This is an archived Horseadvice.com Discussion. The parent article and menus are available on the navigation menu below:
HorseAdvice.com » Training, Behavior, & Conditioning Horses » Trail Riding Skills »
  Discussion on Training on tight trails
Author Message
New Member:
boogirl

Posted on Wednesday, Jun 10, 2009 - 6:17 pm:

I have a 4 yr old mare that is very level headed with most situations on the trail, except for one, tight trails!On wider trails, or fire roads, she is pretty good about leading, or following at a respectable distance. However, everytime we get into tight trails, which is often since we ride on National Forest land,she absolutely cannot stand being behind another horse. She will literally have her chest almost completely up against the other horses flanks and tries tossing her head around when I try to get her to back off. If I put her out in front she really moves out into a fast walk to the point the other horses all have to trot to keep up with her. Not a safe practice on steeper, tight trails.I have been watching Clinton Anderson videos on trail riding to try and fix this problem. Only problem is all his training videos are filmed in open, grassy areas which make it easy to get the feet moving, yielding the hind end etc, I don't have that kinda room on the trails where she starts acting up. What can I do to get her to stop crowding the other horse on tight trails. There are some areas I can make her back up with no problem, but some of the trails are just too narrow to try backing her everytime she starts acting up. Any suggestions?
Member:
juliem

Posted on Wednesday, Jun 10, 2009 - 7:47 pm:

Boy, I'll be anxious to see the responses to this post! Last Sunday my gelding--8 years, but not a lot of riding--did this same thing and we fell off the trail down a small ravine when the horse he came up on kicked him. I am black and blue and swollen to double size from thigh to ankle with a slight concussion--had my helmet on and landed face first! He did land on my leg, but because it was so steep, no broken bones--just one enormous black leg.
Member:
lhenning

Posted on Wednesday, Jun 10, 2009 - 10:24 pm:

My first thought - the time to train is not on tight trails. Those places should be ridden on dependable horses, and Julie's response is exactly why.

Clinton Anderson says this while he shows us how to teach them to be responsive and listen to our cues. He teaches in an open grassy area first, where you can bend and soften. Your horse needs to listen to your slow and stop cues better than she is now. She sounds nervous about being in such close quarters. At age 4, she is young and unpredictable.

IMO, riding her in such a tight area is an accident waiting to happen.

Julie, you are one lucky lady. Feel better.

Ride safe.

Linda
Member:
scooter

Posted on Wednesday, Jun 10, 2009 - 10:57 pm:

I don't know if there is a way to train for this, horses can be unpredictable, even the best trained ones. When you get in a tight spot there's not much you can do. Some horses do very well, and some horses just shouldn't be put in that situation. My arab gelding does not do well in this type of situation, we did it once and that was it. The old mare was like riding a sure footed, well behaved mule and she was the horse of choice for these situations.

Julie, hope you feel better soon, you are very lucky. I was listening to the news yesterday and it had a story about a lady out in Iowa whose horse lost footing in this type of situation, her and her horse went over the ravine and both died.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Thursday, Jun 11, 2009 - 7:57 am:

I think the key to your post is "4 years old". It is a lot to expect a horse at this age to be well trained and I agree with the posts above this horse needs to learn "whoa" and to slow down away from the excitement of a line of horses passing through a narrow space. But it will take time, maybe a few years for this lesson to generalize away from the training arena and you just need to be patient.

In the mean time you need to insure you do not get yourself in such positions that creates danger for you, your horse, and others. In these situations, you need to wait way behind (best if your horse can relax there) or go first then fall behind once through the narrow spots.
DrO
Member:
hollyw

Posted on Thursday, Jun 11, 2009 - 8:31 am:

Hi, Boo,
Just picked up on this thread.
First, I want to say to Julie, "So sorry to hear of your accident. What an awful experience. Hope it's only bumps and bruises for both you and your horse and that you will be able to go back to that spot, at some point, and ride through correctly and safely so both of you will have confidence at that place in the trail and in other tight situations on other trails in the future."

