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The main reason I trail ride is to see things — birds and animals I’ve never seen before, wildflowers in bloom — that I might not notice otherwise. In my book, riding beats hiking, with or without a backpack, especially when crossing water or navigating rough country. Without the horse, I’m just taking a walk. Here are some tips on how to make your trail rides more enjoyable.      

Does your horse need shoes?  We’ve been in the grip of barefoot  craze for many years now, and it shows no signs of abating. Yes, there have been changes because of it—in many competitive horse sports, shoes are now optional. But some barefoot enthusiasts insist that no horse needs shoes, and they point at mustangs. It’s true that mustangs tend to have good feet. That’s evolution at work — horses that colic easily, or have bad teeth or a crooked leg, will most likely die before they can pass those traits to their offspring. But a mustang in the wild doesn’t have carry the weight of a saddle and a rider on his back. Once a mustang is ridden consistently, he will most likely need a farrier  And if the farrier says your horse needs shoes in front, as many trail horses do, believe him. A horse’s hooves are composed of keratin, the same basic substance as your own finger and toenails. We don’t bear our weight on our toenails. Horses, on the other hand, do—except they have four feet. Some people resist shoeing their horse because they think it hurts him — all those nails being hammered into his hooves. It doesn’t — you would know immediately if it did. The only other option is trail boots. A quick internet check shows the cheap ones costs $55, and the expensive ones cost $200 — often for only one boot.  

Riding bareback is not only exhilarating, it’s great for your balance and for getting to know how your horse’s muscles work. There’s no mistaking which lead your horse is on if you’re cantering bareback. But if you trail ride solo, as I do, I wouldn’t suggest that you ride bareback on the trail. What happens if your horse ditches you, or you’re navigating some tricky terrain and you just plain slide off?  A horse’s bare back is incredibly slippery. Assuming he hasn’t run for home and you can catch him, how do you get back on? You’ll have to maneuver him next to a rock or a fallen tree, or — if the slope is steep enough — downhill from you.  Probably because you really need him to stand still, your horse will sense your urgency and discover half a dozen reasons why he doesn’t want to stand next to this rock or fallen tree — or, in fact stand still at all.  If you’re in a flat area that’s devoid of rocks and trees — good luck.

Many Western riders use a thick woolen blanket every time they ride. Since dried sweat itches — and occasionally prickles — clean the blanket by following the manufacturer’s instructions. After you put your clean pad or blanket on your clean horse, make sure the saddle still fits him. All saddles — English, Western, or Aussie — should rest on the ridge of muscles on either side of his backbone, and not directly on his backbone. It also should have enough slack in front that you can insert your hand between the pad and his withers. No tighter. Before your next ride, buy an inexpensive white English saddle pad (dressage length, not hunter/jumper length), and ride long enough that your horse starts to sweat. Horses carry most of their weight (a long neck and big, bony head) on their front legs, and the sweat marks should either be in the front of the saddle pad —because that’s where your weight should be — or evenly distributed between the front and back. There should be no sweat marks over your horse’s spine. If you see sweat marks only in the cantle area, you’re sitting too far back, or the saddle puts you there.

For those of you who think your trail horse looks classy wearing white leg wraps — don’t. I don’t care what Clinton Anderson says. Leg wraps attract dirt, which will eventually work its way inside the wraps. It will feel to your horse exactly the way a tiny pebble in your sock would feel to you. Stiff “splint boots” are specifically designed to support the tendons of a horse’s front legs, and they can be helpful as long as you put them on correctly. Have a good ride!

Joan Fry is a lifelong horse lover and the author of “Backyard Horsekeeping: The Only Guide You’ll Ever Need” (The Lyons Press, Revised Edition, 2007). She can be reached via email at joan@joanfry.com.

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