July 19 & 20, 2008: Two-Day Trail Clinic
NOTE: All photos below may be clicked to see a larger version (pop-ups required).

Christa held a two day trail clinic. Riders began with ground work and progressed to riding over, around and through obstacles, learning control the first day. The second day was a short refresher and then the participants progressed on to actually riding a trail with the same obstacles to go over, around and through in a natural setting. They also covered hill work.

• Above Left: Christa demonstrates the calm down cue, useful for calming a horse down in any situation.
• Above Center: Husband and wife clients, Dan and Linda O'Hara "get it" and so do thier horses!
• Above Right: Christa demonstrates sacking out.

• Above Left: Starburst "gets it".
• Above Center: ...And so do Richard and Red!
• Above Right: Christa demonstrates a technique using Melinda Sweany, while Christa's demo horse, Starburst, just "hangs out".

• Above Left: Participants practice control, using techniques taught, for going over tarps simulating water, over poles, between poles, over plyboard, through a gate, etc., in the arena before trying it out on the trail.
• Above Center: Christa teaches the "Spook in Place" technique.
• Above Right: Believe it or not, it can be intimidating for some horses to have to pass through a narrow passage with something on either side of it that it can't really see too well, such as the poles present here for this young horse.

Sometimes the trail presents a challenge with a log or an obstacle that you have to go around and sometimes there are restrictions as to how much room you have to maneuver your horse, like a cliff or stinging nettles, etc.. Having complete control of your horse ensures not only your own safety but that of your horse, as well and the other riders that you might be with.

• Above Left: Not as easy as it looks. "Stand still. Good horsie."
• Above Center: Dan and Linda O'Hara direct their horses around and through trees.
• Above Right: Dan neatly clears some "logs".

Out on the trail a horse is using all it's senses; mainly vision, hearing, and scent. A horse has a strong fight flight instinct when it senses danger or is startled; not always conducive to a relaxing ride when a deer jumps out of the brush in front of you. Christa teaches techniques that are designed to give you maximum control of your horse no matter the situation and that also teach the horse to control it's emotions.

• Above Left: "There's a chair there Mom!  Yes, I know, you can do this..." 
• Above Center: Water crossings can present some of the most frustrating obstacles on the trail for some riders. Again vision is a part of the problem presenting among other things. Here in this photo the rider takes a moment to allow her horse to take a good look at the obstacle before attempting to cross over it.
• Above Right: Not too sure about the footing he still makes an attempt at the crossing. Good boy!

• Above Left: But when asked again to cross the obstacle he decides he is ‘outta’ there!
• Above Center: The rider stops the horse on the tarp and talks to him and pats him and makes him stand there for a moment until he relaxes before proceeding on.
• Above Right: The horse eventually is fine with the obstacle and proceeds over it; with ears forward he is looking ahead to what is next.

It is helpful to understand a little about a horse’s vision and behavior associated with their vision. Horses have both Monocular Vision and Binocular Vision. Monocular vision means each eye has a separate field of view. Field of range is 130-140 degrees on each eye. Binocular vision means that the eyes supply a three dimensional picture. The horse’s binocular vision is 75-95 degrees in front of the face, thus the reason horses that are frightened will put their heads up to get a better look. Monocular and Binocular vision combined gives the horse a 345-355 degree field of vision, leaving 5-15 degrees of blind spots. It is believed that as a horse passes by an object and the vision transfers to monocular vision on that side, that the vision takes a "jump" or the object moves slightly. If the horse is focused on a scary object and the object jumps... guess what? The horse might just jump. But a horse that has learned to control it's emotions and is comfortable and trusting with their rider will be more likely to be fine with situations that arise...such as the shade, bright white poles and the chair in the photo above.

• Above Left: Learning to ride in a group is essential for a pleasant trail ride.
• Above Right: Here participants appear to be posing for a group photo, but really they are teaching their horses that if the rider says you must stand still, you must stand still.

• Above Left: "Did you ask for that trot up the hill?" Hill work is important. Some riders lose control of their horses on hills.
• Above Center: Susan had experienced a run away up a hill and was terrified at attempting the hill herself. Here Christa leads her through it. Notice Susan's correct body positioning for going uphill.
• Above Right: What goes up must come down?

"I survived," Susan waves as she cleans her horse up after a full and fun day of trail riding!

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