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beware class trip with horses!! *rant*

6K views 42 replies 30 participants last post by  Samstead 
#1 · (Edited)
i am just throwing out a warning to everyone who might be going to the same place that i went. (hopefully no one that works with the horses there is on the forum *RANT*)

ok so many high schools go on a class trip their senior year. if you are near CT you might go to "High Meadows" for you trip. but beware of the so call "trail ride".

as a horse person, let me list the problems i encountered there:
- the horses were standing in mud and none of them were given hay to eat between rides or water
- they ask about your experience with horses but then they seem like they think your lying.

- when they ask about your experience, they ask unrelated questions like how high can you jump (its a walking trail ride with bombproof horses, not a olympic jump team!), and some other random questions

- and they asked who was nervous and put them on certain horses, my point is, is that it shouldn't have mattered what horse they went on because they should be used to carrying people who are nervous and have never ridden before

- they dont tell the people who have never even seen a horse in person, how to ride. they tell you how to steer, which is nearly irrelevant in itself because these horses are trained to just follow one another. so people had their heels up, were holding onto the horse with their entire leg, slouching in the saddle or leaning back. it was really poorly organized and totally irresponsible of them not to tell people how to sit on a horse. all they told them was to pull their head up if they tried to eat grass when they were standing there. they didn't warn everyone what to do if they tried to eat leaves on the trail or tried to walk over to a plant while riding

- they tightened the girth AFTER you got on…

- and the best one: the helmet were cracked! yes, the hard shell was cracked. so much for safety

- and the "trail ride" was shorter than they said it was going to be

- and what was really annoying was that one stirrup was shorter than the other on my saddle and i complained and i don't think they fixed it

- one of the horses manes had one of those giant dreadlocks knots that would would never be able to untangle and you would have to just cut it out at that point, and it was clear that they didn't care to brush any of the horse manes

-we were going up the slighted incline and they told everyone to lean forward because we were going up a "hill", it was so slight of an incline that you didn't need to lean forward.

- if i ever went back there, i would not ride and i would never pay $25 to do that again. WASTE OF MONEY

if you ever go there, skip the horses and just go riding at home were you can do it for free, wear a helmet that is in one piece, not be babied even though you have experience, and where horses are cared for and groomed correctly. :evil:
 
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#2 ·
I am sorry you had a bad experience; however, a lot of the things you point out are not terrible. I have worked at a few guest ride places.
- The horses were "essential groomed" which means the saddle and the girth area were groomed. This ensured that they did not get saddle sores. Which means manes were not brushed unless a lot of extra time. Mostly because it is cosmetic.
- We tightened girths before the ride and during the ride. This was because a lot of horses were "blowers" who will blow up and only after walking a little distance or with a rider in the saddle settled and fully exhaled. This is also required by the insurance.
- They probably did assume you were lying about riding. A lot of people do. We had numerous people say they were "advanced riders" who would put saddle sores on a horse within two days of riding. They thought they were great riders and they were sacks of potatoes.
- I have tried to teach people how to ride and flat out most people going on those rides are not interested. Turning it into a riding lesson and equitation is not something most people are interested in. Lecturing them on proper riding is just going to leave them with harsh feelings. This is also true when you have a language barrier, we had a lot of foreign visitors in the national parks. Try teaching someone to ride a horse using only sign language and gestures. A lot of the folks (regardless of language that they spoke) were too busy smiling and taking photos to listen to the rudimentary steering instructions I was giving.
- At the end of the day, they should not have given you a helmet that was cracked. They probably have an insurance statement that says they have to wear a helmet. In some places, the amount of insurance they carry for having people wear a helmet vs not wearing a helmet is negligible.

Its a relaxing trail ride, the point is not to have a the best and most challenging ride of your life. It is fun, the horses work hard and most of the time are treated with respect. Most of the time, the horses are a tool to see amazing country side. I have stood in the middle of a elk cow/calf herd and seen bull elks bugle within 15 feet of me. Things that would have never happened if I was on foot or in a car.
 
