Trail

Diamonds are Forever: Hitching a Pack Horse

Updated:

March 21, 2020

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Your first horse packing trips with one or two horses can be a learning experience and, like acquiring pack gear, can be an act of progress. A sturdy riding saddle, a couple of duffel or hockey bags, and a lash rope can do the trick. The purpose of this article is to help readers become familiar with basic pack gear and hitches.

Feeding on the Trail

Updated:

March 21, 2020

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Trail riders are regularly faced with feeding choices on the trail. Whether feed is needed, what to feed, and when to feed are some of the questions we face. There are no blanket answers to these questions; the horse, the available feed, the time of year, and the length of the trip are some of the many factors that affect feeding decisions.

The Lone Rider - Trail Riding Alone

Updated:

March 21, 2020

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We trail riders experience the contradiction: we live in the modern world but experience the solitude and loneness of a trail ride. And this quiet time spent with ourselves in the hugeness and solitude of the outdoors affects us differently, in ways that are unique to each of us.

Trail Tips: Riding Near the Home Front, Part 2

Updated:

March 21, 2020

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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.

Trail Tips: Riding Near the Home Front, Part 1

Updated:

March 21, 2020

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Horses can be herd-bound, barn sour, pullers, hard to catch, frightened, or aggressive. This article is the first of a two part series that will look at common problems with using horses at home, including barn sour and herd-bound horses, and some ideas for safe riding near the home front.

Four More Trail Knots

Updated:

March 21, 2020

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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.

Four Trail Knots

Updated:

March 21, 2020

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Trail knots remind me of the Dutch kid who stuck his finger in a hole in a dyke to prevent the whole dam from busting: a little thing that if not done, or not done right, can release a flood of trouble. If I had a dollar for each time I turned around and a horse was walking off dragging its lead rope I could buy us both shrimp dinner.

The Almighty Foot, Part 2

Updated:

March 21, 2020

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.

The Almighty Foot

Updated:

March 21, 2020

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If horses could talk they would tell us that the most important part of their body is their feet. The foot allows motion and protection: flight from predators, fighting, feeding, and breeding. In other words, survival itself is only possible through the almighty foot.

Equitation Science

Updated:

February 19, 2020

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What is it and how can it help horses and riders? Riders train horses to act in ways they deem positive, whether it’s jumping a jump, walking down a trail, or performing movements in an arena. But to train horses effectively and safely, riders, trainers, and coaches must understand how they learn and react. Over the past 15 years, equine scientists have researched the learning theory of horses — how horses process, retain knowledge, and learn. Equitation science applies this evidence-based learning theory of horses to horse training, and explains horse behaviour based on horses being horses – without attributing human emotions, ways of thinking, or behaviour, to them. It’s a burgeoning field that is changing the way many riders and trainers think and act.