Trailer to Trails

In for the Long Haul

You and your horse will enjoy a relaxing ride when you know the final steps back to the trailer and the post-ride experience will be a safe and unrushed. Trainer and clinician Ken McNabb gives you the right steps to take.

Make the post-ride experience a positive one to end your trail experience on a high note.

By Ken McNabb With Alexis Bennett Photos by Jennifer Paulson

You’re headed back from your trail ride. You reach the trailer, unsaddle him, brush off your horse, get him loaded, and head down the road. Twenty minutes! It’s a new record time.

This is exactly the behavior that gets riders in trouble. After a long day of riding, and especially after multiday trips, it’s tempting to hurry up and get on your way. When we do this, we create chaos. We hurriedly go through the motions and leave ourselves open to forget

At the trailhead, check your surroundings before you park your rig to give your horse the best opportunity possible to load and unload. Choose the most level and least obstructed area possible.

Watch Anticipation

As you head back to your trailer, mentally prepare yourself so you don’t become overly anxious and affect you horse’s emotional state. If you get anxious, your horse will, too. You don’t rush him through the trail ride, so don’t rush him headed home.

At the trailer, work your horse before you dismount.

You don’t need to work him into lather, but you don’t want him to think his job is over as soon as the trailer is in sight. This thinking is what leads to the ride-home jig. Trot circles, bend, flex, back up, then walk him out. Make sure he’s cooled off, calm, and focused before you call it a day.

“If you get anxious, your horse will, too. You don’t rush him through the trail ride, so don’t rush him headed home. ”

important things, such as a saddle left on the ground. We overlook the once-over that ensures our horse is injury-free and our equipment is in good repair.

Over time, your rushed process causes your horse to become anxious at the trailer, which makes your ride back more difficult and puts a sour tone on an otherwise-pleasant experience. Here, I’ll share how you can make the post-ride trailer experience a safe and positive one.

Make a Checklist

At home, make a checklist before you leave on your trip. Include tack, an emergency kit, feed, brushes, buckets, and anything else you’ll need. Your emergency kit should include flunixin meglumine (brand name Banamine, as prescribed by your veterinarian) and bandage materials to treat minor cuts and scrapes until you make it to a veterinarian.

Park Carefully

At the trailhead, check your surroundings before you park your rig to give your horse the best opportunity possible to load and unload. Sometimes trailheads don’t give you many options. Choose the most level and least obstructed area possible.

Post-Ride Routine

After you dismount, follow these steps to enhance your horse’s relaxation and comfort, increase your organization, and give you peace of mind as your trailer your horse back to the barn. • Take your time. Before you load your horse, he should be relaxed and comfortable. If you rush him, he’ll feel as you do when you’re rushed in and out of an appointment—emotionally run over. Instead, tie him to the trailer, and loosen the cinch, but don’t get in a hurry to jerk the saddle off. Let him relax as you prep your tack room. • Prep the tack room. Organize the tack room so that when you take off your horse’s gear, you don’t have to struggle to put it away. Hang up your bridle, pull out grooming supplies and water buckets, and make sure everything is clean and ready to use. Then unsaddle your horse. • Groom your horse. Groom your horse by hand first to check for sore spots, broken hair, and other injuries. Then groom him thoroughly with your curry and brushes. Make tack care and grooming a

As you head back to your trailer, mentally prepare yourself so you don’t become overly anxious and affect you horse’s emotional state. If you get anxious, your horse will, too.

part of your post-ride routine; don’t break from your routine in your eagerness to get home. • Consider liniment. I like to give my horse a liniment rubdown, which helps with muscle soreness. I also disinfect my cinches and hang them up exactly how I want to take them back down. This helps prevent girth itch and future skin irritation, and will make it easier to saddle your horse on your next ride. • Offer water. After your horse has cooled off, but before you load up, make water available

to him. Offer it once, and don’t let him play in it. If you let him guzzle it, he can get a gut ache. • Check your list. When your horse is relaxed and comfortable, use your checklist to ensure that everything you’ve brought is accounted for and put away. If you break a piece of tack or lose a hoof boot, make note of it so you can replace it. • Check your trailer. Inspect your trailer and the load-up position. Bring a flashlight or headlamp if there’s a chance you’ll load up after dark. Consider investing in trailer-door trailer-interior lights to help you and your horse see during the loading process. Although horses have great vision at night, they don’t seem to mind a little help. Once everything looks safe, load your horse in your trailer.

Final Thoughts

Keep safety top of mind at each stage of your trail adventure. Make sure you haul in a safe trailer free of sharp edges, poor gate latches, and other hazards. Drive smoothly; don’t jerk around corners, slam on breaks, or accelerate abruptly. Be mindful of your horse’s experience, and you’ll avoid trailer balkiness, anticipation, and other unsavory post-ride troubles.

You go to great lengths to make sure your horse is fit, comfortable, and prepared for trail riding. Take the same care as you pack up and head home, and you’ll end your trail ride on a positive note. USR

This article first appeared in Horse&Rider magazine. To subscribe, go to horseandrider.com. Reprinted with permission.

Trainer and clinician Ken McNabb of Ken McNabb Horsemanship in Lovell, Wyoming, helps riders and horses enjoy partnerships on the ranch and trail. His show, Discovering the Horseman Within, airs weekly on RFD-TV. Learn more and find his clinic schedule at kenmcnabb.com.