#4 ·
Instead of Buyer Beware I've always followed the Trail Rider Beware. You get what you pay for in most cases. Poorly kept or unsafe equipment should have said to you the experienced rider that another option for riding should have been found or maybe another activity. Poorly kept horses can indicate issues as well but I have been on rides with horses that weren't spit polished and show turn out ready but the line leaders were responsible and their equipment was safe. Their prices were more reasonable than other places I have been that had a heavy staff to horse ratio. As for questioning your ability it doesn't seem odd to want to know if you can jump but then again as an experienced rider that has trail ridden with other experienced riders on my own or leased horses (from a riding stable) the level of skill determined the trail and there have been trails with jumps included. All horses are going to have a personality and putting a nervous rider on a horse that feeds off the riders nervousness is just not smart. Just because a horse is a head to tail trail horse doesn't mean they aren't going to have better or best matches with riders. They have to start somewhere before they become that dead broke trail shuffler. The most incredible ride I have ever been on was an all day ride with a guide up and into the crater of one of the inactive volcanoes in Hawaii. Not a cheap ride and the horses were chosen based on our abilities and comfort level as was the trail used. We had many more options than someone with no experience that rode head to tail on a lesser ride though I am sure I would have also enjoyed that ride as the scenery was amazing on all parts of that ranch. It wasn't a ride I could have taken my parents on but if I had taken them we'd have chosen a much shorter ride on horses suited to their skill level (none).
 
#5 ·
well, never the less, i was still disappointed. comparing it to what my expectations are for a guided trail ride, i don't think they did good :/ it was my first and last time there, so i won't have to deal with it again
 
#6 ·
Sounds pretty normal for a guided trail ride. I don't know what your expectations were for a trail ride full of inexperienced riders who probably had no intention of riding again.
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#7 ·
i was expecting more from the people working there. for example, they were telling people which horse they where getting on and some people were already on. one girl was waiting on her horse and she was holding onto the horse with her legs and he horse kept walking. the people kept walking over to help her stop the horse. not once did they tell her to take her legs and foot off the side of the horse. it is just something simple they could have done. we weren't in a rush and it was very clear what was happening. i was the one who eventually told her to take her leg off the horse
 
#8 ·
- and what was really annoying was that one stirrup was shorter than the other on my saddle and I complained and I don't think they fixed it
You don't know if they fixed it? Scratches head...

It is certainly up to you if you take your business back there, but apart from the cracked helmet the rest sounds pretty normal.
 
#9 ·
I went to a place where the did believe me with my riding level. Put me on the ex barrel horse... He would stop to graze and i would get on him and he would then be up the horses butt. Seriously he was resting his head on the rump of the horse in front of him -_-'. HE was the ornery horse. Next time ill tell them im green as grass and get the less ornery horse lol. It was on scarry trails i would not take my horse up but it was fun.
the lack of mane grooming is cosmetic. I will groom my mares mane but a lot of people i know (including the fiance) won't groom manes and tails because they dont need to -_-'. The place i went to did not require helmets but the fact they gave you cracked ones worries me. I feel very hindered by helmets (messes with my glasses and has caused me more near misses than without) but if i'm going to where one it better not be cracked.
 
#10 ·
So....for $25 each person was provided with:

A safe horse
Full tack
Hat (albeit cracked..)
Human on ground to provide horse, question you, tighten up your girth
Land on which to ride, riding time of (presumably) one hour

And you're whining?

These trail ride places are for people who do not ride. They frequently have the following passengers:

Nervous
Unbalanced & scared of inclines
Folk who exaggerate their abilities (an easy way to weed them out is to ask about jumping height, that often identifies the ones who were fibbing :wink:)

And plenty of people who just want to sit on a saddle watching the world go by, totally uninterested in the position of their heels, shoulders, hands or butt.


- this is what Trail Ride businesses do.
 
#11 ·
Sounds like a normal touristy trail riding place.

These places aren't meant to give world class riders a trail ride. Its for people that have no exposure to horses to get a chance to go out and be on one in nature.

And yeah it will matter what horses go with what class or rider because these aren't robots. They can develop bad habits they may be brand new to the program etc. They have different needs just like people have.

If they wanted robots all with the exact same training and personality they would get a carousal.

The horses may not be the cleanest but when you're shuffling potentially hundred+ people a day you do just the amount needed to keep the horse healthy and happy.

you didn't see the horses get food or water there, probably because that creates a mess and havoc depending on the setup.

They also probably switched horses out periodically from the lineup so they could get rest and food/water.

