How Can I Safely Make The Transition To Trail Riding?

[IdahoRider]

I have owned my 17 year old Arab gelding since he was 8 years old. Prior to my purchasing him, he was an endurance horse owned by a woman who was trying to break into that discipline as a professional (training and conditioning prospects, competing with them and then selling them). My gelding was just not interested in going that far and that fast. He has almost 400 AERC miles, but it was clear he didn’t want to be an endurance horse.

I had an Arab mare who did want to be an endurance horse, so I traded my mare for her gelding and have been very happy with that decision all these years. I originally wanted him as a trail horse, and that first year that I owned him we did trail ride every week or so. He had no concept of just walking along, though. He wanted to trot everywhere; up and down hills, through brush. It was physically uncomfortable for me. When I would slow him down he would get impatient and stomp and toss his head.

I eventually fell in love with dressage and we started doing that exclusively about 5 years ago. He liked arena work and was just a fantastic dressage horse. Very safe and dependable. He kept me safe, despite the fact that I am physically disabled.

Last year the barn I had been a very long time boarder at decided to stop boarding. With the help of my instructor I found a great barn to move to, one that focused entirely on dressage. It was a whole lot busier than my former barn, but one of my barn-mates from the other barn moved with us and we settled in quickly.

Fast forward to last August. My gelding, who has never taken an unsound step in all the years that I have owned him, comes up lame. I take him to the vet, who ends up injecting the left knee (after blocking and x-rays). My guy goes on Previcox and I follow the post-injection protocol.

Horse still off, although much better. Vet says that he thinks the repetitive nature of arena work, especially circles, is not helping my gelding at all and he advices to consider finding something else to do with horse. He suggested trail riding.

So I am moving my gelding to a small barn that has direct trail access, and we will give it a try. My gelding is going in for another recheck on November 11, so I’ll get an all clear before I start to ride him.

My question is this: what is the best way to get him re-acclimated to trail riding? The trails I will be riding are fairly flat and easy on the body. My hope is that we can just kind of amble along. I am certainly not up to hours of riding. He can be a little snorty, although he doesn’t spook and bolt. He kind of startles and stares, while snorting, and then walks on.

Any advice?
Sheilah

[katarine]

If he’s pushy about trotting, use your Dressage skills. Half halts, leg yields, haunches in, shoulder fore, just give him questions to answer then offer him a free walk or stretchy walk- see what he does.

Since you don’t want to drill him, consider wearing hiking-esque boots so you can hop off and just lead him from time to time. it’ll be good for his patience

[Bank_of_Dad]

I am sure that others will give you better advice, but mine is to go out with other slow steady riders for a while. Many endurance riders use their dressage training to cue and calm their horse, so your knowledge will come in very handy. Find places on the trail to do some of your easier dressage moves, ie. yielding, shoulder in, etc. so he doesn’t think about just going in a straight line.

Luck to you

[Countrywood]

Go out with a few steady eddies, or one of them for some rides, then just take him yourself. With all that experience doubt he’ll have an issue. He sounds like a great horse!

[analise]

Yeah, I would go out a few times with someone who has a relaxed horse and just keep in your mind you want to mosey. If he starts getting antsy, do like the other folks suggested and ask him to do something with his feet that doesn’t involve changing gait, so he has to think about something other than moving out. He’ll probably figure out pretty fast you don’t want or need him to trot out on the trail.

You might also ease him into it by doing some relaxed riding out in the open, out of the ring, if you have the opportunity (for instance, my farm lets us ride in the open spaces between the fields, up the long path that goes down the middle of the fields, then around the other end between our property and the neighbor’s fence. I do it a lot when I want to get out of the ring but can’t go on the trails for some reason.

Might make for a good middle ground for a few rides.

[IdahoRider]

Great advice! Thank you all so much. I am horribly sad to put my dressage riding behind me (for now). But I really love this horse and if this switch is what I need to do to keep riding him, then I am happy to have an option!

I need to keep reminding myself that I have a lot more tools in my riding tool box than I use to have. I had never had real riding lessons before taking up dressage. I know so much more now, and don’t have to just accept that back pounding trot everywhere now!

I feel really positive about this new barn. The owner has a great reputation in the community, and I think the fit is going to be wonderful. I really kind of excited about opening a new chapter with my horse.
Sheilah

[BEARCAT]

What is the point of dressage if you can’t take it on the trail?

(Being a bit philosophical here, but personally, I do a lot of my dressage training on the trail. You can leg-yield, half pass, do transitions within the gaits, bending exercises, etc out of the sandbox I find it more fun for both horse and rider.)

