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Re: [RC] eating on the trail - rdcarrie

If your horse is already trying to eat on the trail, then you're in good shape...foster that!!!  If you're moving out at a good working trot, the horse probably won't be able to eat at that speed, although I've ridden horses that can grab grass at a moderate trot.  But when you slow down to a walk, often the horse may try to stop for a tasty patch of grass.  At first I'll allow a brief stop, then urge them on.  I'll gradually shorten the length of stop allowed, till I'm urging them on just as they grab grass. It doesn't take them long at all to learn the "grab 'n go" technique, where they keep moving forward, but drop their head and grab grass as they go.  We also give periodic grass breaks on the trail, where we'll stop for anywhere from a minute or two to 5-10 minutes (depending on time, length of ride, etc.) to let them eat.  Most horses will start eating as soon as we stop later in the ride.  My current horse gets kinda focused on going down the trail early on, so if you can ride with another horse that will eat well, that will help your horse to relax and start eatingas soon as you stop early in the ride.  I also will place my hand on their neck and push down, saying "head down" as they start to drop their head (at water too) to teach them to drop their head...often once their head is down, they'll start eating (or drinking).  My horse will often even grab grass as we're warming up at the start of a ride...he's excited, but still wants to eat.  And yes, I'll often drop a whole bunch of slack in the reins as a cue for him to eat.
 
Dawn in East Texas
 
-----Original Message-----
From: Jennifer Adam <jatatahoe1@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Fri, 2 Jun 2006 07:32:18 -0500
Subject: [RC] eating on the trail

Well, a while back I said I would take a break from asking dumb newbie questions, but I can't - there's just too much I want to know! Sorry - and thanks for your patience. Here's another stupid question - 
I had a discussion with some horse people in my neighborhood last night about eating on the trail. Now, their main interest is western pleasure and halter - they don't see the big deal about endurance because they think any horse that can do a 10 mile trail can also do 100 - just takes more time (:-/. Two of them never ever let their horses snatch a bite once they have a halter on. The other two let them graze in halter, but once they saddle up the horses aren't allowed to eat at all. They were arguing that letting a horse snatch bites takes away his focus and keeps him from concentrating on his rider. I will admit - I've been on trail horses (those dude ranch kinds) that were so busy grabbing mouthfuls they hardly wanted to move down the trail. It can be an annoying habit, but I want my mare to learn how to eat on the go, how to eat quick when she needs to. So, my question is - how do I keep her concentration and let her eat when she needs to? How do you all handle it? Do you give a cue (lengthen the reins, whatever) to let your horses know it's okay to eat? Or do they just like to go so much that they automatically eat on the run? What is the right way to teach a horse when it's appropriate to eat and when they need to concentrate on moving out? I don't want to screw up my mare by doing something wrong. Thanks - 
Clueless and Curious, 
Jen 
 
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Replies
[RC] eating on the trail, Jennifer Adam