How to Decide on a Good Trail Horse

If you love to ride on trails, then you need a good trail horse. A good trail horse might not seem that hard to find, but many horses don't respond well to the trail, particularly when riding alone. You might end up with a horse that's barn sour, herd bound or plain scared, making it difficult to enjoy yourself while trail riding. Before you buy,test the horse for the right traits. Not all horses will pass.

Things You'll Need

  • Friend
  • Jump
  • Tarp
  • Trail access
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Instructions

    • 1

      Ask the owner how long he owned the horse and find out any details you can about the horse's history. Anything to do with injuries or past behavior you want to know ahead of time. For example, bears might not faze the horse, but the honk of a goose might send it back to the barn. The more you know, the better you can access the horse's trail-riding abilities and warn you ahead of time about the issue.

    • 2

      Ride the horse in the arena at all three gaits. Ask a friend to stand along the rail and wave her arms. Stopping and looking at an obstacle, like your friend's arm, is normal and an expected response from a horse. Anything more than that, then you might want to look at another horse.

    • 3

      Put up obstacles such as a series of cavelletis or a low jump to simulate a downed branch and a tarp held down by stones in the corner. Walk the horse over the obstacles and evaluate its reaction to it.

    • 4

      Take the horse out of the arena and start to walk it away from the barn. Continue, if you can without the horse acting up, until you can no longer see the barn. The horse should not care about the whereabouts of the barn or the other horses. Turn it around and head back. The horse can walk faster, but at no point should it attempt to trot or gallop back to the barn.

    • 5

      Take the horse on a long trail ride with another horse. You want it to take the lead and cross bridges, rivers, as well as other obstacles without refusing.

    • 6

      Come back a second time and take the horse on an hour-long trail ride without any other humans. It should go willingly without much thought to the fact it is alone.

    • 7

      Get a vet to do a pre-purchase exam before you buy assuming the horse did well in the arena and trails.