[QUOTE=tabula rashah;5787551]
:):)
Me much like!
And a question- why is it more important to move off the right leg? (Maybe Iām just daft this morning who knows- LOL!)[/QUOTE]
From what I read he is in England moving off the right leg gets you out of the road. Over here we need them to move off the left leg.
Christa
Who picks the discipline to suit the horse, but I expect them all to be willing to hack out or trail ride.
[QUOTE=Jackie & Starlette;5789312]
I love thisā¦I bought my mare from a WP ātrainerā (sarcastic yes), because she was not good enought for WP, and was ājust a trail horseā.
Well, she had never been on the trailsā¦took me two years to get her to ājust a trail horseā statusā¦and during the process, I found out how hard it can be, particularly with a horse that was abused in WP training and who did not trust anything or anyone. [/QUOTE]
I really hate to hear that term āJust a Trail Horseā It usually sets my teeth on edge. A good trail horse is one that is willing and brave and not afraid to try new things. He will cross a stream without fuss, scale the side of mountain, not spook at wildlife as it suddenly appears or disappears, take all kinds of vehicles in stride etc etc etc. āTrail horseā should not be considered the default career for a horse that gets washed out of a show career. I think show horses should aspire to be good trail horses firstā¦then train them in what ever discipline you wantā¦that is just my own opinion on the subject.
Great article. Because the barn where I now ride is lacking a good ring but has 100ās of acres of outstanding trails, I primarily hack. And I love it. Not to mention the conditioning is great.
But very scary for sure. Just ask the 18 hand perch. TB cross I rode this morning who nearly lost his mind when we went past a field with a miniature horse wearing a grazing muzzle who came trotting up to the fence line. :eek:
I know, right? Super scary! :lol::lol:
[QUOTE=wcporter;5789618]
Great article. Because the barn where I now ride is lacking a good ring but has 100ās of acres of outstanding trails, I primarily hack. And I love it. Not to mention the conditioning is great.
But very scary for sure. Just ask the 18 hand perch. TB cross I rode this morning who nearly lost his mind when we went past a field with a miniature horse wearing a grazing muzzle who came trotting up to the fence line. :eek:
I know, right? Super scary! :lol::lol:[/QUOTE]
Minis with fly masks have gotten us! Scared my horse half to death when a herd of them ran up to fence squealing. It think it had something to do with all that hair flopping around as they ran.
It takes a terrific horse to be ājust a trail horseā. My new horse (I have had him 9 months) was quiet when I got him but he had been treated harshly. He would carry anyone but was really just a nose to tail guy and would gallop instead of canter and throw his head up and tremble and freeze when people touched him. He had been harshly treated by a ātrainerā not his owner. Very harsh bit on a very gentle boy.
After working with him I am gaining his trust - he no longer freezesā¦he can hold a slow western ājogā for miles, he still canāt canter slow but no longer tosses his head up. He doesnāt put his nose up other horses backsides and he will now lead a trail ride where before I couldnāt get him to go first for anything! A few months ago we were riding in the forests of Louisiana and wild hogs were exploding literally from under his feet. My boy just flinched hard and went onā¦his price (IF he was for sale) went up several thousand $$!!! To quietly go up and down hills without rushing, crowding, slipping or sliding, cross water, deal with wildlife, other riders/horses who may not be in control, cross trees, muddy sloughs, cross bridges of different materials, side pass in both directions, back up, stop on commandā¦it is a ton of training to make an experienced trail horse. A good trail horse is worth a lot of money!
My boy is getting better and better and he does it looking nice tooā¦I have had several people offer to buy himā¦LOL he is not for sale. So yes, I think a great trail horse could be great at other disciplines but not all horses make great trail horses. It does take a certain personality! Some of my friends have terrific trail horses and some Iād just as soon not ride with because their horses are anything but good trail horses!!
Love trails and trail horses. Fine w/ someone else not loving them.