Like the saying about 99% of the real work being done is behind the stage not on it, you are only seeing 1% of what really goes on at this place.
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#12 ·
Doesn't sound great. Really, it doesn't sound even like an average dude stable in my area. Though I will agree with not having hay around. Mine don't eat during the day, and neither do I, when working.

I just hope that those who were on the ride were able to enjoy some time with horses and do it again.
 
#13 ·
Instructions typically go in one ear and out the other during LESSONS, never mind a first time trail rider. I bet these people wouldn't even realize what they were doing if they were told.

Honestly, it really doesn't sound like a bad situation. Idk what the setup is, but if they were in pens together I would absolutely NOT give them a stitch of food. That's just asking for trouble.
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#14 · (Edited)
My old barn had a dude string business attached to it. The BO charges $75 PER HOUR to either go on a guided trail ride or, if you're a boarder, use one of his horses.

What you're describing is pretty typical. The girl with her legs wrapped around the horse? If you had told her to take her leg off the horse so he wouldn't keep walking, she probably would have ended up with her legs flung as far out as they would go. What seems simple instruction to you is usually Greek to the non-horse person.

I worked at a Girl Scout horse camp as a wrangler. You have a limited amount of time to instruct the girls, plus most of them are either too excited or too scared to listen. These were 8 to 12-year-olds, mind you. Adults are even worse. We had one mom insist on coming on a trail ride. I was supposed to ride drag, but because this mom insisted on going, I had to stay behind. Before they left, we went over all the usual instructions (much the same as they did for your ride). There wasn't enough time for "heels down" and all that. This mom insisted that she had been a barrel racing champion when she was younger. She was a large woman, though, so we put her on our biggest, laziest horse (16.2hh friesian cross Moonpie). They came back from the ride an hour later and the mom was on a different horse, the head wrangler was riding Moonpie and the mom was covered in dust with tear streaks down her face. Come to find out, she had baled out of the saddle on the upward slope of a hill next to the trail when Moonpie stopped to eat grass. She hadn't listened to the "Don't let the horses eat on the trail" lecture and when Moonpie stopped, she freaked out and started crying when Moonpie dropped her head. The head wrangler (who took over riding drag for me) rode up to her and told her to pull up sharply on the reins and give Moonpie a kick to get her moving. The mom did just that, but harder than was strictly necessary, and baled when Moonpie jerked her head up. So much for being a great rider. :lol:

Also, we didn't do more than a quick brush-down of the saddle and girth are when tacking up in the mornings. With 16 horses to tack up and only two of us, there wasn't time for more. Our horses didn't get food between rides and only if we were doing multiple trail rides per day (some days we did just group lessons, other days we did one or two trail rides, and other days we were running flat out doing both), did the horses get watered.

My point is, until you've worked at one of those facilities, don't bash on them too hard. Especially when it was so cheap.
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#15 ·
In my lifetime ive been to three trail ride places. On a scale 1 would be at the bottom, 2 in the middle and 3 at the top.

Place number 1-
Went there as a child, would never return. Horses were underfed, aggressive and unresponsive. It was but to nose the whole time, only walking. The one canter we got was short, one time while they were explaining what i was meant to do i told them that I've been there before and already knew, guess what! They didn't let me canter because i wasn't listening. The helmets looked as though they hadn't been replaced i over 10 years. In between breaks the horses stood in a muddy field with all there tack on. Just about the only nice thing was the views.

They asked about experience, at the time i had little so was put on an appropriate horse. One time when they went there they put me on a wild gelding who kept biting the other horses and bolting, i barely managed to stay on. When i actually got they had us stand in a group and pull on the horses mouths to show us how to turn them, i wasn't pulling hard enough so one guy came over and yanked the poor horses mouth. The trail was just walk in a line, if you trot you get in trouble, just walk. My stirrups were always too long and they didnt bother to adjust them.

Pretty much exactly sounding like OPs place. Not to mention each ride cost about $80.

Place number 2-
Your average trail riding place. Helmets looked okay to me, horses looked fed. Some were aggressive, some were bolters, but majority was okay. The trails were nice, got to do a fair bit of trotting and one or two canters. Got a canter along the beach,which was great.

