them. A place where a quick spin or spook could result in tangled lines, and a tangled horse. I would not expect a young green horse to LEAD me (as in walk in front of me) down strange trails.
I LEAD them on trails. Proper footwear, gloves, good fitting halter, with a chain, attached to a lunge line (with a stopper on the end).
I walk them - I lead by example - nothing scary here, lets go for a fun march in the woods.
I use a chain just in case they act up, a lunge line so I have more line to hold onto (I DO NOT want them getting away). Gloves to protect from rope burn, and proper foot wear should a youngster spook and land on my foot! A helmet would be prudent as well.[/QUOTE]
THIS ^^ (and similar other responses).
I did this with a young filly before she was old enough to back. The trails were next to barn, and it gave me the opportunity to get her nicely settled without physically pushing her. First real trail ride was a piece of cake as was driving her a couple years later.
[QUOTE=luvmydutch;8155635]
Has anyone done this to introduce a young horse to trail riding? I don’t have any trails on my property, so i would have to trailer my young mare out somewhere to hit the trails. She is green broke to saddle, but still a bit nervous and flighty in new places, so I would feel safer introducing her to the great wide open from the ground first.
Is this something that is commonly done with trail/endurance horses?[/QUOTE]
You had better make sure she is SOLID on voice commands and that you have full control. You do not want to lose her. It would be a good idea to take her to large strange places that are fenced, and drive her, before you head for the trails. I find it’s better to ride them out with a friend for comfort and support. It’s harder to lose a horse that way.
I have had excellent luck ground driving greenies on trails. However, they were all completely solid with the whole exercise before I left confined space, first a round pen, and then the arena. This cannot be emphasized enough. Otherwise, things can get ugly in a hurry.
Oh, and if you decide to try it, be sure to wear gloves and take your spurs off.
I love starting a young trail horse by hand leading–though not driving.
With hand-leading (always with good gloves on), the youngster is taking its direction from you, not the other horse. You can hop onto stumps in a mounting position, preparing it to learn to stand for you to mount, including off-side mounting. Have it quarter turn off the forehand and haunches at gates, to learn those moves. Stride ride through puddles and creeks as though it’s nothing and the youngster will believe you. Let the stirrups snag on branches on tight trails. Crack branches. Jump logs. Stop on steep hill descents and climbs. Transition from walk-trot-stop, etc. Tie him to a tree to watch you clear some trail or saw branches. After a few weeks, the youngster is ready to go solo trail riding and you have to buy smaller jeans.
I always hand walk my horses to introduce trail riding.
First build in a safety for when, not if, horse spooks and tangles. This includes intelligent choice of equipment, horse softens to ropes all over body and not just at home… and particularly a “come forward” button for when the horse has turned to face you, and the lines are tight and getting tighter if the horse backs up due to the pulley effect of terrets. And line-handling skills so you are not ever distracted from keeping safe positioning based on your own agility and limitations. You must practice emergency-moves for worst-case scenarios. Dirt bikes, bee-stings, bursting coveys of quail- are you skillful enough in technique for the horse to learn bravery through your leadership? If not you are creating problems. The process of acquiring this skill in the arena will also give you abiity to judge when to take it out on the trails. Of course it’s doable but not for every horse/human combination.
[QUOTE=Lisa Preston;8161304]
I love starting a young trail horse by hand leading–though not driving.
With hand-leading (always with good gloves on), the youngster is taking its direction from you, not the other horse. You can hop onto stumps in a mounting position, preparing it to learn to stand for you to mount, including off-side mounting. Have it quarter turn off the forehand and haunches at gates, to learn those moves. Stride ride through puddles and creeks as though it’s nothing and the youngster will believe you. Let the stirrups snag on branches on tight trails. Crack branches. Jump logs. Stop on steep hill descents and climbs. Transition from walk-trot-stop, etc. Tie him to a tree to watch you clear some trail or saw branches. After a few weeks, the youngster is ready to go solo trail riding and you have to buy smaller jeans.[/QUOTE]
I used this great advice, along with the rest of this thread, yesterday. Took my new six year old out and led her through a local trail. I rode her briefly down easier parts of the trail. There was no way ground driving would work on this trail, if I were even adept at doing it, but leading her worked very well. She didn’t hesitate to follow, and we encountered a snapping turtle, puddles, mud, deer, otters swimming in the lake, tree branches that I needed to break off and move, logs, etc. I plan on doing a lot of this in the next few weeks, alone.
I’ll save the ground driving for a safer area. For those that do it, great, but I have enough problems with a long lead rope!
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