Exposing horses to obstacles.

How does your horse handle bridges, stairs, tilting platforms, and other exposures you may come across while out trail riding? Occasionally some of the horse facilities in Central Minnesota host obstacle courses that allow people to come out and practice with their horses. We thought we better take advantage of the opportunity so the other day we loaded up three horses and hauled them over to an obstacle course in Benton County to put them to the test.

After letting the horses settle in to the new environment it was time to begin. First we rode around quietly allowing the horse to see the sights with no pressure to the horse, keep in mind this was a new experience. Now that the horse accepted its surroundings it was riding the horses around the obstacles as if they weren’t even there. We walked trot and loped around the obstacle course as we warmed up the horses, keeping the horse engaged with the rider. As we rode around the arena there were times the horse moved away from certain obstacles and this is no problem. With a simple lift of the rein we were right back on our path.

Now that the horse was warmed up and had accepted the obstacles on the course it was time to give it a try. We started with the simple obstacles first. Walking through cones, circling around poles, even walking under the tarp canopy that was set up. The horses handled these first obstacles well with minimal hesitation.

Well what’s the next step? Stepping over obstacles was next! We got the horses stepping over parts of the course including a hoolahoop, a wooden box, a sixteen inch plastic culvert, and walked forward and backwards through designated paths. With the horses confidently riding through and stepping over the obstacles as directed it was time to ad another experience.

Next we worked our way over to the obstacles that involved stepping up and down stairs, crossing the bridges, and balancing the tilting bridge. We focused our session on working slowly, finding their feet, and maintaining softness throughout their bodies. When stepping up we want our horses in training to push forward from their hind quarters and when stepping down we want them to sit down, rounding themselves while staying supple to the bridle.

The horses handled the obstacles course in stride and as the sun was setting it was time to load up and head back to the ranch. At Sells Lake Ranch we enjoy giving horses in training quality experiences such as obstacle courses, technical trail riding, cattle events etc. Does our ranch and trail program sound like a good fit for you? For more information email levi@sellslake.com