Agree with most of you. I was on the 3rd horse, who is normally slow-ish at a walk, but he knows to trot to keep up. I felt that the riders in the front did nothing wrong. The riders in the back could have yelled out at any time to wait up, or to slow down. Nothing was said until after the ride and one rider from the back was snarky. No one is a mind reader. I feel like i got stuck in the middle, bc i can see both points, but Since i purposely try to keep up with the faster horses, idk if my opinion is slanted toward the faster horses.
I agree. We always ride to the level of the least experienced horse/rider, and talk about it before we even head out. There are people I wonāt ride with - they are too oblivious to what is going on, or I feel their horses are not well trained enough to be out on the trails and could potentially get into trouble.
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I used to trail ride with an endurance group, usually 5 - 6 riders, not always the same set of people/horses. Unless we agreed to something different in advance, the rule was that the first and last riders were responsible for keeping the group together. The first rider set the pace and called back info as needed, and checked back to make sure people were at least in sight. The last person was responsible for keeping the group moving forward and calling up issues (hold up, fallen rider, etc). We put the least experienced riders (or horses) in the middle.
We might spread out a bit as long as each rider still had the horse in front and the horse behind in sight. However, if we reached a really tricky crossing, like a steep bank that had to be slithered down and climbed out of, the horses who made it to the other side stopped and waited about 15 feet ahead for everyone to āmake itā to the other side before continuing as a group so no one was stuck with a worried horse trying to negotiate something challenging and worried about the others leaving him.
I think it is partially dependent on how spread out everyone is comfortable with.
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This is why I hate riding with groups. Did not like it when on motorcycles, do not like it on horses. Walk/jog ride?? If you canāt keep up at that speed you need to go back to leadline rides.
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Agree with this
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When you ride in a group of horses youāre riding in a herd. In a herd thereās only one āmeā and that the Alpha. They set the pace. Thatās usually the lead horse. Everybody else has to conform to that standard while that lead horse is the lead horse. And from experience Iāve found the more discipline the riders impose on their horses the easier their job will be. Once the horses āgetā the idea they conform to herd the standard. Smart riders know this is putting a couple of million years of evolution to work for them!!! 
Itās a good idea to rotate the lead horse periodically. This allows the leader to learn to follow and another to learn to lead.
The first time we rode in a disciplined formation with a re-enactor group an older hand worked with us as a pair, then a set of four (with another helper) and then into a formation of six sets of four. The first few minutes were interesting, but as soon as our green (to this sort of thing) horses got the idea they settled and there were no more problems. We were able to walk, trot/gait, and gallop without issue. It was a real lesson in āherd mentality.ā That, by the way, is a Good Thing when dealing with a formation of horses! 
When my wife and I go out to work with our two we always spend a few minutes working as a set of two. My horse is just 15.2, hers is just 14.2. Mine has a long stride, hers doesnāt. When she is lead I match her; when Iām lead she matches me. We donāt have anyone else to work with here or weād be doing work by sets of four and larger as a matter of routine.
The spacing for an American cavalry formation as a column was four feet nose to tail and ten inches stirrup to stirrup. As a line itās the ten inches. And you rate your horse to keep the line straight at all three gaits. With a horse that somebody has taken the time to train itās not that hard, be you dealing with a 17 hand TB or a 15 hand QH. Or a 14.2 hand Marchador who doesnāt trot!
In American thought the individual is usually the measure of all things. Not so when riding in a group.
G.
P.S. I owned one horse that would NOT work in a close formation. I learned, the hard way, that she was NOT going to do. Itās the only one that I ever saw that simply was too spooked the whole affair. Perhaps with some specialized training and desensitization she might have worked out, but a friend was anxious to buy her and kept throwing hundred dollar bills at me! She now lives happily in FL as a brood mare and Cowboy Mounted Shooting horse.
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I think the riders in the back were out of line. Anyone competent to trail ride should be able to ask their horse to lengthen its walk or trot to catch up. I have a horse with a fabulous, forward, marching walk and usually end up leading the ride. For anyone but a rank beginner, I tell people to either trot to catch up or to call forward and ask me to wait up. With a newbie rider, I stop often and let them catch up; I despise choking back my horseās walk. I will shorten and lengthen his trot and canter all day long, but there is something in me that wonāt interfere with a naturally good walk.
If I am riding with certain groups, I take my second horse, who is shorter strided and less forward. With him, I just assume Iāll be riding in the middle or back of the group, doing more trotting to keep up. Not a problem.
It was the riders in the backās responsibility to either keep up, or send a message forward for the group to wait or ask for a different pace. To not say or do anything about it during the ride and complain about it later serves no purpose. The only exception to ākeep up or say somethingā is as someone mentioned above - the ride should always wait on the other side of a gate, creek crossing, bridge or other obstacle until the whole groupās across - thatās just good trail manners.
