Training Tip: Horse Misbehaves on the Trail

Question: I have a Paint mare that is about 7 years old. She’s a little bit slower than our Rocky Mountain Horse, and when we go trail riding, if she gets too far behind him, she starts throwing her head and rearing up. Nothing I do will make her stop until she gets close to him again. Then she’s fine. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Everyone I’ve talked to has said that I’ll never be able to get her to stop and that I should get rid of her. I don’t want to do that. – Shay Beard

Answer: Horses, just like all prey animals, feel the safest in a herd. Prey animals rely on the safety-in numbers concept—the more bodies there are, the greater their chance of surviving. It’s natural for them to want to stick together, especially when they’re in unfamiliar territory like a trail.

Before taking your mare out on the trail, make sure she knows the Fundamentals groundwork and riding exercises in the arena or another safe, enclosed environment first. You can’t expect her to behave if you haven’t given her the tools to succeed.

When she’s able to do the Fundamentals well in the arena, follow the exercises in the Fundamentals In Action on the Trail Series to train her on the trail. Just because a horse is calm, respectful and willing in the arena, doesn’t mean he’s going to be any of those things outside of it.

I would work on training your mare on the trail by herself so that there are no other distractions. In her defense, riding out with a horse that has a much faster pace than her is putting her at a disadvantage, especially if she’s not confident about being out on the trail in the first place.

Once she knows the Fundamentals well and you’ve taken her through the exercises in the Trail Series, then, when she gets nervous on the trail about being left behind, use one rein to redirect her excess energy. Turn a negative into a positive. At a trot, pick up on one rein and bend her in at least three circles around your leg. Then change directions and bend her in at least three circles in the other direction. More than likely, it’ll take several minutes before the horse relaxes and focuses back on you instead of the other horse.

Once she’s working well (she’s calm and paying attention to you), put her back on a loose rein and continue on your ride. Dare her to speed up again and commit to the mistake. If you constantly try to hold the horse back, you’ll always have to babysit her. If she starts to build speed and head after the horse in front of her, bend her around again.

With repetition, she’ll learn to relax and stay at the pace you set her at—not getting any faster or any slower—because she knows that if she doesn’t, you’ll put her to work. Horses are creatures of habit and are basically lazy—they’ll always choose the option with the least amount of work involved. After a few repetitions of bending and hustling her feet, your horse will realize it’s far easier to stay at the gait you set her at and go down the trail on a loose rein.

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