| Although trail riding can be one of the most enjoyable | | | | happen when you completely relax and think that your |
| experiences you can have with your horse, it is also a | | | | horse is on cruise control. He's not! We've been unable |
| risky activity that can go south at the drop of a hat | | | | to find that button on the horse no matter how hard |
| unless both the rider and the horse possess certain | | | | we've tried. |
| important skills. It is impossible to plan for all the | | | | A friend had recently imported his paint horse from |
| unexpected situations that can develop when you're | | | | Texas to his farm in Central America. On one of the |
| horseback. Sometimes riding a horse seems | | | | horse's first trail rides along a stream with towering |
| analogous to the toddler who is drawn to the only mud | | | | hardwood trees on either bank, the horse had his first |
| puddle within 10 miles as if by a magnet. If you're | | | | encounter with a troupe of howler monkeys. The |
| horseback, "expect the unexpected" is the general rule. | | | | group of riders had stopped to observe the monkeys. |
| We've said before that it's not advisable to ever run | | | | One of the large male howlers swung on a branch |
| your horse back in the direction of the barn after | | | | from one tree to another making quite a bit of noise in |
| you've been riding your horse. A poorly trained horse | | | | the process. That caught the eye of the paint horse |
| with an inexperienced rider can easily get out of | | | | who had never seen mammals in trees and thought it |
| control in that kind of situation. We know of a case | | | | a bit curious. He had been trained as a cutting horse |
| when an experienced guide took out a group of rather | | | | and made one of the most athletic maneuvers that his |
| inexperienced riders on good, tried and true trail horses | | | | rider had ever seen. His rider and owner later said that |
| that we thought were almost "bombproof." On the | | | | if the horse could have consistently made those types |
| way back to ranch headquarters one of the young | | | | of moves in cutting competitions, he would have been |
| riders challenged another to a race. The guide, | | | | a rich man. He managed to stay in the saddle probably |
| engaged in conversation with another one of his clients, | | | | only because of his experience in cutting shows. |
| did not hear the challenge. He became aware of the | | | | A trail ride on a Texas ranch turned unexpectedly |
| situation when the two riders galloped past him with | | | | bizarre one day when the four riders suddenly came |
| one of the riders obviously in distress and pulling | | | | face to face with an escaped emu. The exotic bird |
| helplessly on the reins. The riders wanted a race and | | | | boom in Texas had imploded and unsuccessful emu |
| the horses were only too happy to oblige them. | | | | ranchers had released their unprofitable merchandise |
| As the guide later related the unfortunate incident, he | | | | into the wild to fend for themselves. The emu came |
| heard the riders' cries for help become fainter and | | | | out of the dense underbrush and live oak trees at a |
| fainter as the two horses put more and more distance | | | | dead run towards the unsuspecting trail riders. He |
| between themselves and the rest of the group. One | | | | probably was half-starved and was hoping the |
| of the two riders was able to pull his horse up but the | | | | humans would feed him. |
| second continued the mad dash down a narrow trail | | | | The horses dealt with this abrupt end to their idyllic |
| along a river bank and soon was knocked off his | | | | outing in a variety of ways, none of them good. For |
| horse by a low-hanging branch. The guide found the | | | | the horse this was probably as bizarre as an |
| hapless rider lying on the ground with his horse grazing | | | | "encounter of the third kind" for a human. One horse |
| peacefully a few yards away. This could have been a | | | | commenced bucking and the other three tried to bolt in |
| much more serious accident and fortunately the rider | | | | the opposite direction. One of the riders was on a |
| escaped with minor injuries. | | | | cutting horse and he tried to put his horse in front of |
| There are several lessons to be learned here. First, we | | | | the emu for fun to keep the emu from passing. No |
| don't gallop back to the barn, as we've already | | | | such luck. A horse is not a courageous beast by |
| suggested. Secondly, if you are responsible for a group | | | | nature as we have discussed at some length and his |
| on a trail ride, set up ground rules ahead of time | | | | horse was almost galloping sideways to get away. |
| regarding trotting and loping the horses. The guide can | | | | In a situation like this it's difficult to fault either the |
| never get distracted by a pretty girl and must pay | | | | trainers of the horses, the riders or the horses |
| absolute attention to his charges at all times. There's a | | | | themselves. Who in their right mind would have thought |
| reason that warning signs are displayed at all | | | | that it was necessary to include emus in the "sacking |
| equestrian facilities about the danger inherent in riding a | | | | out" and desensitizing exercises during training?? |
| horse. | | | | These are the things, though, that can and do occur |
| Another law of nature states that if something bad or | | | | during trail rides. |
| unexpected is going to happen on the trail ride, it will | | | | |