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Trail Riding Etiquette

82K views 237 replies 96 participants last post by  walkinthewalk 
#1 ·
I was reading another post and thought maybe some folks don't know there is a trail riding etiquette.
Here is a list I found on Outfitters Supply, horse and mule trail riding and pack gear
I'm highlighting a few really important ones in my book anyway.
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Trail Riding Etiquette

I don’t need to tell you that there are no “official” rules for trail riding, like there are for, say, driving. But there are some commonly accepted practices that I think are good to remind ourselves of every once in a while. And while the word “etiquette” implies good manners, trail etiquette is as much about safety as it is about courtesy. Horses are herd animals and prey animals and this is the driving force behind how they think. Most horses do not like to be “abandoned” and can get upset if they feel this is occurring. When they encounter something which they perceive as frightening, their natural prey animal reaction is to jump (and run). Much of what is listed below comes from an understanding of these facts.

When encountering hikers and bikers
Ideally hikers and bikers will yield to a rider.
When encountering hikers or bikers, talk to them and get them to talk to you. Hikers with backpacks and bikers with helmets do not look human. Explain this to them and ask them to speak so that your horse will understand that this “thing” is actually just a person.
Ask them to stand off on the downhill side of the trail. Once again, horses are prey animals and often attacked from above, so keep the scary looking thing down low. It can also be easier to control a horse going uphill if he spooks.
Stay relaxed yourself and keep talking to the hiker and your horse if he is nervous.
Find out if there are more in their party and tell them how many in your party.
Thank them for their cooperation and be kind and courteous. We are all out there to enjoy ourselves.
Dogs
I think we all understand the problems that loose dogs can cause, so I will suffice it to say: if you can’t control your dog (with your voice from horseback) or he is ill-mannered with other people or animals, leave him at home.
Other horses
In theory, single riders will yield to pack strings. Be prepared for this not to be the case (see item “3d").
In theory, downhill riders will yield to uphill riders. Be prepared for this not to be the case (see item “3d").
Do not try to squeeze by other horses, you are asking for all kinds of trouble. Instead, give yourself plenty of room to go around.
I generally yield to anyone coming up or down the trail if I can because I know my animals and my riding ability. I don’t know their animals or their riding ability. So I take the safer route and yield myself.
If it is a narrow trail with no way to move off to let another pass, decide who should turn around.
Always turn your horse to the down hill side. He can see his front feet and won’t step off the trail. He cannot see his back feet or where he is putting them as well, so you want to keep those on the trail.
Unless you know the oncoming horse and rider and their abilities, it is safest to assume that the horse and rider are both inexperienced and be prepared that anything could happen as you or they go by.
You want to maintain a distance of about one horse length between horses while going down the trail. This leaves you time and space to react safely in the event of an accident in front of you.
When you encounter a short bridge on the trail, walk the horses across one at a time. Allow more than the usual single horse length between each horse over longer bridges.
For your safety and the safety of others around you, pay attention to your horse and keep him under control. Keep a peripheral eye on the rest of the horses and the environment around you. Being prepared for anything to happen can often prevent a bad wreck.
Think like a horse, especially if you are the leader of the group. If you look at objects on the trail like a prey animal (is it unfamiliar or potentially dangerous), you can help prepare yourself for anything. Once again preparation and awareness can be the difference between a controlled flight and a bad wreck.
Nasty horses in the back. If your horse is unruly, he should bring up the rear where his poor behavior will not be witnessed by the other horses and cause them to get upset as well. And, if you are lucky, he may learn a thing or two from watching calmer horses in front of him all day.
Tie a red ribbon in the tail of a horse that kicks. If you are following a horse with a red ribbon, obviously it would be safer to maintain a little more distance between you, but also you might be extra watchful for signs of forewarning: pinned ears, swishing tail, hind leg at the ready, etc. Remember that your horse could move to avoid the kick and put you in its path instead. A broken leg or knee from a kick 10 steep miles from the trailer is no fun.

