The Smoothest Ride ... Tips, Articles, and Stories For The Paso Fino Horse Enthusiast
Take
A Walk on The Wild Side
... Trail Walking Your Paso Finos
by
Lynn Gallup ,
www.smoothride4u.com
Many
people enjoy the pleasure of relaxing and bonding with their horse through
trail riding.
It is a terrific way to unwind from the stresses
of the day. Or is it? Can the owner really relax and enjoy the ride if
their horse is spooking at every little hole, stump, or noise; probably
not! Most likely that horse doesn’t relish the thought of leaving
his safety zone of his familiar barn, pasture, and equine buddies to enter
the “big booger jungle”.
One
way to overcome this fear your horse may have is with “trail walking”.
This is a training method I have used at Gracewood Farm located in central
North Carolina. Gracewood Farm consists of 42 beautiful acres with rolling
woodlands, creeks - shallow and deep, steep hills, and also many fallen
large hardwood trees, thanks to Hurricane Fran’s fury in 1996. A
winding trail has been cut around and through the farm’s woodlands
in order to take advantage of horseback riding without riding on someone
else’s private property, to give me a place to introduce my young
green horses started under saddle a place to gain experience trail riding,
and to give me a safe place to horseback ride during deer hunting season.
Gracewood Farm is perfect for this training as it is a half mile off the
main highway at the end of a private road...or as I say “a little
piece of horse heaven in the country”.
I
have expanded the enjoyment I gain from trail riding utilizing the same
concept with my young foals through “trail walking”.
I will use my (yearlings) Davina de Gracia and Teson de Gracia as examples.
To give you some background on them: they were both born in Spring 2001
to very protective moms, who weren’t really “people”
horses, more just tolerant of people, but still willing in their natures.
So in return, the foals did not get much early imprinting and handling.
The filly Davina did get imprinted at birth, but not much after normally
calm “mom” recovered and gained a hostile nature towards anyone
messing with her “princess”. The mares were fine
to handle themselves, just don’t mess with their precious young
ones. These were the young foals’ role models ... their moms.
So the young foals gained in their early life a strong impression from
“mom”, people weren’t especially popular to
be around. Curiosity would win over them though as you groomed or trimmed
mom’s hooves, or heaven’s forbid ride “mom”! They
would both lurk around the corner always checking me out. I took the approach
with them being around when I was interacting with their “protector”,
but never forcing myself on them.
One way I introduce foals to the trail environment is to let them tag along with “mom” as you ride the trails. On the first ride I took “mom” Insignia on a month after foaling, the colt Teson started to follow along, but then very shortly afterwards, he hightailed it back to his safety zone of the barn area and his buddies. Insignia did not last mentally very long after that with “junior” out of her sight, so we returned to the barn. Obvious, the foal has to be more attached to “mom” than their hob-nobbing buddies, AND think more of her than their meal ticket. After the two foals were weaned, they had a new best buddy “baby-sitter” Maja, a four year amicable pleasure schooling filly. I acquired Maja as a yearling who had received very little handling and had virtually no trust in people. She and I started developing a bond from day one of her arrival as I gave her lots of attention, and she began to looked to me as her safety net in a new strange place as the other farm horses didn’t want to have a thing to do with her. She and I have developed a strong bond and have enjoyed many pleasurable hours riding, mostly on area trails. Maja was to set the new example for the new weanlings of how people are to be perceived. When I would take Maja as a green four year old out on a ride though the woods, the foals being full of themselves were allowed to tag along. They traversed the woods running, playing, chasing each other, dodging trees and jumping over fallen logs. To me as a rider, it was exciting to watch to see the foals plus one exuberant St. Bernard having so much fun. The foals didn’t know to be afraid of the new surroundings, because “baby-sitter” Maja seem to take it all in stride. This was their first experience “trail walking” or better stated as “trail tag-along”. Davina and Teson were acclimating themselves naturally to trails when one day a few years away, they would themselves be ridden on a trail ride.
As the weanlings developed and grew, human hands-on ground training was in order. Both foals were extremely sensitive to be touched, especially around the head, ears, legs, and belly. It would take regular slow sessions to get them over being nervous when human hands make contact. Some horses are just genetically sensitive to be touched or known as “touchy-feely” or “thin-skinned”. In the meantime, they are learning to be groomed, having their hooves picked out and trimmed. Each foal makes progress in different areas of handling, so a modified individual approach and time schedule is taken for each foal.
