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Trail
Ride Etiquette
 1.
Safety is paramount.
You affect horses around you. Your emotion, tone of speech, control and
riding of your horse affects not only your horse but the others around you.
2. Gates When a rider opens a gate for you it's only polite
to go through the gate and wait at a close yet safe distance until the gate
person is completely mounted on their horse. If you ride through and keep
going, the gate person may have a difficult time mounting their horse.
3. Leaving or returning to a group of riders on the trail? If
you are going to leave a group of riders, advise them of your intention and try
to leave 'quietly' and indiscrete as possible. When riders leave a
group quickly, other horses want to go too, especially those young or
inexperienced horses. Even experienced riders can be challenged.
4. Ask for help if there is a problem; especially for ill fitting
equipment on your horse or for yourself. For example, short stirrups
can lead to knee stiffness and a quick lowering of the saddle leggings may be
the fix.
5. Giving Advice usually isn't wanted when out on a relaxing trail
ride. Advice is for lessons
unless it's a safety issue or unless the advice is asked for. If
there is any reason you have a question on a Huufda trail ride about the horse
or your riding, please ask and we will try to answer your question.
6. Crooked saddles should be set straight. If you see a rider
that is on a horse with a saddle that's off to one side and not centered, be
sure to tell that rider to get their saddle centered on the horse right away or their horse will get a
sore back. The saddle and weight of the rider will be concentrated on only
one bar of the saddle and weight will be pressing only on one side of the horses
vertebrae…ouch.
7. Keep the items with you that you brought on the ride.
The simple rule is if you bring it, carry it unless it becomes a safety issue.
8. Oops to Drops. If you drop something let others know so the other
riders can stop their horses and we'll wait for you to pick it up.
If you brought something that fell in the poison ivy, don't think someone else
should get it for you. Once retrieved, fix the situation so that drop
isn't repeated and become a nuisance.
9. Relay Pertinent Info. Trail hazards like wire, holes,
glass that are pointed out by a person riding in front of you should be relayed
by you to the person behind you so the other riders can also avoid the hazard. Don't
assume a rider behind you heard the rider in front of you..
10. Sudden Noises and Movements can scare a horse.
Screams of glee (YaHoo!) can charge a horse so just be aware for safety. In a trail ride this isn't
just your horse but all the horses around you. We enjoy conversations, songs,
and exclamations of glee on the trail, plus noise gives wild animals a chance to flee
before possibly spooking a horse.
11. Uncontrolled. If your horse feels unmanageable or overly
excited, get off the horse and hold the horse's reins at a safe or comfortable distance.
12. Kicking.
If a horse kicks at other horses on the ride, it's a rider control/training
problem and if those hazardous horses are brought along, they should be kept
last in line for safety's sake until trained. Sometimes riders will
have ribbons on the tails of known kickers. Tailgating is another
problem. Riders that allow their horse to get too close to the horse in
front of them are tailgating and this is trouble. Horses don't like to be tread upon and will send off a warning
kick to the horse behind them. Be aware of comfort zones for your horse and the
horse in front of you. If you know your horse is getting irritated by a
crowding horse behind you, be sure to warn the rider behind you.
13. Reins. When riding or standing next to your horse, try
not to drop the reins to the ground or to a length that a horse can step on or
over them or tangle with others. Riding with tight reins on a shank bit are a personal pet peeve as
that horse isn't allowed to relax (I think of this as an auto driver who
keeps one foot on the brakes). When the horse is riding well, let him
walk and swing his head in rhythm. On our trail rides we try not to let
the horses eat when we are riding.
14. Stirrups.
It's nice to have comfort in personal preference for body shape and saddle style
but there are a few standards such as: place only the ball of the foot in
the stirrup and press your weight into your stirrups with your heels down. A
quick glance proves you have weight in the balls of your feet, allows
flexibility, and quick removal of your feet from the stirrups. Trail ride
with legs long with 2-3 fingers between the rider and saddle when standing in
the stirrups. Too short on the stirrups often causes knee problems and
joint aches resulting in a miserable rider on the trail. Riding horse is
more than sitting in the saddle but distributing your weight down to the balls
of the feet.
15. Ride Relaxed. If your horse is happy and content, horses
around him will be too. If you are relaxed your horse will be relaxed
. And, we all like a nice pat on the back.
16. Trail riding is a time to enjoy the horses, scenery, and company
from others. It's usually pretty easy to leave the world back at the
trailer and enjoy the ride environment. So keep up the Good Attitude,
Relax and Enjoy the ride.
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