[QUOTE=tabula rashah;5787551]
:):)
Me much like!
And a question- why is it more important to move off the right leg? (Maybe Iām just daft this morning who knows- LOL!)[/QUOTE]
Perhaps because in Britain people drive on the left side of the road and also ride on the left shoulder of the road and so you would be doing leg-yields to the left to get away from cars, bicycles, and articulated lorries that whistle their brakes at you.
My guess, anyway. Simon Barnes writes with an English accent, IMO.
I love trail riding and that is mostly what I do now. It does take a special horse and/or very competent rider. However watching the riders and horses at the Rolex doing 3 day or the insane Grand Prix jumping courses or wild steeple chases or even an insane Fox Hunt all seem a bit more challenging on the whole than āhacking.ā
I agree lots of people donāt realize all the things that can happen on the trail or are ready for it, but trying to make it through the HSBC water park in Lexingon looked a lot harder than my gallop through the trails, even when deer leap out at you or kids come out of the woods with sticks, etc. But I am proud to be a hacker! I know endurance riding and week long rides are very different but hacking vs. say 3 day eventing, simply on a āchallengeā level just are not the same.
bizbachfan, I respectfully disagree with you 
I am an eventer, and the scariest thing to me is not well maintained footing with obstacles that have been carefully constructed. When I event, I know āsomeoneā has checked the footing, āsomeoneā will be there in seconds to help me if I get into trouble. My horse is focused on the job ahead, and so am I.
The scariest thing? Trying to ride an event horse at a walk down the road or on the trail. Trotting or cantering are fine, but the walk - oh, the predators that appear at the walk.
[QUOTE=FlightCheck;5790519]
bizbachfan, I respectfully disagree with you
I am an eventer, and the scariest thing to me is not well maintained footing with obstacles that have been carefully constructed. When I event, I know āsomeoneā has checked the footing, āsomeoneā will be there in seconds to help me if I get into trouble. My horse is focused on the job ahead, and so am I.
The scariest thing? Trying to ride an event horse at a walk down the road or on the trail. Trotting or cantering are fine, but the walk - oh, the predators that appear at the walk. ;)[/QUOTE]
FlightCheck,
thanks for the perspective. I guess my reasoning is this I bet a 3 day eventer (you) can handle my spooky TB mare on the trail even on a bad day but can I hop on your event horse and be successful at Lexington? Probably not.
BTW good point on the safety measures that are not really available on the trail. No way around that.
LOL looks to me like Eventing and fox hunting are like super duty trail riding in some waysā¦but as pointed out - the obstacles have been created and checked and there is someone to help if something goes wrong.
I do not trail ride by myselfā¦maybe in the future but now I do go out with other riders and thank God, several people I ride with are nurses - ER nurses at that. They are handy folks to have riding with you! Our group did have someone ride with them last Oct (I wasnāt there yet but hubby was) and she came off of her horse when he startled in the water, her shirt hung on the horn and she was dragged up (hubby said looked like she was barefoot skiing across the water) and hit the beach and was knocked out. OMG - the ER nurse was off of her horse in an instant and girls boyfriend was yelling to leave her alone and girl finally woke up and screamed the same. ER nurse had life flight on the phone. What an idiot. Glad she was ok but it could have been uglyā¦brain injuries are deadly and you often are unaware that you have them til you wake up dead (old Charley Pride line in a song)
In June we had just left the park when someone came up to the camp all upset because their horse had drowned a few moments beforeā¦my cousin was there at the park and talked to the lady. So some scary stuff can happen to both people and horses on trail rides. What can start off as a fun day can quickly escalate into an emergency.
People pay big money for a made hunter that will jump whatever obstacle is in its way while waiting in a line, will cross water without a second thought, canter through winding trails in the woods, stand quietly at checks while hounds go everywhere, not spook at the sight of wildlife or the sounds of the outdoors (both natural and man made), respond to leg yields without question, be able to change pace at the will of the rider regardless of what the field does, have great speed and endurance, and basically be a safe, reliable mount when the going gets tough.
