Training Your Arena Horse to Go on Trails

Two an a half months ago, I purchased a new dressage horse. She is a 15.1 hand American Warmblood and my first mare. She is eight years old. I named her Amara.

Amara has spent her life in an arena and is well started in Dressage. Had I not had to have knee surgery shortly after I bought her, I would have shown her at first level in dressage this summer. But, oh well.

As the author of three equestrian trail guide books for Colorado, any horse I own has to be able to function both in an arena and on the trails in the beautiful Colorado mountains.

Since Amara was not a trail horse, I needed to begin the process of training her to be one. The horse on the cover of the trail three books I have written is Kit, my thoroughbred. When I got him as a six-year-old, he was afraid of stepping on a shadow! He ended up showing in Dressage and becoming the world's best trail horse. He was so good that everyone with a new or young horse wanted to be in line right behind him. I love that horse!

 So, I've done this before. Amara is going to be easier to train because she has a very good brain in her head. But, that being said, there are some common sense steps one needs to take to move a horse from the arena to the trail.

STEP 1: Make sure your gas, brakes, and steering are well established while in the arena. Arenas serve a very important purpose when training by reducing the variables!

STEP 2: Venture out of the arena on your property. This is like sticking just your toe in the water. Practice walking, trotting, halting, circles...the usual arena stuff but outside the arena.

STEP 3: How is your trailer loading and unloading? If it is not good, stop here and work on that. If it is good, you may proceed to step 4.

STEP 4: Know the trail you are going to. You can hike it first or get a good trail guide book to advise you. I found that the regular trail books don't really deal with equestrian concerns which is why I wrote my own. What horse-hazards are you going to encounter? You don't need to do water crossings, bridge crossings, rocky ledges, etc, etc, on your first outing. You want it to be simple and successful.

STEP 5: NEVER GO ALONE. But don't take just anyone. Ask someone who has a steady, reliable trail horse. (Like Kit!) You don't need another horse upsetting your beginner and you may have noticed that horses feed off one another! Keep your first group small, 1 or 2 other horses.

STEP 6: This is not Endurance Training. Keep your first ride a nice calm walk. Talk to your horse, rub her withers and stroke her neck as you go along.

STEP 7: Think like a horse and be one step ahead. Anticipate what might be scary to him. Puddles will eat them, as will rocks! Look beyond the threat, keep calm and just ride past it. Or, let the seasoned horse lead.

STEP 8: Play Leapfrog. Take turns with the other rider(s) being in front, middle and back.

STEP 9: As your horse gets more experienced, add short sections of trot when the footing is good.

STEP 10: Go to the same trail a couple of times then start adding new ones.

STEP 11: Bikers - Stop and face them if they come up from behind.

STEP 12: Water Crossings: Take your time. Keep Calm. Let other horses go first. If that doesn't work, make a hundred circles, gradually getting closer to the water's edge until you actually get a foot in. Then move back away from the water and complete the circle and do it over and over.

Trail riding will become a favorite with your horse if you keep it safe and fun! It will also benefit your training. I practice my dressage on the trail: flex and bend around trees. Halt with just my seat and legs...you know...all that arena stuff but in a prettier setting!

VISIT MY WEBSITE TO SEE ALL MY AWARD-WINNING FICTION AND NON-FICTION BOOKS THAT HORSE-LOVERS LOVE!

www.dancinghorsepress.com

BEWARE OF LIGHTNING WHEN TRAIL RIDING

Sunday, May 7, 2017, was a very sad day among the horse people in Colorado. At 3.20 in the afternoon, a fellow Rocky Mountain Dressage Society (RMDS) member was riding her wonderful dressage horse on the trails in her neighborhood in Douglas County. A violent thunder and lightning storm suddenly blew in. As lightning will do, it struck a tree approximately fifteen feet away from the 37 year old woman.

The charge traveled through the ground, up through the horse's legs and into the rider, killing both of them. A fifteen year old girl riding with her was severely injured and is in the hospital. This breaks my heart.

Having spent many days out on trails, I have encountered far too many lightning storms. They are especially common in the late afternoons, though usually later in the summer. Such a violent storm is not that common in Colorado in the spring.