Mares in season and stallions can present special problems on the trail. They require an extra level of attention on the part of the rider and the others in the group. If you are riding one, be extra vigilant of her/his behavior. If you are not, but they are part of your group, keep an extra eye out on these animals. Ideally the rider on either of these animals would be an experienced horseman, but we all know you can’t count on that. Warn oncoming riders if necessary. And then also consider that any horse you may pass on the trail could be a mare in season or a stallion and that the rider may not be experienced.
Watch the footing, especially on uphills and downhills. Gravel on rocks is like ice. Wet bridges can also be very slippery. If you encounter problems, warn any riders behind you.
When leading and/or riding with anyone behind you
Walk
Ask before trotting/loping
Warn of holes, bad footing and other dangers
Warn when you are stopping
Warn if a branch might snap back in someone’s face

Keep track of other riders behind you
Take turns leading, if possible…share the dust.
When you reach a watering area, take turns and don’t crowd. Wait for everyone to finish before moving off. And remember your Leave No Trace ethics: do not destroy additional water front so you can all water at the same time. Use only the obvious area where animals come down to drink.
Stop if there is a wreck. This should be pretty obvious. Your help may be needed. But also, once again, horses are herd animals and do not like to be left alone, especially in an unfamiliar area. If you ride off, while someone is trying to mount back up, their horse could panic and take off to catch up with the group.
Always practice Leave No Trace ethics:
Don’t cut switchbacks.
Try not to walk through soft, wet ground. Horses’ hooves are sharp and destroy vegetation.
Pick up all your trash, including cigarette butts, and pack it out.
Pick up other people’s trash to keep places as pristine as possible and set a good example.

Be respectful of those who live there and those who will visit behind you.
Take only pictures, leave only footprints.
Always be prepared for the idiot or the inconsiderate. Be prepared for someone to take off at a gallop while you are mounting, bump into you from behind or stop dead in front of you.
Keep your comments to yourself (or pick your battles). Unless the situation is a health risk or puts a life in danger, refrain from passing on your horsemanship wisdom. Many people may not respond well to a “know-it-all” or will resent the implication that they are stupid. Your “helpful suggestions” may cause more harm than good.
Additional safety items
Always carry ID on your person and on your horse in case you become separated.
Tell someone where you are going in case you don’t come home, even when riding with a group.
Carry basic survival gear on your horse and at least the bare minimum on your person: cell phone, matches, food, water.
Following basic trail etiquette can help ensure the safety of you, your horse and others who ride with you or you meet on the trail. But just as importantly, it can keep the trails open to horses. Many trails are closed to horses because of riders who abused the privilege. It is a privilege as much as your right to ride these trails. Remember that you are always an ambassador of horseback riding and that we all share the outdoors. If non-riders always meet a courteous and polite horseman on the trail, their impression of all of us will hopefully remain positive.
 
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#2 ·
Well done Vida!! Wish one of the ladies in my riding club would adhere to the one about riding an ill behaved/tempered horse in the back of the pack. Her mare is soooo nasty and refuses to stand still when we have to stop that it can wind up some of the other horses. Not to mention an unprovoked attack from her is always on our minds.

Good job!:)
 
#222 ·
I am surprised that nobody added to this etiquette thread for SOOO LONG! I wanna know if there's a "left shoulder to left shoulder" kind of unwritten rule on the trail. Thanks. Oh and btw:



I was tempted to do that in private 1-1 hacks with only the instructor ahead of me. I know it's being naughty, in the end I didn't have the guts to hang back and gallop; but I did overtake instructors especially on open ground because the horse and I both felt the need for speed lol~

:gallop:
 
#6 ·
Also i thought I would ad this one in. I did not see it mentioned.
Stallions should wear a yellow ribon on the tail. Green for inexperianced. That way any one coming up behind you will know

I did little endurnace and that was what I did for my guy. I had no problem and every one respected it.

just thought I would through that one in
 
#7 ·
Good Job! It's so good that I will do a copy and paste into a word doc, print and laminate several coies to post at our local Park.

Someone I know was unseated because of a group tourist out hikeing one day who upon seeing horse & rider aproaching ran out of the woods from an adjacent hiking trail, waving their hands over their heads yeling 'Horsie, horsie, horsie!' meanwhile snaping flash pictures the whole time. No, they were not Americans however they learned a few choice words that day! LOL.

Most folks will be considerate if they are only made aware of proper Etiquette.
 
