Re: [RC] Spike in Heart Rate/Backpackers - Jim Holland
Good Grief, Folks! If you're gonna ride on shared trails with bikes
and backpackers, teach your horse to deal with it. It's SO simple and it
can prevent some SERIOUS injuries. It should be part of EVERY trail
horse's training.
Just carry your horse's' favorite treats.....Apple Wafers are hard and easy
to carry...or carrots...and every time you see ANYBODY on the trail...ATVs,
hikers, bikes, motorcycles, whatever....ask them to give your horse a
treat.
I GUARANTEE within a very short period of time, they will be looking
for 'em on the trail...but not to run AWAY from them. Magic even goes
over an "gives 'em a kiss" without being asked!
I think my guys would go smooch up to a bear if they thought he had a
treat! <grin>
Backpackers are dangerous horse-eaters. I've had otherwise
sensible horses come unglued over the sight of a backpacker. They
just don't look normal to a horse.
I encountered a backpacker on a very narrow switchback trail on the side
of a mountain. My horse went into reverse, I kept screaming to the backpacker
to say something to let my horse know he was human, but the backpacker was
scared and froze and of course my horse didn't back quickly around the
switchback, he went straight off the trail. I bailed and grabbed some bushes
and watched the horse bounce all the way to the bottom and out of sight. Thank
goodness the place he went over had some vegetation and he did stay upright on
his way down. The hiker pulled me up to the trail and I finally found my horse
at the bottom. He went through a tree and the branches were under his body but
his feet had just barely touched the ground. Yes, those backpackers look like
aliens.