[IdahoRider]

My hope is that once I take the time to teach him that he doesn’t have to rush on the trail that he will enjoy it. And I certainly have more tools to keep him focused on me, and what I am asking him to do.

I have high hopes that he will learn to love trail riding as much as I use to. I just feel lucky to have found a good barn that has direct access. That has become almost impossible to find, even here. While I was out there the first time, getting a tour, I was able to chat with a woman coming in from a trail ride and later on (when I went back with my husband, to get his opinion), I was able to chat with a different boarder who was tacking up to go out on a ride. And they both said they would love to have company when they go out. Both their geldings looked like real Steady Eddie types.
Sheilah

[Countrywood]

It is the circles that are hard on the hocks/joints as you noted in arena work. If your vet thinks your horse is sound to trot , just not a bunch of circles, trot on the trail . I find constant walking boring and can make a horse tense. But you can start out walking with a steady eddy or small amounts of trot see how he does. Trot work in straight lines helps keeps stifles strong and builds muscles so that helps with soundness, just make sure footing is good.

I don’t canter my horse on trails, just not ready for that but a lot of trotting on trails and I canter him in big fields next to the barn.

RE leg yield and shoulder in, well, if he is compromised you might not want to do a lot of that on trail either, however they are good to do in situations where horses get tense to keep their feet moving just not in a straight line where they can take off and bolt,

[Countrywood]

He kind of startles and stares, while snorting, and then walks on.

seems an Arab thing…my part Arab is a master of the dramatic startle, go rigid, head up stare and snort! (which sometimes leads to more)

Even if it does not lead to more, it gets old. I have found, through trial and error, the best way to handle it is break up the walk with trot, as just walking leads to this more, they get bored and it’s easier for them to stop from a walk and go into stare mode. I also found my horse was not truly responsive to my leg, and when I worked at getting him more responsive to my leg, I could ask him to move forward the minute I felt this kind of stop coming on.

My answer may not be the universal answer…but I used to let him stare. I found most of the time it did not really help. It’s a bad habit…they can look at whatever it is they are looking at as they move past it, but often I flex him in the bit and jiggle the bit to get his attention away from the side issue and back on me.

We trail ride to get out and amble around and relax, however the horses can also get into some bad habits that can become ingrained unless we deal with them (my opinion, others may differ)

[wendy]

there’s absolutely no reason why you can’t do dressage on the trail. It’s a great way to keep your horse paying attention to you in strange places. If all you need to do is avoid circles, just do your dressage in straighter lines on the trail. You can do transitions, shoulder-in, even piaffe and tempi changes on the trail. I used to do practically all of my dressage work on the trail, kept the horse very fresh and eager.

[BigHorseLittleHorse]

Also, this may seem obvious, but don’t get frustrated if it doesn’t happen right away. It took my Arab a LONG time to learn to walk on trail, instead of jig, and then even longer to do it on a loose rein. And every time I lost my temper and got mad at him about the endless jigging, it just made it worse. And just about the time when I had accepted the fact that I would never be able to trail ride him on a loose rein and not in a frame, not doing bending or leg yielding or half passing, he finally started figuring it out. Good luck!

[candysgirl]

I’d hit the trails. If you have a steady eddie type to go with, go that route. Otherwise? Just hit the trails! Jig = more work (pick some dressage movement). Calmly going down the trail = being left alone.

Does he have an on the buckle chill out walk in the arena? I specifically taught my Arab that dropping the reins to the buckle means relax, we’re done. He’ll drop his head and plod around. I do this while schooling to take a break and also when we’re done for the day. This translates to being on the trail. I also do let my guy eat on the trail. Its pretty difficult for them to eat AND be wound up jigging. If I can get even a pause in jigging - we’ll snack for a minute.

He’s also allowed to grab stuff as we go along as long as he doesn’t get rude about it. He can’t radically alter his course to grab a bite or break stride. If they’re eating, they’re often calmer. I taught him this as it helps on the endurance trail to keep the gut functioning properly.

I do a LOT of dressage on conditioning rides (I do endurance). On a conditioning ride, I ask that he’s on the bit and working through himself. The natural twists, turns and terrain changes are perfect for transitions of all kinds. Bend around this, half pass around this puddle or that tree in the way, w/t/c transitions, etc. The best part is, they’re often much more willing to do those things since it actually makes sense.

[Trakehner]

Dressage on the trail is a lot of fun. I used to bring students to the C&O Canal for a break and to practice. We’d all be doing shoulder ins and tempi changes as a pack going down this lovely straight venue. Amazing how one horse will get the other horses doing the same moves.

