Wow...can we chat up a storm about trail-riding!Trail-riding on the mountain and desert trails in Utah is a source of complete happiness....... It is when I am most at home with myself, my horse and the world.
The beauty of nature that can be seen and experienced on a good, surefooted horse can overload the senses.... leaving your senses, sight, sound, taste, feel.... satiated to the point of complete bliss. Unlike any other form of transportation, including walking, on a horse you are free to soak it all in. I have discovered many things while enjoying the peace and solitude of the mountains and deserts. This is where I have started my young horses throughout the years. No distractions for them just the natural surroundings that they feel comfortable to be in.I have led them from another older well trained horse, up and down and over differing terrain. Then, transferring the saddle from the older horse to the young horse, and having him accept my weight and carry me in these wide open spaces seems very natural to both of us. 
Our minds and bodies are in total relaxation. We allow the beauty of nature to take over and it puts us both in complete balance: Balance of horse and rider, balance of horse/rider and nature. Trail riding in nature instills trust in my horse. I am willing to allow him to take over in an environment that is not man made but where his ancestors, roamed, galloped, lived and survived. If you allow yourself to feel what the horse is communicating, you can learn a lot about riding and training. Remember some of the basics ofhorse behavior? What about crossing that stream? How does my position in the saddle allow my horse to jump down a bank safely? How do I balance on difficult terrain so as not to interfere with my horse? What a better way to advance in our understanding of Horse Riding Tip # 3? 
Unfortunately not all of us are blessed with as much open space and easy access to trails as we are here in Utah. But all horses do need a mental and physical reprieve from some of the strenuous tasks we ask of them. While trail-riding I have no choice but to trust my horse: that he will take me safely up steep hills, down into deep ravines, over unsure footing. I trust him to cross rivers where it is safe, jump down banks and over obstacles in the trail.(sigh) I could go on forever...I love to share pictures
and stories of some great trail riding adventures. "We have almost forgotten how strange a thing it is that so huge and powerful and intelligent an animal as a horse should allow another, and far more feeble, animal to ride upon its back" anonymous Have A Great Trail Riding Story or Adventure to Share with Us?Wow...can we chat up a storm about trail-riding! Return to -- Equestrian Sports from -- Trail-Riding Return Home
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