I am interested in hearing if anyone has created a ‘trail course’ at their farms.
I ran across the Bolender Horse Park’s trail course and was amazed-anyone ridden here or somewhere similar?
Anyone create their own at home? Would love pictures and stories of your own training trail course-I am interested in creating one on our farm.
I don’t think you’d want to go with fancy, permanent obstacles, because virtually any horse is going to master familiar obstacles within a few days, and then what have you got?
we’ve done the two dollar shower curtain the woods, lashed a dozen pool noodles to fence posts with zip ties, so that they stuck into the arena like the teeth of a comb (ask the horse to push through them), tarps on the ground, I currently have a box made of 4X6s we had laying around- big enough for a horse to pivot inside but heavy enough they must respect it, I use that for cavalletti work and circles/training them to follow body cues in a way that tests my skillset - CAN I make a ten meter turn w/o hands and step over that pole exactly right there…that’s about it.
Like Katy said I don’t see the point in building a lot- what I do wish I had was an eventing ‘drop fence’, built into one of my hillsides here- now that would be a good exercise for fitness and balance.
I LOVE those extreme courses and would LOVE to ride one!
I don’t have any permanent obstacles at my house, but my trainer and friend (who puts on AHCA competitions) have some at them
Climb up to drop off. Novice horses did not go over the bridge.
Tire step up/down (next to the tie rail step up/down)
Water crossing by bridge (left in pix) and step up/down from/into the water (bottom of pix)
The obstacles I can put up at my house usually with landscape poles: jumps, “z”, “w”, “L” side pass; “U” back through; turn around box; water pond;
[QUOTE=kewpalace;7079640]
I LOVE those extreme courses and would LOVE to ride one!
I don’t have any permanent obstacles at my house, but my trainer and friend (who puts on AHCA competitions) have some at them
Climb up to drop off. Novice horses did not go over the bridge.
Tire step up/down (next to the tie rail step up/down)
Water crossing by bridge (left in pix) and step up/down from/into the water (bottom of pix)
The obstacles I can put up at my house usually with landscape poles: jumps, “z”, “w”, “L” side pass; “U” back through; turn around box; water pond;[/QUOTE]
Thank you so much-great pics!
I should have clarified-we are a training facility and would be using it to enhance training, not just used for personal horses to ‘get bored on’…as the first two posters suggested.
[QUOTE=fiddleandco;7080203]
Thank you so much-great pics![/QUOTE]You’re welcome, glad you liked them! That would be great for you to offer a trail course for helping with training. I’m very appreciative that my trainer has a trail course. Although my one horse has “mastered” them, what I find is that if they don’t do the obstacles alot, they can get sloppy, so need refreshers. And it’s a fun way to get some training on.
You might also check out the Extreme Cowboy list of obstacles for some ideas.
There’s always something new to ask of a horse that you think has mastered an obstacle. Say you have a bridge. Sure, Dobbin can walk up to it, go over it and step off the other side without hesitating much. Great. Now, can Dobbin stop in the middle and wait, with loose reins, for a full minute? Can Dobbin turn around on the bridge, as if it were a box? Turn around and back off? Ride up to the side of the bridge, put the front feet up, and sidepass down the bridge, then ride over. Ride half way over, the short way, leaving the hind feet on the bridge, sidepass. You can also back your horse onto the bridge and over it, although that takes a good bit of preparation before just trying it out, if it’s a step up bridge.
Kewpalace, great-thank you!
BayRoan, exactly.
I have hundreds of acres of trails across the street, so don’t really need to build anything. I find the obstacles just plopped down in a ring are so freakily out of place that horses who normally would not bat an eye at that situation in the woods give it a good hard look. And I’ve never ever ever seen a car wash in the woods. Ever.
[QUOTE=Flash44;7081658]
I have hundreds of acres of trails across the street, so don’t really need to build anything. I find the obstacles just plopped down in a ring are so freakily out of place that horses who normally would not bat an eye at that situation in the woods give it a good hard look. And I’ve never ever ever seen a car wash in the woods. Ever.[/QUOTE]
The point is to make sure your horse won’t bat an eye no matter where the obstacle may be. And I’ve seen “car washs” in the woods, on ACTHA rides 
Just when you think you could never see something out in the woods or trails, you’ll probably see it, no matter how odd it seems.
[QUOTE=Flash44;7081658]
I have hundreds of acres of trails across the street, so don’t really need to build anything. I find the obstacles just plopped down in a ring are so freakily out of place that horses who normally would not bat an eye at that situation in the woods give it a good hard look. And I’ve never ever ever seen a car wash in the woods. Ever.[/QUOTE]
Having the obstacles in the ring create an interesting training environment for ‘real’ trail horses and ask interesting questions for the horse & rider combination.
I competed in a very simple one last month and was one of only two riders who completed it within time - I’ll post my ride here in a second. The ‘real’ trail horses that competed against me had no buttons- without another horse in front of them, they had no gears, no buttons, no obedience to their rider’s requests. They would NOT walk over a tarp, the bridge, through the water in the far end of the arena. They might be ok with the slicker and mailbox but walking into the ball? No damn way. Again this was a simple course- and only 2 out of 12 riders could do it. (I screwed up the dallying by getting in a hurry and the darn slicker was inside out) LOL
Thanks for posting that, katarine. Looks like fun! I ordered the first ACTHA disc from giddyupflix this week - I want to try some of those obstacles with Conjure. Chip’s a cutie, BTW.
Thank you, don’t you KNOW he knows it 
[QUOTE=katarine;7081928]
Thank you, don’t you KNOW he knows it ;)[/QUOTE]
LOL. Yes, he looks like he has no problems with low self-esteem.
LOL!
[QUOTE=katarine;7081875]
I screwed up the dallying by getting in a hurry and the darn slicker was inside out) LOL[/QUOTE]Ah Chippy!!! He looks GREAT!! He just saying at the slicker, “C’mon MOM, we’re wasting TIME!!” :lol::lol: He’s such a cool horse. :yes:
Pause is NOT his forte!! Thank you!
[QUOTE=katarine;7081875]
Having the obstacles in the ring create an interesting training environment for ‘real’ trail horses and ask interesting questions for the horse & rider combination.
I competed in a very simple one last month and was one of only two riders who completed it within time - I’ll post my ride here in a second. The ‘real’ trail horses that competed against me had no buttons- without another horse in front of them, they had no gears, no buttons, no obedience to their rider’s requests. They would NOT walk over a tarp, the bridge, through the water in the far end of the arena. They might be ok with the slicker and mailbox but walking into the ball? No damn way. Again this was a simple course- and only 2 out of 12 riders could do it. (I screwed up the dallying by getting in a hurry and the darn slicker was inside out) LOL
http://youtu.be/5n3sjAjQLh4[/QUOTE]
I show trail at western shows and also trail ride. I never have problems with obstacles at shows nor do I out on the trail. I find that you have to practice the weird stuff like the ball. so we do, although we never see anything like it at shows or out on the trail. More likely to run into an old person waving a walking stick and two crazy golden retrievers running around out on the trail than a ball. My son’s trainer has a car wash in his trail course so my horses know how to do it. But I’ve still never seen one out on the trail. Ever.
http://www.horsejournals.com/mountain-extreme-trail-mark-bolender
Great article on the trail course and the mind behind it at Bolender Horse Park.