It seems to me a trail horse has to display all those qualities so why should they be thought of as less?
Just an observationā¦
To a me a good trail horse is just as valuable as a perfectly trained dressage horse, or hunter, etc. But I just donāt think trail riding is the toughest discipline when compared to a little more difficult ones like 3 day eventing, Grand Prix jumping, Steeplechasing, etc. for the rider.
I have long believed that us trail riders are vastly underrated for what our horses and we have to cope with. How many riders in a ring come across rattlesnakes, bears, wild hogs, etc? Semis, barking ferocious dogs, tree limbs falling, etc
Well said. My Heart Horse has been my trail riding bud for nearly 21 years.
He has faithfully slid on his butt down hills and scrambled his little 14.3H self up scraggly paths over big rocks that his 16H buds effortlessly climbed.
He was born wearing a āNo-Fearā t-shirt, is huge motored and full of go-go-go.
H has used his ear to flip off rude semi drivers that let their jake brake off right beside him; has literally gone nose-to-nose with an irate male llama that made three horses in front of him rear in panic and dump their riders (he won the stand-off:yes::yes:; has walked straight up to heavy construction equipment when its running and never thought about saying ānoā; hopped right over a snake one day that thankfully was a friendly one; and thinks all the loud clapping and screaming in parades is for him and him alone. Yet he respects the fences and has never tried to get out - even when the fence was down.
Except for parades, I have never put a saddle on this horse - we have done everything bareback our entire lives. I only had to bail once and that was when a rein broke just as we were starting to cross a busy 4-lane highway. He stopped, I got my spare reins out of my backpack and we were good-to-go in less than five minutes.
I have learned to ask what ātrail brokeā means to the Seller. 99 times out of 100, it is not my interpretation:lol::lol: A seasonās worth of hacking in Metro Parks is certainly helpful, but doesnāt count:)
I do have the greatest respect for what it takes to train a horse for the show ring.
Itās a different kind of patience than training a horse for legitimate trail riding and is the kind of patience I do not possess.
I hate hate hate roundpens and have never broke or schooled a horse in a roundpen in my life. I have one for when little children come and want to ride my child-safe Arab. Other than my horses going in there to eat grass, thatās the only use it gets:)
In GB we learned to ride when young by riding OUT on horses that knew their jobs. That means, on the roads, bridle paths, cross country, hills, ditches, fences, etc etcā¦ āIn the ringā was seen as a refinement of basic riding skills. ALL horses are expected to hack out for their fitness and welfare, not because ātrail ridingā is a seperate ādisciplineā. Simon Barnes seems to have some problems with self worth ! There is no law that says you cannot school dressage movements when riding out, nor jump anything that happens to be in the way. I spent a lot of time schooling whilst whipping-in out hunting.
I, too, love this post. I have a show horse and two trail horses, and in their own way theyāre all priceless. My show horse doesnāt know it but once our season is over next month heās going to go on his first trail ride. Time will tell if heās a true all-around horse.
I put my trust and faith in my trail horses to get me home in one piece, and weāve come across some pretty daunting challenges over the years: moose, elk, scary mountain bike riders lurking in the bushes, emus, llamas, a hot air balloon descending right in front of us, a helicopter that decided to land right where we were stopping for lunch, etc. Not to mention washed out trails, snow banks up to their bellies, darkness that fell long before we made it back to the trailer.
Iām with everyone whoās acknowledged that a good trail horse is worth its weight in GOLD!
Well, I am a very good hacker, but I suck at dressage! To me its much harder! My horse agreesāhe would much rather go on a long, intense hack than work 30 min in the ring.
