Re: [RC] Mountain bikes and horse don't mix - Klc5355
In a message dated 8/27/03 9:41:49 PM Pacific Daylight Time, Deblyons54@xxxxxxx writes:
I have not been trail riding a lot in the last 10 years and have two rather inexperienced trail horses. We live in the "Mountain Bike Capital of the World" and I'm really concerned about meeting them. My old mare was used to a lot but would freak if she saw a bicycle on the trail, and they weren't nearly so many then. What techniques has anyone used to get them used to bikes, especially on narrow stretches?
I generally have 4-6 horses and as I get them, I get my mountain bike out and train them with it so that they pay little or no attention to them. I even pony them off of the bike. I really only have the bike for training my horses. If a horse really has a problem with them, I ride the horse and have someone else ride the bike for me. I usually start the bike at a distance and slowly have the rider move closer as the horse relaxes and accepts it, until we are riding side by side. My horses will actuall try to race the bikes. But horses are horses and when caught unaware will still spook at anything they meet suddenly coming around a corner. I also find with other people I ride with that the horse picks up on thier cues. Riders see a bike and frequently stiffen and tighten up on the horses mouth expecting the horse to spook and this tells them something is wrong and they in turn look for something to spook at. I will actually push the horse forward at the first sign of apprehension on thier part. We need to accept the responsibility to train our horses to accept bikes and hikers as much as they need to respect our horses.