The first weanling to try a “walk” with me was Teson, he being very independent and curious in his nature. The first walk adventure was up the half mile driveway to the highway. The colt was willing, but nervous. He relaxed after we left the farm vicinity when the colt concentrated on me as his “safety net”. This in turn develops a level of trust between the young insecure horse and its handler. Did I say relaxed? ... yes, but only until we reached the highway and the cars started coming out of the booger zone whizzing past... a realistic disadvantage to horses not living daily next to a busy highway.
The next leading session was Teson’s first real “trail walk”... I call it the mini-trail course at Gracewood Farm. It includes a quarter-mile path through the woods with a shallow washed area, a sharp sloping ravine with a 5 foot drop on each side and about 7 foot wide. Teson hesitated on each, but with a little urging traversed each obstacle in both directions easily. I was pleased with his willingness and attitude!
Davina who started learning to lead sooner, showed not quite as willing a manner doing the same things on her first “walk”. She, too did not like the traffic noise and fast motion. On her first mini-trail walk, she did okay but flatly refused and planted her feet to not cross the ravine. So okay, instead of fighting with her and making it a bad memory, we returned back over the wooded trail to homebase and called it a lesson.
The next time Teson and I took to the mini-trail, we expanded the walk to go the full one and half mile trail course which included a long steep wooded hill with a small creek with water at the bottom, a narrow 1 foot deep washed ditch area, and large and small logs to cross. The colt did well with some urging at each trail obstacle except for the ditch, which took 15 minutes to get him across. Be sure to carry a long enough rope to reach across the obstacle to be able to tie to a tree on the other side in case you need to get on the same side of the young horse to urge him/her from behind. All else was a pleasant experience. He did become nervous when I stopped to view the surrounding beautiful oak grove, but became more relaxed when we resumed moving forward.
On Davina’s next adventure on this same trail, this time I carried a long lounge line to help in my ease and success of her crossing the large washed ravine. It worked! I crossed to the other side, and wrapped the long line around a tree to brace for any stubbornness that may incur on her part. Davina as expected resisted, but did not for long as she started to survey her “booger” trail monster. Once her willingness to look at the obstacle instead of just planting her feet and flatly refusing, the opportunity to move ahead occurred to face the next trail obstacle. I requested Davina to go back over the wash ravine two more times at that time which she did fairly readily....success! ON came the steep hill with the creek at the bottom. This she didn’t want to get close enough to, to look at, but gravity and my long lounge line came into handy play. I crossed and again wrapped it around a tree and urged her forward with pressure applied to the line. As Davina contemplated her current dilemma with the creek, she actually slid and came to sitting on her haunches with her front feet in the water. And there she sat not knowing exactly what to do next looking so dumbfounded! Though with my urging, a huge leap incurred and she was on the other side. (Caution when riding: I have found there is no rhyme or reason the way a Paso Fino will elect to jump a creek or ditch, but they can send a rider air-borne with often a high or wide pogostick-like jump.) The rest of the trail walk was easy for Davina crossing over the washed ditch and the fallen logs. Any resistance she had was forgotten and she concentrated on me for leadership. These young horses have conquered the Gracewood Farm trail course, and will continue to do trail walks as part of their regular ground training.
When it comes time to start training these young horses under saddle, the trail and its obstacles will be second nature to them, making training a breeze. As with past horses who have been trained this way, they accept the trail environment readily and can concentrate on the rider and the training cues given, not boogers. An older adult horse who is “afraid” or just “stubborn” which opposes trail obstacles has alot more to overcome ... more “set” in its mind to what it will and will not do. It is also just physically stronger to resist if they chose to.
“Taking a walk on the wild side” with your young horses is positive reinforcement training which will be beneficial for years to come. Older horses who may be nervous on the trail can benefit also as this horse often feels more secure with “their” person on the ground where they can see them and take comfort. A side effect of trail walking is also beneficial for the human in exhilarating exercise, a chance to enjoy nature and bond with your horse all at the same time!
Lynn Gallup was introduced to the Paso Fino breed in 1975, while owning a Half-Arabian at the time. She began actively showing them in the Atlantic and Piedmont regional Paso Fino shows in the mid-70’s. She owns Gracewood Farm Paso Finos in New Hill, North Carolina, home to about 17 Paso Fino horses, where she continues to train/breed her own Paso Fino horses. Lynn is a multi-gaited horse breed show judge: Paso Finos, Rocky Mountains, and Kentucky Mountain Saddle Horses, and a Registered "R" Judge with USEF. The “Tips” are learned from hands on experience and attending clinics over the years involved with horses. Lynn’s website “The Smoothest Ride” went online in 1997, and offers helpful and informative tips, articles, and stories for the Paso Fino horse enthusiast. New URL: www.smoothride4u.com.