There’s a phrase I’ve heard nearly everywhere I’ve been while talking with horse folks. Most often it’s during the start of my clinics, when we are all introducing ourselves and telling a little about what we do with horses.

The words are “I’m just a trail rider” or in New Zealand they call it “hacking” – “just a happy hacker”.  I’d like to talk a little about what this is basically saying and the implications of this mindset. Not that it’s intentional when they say this, but it seems like a way to set the standard or expectation low, whether for oneself or when describing what one does and so the expectations of others. It implies a casual approach or one that is not too demanding in schedule or technicalities and that of the riding being mainly a hobby and pursuit of pleasure.

Now, don’t get me wrong. Of course, there is nothing wrong with enjoying horses as a hobby, not wanting to compete or show. Being laid back in our approach can mean we take more time in working through things. But I don’t believe having a simple hobby like trail riding excuses us from pursuing the best approach and increasing our knowledge in every way we can. There are plenty of folks who approach trail riding as simply an enjoyable pastime with no ambition to understand the horse better or improve their riding. A person may get along doing this in a very average way for a long, long time, especially with a good horse. Let’s be honest – it does not take much skill to sit on a horse as it follows along nose-to-tail up the trail.  But it does a major disservice to both the rider and the horse and the consequences can sometimes be dramatic.

First of all, many times the rider ends up injured because of a lack of solid preparation or understanding. Situations that are entirely avoidable often result in injury or loss because of ignorance – many times these circumstances are not as cut and dried as all the people with advice or opinions (seems like there are a lot of those!) would like to make it or as simple as what you saw in a YouTube clip one time. It’s not just a matter of “show ‘em who’s boss!” or “get right back on when you get bucked off!”. A Classic example of this is the common opinion that you should never get off when you’re facing a challenging situation. This is because for many folks that is basically quitting – once they’re off that’s the end of the conversation because they lack ground skills. And of course, you wouldn’t want to end that way, showing the horse that refusing to try is acceptable. But if we’ve made good groundwork part of our study in horsemanship, then stepping off to continue the conversation in a different way – one where we may be safer, more effective or confident – is not a problem at all.

There are literally thousands of possibilities when we start to look at the factors that combine to form these dangerous situations. Going in to these circumstances basically blind with no plan or preparation is like going to get your driver’s license with absolutely no prep work or study. You may or may not pass the test. Continuing to “just trail ride” without intentionally bettering your horsemanship and skills would be like that uninformed 16-year-old saying they don’t really need to get any better at driving because they’re not going to be a professional race car driver. It never ceases to amaze me how much people get away with not knowing about their horses, but so many of them don’t at some point.

This lack of intentional improvement can also be a detriment to the horse that is not ridden well. Any dude can sit on a horse and meander down a trail, but if you notice older trail horses who are ridden a lot and may be in top cardiovascular fitness, you will see many who are quite weak in the core and topline and lots who have a big sway in their back. This is because of the lack of proper gymnastic development and correct riding that builds and sustains a strong core and topline. They are ridden a lot but they are not ridden well. This is a subject for another time….

While we’re talking about trail riding, which in theory is amazingly simple, let’s take a couple of the most common issues folks face. The first would be that of a spooky horse. There may or may not be consistent objects or situations that you can put a finger on, but it’s usually more important that we address the principle of response in spite of trouble (see Episodes 3, 21 and 22; Also two videos in OVL – One of which we have for free – Send me a message or email to receive a link to the free video). Most folks want to zero in on desensitization and that’s because that’s what is preached the most by horse trainers. Of course, there’s a need for that but many times the way it’s addressed is not really that beneficial to the horse. At the standstill with lots of repetition is only one way of addressing the issues and often leaves a horse either frozen or bored. Yet another subject for another time….

In a nutshell, we need to prepare the horse to know that trying to listen to your direction and allowing you to direct them will result in the safety and comfort they are looking for, rather than the flight that comes more naturally to them. This can be done incrementally, starting on the ground in safe settings that you are in control of rather than waiting until you’ve got factors stacked against you that are also out of your control. This gives us the ability to redirect them when they spook instead of either leaving them to it (because a little jump is all they do) or it getting worse to the point it turns into a runaway. Again, I cover this thoroughly in episodes 3, 21 & 22 or those videos in my OVL.

Most folks have trouble when they jump straight in the deep end, doing too much all at once. Or in other words asking their horse (and maybe themselves) to deal with a combination of factors in a situation that are mostly out of their control and out of their comfort zone. Then to add to this, many times it seems like fellow riders lack patience or good advice in these deals and it becomes more a case of survival and making it happen (i.e. “just follow my horse across and you’ll be fine!”) and making it to the end of the ride, rather than really gaining confidence in either the horse or you as the rider. True confidence through trust and understanding.

The way I always put it is that we need to break it down and address the “pieces” that make up the “whole”. Whatever it is you want to do with your horse, there are pieces that make up the whole. If going on a group trail ride is your dream, then you want to assess what factors there are or could be that would have a negative impact on your horse. Then get creative to find ways to measure the level of exposure in a controlled environment so that you can help your horse find better answers and greater confidence.

The other most common issue is that of being either barn sour or buddy sour. These are really just negative terms that describe a horse that is looking for the safety and comfort they require in another horse or another place. So, on the one hand, they are completely understandable and natural. On the other hand, it can be extremely frustrating and even dangerous when we just try to force our way or “show ‘em who’s boss”. We think we’re winning when the forcefulness makes happen what we want to have happen, but really, we’re only teaching a horse how to fight the human.

One of the most effective ways to address this lies in the old saying, “make the right thing easy and the wrong thing difficult”. Typically, we do the exact opposite – when a horse wants to be somewhere or near another horse, we tend to try to make them be somewhere else. We pick up where they’re at mentally or emotionally and start to fight them from there instead of picking up where they’re at and beginning to redirect their focus and help them change their mind.

Again, going back to the strategy of finding and fixing the pieces that make up the whole, we can work on discouraging the buddy/barn sourness progressively in controlled situations. Putting them to work with some intensity when they insist on going somewhere else or being next to that horse lets them experience “wrong thing hard” and showing them as much rest and release when they are further away or out of sight or whatever the case may be. A game of Leapfrog can be a fun way to build on this…. This can take a fair amount of time and consistency and is only one of several strategies that can help (more covered in a video on my YouTube channel), but my point is that we need to recognize the problem and address it specifically and intentionally in order to eventually achieve the bigger pictures.

When it comes to something as simple as trail riding, we really don’t want to sell ourselves short by thinking that we don’t need to become students of the horse – that we don’t really have a need for improving our horsemanship. I mean, we’ve only just talked about the possible factors we’re aware of – better understanding and skills will also help prepare you for those things you’d never dream could happen!

So let me encourage you in your journey – whether you’ve just bought your first horse or you’re coming back into riding after a season or if you’ve been around horses your whole life – look for ways to up your game, like listening to this podcast! Finding information has never been easier than it is these days, but discerning what is actually good info can be very difficult and time-consuming. If you liked this episode, make sure you check out our huge range of resources – more podcast episodes, our YouTube channel, hundreds of videos on FB, IG or TikTok or we have a unique, ever-growing Online Video Library which is part of our Online Community – The Remuda at truewesthorsemanship.com

Keep a leg on each side and your mind in the middle – catch ya down the road!