In my third trail guide book, Riding Colorado-Day AND Overnight Trips with Your Horse, I included an article about lightning. I am repeating it here:

LIGHTNING AND TRAIL RIDERS

By: Steve Deitemeyer, Consulting Forester

Wildland Resources

(Excerpt used with permission from the author)

Horseback groups, large or small, or individual horsemen need to understand and anticipate the risks of thunderstorms and lightning and have some practiced and predetermined plan of action.  Mountain weather records in the west provide us a clear understanding about the high risk and predictability of afternoon thunderstorms with lightning. People and stock need to be down off of high mountains and ridges by noon or before to help avoid risk of death or injury by lightning.  Proper planning and preparation is paramount to protecting people, property and prosperity.

So, here is a set of recommendations:

· Plan and layout the timing of the trip and selection of trails to avoid high peaks, mountains and ridges in the afternoon. Think about having an alternate route available. Organized rides should have a formally established “Lightning Safety Policy” as a part of the overall “Safety Plan”.

· Pay attention to the weather.  Mature storms generate lightning and typically include a sudden reversal of wind direction, a noticeable rise in wind speed, and a sharp drop in temperature.  Buy a weather radio and/or a lightning detector and assign a person to monitor NOAA weather radio broadcasts, which are updated hourly.  Adjust the ride as necessary based on morning reports and predictions, but monitor the reports hourly for any changes.

· Be prepared to make some conservative decisions and suspend activities and riding when you hear thunder.  Measuring lightning’s distance is easy.  The “flash/bang” (F/B) monitoring technique is that for every five second count after you see the lightning and then hear the thunder, the storm is one mile away.  For example, an F/B count of 10 equals 2 miles, an F/B of 20 equals 4 miles, etc.  Do not resume outdoor activities until about 30 minutes have passed from the last observable thunder or lightning.

· Do not use electrical equipment. Stay away from fences, railroad tracks and any tall equipment or structures.

· Get away from water tanks, ponds, streams, lakes, and avoid damp or wet ground.

· Get off of your horse, tie up (but not under the tallest trees,) get away from stock and avoid grouping people together. Think about getting at least 15 feet apart and staying twice the height of the tree away from the tree.

· Use your slicker to stay dry, and do not stand under the branches of tall trees.  Avoid tall objects like lone trees. Find a ditch, trench or other low ground. Shelter may be found in clumps of shrubs or trees of shorter more uniform height. Avoid open country, but if in open country, make yourself as small a target as possible.

· Advise your group members that if they feel an electrical charge, if their hair stands on end, or their skin tingles, a lightning strike may be imminent. Squat in a baseball catcher’s stance, kneeling, on your toes with heels off the ground, feet as close together as possible, arms crossed and resting on top of thighs. This technique lowers your profile and minimizes contact with the ground. Cover your ears with your hands to avoid damage and potential hearing loss.   This is opposed to sitting high on a wet horse and saddle with four widely placed steel-shod hoofs on wet ground that would maximize the opportunity to “close the switch” and complete the circuit.

First Aid is extremely important in lightning strike cases as injuries include electrical shock and burns, including entry and exit wounds.  These individuals carry no electrical charge after exposure to lightning and can be touched safely.  Victims of a lightning strike may suffer respiratory and/or cardiac arrest.  Therefore, administer CPR immediately if needed and first aid, as required.

An individual in full-cardiac arrest is a medical emergency and must be transported to an advanced life-support medical facility as quickly as possible.  If there are multiple strike victims, render emergency medical treatment first to individuals who are unresponsive, and then next to those with vital signs who exhibit the most life threatening   injuries.

I hope you will have many wonderful and SAFE trail rides!

