Schooling the “backyard horse” and trailering alone - can it work?

[fivestrideline]

I’m leaving out a lot of details here but I’d love to hear from anyone who keeps horses at home (or at a “rustic” barn) without an arena or large flat area to ride. Specifically anyone who does lower level competition stuff! How do you make it work? Is it actually possible to get anything done?

I have access to some short trails and hilly pasture, so lots of great hill work and straight lines but even the small “flat” spot is Not That Flat. The horse in question is pretty green, so I’d be needing to do more than just fitness work.

Along those lines, I’d be hauling out to lessons as possible, schooling shows, and maybe to use some friends’ arenas. I’d like to keep the horse happy hauling out, but we will be solo 99% of the time. I can do my usual routine of snacks in the trailer and not going anywhere, occasional trips to the Dunkin down the road, etc - but hopefully we’d be going somewhere weekly. If anyone has tips for maintaining a happy traveler solo, I’m all ears!

[JB]

I did that for several years. I started my WB at a small partial-care barn, that had a round pen, and pastures, and not large pastures at that. And none of it was particularly flat BUT, that was actually a blessing in disguise. It made going to a larger barn (for outings) with a groomed ring a walk in the park in terms of movement. I simply took him to the other barn to get him used to working in a ring, and eventually teaching him to jump there. We went to local shows, and hauled out to lessons here and there as well. So yes, all the things you have and want to do

Only occasionally did I take someone else from that small barn with us, so almost all the time it was just me and him.

At first, our trips to the other barn were just to hang out, I’d stick him in a stall for an hour or so, and then we’d go home. After a few of those, rides were quick and simple, and we just worked up from there.

[Inimitable]

I’ve done it and it’s totally doable. But I found it either forces creativity or is completely demotivating, depending on the day or week. I agree with JB that not having a perfectly flat, groomed area to ride is actually a blessing in disguise, especially for the green ones. I have an indoor arena now (no outdoor) and more often than not when the weather is good I choose to hack out or ride in the fields. We’re doing exactly what you hope to do - hauling to lessons, friends’ arenas, schooling shows, hunter paces, etc. For a couple years I was just taking my one mare by herself and she was fine alone. I now have two mares to take to shows and they obviously prefer having a buddy to travel with, but I don’t hesitate to take just one to clinics or hunter paces when I can’t take both.

[DiamondJubilee]

I have kept my ponies at home for the past 20 years and it works for sure. Now I do have an outdoor fenced sand ring as I start all of my ponies and mostly ride alone, so like that as a safety aspect. I don’t have an indoor and I only like to show/trailer one pony at a time. I hate it when they get too clingy with their trailermates! At home my guys are all fine to come in the barn alone and leave their friends behind in the paddock, but I find at shows if I bring 2 of them, they have to be in sight of each other all the time, and for me thats not fun. So I just bring 1 out at a time. They have all handled solo trips really well.

I’m actually taking my 3 year old to a friends place today for the weekend so he can learn to sleep over at new places and ride in an indoor. I tend to haul out quite a bit and start nice and slow. Even if I don’t ride for the first time, I hand walk them around and if they are cool, I’ll hop on. Even if I just walk and trot for a bit.

Now I have started all of my guys at line shows when they are weaned and try to take them off property at least 1-2 times a year. So they learn to go on the trailer by themselves and hang out at a show. So this way when they are 3, is not a huge deal. They may go “holy cow!!” at first, but tend to settle fairly quickly. They especially get a little “up” when I go to a busier barn as I always ride alone so they are not used to company. But they do get over this fairly quickly as well. They have seen “company” at the line shows, but its a different story once youre on their back and anther horse is coming at you from the other direction

I think you have a great plan and if you just practice short hauls with lots of treats, then go to longer hauls it will work out perfectly! I always have so much fun hauling out and riding with people. Have fun!

[luvmyhackney]

I’m doing it currently with a flatish area in my pasture. It’s very doable if you are ok with doing ground work or body work on days that the riding area footing is too bad to ride.

I don’t have the ability to haul out currently and if I did, it would be very easily doable.

[NancyM]

I’ve done it like ALWAYS since day one. And that was a long time ago lol!!! Still do. We did have a riding ring at home, outdoor, not “professionally” installed. Many of my friends at the time did the same thing. Do what you can at home, ship out for lessons, clinics and shows. No problem. Good success. Point the horse at the trailer, and say “get in”. Do up trailer. If you have no help on the destination end of the journey and a horse who may be mildly distracted and/or should not be tied, you can saddle up at home, so you just have to put the bridle on on your arrival. Bring a mounting block.

[Annie10]

I keep my horses at home and one of my turnout areas is also my riding area. I have jumps etc set up there. I trailer alone all the time. I don’t think the horses care.
I hauled my one horse alone from Fl to Utah a few years ago. I made it an adventure and did it over a month. It was fantastic and he was fine

[Highflyer1]

I have done it and evented up through Prelim. I hauled out for lessons 3-4 times a month for lessons and 1-2 times to compete. We are able to hack up the road to the park for additional conditioning and sometimes I would jog/gallop after my lessons as well. Once they figured out the drill with self loading it was never an issue-- you can do sufalcrate or ulcer guard if you are concerned though.

[fivestrideline]

Okay well I’m glad I’m not entirely off the mark for thinking I can make this work! Muddy or rock hard footing will be our biggest obstacle besides daylight (and money lol).

[fivestrideline]

@luvmyhackney

It’s very doable if you are ok with doing ground work or body work on days that the riding area footing is too bad to ride.

