How do you get a good trail horse?
Well for most people I recommend buying one that is already a good trail horse. One with lots of experience on the trails, that has been on different terrain, has already been around dogs, bikes, hikers, cows, through water, etc.
When you are looking at a horse to buy for the trail, figure out first where you will be riding, what kind of trails? If you are riding in our area, the horse should be good with all the above, if you are riding in the woods, well then you probably won't see much of our obstacles but you will still want a horse that has seen deer, turkeys and maybe a bobcat or two and of course goes through water.
If you are unsure well then get a horse that has seen a lot of different things. How will you know for sure if the owner is lying or not and yes people lie. Well you either need to go ride it on the trail or have your trainer do it, if you do not see anything on the trail then see if you can get a trial for a week or two or come back again and try it. A horse that was a great trail horse but hasn't been ridden in a couple years can still be a great trail horse, but you need to test it and see what it needs and then it definitely will need a tuneup to be a good trail horse again. That will usually take a month or more, so add all this in to the money you are willing to spend. Also just because a horse is good with deer doesn't mean he will be good with cows, so really test him. No horse is perfect and all can spook that is the nature of the horse, so don't expect perfect just something you can work with. It is much better to buy something below your level of riding then above it.
If you buy a horse that has not been on the trail, well then be aware that you need to ride well, you will have to build up that horse's confidence and know that it may spin, bolt, buck or rear while you are teaching it how to be a good trail horse. You should do a lot of groundwork and confidence building at home before hitting the trails, but most people skip this part that is why the horse bolts, rears, etc. So it could take a couple years or more to get that good trail horse and if you add the money up well you just got yourself a 10-20,000 trail horse, because board, vet, feed etc is not free these days, and either is your time and if you do it wrong you can add in a couple hospital bills as well to that total.
To be a good trail horse, you should be able to control all your horse's body parts, shoulders, hindquarters, he should be able to back up and stop well when asked. He should stand calmly to get on and to get off, you should be able to move him sideways to open gates, he should be able to move off your leg to go forward when asked and leg yield. He should also steer well. If you cannot do these things then you are just asking for trouble on the trail, because when an issue comes up, you are not going to be able to control him. So make sure he is well broke first and then you can go on the trail. Start with short trail rides or even hand walk him out there first to see how he reacts to all the new and scary objects then in time ride him and then slowly go for longer rides.
A great trail horse takes years and years to make, as there are lots of scary things that will come up, there are also obstacles to go around and different terrain to deal with. So for most I would recommend as your first trail horse to get one who has done a lot and is good at it and don't look for pretty, go for safety, an older safe but uglier horse will give you confidence and fun, but a flashy young one may give you a big hospital bill, if your lucky you may find a flashy safe horse but don't expect it to be cheap. I would take an ugly safe horse any day because one who saves me when something bad happens is the most beautiful horse I could ever wish for.
Well for most people I recommend buying one that is already a good trail horse. One with lots of experience on the trails, that has been on different terrain, has already been around dogs, bikes, hikers, cows, through water, etc.
When you are looking at a horse to buy for the trail, figure out first where you will be riding, what kind of trails? If you are riding in our area, the horse should be good with all the above, if you are riding in the woods, well then you probably won't see much of our obstacles but you will still want a horse that has seen deer, turkeys and maybe a bobcat or two and of course goes through water.
If you are unsure well then get a horse that has seen a lot of different things. How will you know for sure if the owner is lying or not and yes people lie. Well you either need to go ride it on the trail or have your trainer do it, if you do not see anything on the trail then see if you can get a trial for a week or two or come back again and try it. A horse that was a great trail horse but hasn't been ridden in a couple years can still be a great trail horse, but you need to test it and see what it needs and then it definitely will need a tuneup to be a good trail horse again. That will usually take a month or more, so add all this in to the money you are willing to spend. Also just because a horse is good with deer doesn't mean he will be good with cows, so really test him. No horse is perfect and all can spook that is the nature of the horse, so don't expect perfect just something you can work with. It is much better to buy something below your level of riding then above it.
If you buy a horse that has not been on the trail, well then be aware that you need to ride well, you will have to build up that horse's confidence and know that it may spin, bolt, buck or rear while you are teaching it how to be a good trail horse. You should do a lot of groundwork and confidence building at home before hitting the trails, but most people skip this part that is why the horse bolts, rears, etc. So it could take a couple years or more to get that good trail horse and if you add the money up well you just got yourself a 10-20,000 trail horse, because board, vet, feed etc is not free these days, and either is your time and if you do it wrong you can add in a couple hospital bills as well to that total.
To be a good trail horse, you should be able to control all your horse's body parts, shoulders, hindquarters, he should be able to back up and stop well when asked. He should stand calmly to get on and to get off, you should be able to move him sideways to open gates, he should be able to move off your leg to go forward when asked and leg yield. He should also steer well. If you cannot do these things then you are just asking for trouble on the trail, because when an issue comes up, you are not going to be able to control him. So make sure he is well broke first and then you can go on the trail. Start with short trail rides or even hand walk him out there first to see how he reacts to all the new and scary objects then in time ride him and then slowly go for longer rides.
A great trail horse takes years and years to make, as there are lots of scary things that will come up, there are also obstacles to go around and different terrain to deal with. So for most I would recommend as your first trail horse to get one who has done a lot and is good at it and don't look for pretty, go for safety, an older safe but uglier horse will give you confidence and fun, but a flashy young one may give you a big hospital bill, if your lucky you may find a flashy safe horse but don't expect it to be cheap. I would take an ugly safe horse any day because one who saves me when something bad happens is the most beautiful horse I could ever wish for.