HOW TO CELEBRATE YOUR BIRTHDAY

 Everyone has a birthday now and then. If you are getting up there, you would rather not keep track any longer. However, my test riders from my "Riding Colorado" books and I have a fun tradition. Whenever we have a birthday, we go on a birthday ride. The birthday girl gets to choose where she wants the group to go. Since I have written three trail guide books for Colorado, it is a tough decision. I know so many great trails! However, yesterday, I chose to stay close to home so we could have cake with one of our riders who is recuperating from a terrible event (Her heart stopped! It's a miracle that she is still alive. Her husband performed CPR for 15 minutes until the paramedics arrived. I'd say that qualifies as a "terrible" event wouldn't you?) Anyway, I chose to go to one of the new day trips in "Riding Colorado III". It is a new open space created by Douglas County called "Lincoln Mountain." I am the leader in the line above riding my wonderful thoroughbred and cover boy Kit. I love that horse as you know if you have been reading my posts for a while. One thing I love about Colorado that is obvious from the picture is that you can see forever! Having grown up in Oregon, surrounded by trees, I couldn't believe that the sky was so big when I arrived in Colorado. Now I get claustrophobic when I return to Oregon. I want someone to cut down those trees! (I know, I know, my Oregon readers will think I'm nuts!)

Anyway, if you have a birthday coming up, gather some friends and go for a trail ride. Better yet, plan a trip with your horse and your friends to Colorado. If you want to know where to go, buy Riding Colorado III-Day and Overnight Trips With Your Horse. I have previewed campgrounds, resorts, cabins and Bed and Breakfasts that will host both you and your horse. In addition, I have reviewed trails around each destination. Riding Colorado III is available on Amazon.com

Happy Trails to You!

TERRIBLE TRAILERING TAILS

I hate to age myself but this is what horse trailers typically looked like when I was a little girl!

While it is true that trailers have come a long, long way since then, it is still really quite remarkable that horses trust us enough to step into a noisy moving can. To them it must look very frightening. Just imagine that you were a horse and your owner wanted to put you into this:

Does it surprise you that many horses have trouble being convinced to get into a trailer? 

I sold my wonderful horse, Tai, when I got married but I warned my husband that when the last child went to first grade, I was going to get a horse again. Twenty-five years later, Nick went to first grade and I went horse-shopping. I also went trailer shopping and I came home with a brand new trailer that looked pretty much like this, only hunter green inside and out.

I had no idea that my wonderful new thoroughbred, Kit was cluster-phobic! The dark, enclosed trailer put him over the edge. He became harder and  harder to load. After a few trips, he lost control and went crazy in the trailer. He bashed the back door with two-hoof kicks and climbed up on the front feeder and bashed out the front window. I needed a crow bar to get the door open and was finally able to get him out. I put him in a pen at the stable and drove to Parker Trailers, where I had purchased the trailer. I said, with tears in my eyes, "I can't use this trailer." They took one look at the trailer and said, "We'll get you something else." They took my bashed up trailer as a trade-in (and gave me a very generous amount considering all the work they would have to do to get it fixed again to re-sell) and sent me off with a white, slant-load stock trailer complete with dressing room for me.. Kit happily walked right in this trailer and has never been a problem since. 

Over the years, I have heard so many horror stories about horses and trailers. Here is a picture of a horse that tried to dive out the window. They used a picnic table shoved up beneath the window to get the horse out. Believe it or not, this horse was not hurt. 

Other horses have not been so lucky. Two weeks ago, I was expecting Ron from Arizona to bring his two horses to my house for the weekend. Ron had been planning for a year to ride the Colorado Trail. This beautiful and, in places, challenging trail is five hundred miles long and winds its way from Waterton Canyon near Denver down to Durango. It has been built and is maintained by the Colorado Trail Foundation in cooperation with the U.S. Forest Service. It is broken into sections for easy on and off and re-supplying. Thus, hikers and equestrians love this trail. Ron's plan was to take his two horses, one to ride and one to carry supplies and ride the trail in thirty days, taking Sunday's off. He was driving up to Denver when his mare started kicking the back door of the trailer, broke it open and slid under the rump strap. At the time, Ron was driving at sixty-five miles per hour and by the time he was able to stop, the mare had been dragged and so damaged that she had to be put down. This is so very, very sad for both Ron and his mare. 

I'm sure you have heard of other terribly sad stories as we drive around the country with our horses in tow. Writing my trail-guide books: Riding Colorado, Riding Colorado II and the one I am working on now: Riding Colorado III, means I have put thousands of miles on my trailer (and it shows, believe me!) Add driving to horse shows and I get even more miles. Even though I have had a lot of trailer driving experience, it is still a worry. I wish I had one of these in my car: 

So, after I load up my horses, re-check my connection and doors, I always say a prayer!

