July 2009 Articles

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Practical Riding Applications

Practical Riding Applications
Steve Jones, Associate Professor
There are three general goals that should be on all horsemen’s or horsewomen’s agendas each time they ride. Safety for horse and rider is one. Improving or advancing your horsemanship skills is two. The third is improving the ability of the horse to perform to the rider’s expectations. The accomplishment of goal three is the result of a good training plan, including creating an environment that allows the horse to be tested yet experience success. These goals apply to both the professional and recreational rider. The recreational rider especially needs to have a plan due to limited riding time. Each minute counts, so you don’t need to waste time.
The more a horse is exposed to new and different sights, sounds, terrains and experiences, the more likely that horse becomes a relaxed, willing and cooperative partner. Anything that causes a horse or rider to feel uneasy and insecure can become an obstacle. A natural obstacle might be a tree down across a trail, a boulder head-high to a horse or even a small creek or ditch in the horse pasture. Man-made obstacles are everywhere! These include gates, bridges, roads, cars, ATVs, backpackers, bicyclists, etc. Any obstacle will become twice as large and hard to handle from the rider’s perspective when a group of people wait for the rider to maneuver around, over or through the problem, particularly if they insist on giving advice. Instead of waiting to deal with obstacles in that stressful situation, it’s far easier to prepare a horse at home. In a familiar environment, horse and rider can learn to deal with troublesome situations in a controlled manner and at their own pace. This relaxed setting allows trust and confidence to grow between the pair, which serves them well when they later encounter the unexpected on the trail.
Granted, no rider can fully prepare his/her horse for every obstacle. But a rider can use every obstacle as an opportunity to build trust and confidence between himself/herself and the horse. A recreational rider can take the same approach at home. If the rider routinely sets up unfamiliar situations at home and successfully guides the horse through them, the horse soon comes to trust the rider to help deal with the unknown. The rider becomes confident and comes to rely on the mount to carry him/her safely past any potential hazard.
A horse can walk by an object in a pasture every day without a problem, but put a rider on his back and the horse spooks at the object every trip. What’s the difference? The apparently unconcerned loose horse knows he can leave in a hurry should he feel the need - no bridle reins or halter rope confines him. But the horse with the rider might not feel so free to leave if the flight instinct takes over; he knows the rider can use the reins to keep him there. So the horse then becomes twice as frightened - the first time by what he fears might lurk behind the object and the second time by what he fears the rider might do to keep him from fleeing to safety.
A horseman can create various training obstacles and introduce the horse to them in a safe environment such as a round pen or arena. Plastic bags tied to the fence can simulate wind blown objects, and a wooden bridge made of a sheet of plywood or scrap lumber can simulate the real thing. You can create "step-overs" using elevated wood fence posts, landscape timbers or PVC pipe. A plastic tarp creates a good water crossing, especially if you spray water on it. To learn to ride between tight areas, use highway markers (cones), plastic buckets, plastic barrels or rubber feed tubs. Sack your horse out using a soft cotton rope or an old lariat and you can accustom him to the feel of vines, weeds or briars. The fun thing about this process is it is only limited by your imagination. If you look around your farm, you can create a good obstacle course without spending much money. Don’t get so creative that you put yourself or the horse in danger! The object here is to train a horse to control his fear and to have confidence that the rider will not ask him to do something that will endanger his life.
It is possible to home-school your horse to face many hazards - natural or man-made. Home preparation allows the horse and rider to learn to cope with potential obstacles in safe, controlled lessons. The benefits include trust between the horse and rider and a safe riding experience.