Just like humans, every horse has a unique personality and they express themselves differently around different horses. When my (Monica’s) horse, Tupelo, rides out with his 23-year old buddy Ritz, he acts like he is dying if I ask him to canter for more than 15 seconds. On the other hand, when we ride out with a young Thoroughbred, Tupelo gallops as if he were running the Preakness.
Tupelo picks up on other horses’ emotions and often mirrors them. This can be a problem, such as when another horse is afraid of something that normally wouldn’t scare Tupelo, making him fearful. It can also be helpful.
Recently, we were riding next to a large herd of young cows who were running and bucking with excitement. Tupelo has never liked cows in motion and he wanted to get away. Fortunately, the 3 other horses in our group were not phased and, thanks to them, Tupelo kept his wits about him.
We recommend paying attention to these dynamics and keeping your plan flexible for the day, especially when the group of horses hasn’t ridden together very often. We also recommend good communication and adaptability within your group to keep everyone – horse and human – safe and make the ride a positive experience. Ask your group members if their horses have any particular preferences or needs.
For example, we often ride with a friend who has a lovely horse that likes her space and doesn’t like to be crowded. Knowing this, we make sure to not get too close to her so she remains comfortable. Because of that communication at the beginning, we all ride together happily.
If your horse tends to ride close behind the horse in front of them, ask the rider if their horse minds this. If they do, consider switching to follow a more tolerant horse, or keep far enough back to not agitate the leading horse. Just this brief communication can prevent your horse from being kicked and injured.
As we’re sure you have experienced, some horses are keen to be up front, moving out with confident strides while others prefer a mosey at the back of the pack. Some get more anxious when they are not in their preferred position while those unicorns can handle any group position without issue. Other horses have issues with horses of a different gender or temperament. Pay attention to these dynamics in your “herd” and communicate with your group. I (Kerrie) was recently riding a horse who liked to lead and was quite forward. This is normally not a problem, but this day we were with a horse who also was forward and preferred to lead. Both horses do wonderfully in a group when they are in the lead, but in this case they competed to see who could go faster and be first! We had intended to trot and canter, but it became clear that to continue to add energy to the situation would result in two overly hot horses, likely some bucking, and a high potential for injury or at least an unpleasant day for everyone involved. In this case, we were unable to split up into two groups, so we changed our expectations for the ride and decided to keep to a walk with the two “leader” horses alternating who got to lead. This worked out well, but in the future we will not be riding these two horses together.
In another recent situation, all of our horses had some trouble crossing a particularly tricky bridge. After we finally made it across, the energy in the group was a little high. One horse needed a little schooling on the trail, but this was raising the adrenaline of my horse even more. Instead of letting things escalate, I asked this rider to move to the back of the group to work with her horse. Separating the two allowed my horse to focus on me and the trail and calm down. When the trail opened up, instead of cantering or galloping with tensions still high, we opted for a long trot to let the horses move and work through their anxiety and come back down to their normal calm and happy state. Later on the ride, we were able to go back to our normal way of riding and enjoyed several fun canter stretches with our relaxed horses. However, if we hadn’t made that adjustment, I don’t think our ride would have ended as happily for horses and riders.
Being able to gauge your horse’s (and sometimes other group member’s and their horse’s) anxiety, energy, and thresholds and understanding what can help to diffuse tension is something that takes practice and sometimes trial and error. Don’t be afraid to speak up if you or your horse are having an issue. It may be as simple as rearranging the horses or deciding to keep it to a walk for a while, but I can assure you that everyone I ride with would much rather a group member speaks up than have an incident. Even if you are unsure what to do, another group member may be able to offer a solution. You can also learn something about your horse and what you should work on before the next ride!
Like horses, humans don’t always get along. We are just as picky as our horses – if not more so – about whom we like to ride with. You know what we’re talking about. Some people want to ride out like gangbusters and others want to take their time. Some seem to disregard safety and others are fearful of the smallest challenge. Some need to stop every 5 minutes to adjust something. If we could only pin our ears back to silently communicate our frustration!
When riding out with a group, especially with people and horses that are new to us, it’s important to manage our expectations and our behaviors and set our horses up for the most success.
To do this we need to communicate our needs and wishes. This is best done before the day of the ride. For example, where and for how long do we plan to ride? Is everyone okay with the terrain? Do you plan to walk, trot/jog, canter/lope and even gallop? Will there be a lunch stop? Is the announced time when you should arrive to the parking area or should have your butt in the saddle? We usually use butt-in-saddle time because some people take longer than others to get ready.
When you start the ride, make sure everyone knows about any preferences or concerns. For example, some people like to be asked if it’s okay before changing gaits, while others prefer to just move out whenever they want and don’t mind if others do so as well. If you plan to jump anything, let others know.
Always respect the needs of the most vulnerable person-horse combination in the group. The pace of a trail ride is not decided by majority rule. If someone is not comfortable cantering or their horse shouldn’t canter due to a recent injury, don’t canter.
If you are invited on a ride, do not invite anyone else without asking permission from the person who invited you. They might have expectations about the group size or mix of horses, which you do not want to disrupt. Also, find out what the ride will be like and if it doesn’t suit you, politely decline, especially if you are a more conservative rider than they are. Be prepared to go with the flow and follow the group’s lead, unless there is a situation involving safety. For example, if the group wants to cross a stream or traverse a cliff edge that you feel is unsafe, you should speak up and, if necessary, turn around and go back to your trailer alone or break off with a friend into a smaller group to ride a different trail.
Sometimes we simply have to agree to disagree and go our separate ways. We know exactly what to expect from our best riding buddies, they know what to expect from us, and we are all flexible when someone or their horse has a special need. We love riding together. We know people with riding styles that don’t match up with ours or with horses that we don’t trust and, as much as we might like them as people, we avoid riding with them. Bottom line, knowing all the horses’ temperaments, managing their interactions, managing our own expectations, and communication are the key to getting along and having an enjoyable, safe trail ride.
Happy Trails!
Monica and Kerrie
As Joan said above, all these “rules of the trail” are so very important. I was a horseback trip leader for many years and had be able to switch gears and identify possible horse and/or rider issues before problems steamrolled. Thank you for this!
Thank you for communicating the “unspoken rules of the trail”
Now, it’s even in writing!!
I hope to ride with your group in the near future!
Love this thank you