Other safety tip: Have your trailer floor boards, brakes and ties checked regularly.

RIDING THE TRAILS IN COLORADO

Most of you probably do not know that, in addition to my fantasy stories, "Behind the Mist," "Mists of Darkness," and "North Mystic," I also write equestrian trail guide books. The two that I have completed are titled: "Riding Colorado" and "Riding Colorado II."   Non-fiction books take a lot of research and the research for my trail guide books is truly grueling! Just imagine having to get up early to feed the horses and clean the stalls. Then pack a lunch, hook up the trailer to the back of the suburban, load the tack, being sure not to forget my helmet, putting on travel boots and loading my horse in the trailer. Then I have to brave the Denver traffic to get to one of the hundreds of trails within a two hour drive of Denver, find the trail head, unload my horse, groom, tack-up, then actually have to ride on the trails. I know, I know...you feel terribly sorry for me! However, remember, somebody had to go home and sit at the computer and write the evaluation and description of each trail. So, it isn't all just fun and games. My dear friend, Susan DeSilva of Prohorseproductions made this video for me. You are going to be really jealous that you don't live in Colorado after you watch it! Just click here:
http://youtu.be/FNIWI1sexos

I am currently working on "Riding Colorado III." The sub-title of the first two books is:"Day-Trips from Denver With Your Horse." I only sell those books through tack and feed stores from Colorado Springs to Longmont along the front range. However, the third book is sub-titled: "Over-night Trips From Denver With Your Horse." I am visiting cabins, bed and breakfasts, resorts and campgrounds where you can take your horse. I am trying to cover locations in all parts of the state. It has been so much fun and I still have several
places yet to visit.

Happy Trails to all of you!

Remember: When you are not riding, curl up with a great book. You will love my horse lover's fantasies: Behind the Mist and Mists of Darkness. Order them on the website: www.behindthemist.com to save $1 off the cover price AND get it autographed. 

A TRIBUTE TO SUZARAH BT, MY PARTNER

This article has been submitted by Tia Jones as a tribute to her noble and great horse, Suzarah that she lovingly called Zarah. You can read her blog at: http://tiajoneshorsemanship.wordpress.com.

I sat with her and brushed her and just enjoyed her presence. I kept telling her she had to heal. That I needed her. That we had big plans.

About a month ago, February 9th, she managed to get her left hind cannon bone caught in my polywire high-tensile fence. I've loved this fencing because it's been so safe. It breaks very easily--there's no metal, just vinyl rope. I'm forever fixing it, but horses don't get caught in it. They just break it if they put a hoof through it. Except this time...

Zarah had gotten just one loop around her cannon bone. She stood that way all night. When I found her in the morning, she called to me and then nickered as if to say, "I'm so glad you're here! I'm in a pickle." She was shivering, hungry and thirsty. Her left hind looked like sausage links. Huge swollen limb with a belt cinched up in the middle. she had stood in a tourniquet for probably 6 to 12 hours.

There was only a small, unimpressive wound, but she was lame. There was a bizarre locking that happened in her fetlock joint (the joint above the hoof.) I hauled her into the vet, who explained that we wouldn't really know the extent of the damage for 3-6 weeks. The lack of blood supply would be the major issue and only time would tell the story.

 The wound looked worse every day, but the vet advised me to expect that. About 18 days in, the necrotic tissue was finishing its shedding and I was left with a wound that covered about 50% of the cannon bone, covering the full circumference of the leg. It looked good and was healing well. Horses have amazing healing powers and I expected that one day the wound would be completely healed and mostly vanished. However, something was wrong with the function of the fetlock joint.

I was worried that she needed more movement to get blood flowing and healing all the tendons, ligaments, nerves, muscles...I started taking her for short walks. She perked up to be going somewhere but within 20 feet of walking, she would need a break. See, the use of the leg was worse each day and by day 18 she held it up nearly all the time. The muscle in the left hip was starting to atrophy and I noticed her showing less ability to bring the toe forward with each day.