Of course you can do dressage on the trails…makes for a better trail horse. Think opening a gate while mounted doesn’t use dressage?

[GotMyPony]

If I read this correctly, you have not really trail ridden this horse for the past 5 or 7 years and he’s 8 years away from his previous owner’s endurance riding where he was probably asked to trot for much of the distances he did. You may find that being older and no longer used to the speed of endurance, he might easily transition into that calmer more relaxed trail companion you’re hoping for. When you combine that with the 400 miles of trail experience he’s had in terms of seeing lots of things, plus the 5 years of dressage focus where he’s been attentive to your cues, you could be very pleasantly surprised. I hope so! And agree 100% about starting with the steady eddies. Have fun and let us know how it goes.

[IdahoRider]

Yes, he does have a chill, on the buckle walk in the arena. I think he will really enjoy trail riding. He really isn’t invested in going very far out, or going fast while he is getting there. He was not a competitive endurance horse (although he did get the best condition award once; the rider said it was because he never went hard enough that he couldn’t recover quickly).

I wish it weren’t getting cold here. He can be a fresh little bugger when it is cold. Late Spring, early Summer would have been perfect to re-introduce him to trail riding. Not so hot that it is unbearable to be out riding, but warm enough to make nice and easy the preferred attitude.

I just want him to be sound!
Sheilah

[SharonA]

My Arab has just made the transition to choosing on her own to walk calmly along on the trails — at nearly 24 years old.

Good luck.

I actually would vote against the slower riding partners; my horse gets so frustrated with how slow they are. She seems to be saying, “Jeez, I’ll walk, but, must it be at a glacial pace?” It is no fun to be constantly holding her back (from an active but not jiggy walk) to wait for the slow and steady partner (I adore and appreciate those horses and often envy their riders, don’t get me wrong! They’re just not a good match for my horse when trail riding.) She is better with a steady but brisk partner, either another Arab, or something with a sane mind but very long legs.

What worked with my horse was to do a gentle but clear one-rein stop every time she jigged. We would switch off left and right so at least she was getting a good stretch. We learned this with a knowledgeable, kind, experienced trainer supervising. Anyway, after a number of rounds with this (I think the trainer said it takes eight repetitions), horse more or less gave me the finger but said, “Fine. I get it. Whatever.” Now if she gets jiggy, we just have to do the one-rein stop a few times, or if she’s being smart about it, I just have to hint at it, and she’ll walk. I make sure that I am very relaxed but am correct in my position, and am sending her zero tension from my own body. I have no problem with an active, alert, ground-covering walk as long as it stays a walk. She loves the trails and is an Arab, and I have to let her be herself, within reason. Letting her be herself on the trails is her reward for dressage in the ring, which she actually kind of likes, but, she makes ya earn it. This worked far, far, far better than circling her, which just amps her up, or constantly doing half-halts, which definitely made her jig more (or is it called “the angry piaffe” at that point?).

Of course, there’s some measure of knowing your own horse to these things, which makes all armchair quarterbacking useless. For instance, if my horse is genuinely worried about something on the trail, she is much happier if I am totally relaxed with my body, but keep good contact on the reins – that contact is her security blanket. When she’s not worried, I can just ride her from the seat on a loose rein.

[GotMyPony]

(although he did get the best condition award once; the rider said it was because he never went hard enough that he couldn’t recover quickly).

Well to be considered for Best Condition he had to be among the Top 10 finishers so that’s still something! We won’t ask how many total finishers there were

[cnvh]

Is it possible you could send him out for a couple of trail rides while HE’S being ridden by a BTDT trail rider, who won’t be sending any nervous energy his way? If you know anyone who’s of the super-calm, zen-like mindset, who will give your horse a couple of nice, calm, “aahhh, this is the life” rides, maybe it would set him up nicely for you. And if YOU know that your horse has demonstrated the capacity to be chilled out on the trail, it would go a long way to soothe YOUR peace of mind, I’m sure.

I used to ride with a real “cowboy”-type rider who was just an absolute MASTER at producing nice, quiet trail horses-- there was just nothing that flapped that man; he never raised his voice, never got worried, just RODE. He never even paid much attention to the horse, at least not that it looked like to the rest of us-- the horse’s job was to walk, and it was the Cowboy’s job to tell jokes and laugh with the rest of us.

[IdahoRider]

@cnvh;7229332

Is it possible you could send him out for a couple of trail rides while HE’S being ridden by a BTDT trail rider, who won’t be sending any nervous energy his way?

Oh, I like this idea!
Sheilah