Dangerous Trails

[ROBERT J MORRIS <bobmorris@rmci.net>]

-- [ From: ROBERT J MORRIS * EMC.Ver #2.5.02 ] --

RE: Dangerous Trail conditions

I have learned to trust my horses's agility and competency over the last 20
years of riding.  I know there are only a few natural obstacles or terrain
that are dangerous for a horse. These are the ones I avoid and don't want in
an endurance ride route. 

Icy roads are the worst hazard.  Snow that has warmed, been packed down by
cars and snowmobiles is truly dangerous for even an unshod equine.  I plan
my winter rides to stay away from it.    

Loose talus or scree slopes are equally dangerous.  However, once there is a
well used trail packed down by the passage of cattle or wild animals it
becomes safe to ride across at a walk or trot.    

Horses don't like to go through low growing brush that traps their feet or
wraps around their legs. Nor can they duck as low as elk.  It has taken us
an hour, leading our horses and bending trees to go down an elk trail that
elk trot through.

Stay away from quicksand it is very dangerous but I can't think of anything
else I don't want on an endurance trail.
 
I recently rode down into a narrow draw I needed to photograph.  The bottom
was narrow and full of rocks. We only walked and most of the time no two
legs of my mount were on the same level or angle, nor was the footing the
same for there was rock, sand and piled up branches that had washed down or
blown into the bottom. I was far more apprehensive than my horse, who due to
the slow speed was snacking on prickly lettuce whenever it was available.  

I was not competitive and did not want to race as a downhill skier but I
enjoyed almost all the runs except an avalanche chute at Squaw Valley and I
would ski all day. A recent article exhorting humans to get in shape for
skiing also advised moving through a simple obstacle course so that when on
the slopes your body was prepared to make fast turns when necessary to avoid
skiing into a rut or a bare spot.

Let your horses move around obstacles and be on ground with banks or ditches
. This will help your horse(s)s develop their sense of touch on legs and
feet and will prepare them for riding safely out of an arena or show ring on
something besides a dirt road.  Animal trails tend to follow contours but
they also go down to cross streams and up steep hillsides.  There can be
rocks, down trees and holes from burrowing or tunneling animals. 

A smooth graded area may look nicer, but if you want strong, nimble equines,
scatter some obstacles on the way from the barn to the water tank or the
sandy hollow in which they roll.  Your ranch may not make the cover of
"Better Homes and Gardens" but you will have fitter horses with no extra
work on your part. I believe that horses who have learned that the land is
not always level will have less chance of an injury when they meet a natural
hazard.  Nor will they go too fast on terrain that requires caution. 
 
By picking conditioning terrain, you can build a strong fit horse. Riding up
and down hills at all gaits builds muscles, including the cardiac muscle.
Humans get similar results from going up and down flights of stairs.  As the
horse gets stronger, switch from a walk, to a trot and finally a canter. Use
a rock strewn field, down logs, side hills and boggy spots as training areas
.  If this is not available, substitute walking over cavaletti, through a
maze of worn-out auto tires or whatever. The level graded pasture or arena
does not develop agility or balance which the horse will need in negotiating
a twisting forest trail or a complicated dressage movement.

I feel there are too many rides on dirt roads and I agree they are boring. 
My training rides are my recreation and I look for wildlife, observe erosion
and follow the wild flowers on animal trails, old 2 tracks, cross country
tied together by dirt roads.  I trust my mount and let them go at the speed
they feel safest which can be everything from a walk to a downhill canter.

Come join me on the scenic endurance rides in Idaho this summer.     

Arlene Morris
Morris Endurance Enterprises
Boise, ID