I was getting support from 2 vets through emails and we suspected an abscessed hoof might explain her inability to weight bear around day 14. Another 4 day penicillin program had no impact by day 18. I was starting to really worry. I tried a magnetic insert in a hoof boot and an IR technology wrap around the fetlock. No change.

At day 25, it was time to take her to the vet and see if we could cast it. We were suspecting that the extensor tendon (in front of the fetlock, controlling the toe) was severed or dying. A cast would allow that tendon to reattach and stop the opposing tendon from pulling the hoof backwards. Unfortunately, as soon as the vet saw  her, he knew. There was no good way out of the situation. The damage from the lack of blood supply nearly 4 weeks earlier was too severe. A cast wouldn't get the job done. Perhaps a series of casts over a year's time, fighting the pull from the healthy tendon, would allow her to heal enough to walk on 4 legs instead of the 3-legged situation she was managing. However, she'd never be ride-able. She'd possibly be sound enough to carry a foal, but that would be her best outcome.

I immediately knew what I had to do. There was simply no way I'd put my best horse through months of agonizing casting, vulnerability from an inability to move like the wind to keep herself safe, wound management under a cast, all to keep her here with me. I could not commit an act of such selfishness. Her body was simply not going to allow her to stay with me any longer.

I had so many thoughts in the moments that followed my visit with the vet. First, my time with Zarah was over. This mare that had been my best partner for years,  helped me achieve great things and go great places, was going to have to move on. She must have other things to take care of now. She knew I had other horses that I needed to develop and learn from, who also needed to learn the things that Zarah had taught me.

I scheduled the vet for the next day, wanting to alleviate her suffering as quickly as possible. She went peacefully, finally able to rest her hoof to the ground and then to take the weight off the other 3 legs in a vision of complete release. I was glad to give this to her. She had suffered long enough. Horses are meant to run and Zarah knew how to run like no other horse I've known. She needed to get back to running.

 I bought Zarah when she was 5. I wanted a great endurance mare. She was an anglo-arab, Thoroughbred and Arab crossed. Two of the hottest and fastest breeds in one extraordinary mare. When I test rode her, she showed me how she could reach those legs out so far in a trot that I'd feel like we were at galloping speeds. I fell in love with her sensitivity, her desire to move, and her sweet nature. I instantly knew she was my horse.

She had only a few rides when I bought her, so we had lots of development ahead of us. I developed her on the ground and in the saddle. I completed Level 3 in the Parelli program fairly quickly with her. We were actively working on Level 4 when she got hurt

She turned out to be an amazing endurance horse. We were starting to get experience with 50's, but had done many 25 and 30 mile rides. She loved to lead the pack, making her a top 10 horse at most of our events. She was just a great trail horse, with a walk that many horses had to trot to keep up with. Her trot was the speed of many trail horses' canter. She wasn't spooky and she was happy to ride with me alone or with other horses. We did competitive trail riding for a while, too. An excellent trail partner in many ways, whether for pleasure or the win. I took her to so many clinics through the years. She never failed to make us look good. In the earlier years, I sometimes had to just canter her around until she could stand and focus on learning. But, as she matured, she became more centered and ready to partner the moment we stepped into the arena. She went with me to the Parelli ISC twice, teaching me with her great finesse all the while. She went with me to California to study with the great Dave Ellis, where we moved cattle together every day.

Once in a while, I would use her to help me teach a student. She was the softest, most responsive horse I owned and sometimes I needed a student to feel my horse. My horse seemed to read their minds and complete their task before they finished asking for it. She made students smile with her easy way and immense partnership. She'd give them an idea of how they'd need to develop to get their own horses that good, that soft, that partnered.

She helped me start colts. Horses that hadn't learned to release at the poll, or who needed a wise horse to follow when wearing the saddle for the first time. I was doing some liberty with 2 or 3 horses at a time, developing my ability to manage multiple  horses offline at once. Zarah was always the one doing exactly what I wanted. 

She was amazing and 8 years with her wasn't nearly enough. I'm grateful for the time we had and all that she taught me. I wouldn't be where I am had it not been for her. What a special and fantastic mare.

Thank you ZARAH. Oh, how you will be forever missed.

Share with me the story of your noble and great horse! Write to me at:

mjevansbtm@gmail.com