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Self defense on the trail

69K views 209 replies 128 participants last post by  gunslinger 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
A very helpful video posted on another forum that I think everyone should watch, especially younger riders.


Moderators note...
The link given no longer works...sorry.
 
#57 ·
Thanks for the post. I ride in a large park and some pretty remote areas (usually not alone). I've never been approached by anyone, but we have come across some transients who were a little shady. One actually almost got my sister thrown, we were riding through & he came out of the brush. We were almost on top of him. Needless to say the horses spooked.
You have to be careful when your out, because you never know what you'll run into.
I don't like the idea of carrying a gun. Even though I've been trained to shoot, I don't think that would be my 1st instinct in an emergency.
 
#58 ·
I trail ride out on the national forest, mostly alone, all the time. I've never felt threatened by human or animal. Never felt the need to carry a gun. I wouldn't know how to use one anyway.

I do dress my horses (and myself) in hunter orange during hunting season because I ride through the woods and there are elk and deer hunts going on from late August through December.

I am a big believer in hunter orange. :lol:

But really, we have bears, cougars, etc. and I've never had an animal bother me. Luckily I don't encounter many humans out there. The humans worry me more. I do feel safer on horseback than on foot. I feel like as long as I stay on my horse I can escape anything that might threaten us.
 
#59 ·
When I used to ride my old horse alone, if I encountered strangers, no matter how nice they seemed, I told them my horse was unpredictable and they should steer clear. I told them he bit and kicked because he had a bad experience with a person on foot while we were riding.
That was a total lie, but it kept people FAR away from us.

It's sad things have to be like that, though.
 
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#60 ·
I do not trail ride , by myself ever. If someone was walking there and i saw them then i would just trot off because even though he may seem nice and normal i would do it just for safety no matter if he was not attacking me or anything.
 
#61 ·
and i would just like drop the reins almost and then i would kick and wait till i was far away
 
#62 ·
Before I retired my now 23 yo horse I used to ride our country back roads starting from our house by myself. Any cars we had encountered were mostly all neighbors. Never even gave any thought to maybe being in danger of being attacked. I never ventured out on blazed trails in conservation areas by myself though.
 
#66 · (Edited)
This video is perfect for me since I'm the only one in the family who owns a horse. Due to the fact that I'm alone on the trails I need to be alert and prepared to protect my horse and I from anyone who's a threat. During hunting season I always dress my horse up in bright orange and I wear a bright orange vest that my mom brought me from work. However, where I live the hunters are responsible and know what they're doing, so most of them are respectful and helpful when needed. I still wear the orange just in case. I'm going to work on the spin with Quinn because we've never done that before. Thank you for posting this video.
 
#71 ·
What do you guys think? I bought a 800,000 volt tazer and pepper spray. Is this enough protection?
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just make sure you are comfortable actually USING whatever you carry.

we had a dog come into work (i work in a small animal er) the other day who had been accidentally pepper sprayed (along with his owner) when the owner tried to spray an aggressive dog and didn't have the nozzle pointed the right way and sprayed himself/his dog instead. :(

personally, i am not sure i am coordinated enough to handle the reins/turning the horse and pepper spray in a bad situation, so i carry a long crop with me. don't need it for my horse, but its sure come in handy for swatting nippy dogs. i would think (hope!) a lash across the eyes of an attacking human would be equally effective.

and when nothing bad is happening, it makes a great fly-flicker and tree-branch-mover. :lol:
 
#77 ·
There is an area on the trail I ride that unfortunately seems to be a spot where people must hang out at night and leave trash around. There also is an old deserted metal building at the site and it is somewhat deep in the wooded area of the park. I have actually seen vultures fly out of the building. Yesterday a tent was set up and it really gave us the creeps not knowing who it belonged to why anyone would want to camp there. Thanks for posting this video. It is sad to think that that kind of danger is out there. We are thinking of avoiding that part of the trail from now on.
 
#78 ·
Great video with some helpful tips. It is a good idea to be aware of the dangers of meeting others on the trail. I hope I do not open a can of worms, but when it is just two of us riding a lot of times we do carry a gun with us. We have checked with the local forest service to make sure this was legal. Where we ride it is legal for us to carry a weapon as long as it is not concealed. My personal opinion is that just the sight of someone carrying a weapon may be enough of a deterrent to leave them alone. I hope I never have to find out!
 
#81 ·
I did end up in a semi bad situation about 2 months ago when my BIL's girlfriend went nuts and decided to attack me ON MY PROPERTY. I called the cops but refused to get off my horse until they arrived (which took nearly 30 minutes). Poco (my stallion) was amazing in the situation. I shifted my weight to the outside to prevent her from pulling me over (and making the only vulnerable area on me my leg). Everytime she tried approaching me on the side Poco would swing his butt to her and threaten to kick. When she tried going around the other side he made a good attempt to bite her and kept his ears laid back the entire time. by the 2nd attempted kick she decided she had enough and started yelling at me about how my horse was dangerous... DUH! You came after me!

Luckily she left right before the cops came and it all ended well but it was nice to know that in that situation my horse actually took the initiative to defend me as well. It also made me wonder if that was something any horse would do or if it had something to do with him being a stallion "protecting his herd"?
 
#83 ·
Well, I can't watch the video quite yet. However this thread has sprung the idea of self defense on me. I have no one to trail ride with. I planned on bringing a knife to clear paths on the property but not because of an attacker. I will probably invest in pepper spray now.
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