TRAINING ON TRAIL
At school there’s a reason they don’t teach math or social studies for the whole day. You can pack in only so much of the same thing at one time. I feel strongly that the same idea applies to training horses. I’ve seen great benefits from varying the exercises and environment in which I work with the horses in our jumper-oriented training program, whether they’re young and green or horses I’m riding at the grand prix level.
As a rider and trainer, I like to have a varied training approach because it gives me the benefit of looking at my horse from several angles and in different situations and that helps me understand him better.
In addition to typical arena schooling, I work horses in-hand, on the longe line, in long lines, loose in the round pen and out on the trail. Among those, trail riding is a particular favorite and one I recommend to almost all riders, provided they have the basic level of competence and security in the saddle to do so safely.
Because trail rides often include a few scary situations—at least from the horse’s perspective—teaching your horse that he needs to listen to your aids and trust you as his leader, no matter where you are, can help. Both of