This reminds of newbie foxhunters complaining that the field master went too fast and kept ālosingā them; and that he should slow down so the second flight could all keep up. :eek::eek::eek: They were gently told that the field masterās job was to keep hounds in sight and position his field to have a good vantage, or at least be in earshot, of the hounds and that if they couldnāt keep up with the field master, they shouldnāt be hunting.
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By the way, no one was that far ahead that they were out of eyesight.
I think both the front and back were equally at fault. They know each other and should have known what to expect from their fellow riders. If you are unfamiliar with a new group, I think the front should make sure they donāt leave anyone behind but the group in back should make an effort to keep up. Iāve been in both positions. Itās not fun trying to hold back a naturally forward horse or having to constantly play catch up. I have found I am happiest if I find riders on compatible horses.
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True, but my TWHās walk is just faster that my friendās QH walk.
Overall, I think itās hard to ride in a group of more than 2-3 and keep a pace everyone is happy with. I always tell people, my guy walks out and he will lead. If you are not comfortable with that, let me know before we pack up a bunch of gear and waste time. Honestly, if the front two are simply only walking, and not galloping off, why does it really matter anyhow? 5 horses donāt need to be clustered together anymore than 5 people doing a 5k, IMO.
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See, to me, this is a non-issue. In eyesight, everything is fine. Why get undies in a bundle about this stuff??! (not you Nezzy, but I am guessing someone did, lol)
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Yeah someone did, but she should have said something at the time. Instead, she waited and stewed in her own juices. All she had to do was Ask to slow down or to wait up. The front horses were never out of eyesight, so to me, it was not an issue.
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True enough. Iāve a quick stepper that will move out. But he moves at precisely 4 mph if I tell him to. It may require a periodic reminder, but his job is to do what heās told to do. He doesnāt get to set the agenda!!!
Humans are not horses and being in a group is not genetically beneficial. Horse are herd animals and like being in a group. Staying in a group is one way to help calm a more nervous horse. It can also precipitate trouble, but IME itās much more likely to prevent it.
G.
Iāll only ride out with horses I know can keep up. My mare is only 14hh but slow is not something she does. Can I rate her walk? Yes. Do either of us enjoy it? No, and I trail ride for fun. Sheās a fantastic trail horse, bold, doesnāt spook at much, goes anywhere you ask but likes to do it at a march. Sheās not overly fond of most other horses anyway, and is perfectly happy riding out on her own.
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Sure, 4 mph. But I have friends who average like 2.4 I canāt hold my guy to that speed all day - he has to lengthen his stride periodically to be comfortable. To stay at 2.something he is taking about 1/2 steps in slomo! We all get along fine with it - Iāll take off ahead, then wait at a cross trail, or loop back. My horse gets to stop and graze, so heās happy. We donāt have to ride all bunched up to be happy. We will switch out spots, because every horse should accept any position, but Iāll still take breaks to let my guy stretch out.
Everything you say is perfectly OK. Indeed thatās why Iāve said, on multiple occasions, swap the lead and drag horses so that you can get everyone a chance to be comfortable for at least a while.
But this has nothing to do with being able to rate a horse. Iāve been out too many times where it was not the horseās comfort that was driving the pace of some combination but the riderās inability to control their mount. Claims of āwell, heās a gaited horse and is just fasterā were a frank cover for this inability. And it wasnāt just gaited riders, either.
G.
This has me wondering why they even ride together? My mare has a nice forward ground covering walk, my daughters mare is slower. She keeps up with me because I hate to just crawl along at a snail pace. If the group as a whole does not decide on what to do before hand , then there is nobody to blame but yourself.
When I boarded long ago most people rode out together on similar breeds. The gaited people stayed together and the quarter horse people did the same . Just because it made the ride more enjoyable for everyone and their horses could go at their normal pace. They had tried many things before deciding that.
I prefer to ride alone and mostly always do.
We all board together. We have always ridden together. A few people moved to the barn with faster walking horses. I am not going to tell anyone they are not welcome. If they decide not to ride, that is their preference. We always ask if everyone is comfortable cantering, and we ask if everyone is comfortable trotting. I just donāt see how The front rider is at blame for anything.
The front rider is not āto blame.ā But they do set the pace for the group. Thatās their job, as itās the job of the drag rider to stay behind the last group member. The only time we talk about āblameā is if either is not doing their job.
G.
If she had said something during the ride but the people in front ignored her, then she has a right to be miffed but if she neither asked nor made an effort to move her horse along, then I donāt think she gets to whine after the fact.
Applies to lots of situations, actually!
The correct answer from the front people probably should have been something like 'Why didnāt you say anything, we would have waited but we didnāt know you couldnāt keep up".
The word ācouldnātā is important because it lets her off the hook a teensy bit if her horse really does have such a slow pace he would have to hustle the entire time, and it lets slow person know the fast people thought she wanted to stay back. Some people are entirely happy by themselves at the back with their slow horse.
Itās also, sort of a moot point because if you are in a line, you canāt really converse more than 1-2 horses around you. The front/back people canāt possibly hear you.
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