If you are a trail rider or a hockey parent you have likely heard someone say, “Wow, does that horse/kid have heart!” But saying it is one thing and understanding it is another. If you have been riding in the hills or the mountains for a few years you may have experienced the difference between an average horse powering its way up a hill and a horse with exceptional “heart.”

As each riding season winds down I find myself reflecting on the ups and downs of the past season and make a short list of issues and concerns that need to be addressed. Each season the problem of horseshoes falling off prematurely ranks high on that list. Trail riders regularly describe their frustration with shoes that fall off after several days or even several hours of use. We can put a man on the moon but it seems that we can’t keep shoes on our trail horse’s feet!

Career opportunities exist for horse guides, wranglers, and owner-operators through guest ranches, hourly trail rides, pack trip holidays, hunting guides, and outfitting. The job descriptions vary with the type of operation and so do the qualifications that these businesses look for in their staff. Everyone agreed that individuals who succeed in the areas of horse wrangling and guiding are self-motivated.

There is estimated to be one injury for each 2.5 hours of sport riding, including racing and cross country, and only one injury for every 100 hours of trail or pleasure riding. Let’s look at some practices that will help our relationships with our horses at home.

If knots are not tied properly they can get you into trouble by coming undone at the worst moments, or by not doing what you expect them to do. Sometimes we blame the knot but usually it is the person who tied it.

The horse’s foot looks simple: a nice, round, smooth hoof on the outside, but in reality, it is a complex arrangement of bone, soft tissue, ligament, tendon, and hoof. It is precisely this toughness — the hardness of the hoof wall and major tendons — that complicates and compounds problems. When internal problems develop there is no give in these structures, no room for swelling within a hoof wall that is rigid with keratin, or for damaged tendons that were pushed beyond their amazing but rigid capacity.

At 16 years of age I quit normal school and entered the school of hard knocks. (Don’t get any ideas kids, I have two degrees now). That August found me on a small dirt road that wound its way through central Yukon. A semi-load of horses had made its way up from a horse sale in Saskatchewan and the cowboys I was with had spent the last few days breaking and shoeing them. (In those days “breaking” was an accurate term). We saddled up, packed up, and hit the trail for some high mountain passes and a base camp at a remote lake. If I’d known what was in store for me, I probably would have walked. The outfitter gave me a sturdy palomino mare with pretty, round eyes and the devil in her heart. I’ve had an aversion to blondes ever since.

Enter trail riding. Rediscover the feel of the horse, its power, and its ability to go places — special places. It’s all about losing stress, not adding stress. It’s about contentment, happiness, and appreciation of good company and the beauty of the great outdoors. Rediscover your horse and yourself through trail riding and horse camping.

Horse camping is simply trail riding with enough gear to stay overnight. It adds meaning to your adventure: new country, new scenery, new trails, new challenges, and learning more about yourself and more about horses.