Western Trails Horseback Riding

Riding a horse is risky business.  We take every precaution to make your ride as safe as possible, but you can never anticipate everything a horse might do.

Here are some things you can do to make your ride as safe as possible:

Keep your right hand holding the horn, in case the horse makes a sudden move.  Don't ever hold the horn with both hands, especially if the horse starts trotting--you need to control him with your left hand on the reins.

Keep an eye on your saddle horn.  Make sure it stays in the center over the horses spine.  Sometimes horses hold their breath while being saddled so that we won't tighten their cinch as tight, so then it can loosen while riding.  Sit in the middle of your saddle, not to one side, and let the wrangler know right away if the saddle seems crooked.

Stay single-file and watch your distance behind the horse in front of you.  Horses are very sensitive to their social structure--their pecking order--and if another horse rides his tail or tries to pass him, a horse can take that as a sign of disrespect and might kick him or lunge at him.  Also, the single-file formation is what allows inexperienced riders to ride horses safely--it calms the horses and keeps them under control.

Don't let your horse fall behind, by stopping to eat along the trail.  Sometimes they trot or gallop to catch up, to close the gap, and you might fall off.  If he tries to eat, pull his head up with the reins, as hard as necessary and give a kick, as hard as necessary to get him going again.  Besides being a safety issue and a bad habit, eating along the trail can be dangerous to the horse, because some plants are poisonous.