danielle82
Chillin' with the herd
Any one compete in Arena Trail? How do you like it? What obstacles do you encounter most? Any obstacles you wish that would be included?
Arena Trail?
- Thread starter danielle82
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ducks4you
Loving the herd life
I have never competed in "Arena Trail," BUT I have been trailoring my horses on vacation since 1986, often in mountainous areas like the Black Hills, SD and the mountains of Colorado. I think that horses need work crossing streams, crossing wooden bridges and standing when they get a foot caught. ANY obstacles that replicate these problem trail concerns would be worth training for. I recently saw Clinton Anderson working with a mare on hobbling, with the express purpose of training her to stand if she got a foot caught. I am still CW reenacting, so I don't have a lot of extra time for trail competitions, BUT, I know that if I enter them my horses would probably beat the pants off of the competition! (Fair warning!) 
It's been a while since I've competed, but trail was one of my best classes! If you have a bridge to practise on, paint it different colors. Don't make it slippery, but get him used to walking on white, green, red, etc. When he gets used to one color, paint it another. Do the same to ground rails.
ducks4you
Loving the herd life
I've heard of using storage pallets to build bridges with, too.
Chickerdoodle13
Overrun with beasties
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I used to compete in the trail class all the time. My mare was always very spooky, but she was great towards the end. We actually won a few second place ribbons the last year I competed!
Anyways, the most common obstacle I encountered was a mail box. We used to have to open the mail box, hold up the mail to show the judge, and put it back in.
Another obstacle was opening a gate and closing it again. This one is tricky! You really have to be pretty coordinated, but at least this one is easy enough to practice.
The bridge was another one, or walking over a tarp. Sometimes our "bridge" was nothing more than a piece of ply wood. A lot of horses always had a problem with this though. Just as a suggestion, if you practice this one, start by leading your horse on the ground. I saw a couple people fall off trying to get their horse over the bridge while riding.
Other obstacles included side passing, stepping over cross rails, backing up through a chute (In an "L" shape). The chute was usually made out of cross rails on the ground. I also remember having to drag a bag of cans behind my horse, having to swing a shirt or jacket over the shoulders of my horse, doing a 360 in a box made out of cross rails, and holding a flag.
My best suggestion is to go to some local shows and look at what they have set up. Then try to replicate that at home. Don't be afraid to throw everything and anything at your horse though. If we have a water bottle, we throw it around their feet or up in the air (empty of course). We tie a plastic bag to the end of a lunge whip and wave it in the air. Just make sure you are in a large space where the horse can get away and gauge the horse's reaction. If they freak out terribly, don't go overboard because the horse will try to get away and may injure themselves jumping over a fence (or running through it!).
Anyways, the most common obstacle I encountered was a mail box. We used to have to open the mail box, hold up the mail to show the judge, and put it back in.
Another obstacle was opening a gate and closing it again. This one is tricky! You really have to be pretty coordinated, but at least this one is easy enough to practice.
The bridge was another one, or walking over a tarp. Sometimes our "bridge" was nothing more than a piece of ply wood. A lot of horses always had a problem with this though. Just as a suggestion, if you practice this one, start by leading your horse on the ground. I saw a couple people fall off trying to get their horse over the bridge while riding.
Other obstacles included side passing, stepping over cross rails, backing up through a chute (In an "L" shape). The chute was usually made out of cross rails on the ground. I also remember having to drag a bag of cans behind my horse, having to swing a shirt or jacket over the shoulders of my horse, doing a 360 in a box made out of cross rails, and holding a flag.
My best suggestion is to go to some local shows and look at what they have set up. Then try to replicate that at home. Don't be afraid to throw everything and anything at your horse though. If we have a water bottle, we throw it around their feet or up in the air (empty of course). We tie a plastic bag to the end of a lunge whip and wave it in the air. Just make sure you are in a large space where the horse can get away and gauge the horse's reaction. If they freak out terribly, don't go overboard because the horse will try to get away and may injure themselves jumping over a fence (or running through it!).
michickenwrangler
Loving the herd life
Tarps are a common obstacle. As with others, practice in hand before trying it mounted.
Some places go all out and even bring live pigs into the arena!
Some places go all out and even bring live pigs into the arena!
ducks4you
Loving the herd life
If you have pastures with gates AND you allow your horses access between them, let your horse practice opening gates without you. I DON'T mean that you should teach you horse how to open latches. Rather, give your horse an incentive to push the (loose) gate further open in order to get into the 2nd pasture. If your horse is familiar with gates, he/she won't be afraid of them when you compete.Chickerdoodle13 said:
Funny story--we had non-rider friends out to ride. The daughter caught on pretty quickly and did well as she learned to ride my 12 yr old mare. She suggested that her mom--much more timid--get on to learn. After about 5 times around my small training ring my mare, who KNEW that I had closed but not latched the gate, had had enough "babysitting", walked over to the (6 foot)gate, took her head and pushed it open, and walked through the 2nd (13 foot gate) gate to stop at her tie-up spot!