Once again i had little experience so was put on a pretty mellow bombproof horse. We were all riding drafts which i found odd, but didn't really mind. One thing that stuck with me though: i had been there twice, both times horses had acted up. First time a horse bolted all the way back to the barn with a girl on him, another horse kicked out at my horse and my horse bolted, and a horse bolted when it heard cows and threw the girl riding him.

Why did i put this place second and not first? Because besides the horses behaviour everything was up to standard. Pretty average place though, and really expensive, it was $120 for a 3 hour ride!

Place number 3-
Whenever i go on trails i go there. This place is definitely not for beginners, but experienced will get a lot out of it. Like any other place, they out you on mellow, bombproof horses. I specifically told them my experience and asked for a very forward horse, so they gave me one. The trails are beautiful and we do more than just walking.

The helmets look up to scratch (still use my own tho) and the horses look well kept. We get little instruction of how to steer. They usually adjust my stirrups or they do if you ask. The group split up after we have had a walk and a little trot, beginners get to walk over level terrain with a few trots and a canter or two. The experienced walk over hilly terrain, get plenty of trots and canters, even a gallop or two.

This is not a place for someone whos never ridden, but i really enjoy it, its a nice treat from my usual lessons. And it's not very expensive, $60 per person for 3 hours.


Well, from experience trail riding places vary. You can get your complete and utter crap ones, like place number 1 and OPs place. You get your decent ones and you get the good ones. Of course theres. I trail ride place thats ideal, but you get ones that do a good job.
 
#16 ·
As another note- most places do not offer rides with more than just walking. Why? Because the majority of the people who go to these places do not have the proper experience or knowledge to ride faster than a walk. Heck, at my old barn (I would help get the horses ready for rides to help the BO out), we had people showing up to ride in shorts, T-shirts, and tennis shoes (even had one guy show up in those close-toed sandals that are popular and another guy show up in those weird running shoes that look like feet) for two-hour rides in the middle of summer in Arizona! Anything more than walking for those people would have left them with severe blisters.
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#18 ·
I honestly don't get what more you (anyone) expects out of a paid/guided trail ride? Places like that are not geared toward people who already ride, they are geared toward tourists and/or people who've never sat on a horse before. Yes they should have proper equipment, including quality helmets, and yes the horses should be cared for. That aside? Everything else seems pretty standard.

I have been a trail guide in the past at a local ranch and 9/10 times people show up in shorts and flip flops - regardless of being given a guide of what not to wear and what is safe to wear beforehand. A good chunk of these people claim to have ridden before and know what they are doing. It can be a huge liability issue to let these apparent "advanced riders" do anything more than a walk, and maybe a small trot. IMHO, unless you are on vacation in Mexico or something, if you are such an advanced rider you should take your own horse out if you want to do more than a walk.
 
#19 · (Edited)
Sorry OP but you really don't seem like a very experienced rider if you're complaining about things like the business making sure they matched the right riders with the right horses. Did you call yourself an "advanced" rider? Because the way you type and the things you complain about indicate otherwise.

Personally when I go to guided trail ride places [usually treating a family member who doesn't ride much but loves horses] I always mark myself down as 'intermediate', even though I know I'm more experienced and capable than some of their trail guides! I am NOT an advanced rider and should not label myself as such.

Edit; there are only three guided trail places within two hours of where I live and I have ridden at two of them. The third is a natural horsemanship place that teaches that all bits are cruel. A friend rode there for quite a long time and I refused outright to discuss horses with her because it drove me up the wall how she kept telling me I was cruel because I rode a bitted horse. She changed her tune very quickly after getting her own horse and instruction that's actually worth hearing.

I do have to say though it's rather embarrassing when you say "I'm a capable intermediate rider" [bearing in mind I always go decked out in proper riding attire with my own helmet and often riding gloves, and two of the girls there know me personally] and they believe you so they put you on one of their more awkward horses and then the bloody thing paces and you just CANNOT ride it to save yourself. I have a Thoroughbred... I'm not used to riding a pacer!
 
#22 ·
i would consider myself and intermediate rider. i am in no way a beginner. when someone comes to the barn i work at to ride for the first time, they are given the old horse. there are 9 horses at the barn and they are at all different levels. so obviously, a beginner would be put on the safest horse. i know that all horses are different, even the bomb proof ones.

there was nothing on the form that made you fill out what lever you were…

ok, its great that you have someone to tighten your girth after you get on… but why would you tighten it after you got on?? would you get on a horse that you can fit your fist in the girth?
 