All the advice is good and true. The main ingredient being that the horse is listening and focused on the rider for each step of the ride. The kind of focus that leads to immediate response to cues can only be gained through training work, and will eventually have to be taken out on trail where other horses and other distractions are also demanding our and the horse's attention. We, the riders, have to be the most important point of focus for our horses, and even then, accidents happen.

One thing I've seen done by David Lee Archer who did it with a spooky horse at our clinic here last year . . . and it couldn't hurt to practice with your horse, Boo, is to set up a tall mounting block or barrel 5 feet from the side of the round pen (or corral, arena) and with the horse on the longeline, and with a longewhip and "flag," ask the horse to walk forward between the barrel and "fence." If the horse rushes through, you continue to ask the horse to walk through, and turn and walk back through until he can do it slowly and focused on YOU, not on the barrel or anything outside the arena. Once the horse does it consistently calmly, put the barrel or block a foot closer to the side of the pen and do the same exercise, again: back and forth, back and forth, until the horse is relaxed and focused on you. Put the barrel a foot closer and continue. I remember that he also asked for the horse to halt and wait between the barrel and fence . . . Would wait for a relaxed eye and ear and head, and then ask the horse to walk through and reverse. He stood on the block or barrel, too, to be up over the horse. You can add distractions (other horses, dogs, people, bicycles, etc.) outside and inside the arena, too, and practice having the horse be cued-in to YOU . . . and not the things around him.
If you need to see the technique, David has it in his "Rehabbing the Bucking Horse" YouTube video, and even though your horse isn't bucking, the idea of keeping the horse focused on YOU in a tight situation, rather than on his own wants and desires, is what usually keeps us safe in riding situations (as long as we are confident, focused riders).
If you choose to do this exercise with your horse, don't rush it . . . talk your time. You have all day to teach this . . . Go slowly and matter-of-factly, and confidently . . .
It's been said, "the slower we go in training, the faster we get to our goal."
Member:
juliem

Posted on Thursday, Jun 11, 2009 - 10:14 am:

Thanks Holly, Once my horse and I got back up to the trail I did get back on and go over the spot--it really is narrow and is a jumble of big rocks that have to be climbed. I could tell my horse was nervous, but we made it. Not that I'm so tough, but it was the only way we were going to get out. It wasn't until all the swelling started that things got painful and the horse was moving fine.
I think you and Dr. O have pretty much nailed it. Squeezing through tight spaces and being able to calmly let other horses get a distance away without getting worked up. I had crossed this same spot earlier, but my horse was in the lead and he didn't have any trouble.
Member:
dustee

Posted on Thursday, Jun 11, 2009 - 3:21 pm:

Hi Boogirl! A horse like yours, while very good much of the time, is truly an accident waiting to happen. Another key phrase about "hurrying and rushing" shows that you either have not had....or have lost control. A horse that isn't sure who the leader is becomes dangerous, nervous and scared. The scared-er they get ----the more problems we have. I was always been taught the last thing we get from our horses is their attention. I think the ideas hollywood mentioned are great - setting up situations around home, and they could get expanded on after you get through the initial stages of "tightness" around your horse. Go back to when things were looser and see if you can ride through this, then, as you two as a working pair get more comfortable, tighten the props up a bit, and see how you are while you are on her. As Dr. O mentioned - she's only a baby, and you need to put a lot of time in on her. She needs education and experiences - hopefully good ones. Do you have a friend who could come over after a few months of you working with your girl and have your friend also tack up and work through your obstacle course with you in a nice controlled environment? Make it a game so you release a lot of tension this could build up? Sounds like you like this girl. She will probably be totally wonderful in all areas after a bit more education of things she doesn't understand.
Julie - I hope you went to the ER or doctor - ...Hope you are stabilizing! Dustee
Home Page | Top of Page | Join Us!
Horseadvice.com is a BBB Accredited Business. Click for the BBB Business Review of this Horse Training in Stokesdale NC