As far as ājust a trail horseā goesā¦honestly, that phrase doesnāt bother me because the way a lot of people trail ride, it is easier. It isnāt too hard to get a horse ready to meander down a bridle path IMO. It certainly doesnāt require much athleticism on the part of the horse, so it can be a good default job for a horse who isnāt really suited for anything else. Thatās not really a knock on the horses, eitherā¦there are plenty of riders who just want to do that, so there is a need for them and thereās nothing wrong with it.
Bear in mind, I do a lot of trail riding so Iām not trying to tear it down. I think trail riding can definitely be a lot more difficult than schooling in the ring. At the very least, the stakes can be a lot higher if you screw up! And when youāre trotting, cantering or galloping over unknown footing, climbing mountains, crossing unfamiliar waterways, etc. it definitely requires a great deal of skill and require a very specially skilled partner. I certainly have horses I would not take up into the hills because I canāt trust them to keep themselves out of trouble.
For those riders who do mostly just walk down established easy trails, though, it doesnāt require much skill. Even the bombproofness (yes that is a word, see I just made it up ;)) required isnāt more than what a good show horse should haveāI mean, yes Iāve encountered bears and on one notable occasion a mountain lion on the trail, but Iāve encountered llamas and draft horses pulling huge noisy wagons at the show grounds and the same horse actually freaked out more at the llamas than the lion! Strollers, umbrellas, noisy kids, loose dogsā¦Iāve run into all of the above both at shows and on the trail. In fact where I live now I actually run into fewer scary things on the trail than I do at shows.
Both situations require a pretty solid horse. There was a big kerfluffle on the eventing forum recently because of a horse sculpture (made of horseshoes welded together) at the Rebecca Farm event that cost the favorite a win because her notoriously spooky horse couldnāt hold it together. So the stakes might not be as high as if youāre riding on a narrow mountain trail and a cougar jumps out and your horse has to decide whether to freak out and jump off a cliff or not, but a spooky horse is still a major liability in the show ring.
I did like the OP, though. I thought it was a nice bit of recognition for the skills that trail riding requires, just with a somewhat more divisive tone than I would like.
From an āArena Riderā
Ok, so far this sounds like pretty much any basic riding discipline.
You need to master all the basic paces. Horse and rider both need to be relaxed at all of them, from halt to gallop. You need comfortable, instant lateral work, particularly off the right leg. You need calm, soft unfidgety hands. Your aim is to combine calmness and confidence with dynamic and forward-going movement at all paces.
So your dressage or flatwork should be good. Again, sounds pretty much like what a reasonable rider of any type would expect.
You need your horse to cope with other horses, close by or at a distance. Your horse needs to be sociable when among strangers and friends yet happily independent when on his own. You need balance and control; but with a sense of freedom and adventure.
You need to trust your horse in extreme situations. You must allow your horse to be a wild animal and express himself with joy and abandon and yet you must be able to bring him back to civilisation with a touch, a shift in balance, a word.
Has the author ever been in a warm up ring at a larger show?
But above all, you need to understand each otherās fears; each otherās limits, each otherās strengths and weaknesses. You need to deal with situations that terrify a horse but hold no danger to him; you must deal with situations that terrify you, without imparting your terror to your horse. You must be able to deal with potentially life-threatening situations and to do so with great frequency. You must deal with them in a way that is completely calm and relaxed, as if it were the easiest thing in the world.
Iāve always been taught that if either you or your horse is terrified, you (the rider) is doing something wrong and should not be in that situation. Period.
The reason you must bring out all these high skills in yourself and your horse is because everybodyās life depends on them. But then you must get used to the fact that your painfully acquired skills are held in low esteem ā even despised in some quarters.
The discipline I am talking about is hacking. Nothing is more dangerous ā yet more pleasurable ā to human and horse alike. If you can hack out safely, alone or in company, you are a real rider!
If you can deal with such things as school buses, Volvo drivers, pheasants flying up at your feet, a long, long canter track, boy racers, fluttering paper bags, gloriously inviting gallops, pigs, cows, overhanging trees, fields of lunatic horses and the most scarey thing of all, the wheelie bin that wasnāt there yesterday, then you can count yourself a hacker. Or to put it another way, a very good rider indeed.