Definitely. There’s a million things I want to work on from the ground (clipping, the vacuum, being patient when alone, etc) so that’s not necessarily a bad thing!

[leighbo009]

I’m doing it, and have been since I graduated college. I event, so not quite the same, but same idea. We board at a barn that is basically just me and the BO. I have a dressage person come teach me weekly or everyother week if we can make our schedules work + trailer out to lessons. I attempt to trailer out to lessons monthly if possible, but sometimes scheduling does not work.

I only jump if someone is at the barn, but flat or do poles any other time. So sometimes I have to be flexible in my weekly schedule and change around the lesson/jump depending on when I can get help.

We trailer out for lessons & shows. Typically we are doing 1 schooling show a month - but our schooling shows are 3-4 hours away, so its a full weekend.

Our biggest constraints are daylight I feel like. If I had daylight, I could hack on days it is too wet/hard/etc. We don’t have a usable arena, so I am riding & jumping on a slight hill that is probably not much larger than a large dressage arena - with a tree in the middle. I can hack around the barns & up and down the driveway. In the summer sometimes we take jumps out into the field. But its not setting us up for much success, but we have moved up successfully & shown well. Maybe not as quick or successfully as others, but we are doing it.

[enjoytheride]

I not only trailer alone, but often show up at a location as the only horse there and trail ride for hours without seeing a horse or person. My horses are fine but I’m experienced enough to get them to that point.

[fivestrideline]

Your setup sounds very much like mine - if I can someday get them to take down the round pen I’d have a large dressage ring of kinda flat area (with a tree stand in the middle). I do like having the round pen though.

[clanter]

my daughter keeps her horses in our backyard, when she gets stumped she will haul out to a trainer who has befriended her for pointers, but 99% of time its just her working with the horse in the backyard… her horses are very competitive on a national level for the Morgan breed

[kaya842]

Hmm maybe I’m in a funk maybe I’m a realist maybe I just have a more constraining set up but I’ll say it’s tough. It’s totally possible but it’s TOUGH. We have (officially) 10 acres - but after barn, paddock, house, driveway, a boat load of not cleared land, and some that is just too steep to do anything with in left with maybe 1 usable acre for horse things. I have roughly a 20m actually flat round area. While 20m seems large enough, it’s very difficult to keep things interesting in that small of a space. I also have a 70ft X 90ft (ish) that is cleared but on a slope. That is the single largest cleared space we have.

It is difficult to progress when combining the hill + lack of space. If I want to work on straightness, we go to the larger area (which still is not very large) but then it can be challenging to ask them to do a whole lot (like lateral movements or asking for more self carriage) if they are out of shape/ until they’ve built decent fitness. Is that a bad thing? Not really but another challenge, especially for a greenie who is still learning to balance themselves + rider. I think, ultimately, a lack of space is a bigger problem than the hill even for very experienced/ well broke horses.

I did semi successfully bring along a very, very green OTTB baby in this set up (she passed before we really competed much at 5yr old) - she learned to jump and training level dressage here. Her second show ever was an event at the KHP where she jumped her first oxers + course and all that.

I do trailer my horses out (individually) when I can to local arenas. I haven’t ever done it with any frequency due to life events, but think our set up would be much more manageable if I was able to get to an actual arena 1-2 times a week. The horses have no issue traveling alone IME.

[2DogsFarm]

@Inimitable

I have an indoor arena now (no outdoor) and more often than not when the weather is good I choose to hack out or ride in the fields

Same since I got my farm.
Indoor was invaluable when I had a 17h+ WB whose GoTo evasion was UP Never a full rear, but lifting in front enough to make me glad I had walls.

I’ve trailered a single horse a lot oftener than two & never had a problem.
To clinics, shows & The National Drive for the last 6yrs.
In fact, when DH & I took both, his horse was seriously Buddy Sour. To the point of climbing the walls of their adjoining stalls at showgrounds. They traveled fine on the road.

[fivestrideline]

I’m glad to hear the trailering can be a non-issue. I have one gelding that is absolutely TERRIFIED in the trailer (screaming, trembling, sweating, trying to spin) but he’s the same way if I put him in his stall with no one else in the barn. It’s something I’ll have to work on (he’s fine in the crossties alone for whatever reason). It’s that gelding that has me worried about solo horse hauling

[Annie10]

Just start taking him places. Even if you just drive down to the post office or something like that. He can sit a minute and holler all he wants while you buy stamps and then you’ll go home.
Repeat.
Feed him in it. A lot. Eventually he will get over himself. He just needs to realize that he can be alone for a few minutes and not die.

[fivestrideline]

That’s the goal! Right now getting him on is an issue too - but he’s not being ridden anyways so I have all the time in the world with him to practice. I’m planning to take the divider out and haul that horse loose for a while and see if facing backwards helps. He always wants to be able to see what’s going on behind him so he may be more relaxed.

The other horses load fine at this time. I just want to keep it that way

[Annie10]

I don’t know if taking the divider out if he’s such a fruit loop is a good idea just yet. But then I dont know your horse…
Those ones that want to resist getting in the trailer get really hungry at my house because that’s where their food goes until they get with the program.
I would feed him in the thing every single chance I could.
And I would take him absolutely everywhere with me that had adequate parking. Take some alfalfa or something good that he likes but doesn’t get except maybe in the trailer and when you get to (destination) give it to him to munch while you’re doing your errand.
I’ve done this with baby horses, older horses I got that were like yours and while yes it’s a pain hauling a horse trailer everywhere lol it will pay off.