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  Discussion on Riding in hilly areas
Author Message
Member:
Cowgrl

Posted on Thursday, Mar 18, 2004 - 4:22 pm:

Hello,
I have to disagree with Holly Edwards about going straight down hills. Weaving back and forth down the hill (and up) is easier for the horse and if you give him a loose rein to pick his way, the horse will instinctively go back and forth on his own. My horses automatically switchback going up and down hills unless the terrain is such that it would be dangerous (too sandy, large rocks to walk over, narrow trails, etc.)

Here's trail tip: When climbing a long hill, take breaks so he can catch his breath and when you do, turn him sideways in the trail. Standing mostly level to rest will help him recover faster. If you do this for all your "blow" stops, the horse will soon learn to turn sideways on his own.

Training for trail just takes lots of wet saddle blankets just give him plenty of time to get in condition. Also, when going down hills, stay over his center of gravity. Leaning back puts a lot of weight on his hindquarters and will tire him out quickly. Keeping your weight centered will keep his hindquarters free so he can easily DrOp them down to negotiate the downhill.

Have fun!
Cowgrl

Member:
Hwood

Posted on Friday, Mar 19, 2004 - 2:09 am:

Welcome, Holly Z.

As it was told to me, and as I've experienced it first hand, on STEEP HILLS, horses have less chance of tripping if they sit down and go straight down the hill. That way, they aren't on the forehand and are balancing on their haunches. On hills that aren't steep, maybe it doesn't matter as much, although I have been rolled over on a medium grade hill before.

I had an Arabian with a damaged shoulder, and always zig-zagged him down the hills as it seemed to make him more comfortable.
Member:
Goolsby

Posted on Sunday, Mar 21, 2004 - 10:13 pm:

My horses tend to go straight down a hill and seem to be comfortable doing so. I usually let them pick their course unless they do something stupid. One horse I used to ride would stop and turn around and try to back down every hill. My appy/quarter is like a goat and tries to go fast down hill. The first time we went down a steep rocky hill I was terrified. She slung her head and I lost the riens. All I could do was keep seated and talk to her to slow down. That was many years ago. Now i still have to hold her back and repeat tippy toe tippy toe to get her to slow down where I am comfortable. She has never stumbled tho. My saddle mare goes very slow downhill picking each step carefully. I think it best on rugged ground to let them decide.
As for up hill, my mares also go straight up, running if you let them. usually I dont, but sometimes for fun we race up the gas lines. There are spots that dip and I have almost come undone going air borne over these dips. We dont push them to do it. acutually have to hold them back, but they know it is the way home and suddenly they have all this new found energy.
Colleen
Member:
Cowgrl

Posted on Tuesday, Apr 6, 2004 - 1:27 pm:

So is it also your view that going straight down is better than long easy switchbacks when negotiating a long steep hill? Have you spent a lot of time riding in the backcountry? If you have, you know that mountain trails can be very rocky and are rarely straight down. The horses have to pick their way over and around obstacles and through brush for miles sometimes. All of this while on a 30 degree angle downhill. Their whole body is working to stay balanced and I have nothing but respect for a horse that can do this day in and day out as it is extremely tiring. Of course safety is very important. I wouldn't let a horse sidehill if it wasn't safe for him to do so. Just the other day I was riding in an area of steep hills and my mustang automatically started to weave back and forth on his way down. Now if a mustang that lived a good portion of his life in the wild thinks traversing is the best way, than I'm not going to argue with him - unless it's not safe.

There's one trail that comes to mind over at Mt. Rainier that was very rocky and led straight down. I was leading a group of riders on our club's annual women's ride and were DrOpping down this hillside. The horses were picking their way down and doing fine but the people on their backs were basket cases. Half of them got off an led them down even though that is by far the most dangerous thing to do. This trail like I said was very rocky and the horses were sliding on the rocks on their way down. If their horse had a bad slip or tried to go fast, the horse would have landed on them or knocked them over. I told everyone to stay on their horse, it's the safest place when negotiating a steep downhill. Fortunately it was short hill so we didn't have any mishaps.

It's not my intent to be confrontational but I'm just playing devil's advocate and want to find out if more people think staight down is the way to go.

Holly
Member:
Hwood

Posted on Tuesday, Apr 6, 2004 - 2:54 pm:

Trails are trails . . . follow them.

Going straight down a steep hill, it is best to have the horse on his haunches and sit centered with shoulders back. Of course, if there is a rock, tree or other obstacle in the way, the horse will have to negotiate it and pick its way around, but anytime a horse is sideways on a hill, the risks of tripping, sliding and rolling are greater. Horses don't want to trip and fall any more than we do, and will do their darnedest to avoid it.
New Member:
rsob5

Posted on Monday, Feb 9, 2015 - 11:11 am:

My horse and I have had 3 very scary steep downhill experiences and I wonder if that affects his wariness on downhills. Does he remember? I have become very anxious on unfamiliar steep downhills. He is very slow in going down and sometimes tosses his head. What does that mean? He’s had tripping issues in the past which have been corrected with shoeing, but no trips going downhill. Am I passing this fear of steep hills on to him? If I see a potential downhill that bothers me, I’ll turn around. What can I do to make this less stressful for both of us?
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Friday, Feb 13, 2015 - 6:28 pm:

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DrO
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