What I have seen in trail classes
Typical things
walk over poles
back through L
canter through a square or poles
360 degree turn
walk over a bridge
open rope gate
open normal gate
sidepass over a pole
walk over tarp
less common things
open mail box
So who can add to my list? I’m asking because I want to get my mare ready for trail classes. Thanks!!!
walk/trot past a “flock” of those lawn ornament/windsock-type Canada geese pink flamingos, pinwheel whirly-gigs or string line of colored flags, glittering CDs on string (tied to fence rail; all manner of spooky moving objects. there are infinite variety and they don’t always react the same to each one.
put on/take off rain slicker (DD used to subtly drape slicker over Fjord’s ears & eyes for extra show of how suitable he was. They loved 4-H trail! Equestrian team seemed to be a bit more “breed” oriented - mostly poles, walk-over/lope-overs not nearly so interesting or representative of what might be encountered on a real trail.)
drag a tied up large plastic (or feed) bag of soda pop cans from points A to B
dismount, properly ground tie, walk to a designated spot, return and remount
mount from "“tree stump”
step in hula hoop with front feet and turn on the forehand with feet staying in the hoop
weave thru line of cones or closely-spaced barrels
pick up item (small flag, plastic cup of water, etc) at spot A (off top of barrel) bring to spot B and place where directed. try at different gaits to see how accurately you get a smooth stop at the right locations or trying not to spill the water.
Water box or puddle (make sure bottom is safe, not slippery)
I’ve always thought a 12" to 18" little jump or step-over would make a good obstacle too (but then Fjord did hunters anyhow, so this was almost a “what-ever.” Actually harder to get him to take it seriously.) Also try this dismounted, leading horse over.
Look on-line. There are numerous sites that have patterns of obstacles laid out. Getting some of the patterns done smoothly is far trickier than it looks and just because you can do the individual items doesn’t always make it easy to put it together well. I still play with many of these when my horses (or I) need a break from our normal dressage schools. Keeps them sharp and interested.
mount horse from right side instead of left
walk across mattress
walk through hanging pool noodles
drag black pipe toward horse while backing up(prepare for spin and run with this one)
walk pass live chickens
Depends on where you are showing. I show AQHA, a lot of breed and open associations model on the QH rule book, which you can pull up on line. We see a lot of poles trot polls, lope poles, walk polls, gate, back thrus. Back thrus can br Ls or Us or cones in a triangle or straight line. Side pass a pole or an L. Bridges, serpentine trot cones, and 360 boxes are common. I watched trail at the World show in OK last year and there was a side pass to a mailbox. Good trail class designs have a flow, one obstacle to the next, transitions are so important. I think lope poles in a circle are thE hardest. I’m old enough to remember the hand gallop to the center and ground tie that use to be the final obstacle in almost every class!
The National Snaffle Bit Association has a pretty good list of required and allowed obstacles in their rule book.
I’ve had to back around a series of barrels strategically placed. Pretty challenging, but fun. I guess it would simulate trees in the woods!
Well one obstacle on the course is backing a figure eight. She’s a pretty good backer. One of our challenges is that she is a 16.2 leggy TB and her normal canter stride is probably 2 feet longer than a QH- so I really have to collect her for any sort of canter obstacles. She has completed one trail trial and was good about everything except the extreme tippy bridge (one end went up over a foot- maybe 18 inches). She is happy to drag things (walking forward or backward) but does not care for big black plastic bags full of cans. She adores water. She is happy to jump most anything. We have a trail event on the 28th and it should be fun.
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