And yet, even if you are the master of all those things, your skills might be sneered at. So you apologise in advance ā oh I just hack out. Iām just a happy hacker.
No one will argue that riding of any type isnāt difficult. But, sorry. Hacking is not the pinnacle of equitation, IME.
What? Only a master of the most testing and demanding and dangerous discipline in the horsey world, thatās all. You have to defer to obsessive show jumpers, dressage queens of either sex and showing people who prefer polishing horses to riding them ā all these people are too precious to take their horse out for a merry hack and who think theyāre better than you on that account.
Letās not be snobbish back, however.
Too late.
Every way of enjoying your horse that doesnāt harm him is alright by me. So we wonāt ask whatās so marvellous about going round and round in circles and why it is so superior to a great cantering blast up the hill, and we shanāt point out that while a square halt is hard, itās far, far more difficult to get your horse to stand still while an articulated lorry goes past. Especially when it then stops and whistles its brakes at you.
Oh dear. Letās review that statement. The auther thinks that riders practicing their equitation and working on strengthing their horses using the bend of a 20m circle are somehow less adept then those who āblast their horses up a hillā (his words, not mine)? Of course, who needs proper and correct equitation as long as one is fearless?
So letās make this Hackerās Pride Month. Say it out loud; I hack and Iām proud! We wonāt be snooty about it though. We wonāt say, I know the real reason you wonāt hack out. Itās not because youāre Anky von Grunsven and Bonfire come again. Itās because you are ever so slightly scared. And Iām not; so I hack.
Oh for peteās sake! MANY upper level international riders hack their horses. And Iāll bet MOST of them are less afraid of a blow up or riding in general than the average adult rerider (many of whom find trailriding relaxing, btw). Judging by this little snippet, Iāve say that Mr. Barnes had a poor experience at a dressage barn at some point.
No, we wonāt say it. Weāll just think it very quietly when someone looks at you with condescension because youāve been for a hack while they have spent an hour trying to establish a leg yield. Iāve got nothing against leg-yielding myself but I do have a great deal against snobbery.
Pot, meet Kettle.
No one will celebrate hackers for their skills of horsemanship, their mastery of fear, their overcoming of horsey temperament, so it is only right that we should do it for ourselves. Salute the hackers! Damn weāre good.
And if you have any doubts on that score, just ask our horses!"
Simon Barnes
Reply With Quote
Ooooookay then. So other than dripping with condescension, ironicly, this guy thinks that just hacking out makes people the best and the bravest?
Iāll admit, Iāve taken my horses camping. Iāve ridden in state parks all across the midwest. Heck, I even have a 100 yard walk along the road to get to the fields I school in because I donāt have an arena. Does that make me the best and boldest? No. It means that I have well trained, well behaved horses. How did they get that way? Schooling in other disciplines. Dressage, in particular.
A good rider is a good rider. No discipline has a corner on that market. Iāve seen some awful coddled dressage horses (and riders) and some equally awful and dangerous trail horses and their riders (you know what type Iām talking about. The kick means go, yank means stop, run up behind you pests)
So, I would ask Mr. Simon Barnes a question:
I can take my dressage horse to a county fair, compete in western patterns classes with a demolition derby and carnival not 200 feet away, and walk away with the prize because my well trained horses donāt bat an eye at the surrounding hubbub when they are being ridden. They are paying attention to me. Is this because I am afraid to go out trailriding instead? No, I do that on the āeasyā let down day to relax my horses.
Sheesh. What tripe.:rolleyes:
Is this because I am afraid to go out trailriding instead? No, I do that on the āeasyā let down day to relax my horses.
Your trails may be that. Some of ours are around here, but most arenāt. I took some midwestern buddies riding last week on what I considered to be the easiest trails around. Letās just say that was constitutes easy seems to have quite a bit of regional variation.
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