Rode out Friday afternoon, to check out the normal
little washout / ditch that is on the Tevis trail, within the first mile or two.
Never has been a big deal, but good to look at, and let the horses see it. It
has been there at least the past 2 years. This year it was a tad deeper. The
bottom is about 8-10" across, and the top is a couple feet across. It has sloped
sides in to it. There was a second one, not as big/deep. I noted to my self to
remember that the left side had some rocks/logs in it, and to stay to the
right.
We head out the morning of the ride, only to stop
as mentioned by others, when many horses will NOT cross, and they fight
with their horses to get over it, thus making a back up, traffic jam, and loss
of time for many riders. But here is something many have forgot. When one horse
sees another balk, or refuse, then the next horse will often do the same. The
horse will question the safety of crossing something that other horses were
refusing to cross. So, often, with some horses, it can help to not let them see
a horse who is refusing and balking at crossing or going past an object by
turning it away from the refusing horse, and then turning it around at the right
moment to go over the object without it watching previous refusals.
Of course, the key is to train your horse to go
forward when asked, and to not be nervous and apprehensive about the possibility
of the horse doing a huge launch over the ditch etc. If you are fearful at all
that the horse might take a huge leap, I'd put money the horse will pick up on
that, and keep refusing to cross. And if that is the case, it is the RIDER that
needs to work on a few things to deal with such situations.
This little ditch has been there on the Tevis
trail, but it was a tad worst this year, and a few horses balking, turned it in
to a bigger issue, with more horses. Of course, our NATRC horses had no issues
with it. <wink>
