The Horse Forum banner
Status
Not open for further replies.

Trail riding vs arena work

5K views 20 replies 18 participants last post by  PaintHorseMares 
#1 ·
New to horses within the year.. Getting a horse in a few weeks.. I take a lot of lessons and hav gone on 5 trail rides.. to different places.. I prefer perfecting my cantering circles in a large arena with no cones.etc, over going on a trail ride where the threat of spook is always apparent.. any thoughts?
 
#2 ·
I've seen horses spook just as bad as in an arena. I've seen just as bad of accidents in the arena as well. It doesn't matter where you are the risk is always there. To lower that risk you better your skills and the horse's. Riding in an arena doesn't lower those risks though. If that's where you are comfortable then so be it. Some people are just that way. Nothing wrong with it. But if trails make you nervous just on the off chance the horse might spook then you should reconsider owning at all since chances are the horse will spook at least once, probably more just because that's what horses do. You can improve their reactions and teach them to trust your leadership which lessens spooks. But its unavoidable considering they are flight animals.Get some lessons about handling and ground work to help build your confidence. Check out Clinton Anderson videos on his website, RFDTV, and YouTube.
Posted via Mobile Device
 
#4 ·
I work on my riding in an arena because the trails have more cactus & rocks for me to land on if things go really bad. My little arena has dirt that feels like concrete, but at least it doesn't have spines!

Once my horse & are are doing it right - or at least how I want - in an arena, we can try it on a trail. I'd rather have the horse hit the fan over smooth dirt, no matter how hard, than on roads, near cars, surrounded by cactus, etc.
 
#5 ·
A horse can spook inside an indoor area, or an outdoor arena, or a roundpen, or a stall, or cross-ties, or pretty much anywhere the horse happens to be at a given moment.
 
#6 ·
while you're still learning, ride where you're most comfortable & then once your riding skills are more perfected, go for rides in different places.
But as others have said spooks can happen anywhere.

I guess it also depends on the horse & what they're used to as well, some horses are right at home on the trails & freak out indoors, & some horses feel safe in an indoor/arena & freak out on the trail.
Posted via Mobile Device
 
#7 ·
As others have stated, horses can spook anywhere, anytime. Depending on the situation and the horse, it may be a quick jump sideways then they are fine, or they may panic and bolt or rear. Therefore, I think it's important to build your basic riding skills in a somewhat controlled environment like an arena and to have your instructor teach you what to do in a panic situation before you go out on the trail. Also, what tinyliny said is so true, the more miles you put on and the better you get to know your horse, the more confident you will be. Happy riding:)
 
#8 ·
Ride where you are comfortable first but your horse will become bored and flat with constant drilling in an arena. That's the biggest draw to getting out and riding outside. It can be very cathartic to pick up a nice working trot or a brisk hand gallop for most horses when given the chance. Be mindful that when you are tense and waiting for your horse to spook when outside, you are setting your horse up to do just that.
 
#10 ·
I don't trail ride. I don't enjoy it and my horse doesn't enjoy it. He has never become bored with the arena. Some horses need environmental variety to thrive but mine definitely does not. If you choose to only ride in the arena, make sure to challenge him and make his brain work - the work itself can be kept interesting regardless of where you are.
 
#12 ·
There are very few people who do not hack out in the UK. It is just a normal thing to do to enjoy the countryside and the pleasure of riding.

It seems to me that many mKe it a big thing to trail ride in the US and spooking, running away, all sorts, is emphasised.

I have thought about this and realise that here we don't have poisonous snakes posing a danger, we only have one snake, the adder or viper and it is very shy and would move away from the vibration of hoof beats. No bears, coyotes, wolves or anything that would attack a horse (apart from out of control dogs) Our biggest danger comes from traffic as nearly all have to ride on the roads to get anywhere.

Another thing is that we have a network of bridleways where you can rode off the road. These are a right of way. Here majority of fields are nothing but postage stamps compared to the vast open areas I have seen in many parts of the US so, a horse taking a hold will pull up in a short distance because of a fence or gate.

Just random thoughts.
 
#13 ·
Before horses I backpacked. I love the forest and enjoy the loneliness of the wilderness where I seldom see other people. I love being in the mountains.

My horse takes me to places I simply couldn't go on foot anymore.

I've never rode in an arena, and with 640,000 acres of the Cherokee National Forest close by I probably never will.
 
#16 ·
My horses are happiest when they can cool off and relax on the trail after arena work. You can see and feel how much they enjoy it and it seems to freshen the mind.

There's no reason to go out and gallop all over on the trail if you are afraid of spooking, just use it a reward for all the hard work they have done for you in the arena.
And yes it's true, a horse that is prone to spooking will find a reason no matter where you are!
 
#18 ·
I used to only enjoy arena work, and a year ago you would have heard me prefer going in the arena to ride rather than going on a trail ride XD Now it's the opposite, whenever I have to go in the arena to work on something with my horses I really would rather go out on the trail.
But I find advantages to both arena and trail riding. With arena work you can work on something in a sort of controlled and enclosed environment, where as with trails help expose your horse and you to new situations. For example, I'd done lots of pole work and jumping in the arena at the old barn I took lessons at, but I never knew how to walk over a large raised log and when I came across it the first time last year I was terrified :P. Needless to say I'm over all my weird fears like the walking over a log one.
 
#19 ·
I grew up road riding. There literally were no horse trails in my area (Hialeah--outskirts of Miami, Fl). If you didn't want to spend your life on the farm where you boarded, you got out there and rode, regardless of the terrain. I went over interstates and under them. Down the verge of four lane roads, through neighborhoods (sometimes showed up at my own house for carrots and water), galloped across my high school field, got burgers at the drive-thru, swam in rock quarries. So the idea of hacking out just doesn't give me willies. It's what you do.

That said, I always spend time with an unfamiliar horse in a ring. I won't ride it out into the world until I understand how it responds to cues under controlled circumstances at all speeds. I also want to know how it moves, where its muscles take me, what its gaits are like--all so I understand what it might feel like if it spooked. Once I know all those things, I start trail riding.

There are ladies at the barn where I lease that NEVER ride outside of an arena. They literally tack up at the barn, and then LEAD their horses several hundred feet across the property to the indoor arena, where they close the door behind them before they mount to ride. They do not ride one step outside of the indoor arena. If they are leading a horse back and a car comes along, everyone gets real nervous.

Other ladies there do ride outside of the arena, but are horrified when life comes at them on horseback. They don't want their horses scared or distracted at all.

Their horses are all beautiful, well-cared for animals. Their owners ride frequently and get great pleasure from it. I can't really fault them, even if I would get bored senseless riding in the arena every day.

So you? Ride as you like. Where you like. Your horse will adapt, unless it gets ring sour, which isn't usually going to happen if you aren't pushing it constantly with no relief. Ride in the arena until you are comfortable on your horse, then slowly begin hacking out. Ride as far as you are comfortable, then turn for home. Next time, ride a little further. There are many adventures to be had on the trails. It's good for the mind or both human and horse, and it will make you a more competent rider in the end.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
You have insufficient privileges to reply here.
Top