Trail riding. Great for the mind (both of ours) and the body.
For those of you who would like to add your “fun” skills to your GMO’s dressage schooling shows, the Dressare4Kids website has “Dressage Trail” and “Prix Carpilli” tests on its website. Anyone is welcome to use them. They are actual tests but with either trail obstacles or jumps included. They are designed to be easy to set up. If you need more info, let me know. margfree@aol.com
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Love Working Equitation!
Mine doesn’t jump, but he hacks out pretty much every other day, and carts my trainer’s 3 year old son around every so often. He’s been out trail riding, galloping, I’ve ponied other horses off him, he’s quite reliable.
Me … except I don’t really compete much any more. When I rode/competed for other people I always longed to do all the stuff I do now. Now I have a horse who will compete but isn’t thrilled about it and by far prefers all the other crazy stuff she gets to do between dressage sessions: mountain trail, skijoring, de-spooking/obstacle clinics, tent pegging, hacking, cavaletti, wine rides, etc. LOVES to have even a simple job and is always on duty to help teach/correct other horses 
I have started my horse over fences (pretty low ones, granted) with an Advanced-level eventer (he loved it and I needed groundrail spacing and jumping coaching), we do occasional trail rides and I do a yearly trail clinic with a guy who can get my horse over water crossings which my horse hates. We do cow clinics and I’m doing one this weekend (yearling Jerseys or Black Angus). My hot warmblood was TERRIFIED of cows at first but has come to listen to my aids and overcome his fear of cows and is a champion of listening to me in a pretty foreign environment. It’s the ultimate test of my aids. I used to go to QH shows when my hot-head was younger with a great friend. You can’t desensitize a hot-head more than when at a QH show (seriously) and I actually earned a year-end belt buckle for English-type conformation and Undersaddle classes! Hahahaha! How many dressage riders have a championship belt buckle? Hahaha! We also do alot of groundwork and my barn has an obstacle course. I do sets in the arena and relax in the obstacle course (he was previously afraid of this piece of ground until it became a “relaxation place” between sets in the arena, The obstacle course has a horse see-saw, a deadfall where they have to walk over substantial branches, multiple hills of different consistancies, a winding path sunk into the ground, horse steps, a water obstacle, a sand box, etc. All stuff to engage a horse’s mind in the face of stuff they won’t encounter in the arena. It really builds confidence that translates to the arena.
Oh, I longe him at liberty after all of the time on the line and he knows the commands and follows them just like as if he was on the line. I can direct him to a small jump also, since he follows my body language and obliges me.
Yep. My older mare & I hacked out onto the trails at least once a week and she was a mean hunter pacer back in the day, although we had to avoid many of the jumps. Not to mention all the fun shows & what not. Even did mounted archery with her - nothing like having complete whoa & go on your horse without needing the reins.
Young mare is still in the “occasionally spooks at her own shadow” portion of growing a brain but the goal is to eventually get her out there too. Unfortunately, even our attempts at cross training in the ring have been less than successful since I seem to collect mares who can’t jump their way out of a paper bag.
During the summer, my mare was hacking out quite a bit. She loves water! I’m a little afraid she is going to lay down in the river one day when I’m on her 
We also do ground poles (want to ask DH to build me some cavelettis) and a few weeks ago we worked some cows! She’s boarded at a western place so she has exposure to many things. Her favourite are the buffalo 
I once boarded at a barn with a professional race track for TB. We were allowed to use it a couple of days a week. The horses loved it! Without the race track: forest trail rides.
