Ten Essential Skills for Trail Horses

Happy Trails
Ten Essential Skills for Trail Horses
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River and Jess ponying Mackenzie in Wyoming

Everyone wants a great horse; athletic, obedient, and game for anything, but it takes a lot of training to get there. It’s not easy to build the perfect horse and it certainly doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time, something that’s usually in short supply. Now that we are all quarantined and sheltering in place, this is the perfect opportunity to identify holes in your horsemanship, set some goals, and make a plan to work on your horse. In this episode, I speak with my friend Mary Schmitt about essential skills that all trail horses should have.

Mary lives in Jackson, Wyoming and runs an antique shop, Cayuse Western Americana. When not at the shop you’ll find her exploring the Tetons on horseback. She is a member of the local Back Country Horsemen chapter and the Jackson Hole Police Citizens’ Mounted Unit. She and her horses have seen it all. So, I asked her what kind of skills are essential for a trail horse to have?

Mary and Dutch in Grand Teton National Park

Mary’s Ten Essential Trail Horse Skills:

  1. Stand still to mount
  2. Mount from the off-side
  3. Lead from a loose line and stop when you stop
  4. Send over an obstacle
  5. Tolerate strange horses in their space
  6. Ride in any position in line when in a group
  7. Separate from the group safely
  8. Tie and stand quietly
  9. Foot placement control
  10. Pony and be ponied

The time you spend working on these skills now will set you up for success when you are able to get back out on the trail. So go out to the barn, grab your horse, play around with some homemade obstacles, get creative in the arena, and have fun!

Jess and River working on the teeter-totter

One thought on “Ten Essential Skills for Trail Horses

  1. So glad I have horses! I don’t know what I would have done during the quarantine if it hadn’t been for them. Thanks to the current situation, I really worked out some points in riding, and now, after a year, I see changes for the better 😀

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