#9 ·
great job! I always come back from a large trek with mixed emotions. The last trek I went on had 70 horses and the truth is you only need a handful of people to not respect the basic rules (or courtesys) and it can really make a ride uncomfortable.

I rode my young mare Phoenix and I had only broken her in 5 weeks previously so felt really brave to take her out with such a large group of horses. Honestly she was so fantastic but some of the other riders, I just wanted to strangle them by the end of the day. One woman in particular kept letting her horse walk up Phoeny's bum! I had deliberately stayed at the rear of the mob all day as my girl was so green. This bloody horse rammed us at least half a dozen times, by the third time Phboeny started to kick out and the women riding this damn horse blithely tells me at one point in the day "my horse always runs into other horses". COME ON LADY what do you think the reins are for, honestly!?

Sorry went into a bit of a rant there for a second. Good post Vidaloco.
 
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#10 ·
I agree 100% I went on a large ride with a broke gelding who had NEVER offered to kick on the trail. By the fourth time this lady let her horse ram him (after I pointedly told her to back off before he lost his temper :shock: ) he finally gave a small kick, but she was so close that when he had his foot barely off the ground it hit her horses front leg. I got onto him, but when she tried to say something to me I just reminded her that had her horse not ben ramming him it wouldn't have happened at all. :roll:My horse was slightly claustrophobic in groups for a long time after that. It took a lot of work to get him back to normal, and I had been riding him for about 6-7 years at that point.
 
#11 ·
Perfect job Vida...

May I add that our local CT Horse Council and Volunteer Horse Patrol have brochures we have made available at the trail heads that provide information about trail etiquette and we also have a Roadsafe Brochure that is displayed at our Town Halls and Dept. of Motor Vehicles.
 
#12 ·
That is an excellent idea. Always a good think to educate the non-riding public about safety issues.

I would also like to add my own "trail etiquette" rule...

While I agree it is our responsibility as riders to follow all the rules posted, it is also our responsibility to train ourselves and our horses to accept that there are some, if not many riders that will ignore one or all of these rules.

ANYTHING can happen out on trail and we should do everything in our power to condition our horses to accept that fact of life. Too many people get hung up in the "who's right" of it all, when what really matters is safety.

Sure, you can yell "you were wrong, you SOB" all you want. Yelling it from a hospital bed makes for a hollow victory.
 
#13 ·
haha I would like to add, "don't go on a trail ride and expect it not to BE a trail ride"...ask questions if you've never been on one before, tell people what you're comfortable with and see what you're getting into! We had a group out one time and these two women came on their fancy show horses and in their fancy show clothes and spent the ENTIRE ride yelling at us for how awful and dangerous the trail was. There were one or two spots that WERE rough, but it was a GREAT ride minus all the whining...the cause of all this whining and yelling at us: fallen trees to step over and a stream bed to cross....haha pretty typical for a trail ride.
 
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#14 ·
I would like to add that if you know your horse spooks at bikes, loose dogs, etc. warn people if it applies. My mare kicks at dogs so I always warn people that have loose dogs about that. This is something that I've never been able to train out of her.
Also, if a trail says "No horses" please respect that. Around here it is a safety issue because many of those trails have old coal mines running under them or it is to please the hikers who dont want to share the trail with the horse. I have seen too many riders ignore those signs.
 
#16 ·
I just did some google work on what color ribbons and what they mean...

RED- Horse kicks and should be given pleanty of room.

GREEN- Horse is either green broke, not use to the type of riding being done, unpredictable or uncontrolable in anyway, or if they are not use to being ridden in a group and you are out with a group.

YELLOW/WHITE- This horse is a stallion.

Mares in heat who get testy and foul tempered may also wear a ribbon. The color of this ribbon is not important so long as it may be seen. Red is commonly used since mares in heat are known to be more likely to kick. Blue is also a good color for foul tempered mares.

So there are the ribbons lol hope this helped everyone. I have to go buy a red ribbon sometime soon....Bause has been proven as a possible kicker...lol
 
#17 ·
I can tell a stallion by his dangly bits; no ribbon necessary! :wink:

Yellow also used to mean a horse was for sale. I don't think they use it like that anymore, though.