#20 ·
I like riding pacers, you just have to drop into the rhythm! I having guided for those trail rides always mark myself as a beginner/intermediate rider. I know the horses we give to "advanced riders" I don't want to spend my relaxation time training a horse. I don't want to pay to train a horse. I have worked at walk only and loping rides. I have to say that no matter what, the beginner horses were more fun because they knew their job and did it well.
 
#23 ·
I had a horse that would blow his guts out. You'd tighten his girth and it would be TIGHT. You would get on and then tighten it another two holes instantly because the saddle was CAIR and had a certain degree of compression. Then ten minutes in you'd have to tighten it another FOUR holes.

And one jumps lesson I had, even after that, I STILL ended up jumping with a girth so loose I could fit my fist between it and my horse. Luckily because he had a reasonable wither and my position was pretty secure the saddle didn't go anywhere!
 
#24 ·
There are horses that blow up, and the girth loosens. I have also seen a level of "loose girth" on a horse that would not be a huge problem for a balanced rider. The problem is that 99% of dude riders are not balanced. They rock back and forth side to side in the saddle. This causes a number of problems. One of these is saddle/girth sores. The other issue is that a rider can get off balance and not know how to slide the saddle to the side. The new rider panics at feeling "off center" on the horse and either falls or screams. This can set of a domino reaction among other riders. One person screams the others snatch there reins, scream and soon you have horses spooking. This is a bad situation because if 10 horses are on the ride and 7 spook (even as easy as a stand in place plant feet and snort) you can easily have 2 riders fall. It snow balls and someone can get hurt. A co-worker had a 70 year old man get off center on his saddle. The mans immediate reaction was to wrap both hands around his neck and fall to the ground. When the co-worker caught the horse and made sure the man was okay he asked why the man had grabbed his neck. The mans reply was "I have two rods in my neck to stabilize the vertebrae, I am not supposed to jolt or jerk my neck or I could end up paralyzed". Most TERRIFYING RIDER EVER! I had a parent assure me that their child only appears to not be listening because he is having absent seizures and is epileptic. Awesome (not), that kid rode behind me for the next five days of their vacation and my horse basically guided the ride because I was watching that kid.

Tightening cinches after walking about 200 feet is a way to try to keep dudes on horses. It also makes the insurance happy. If someone gets hurt they want to make sure that there was no negligence on the part of the ranch. This means making sure everyone's saddle was topside.
 
#25 ·
Sounds like a typical string. I've been on several over the years and they all had similar issues that you describe -though many didn't offer helmets at all. Being to several very crappy ones is what finally convinced my husband (then fiancée) that horse ownership might be a better route to go.
 
#26 ·
There are two trail rental places near me. I've been to both, and they seem fairly decent as far as my experience with those kinds of places go. The horse are well cared for, the tack is good, and helmets are provided (although I've always brought my own). They never go faster than a walk on the guided public rides, although if someone who wanted to pay mucho extra they could go on a private ride with just a guide and no strangers.

The last time I went on a trail ride with one of the companies was last September. I won a contest where I got to take a friend on a 1 hr group ride. Both of us are experienced riders, but I went ahead and put down intermediate, she put down advanced. Her horse was a slowkey pokey :wink:

Of the other people riding with us that day, none of them had much -- if any --riding experience, we stayed at a walk the whole way and had a pretty good time. I didn't even try to ride the horse I was riding the way I might have ridden my horse at home. I just enjoyed the scenery, took pictures and bantered with my trail guide when my horse stopped to pee (and I really mean peeee) which caused much amusement from those riding behind us.

I just think anyone who goes to that kind of place shouldn't really expect much other than to have a good time.
 
#27 ·
At the horse camp, all our mares would blow out their gut when cinched up. Put a rider on, they'd deflate, and we'd tighten the cinch. As long as the horse doesn't walk off with a slightly loose cinch, there's no danger in tightening it a rider is mounted. My old BO did the same thing. He'd go around after everyone was mounted and make sure their cinches were tight.

We would also loosen the cinches slightly after each ride so the horses could rest.

Like I said before. Work at a place like that before judging them too harshly.
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