The only color ribbon I've seen actually used has been red, and I stayed well clear of that horse. Definitely a kicker.
 
#18 ·
One more thing to add--please don't hang back and then race up and past other horses! I used to ride with a group in Arkansas and one time there were two younger girls who thought it was hysterial to hang back, then gallop up and past/through the group. This was just great for our poor horses/mules, and they kept doing it even after several people asked them not to. Needless to say, they were never invited back.

If you need to pass others, let them know clearly you are coming up behind them, that you want to pass, and what side you want to pass on (we usually rode logging roads, so plenty room to go by). I usually say something like, "Behind you, pass please, on your left!" Always pass at a walk or slow controlled speed.
 
#19 ·
Its usually just my husband and I but even then we say "coming up on you" if we're coming up fast and "passing on the left/right" as a common courtesy to each other. Plus if you do it all the time it becomes habit for when you're with a croud.
 
#20 ·
I've been on countless trail rides with others and my pet peve is PACE.
The leader of a group has a responsability of maintaining a constant easy pace. You can not speed up going down hills, slow down and suddenly speed up again. The reaction down the line puts everyone in jeprody??
The leader should pick a nice pace and hold it regardless of up hill or down around corners, everywhere the pace should be maintained.
No loping if everyone is trotting. Keep distance which has been already mentioned. I refuse to tolerate anyone running up my guys butt. He could get seriously injured.

Warn everyone about stopping and make it slow. Warn everyone that you are going to trot, warn and then start trotting but again sing out that you are trotting.
A leader that speeds up when she feels like it, slows down suddenly, breaks from a trot to a canter and back down to a trot is not considerate of others and I wouldn't ride with her.

Leading is not just about being first in a group.
 
#22 ·
Great posting on trail ettiquette. But I do have to say this... those who take green horses on the trails are doing so at their own risk. I do agree that when other riders lack in steering etc. It is annoying. But it is going to happen when you have a group. And you will run into a group of galloping riders as well... be prepared. I remember about 9 years ago, i was on a ride with about 300 riders. My friend brought a very green horse, talking less than 10 rides. She had no business bringing that horse out to the ride. he was not ready. He was scared, she was scared... those of us riding around her were getting nervous, as the horse was getting quite worked up. She ended up leading her horse behind everyone for the last 4 hours. Even when riding in smaller groups, remember you will come up on more horses, please be sure YOUR horse is ready to be out there.
 
#23 ·
One more thing to add......NEVER leave your horse tied up unattended on one of these big rides. Make sure you really KNOW the people you are with and trust them to take care of your horse if you have to be absent for even a few minutes. I learned this the hard way...and it almost cost me my life. Someone DRUGGED my horse while I was away from the trailer for about 20 minutes. When he "woke up" 2 hrs later on top of the mountain he became frantic. He spooked, reared, galloped down the trail and threw me about 10ft in the air hitting two trees. I broke my spine, my hip, my pelvis, and fractured my neck on that ride. They found my horse eventually. He had a couple tiny scratches.

Know who you are riding with and don't let anyone give your horse ANYTHING you haven't approved of.

I don't ride with people I don't know any longer. It just takes one idiot.......
 
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#25 ·
My annoyance, riders who can't ride and who have horses that are ill-trained. They stop dead in front of you (usually putting riders in the back in a trick), and when you hit a four-lane wide spot and tell them you will be posting past, they have a fit as they are afraid they can't control their horse. I don't do large groups anymore.
 
#26 ·
This is such a great post. I would like to add another safety tip when trail riding. We were riding at huge equestrian trail place that had one place where you had to cross a four lane highway to get to a beautiful over look. On the way back to camp coming out of the woods to cross the road the group I was with did not wait for everyone to come out of the woods before crossing the road. I had to stop her for oncoming traffic and she came unglued. She could care less that a car was coming at 70 miles an hour she wanted to be on the other side. We were almost hit because she sidepassed and backed into the oncoming traffic. So my advice is wait for all your group and then everyone cross the road at the same time side by side. It will ensure that no one gets caught in traffic.
 
#29 ·
I hate it when people think its okay to run their horse by yours if the road is wide enough, that move could get someone very hurt and my friends horse has reared up and almost fallen off the trail because of this.
 
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