# Experience with Trail Riding Companies



## Painted Horse (Dec 29, 2006)

My only experience with a paid trail ride was in Hawaii and it was just not possible to take my own. And like most trail ride stories, we got on horses that knew exactly the routine of where they were going and back, Trying to get them off the trail to do anything other than too/from the known destination was almost impossible. Regardless of how responsive the horses were, we got the opportunity to see some new country from the horses back.


I've also seen trail groups in the national parks, Bryce Canyon in particular. Where we ride past them. Their concern is mostly making sure that their horses don't turn around with a little oriental lady and follow us because we are heading toward the corral, and the rider has no idea how to control the horse. Again their horses are pretty much nose to tail down the trail. Any opportunity to turn and head for home is where they are going. So we as the outsiders always have to pull off and wait for the guide and string to ride by, then we can re-enter the trail and proceed.


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## Allison Finch (Oct 21, 2009)

I wrangled for years in Colorado between shows. I did pack trips into the West Elk Wilderness with my show horses (they would pack and ride, but no guests on my horses). I made a point of learning all kinds of natural science so that I could offer flower plant and tree identification and basic geology of the surrounding mountains and the forces that created them. MANY people really liked that info. Are there any more advanced trails (steeper grades, tighter trails) that you could offer to more advanced riders? Be aware that many people will misrepresent their skills so you might need "escape routes" if they are overfaced.

Beginner trail (this was a prelim event horse!)










More advanced trail










I could tell you how this remarkable mountain was formed (laccolith, anyone?)


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## callidorre (Dec 7, 2011)

I live in a area with a high amount of tourism. I could go on all day about the different trail riding businesses that operate at my local trail system located on a very popular historical site. I know two of the 3 main businesses very well and have seen the third operating on the trails many times. 

Some suggestions I can think of-----

-Have a variety of sizes of horses for different riders. Have some horses that can carry larger and/or taller rides comfortably (short backed/stocky draft crosses, quarter horses, paints). You don't want your horses overworked or have to turn away business because of not having appropiately sized horses. You should have a posted weight limit also. Whether you enforce that limit and how strictly is up to you. I believe the limit at the businesses around here are all set at 240/250 lbs.

-Offer a free bottle of water to your customers and have a bag on the horse available to carry the water in the summer heat. Bring extra water with yourself. Someone at some point will end up with heat exhaution or dehydrated (happens every year here). They don't drink enough, not appropiately dressed, and/or they've been driving all day to get there and aren't rested.

-Be social with your customers. People enjoy the interaction on the rides.

-Offer up times to take pictures. Before, during, and after customer's rides.

-Be very prompt in returning phone calls, emails, etc. related to booking a ride. I don't know if you have any competition, but people will move on to the next place if they don't hear back.

-A personal point/gripe from me. I much prefer the horses be able to get out and stretch their legs when they aren't working. Time in field/pastures and rides where they do not have to do walk only with inexperienced riders.

-I'd personally much rather do a loop if possible on a trail rather than straight out and back. Different trails and different hours of riding options are good. Like a 2 hour ride on this trail. Or a 3 hour ride on that trail. Some places offer having a packed lunch. Or bring your own packed lunch. Then they have lunch part way through the ride.
-------
All the business that offer trail rides here are walk-only due to liability (I'm not sure whose rule that is. Whether it's insurance or perhaps a park official rule). They offer rides from 1 hour to 5 hours depending on the business. All of them offer to have a licensed historical guide join the ride for a certain amount of money. One group offers a ride with a headset device describing the area around them and what occured -however usually people I've heard or seen talk about the rides prefer having a real tour guide instead.

I've also ridden at a different trail business about 2 hours away a few times. This business does allow w/t/c with experienced riders. I don't know the people personally, but I believe they evaluate us as we ride along and then test out a trot and canter to determine if we really are experienced.

I'm not going to say anything bad about any place in particular. I will say that I'd support and pay to go on a ride at three of the four places. There are also carriage rides in town here locally. All horses are well-taken care of by all of the carriage businesses.

Hopefully this is helpful. You can pm me if you have any questions.


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## DraftyAiresMum (Jun 1, 2011)

The barn that I board at offers dude string rides. In fact, one of my best friends is the head wrangler and leads the rides (usually).

Everything that callidorre said is great. There are only a couple of things I would add.

First, have a dress code and make sure people booking a ride know what your dress code is. Let them know that if they come improperly attired, they won't be able to ride. For example, at our barn, if you show up in sandals, don't expect to get on a horse.

Second, have helmets available in a variety of sizes. Make sure they are clean and disinfected after each ride and I would even go so far as to encourage riders to wear them. Our BO makes anyone under 18 going on a ride wear one. 

Third, make sure the horses you have are suited to their job. I hate to say it, but my BO has a few horses that just aren't suited to being dude string horses. They're either too inexperienced (in my opinion, a horse needs to be dead broke to be on a dude string) or too lazy. I've ridden one of the dude string horses and am not a slouch when it comes to riding. I had to kick the snot out of the horse I was riding to get him to leave off eating grass and finally ended up having to direct rein him in the tom thumb bit he was in to get him to pay attention to me. 

-----------------

Our barn offers several different rides. There's a one hour ride; a two hour ride; a four hour ride (out to the lake and you take a picnic lunch); a ride up to some Native American ruins; what the BO calls the "Hi-Ho Silver Ride," where you get to trot and canter (if you feel confident enough to canter); and there's a moonlight ride available on every full moon during the summer. 

Here's the website for the barn I board at: Granite Mountain Stables??

*Funny side note: The three horses in the top left pic on the home page are Bubba (the bay), Reno (the paint...who is also the horse that I rode), and I'm pretty sure that the sorrel is Jack. It might be Skeeter, but I'm almost sure that's Jack. I'm pretty sure that's Jack in the bottom left pic, as well.


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## Island Horselover (Apr 4, 2012)

Thanks guys, that all sounds great. We have a weight limit of 220 punds and most of our horses are under 15 and in really good shape. They have access to food 24 7 (only when they out on rides and even then they get grass and Hay inbetween the rides). They seem to like their jobs, are healthy and in a good mood, which is really important for me. We do not offer long trips, we only offer 1 or 2 hour trail and beach rides and we are really busy! I love it, there is nothing better than making other people happy. My horses have a huge pasture of 9 acres and I totally agree that they deserve that and need to run and get rid of some energy and stretch. We made it priority to make sure that no horse is out longer than 4 hours in the main season. As for the competition, I live in a tourist area here and we are the only place that offer rides just 15 min from Victoria (Vancouver Island) Downtown and the next place is about 1.5 hours away I believe. So we are pretty happy about that even though I always wish for a little bit of competition. Yes, giving people the chance to take pics is a great idea. I think I will offer them to take the pics of the group so everybody is in the picture if they trust me with their camaras :0)))) We recommend clothing for the people and most people are listening but some still show up with Flip Flops :0) So far I am doing that for 2 years and I only had one bad experience... and nobody got hurt but they were just not listening and I love to share the trails and am happy that we have so horsefriendly trails around here and this person just ignored any other person on the ride and I had to stop the ride because it is not worth it for me that people get annoyed by us, another reason to keep the groups smaller. We offer beach rides to more experienced people as the beach is a pretty open space and when the tide is low it is perfect for a little bit of trotting or cantering as the sandbanks allow this and you can even run through the water, this is just awesome and you do not disturb any other people or get distrubed. We def. have trails that are suitable for beginners and some that make it more interesting for experienced riders. Thanks for the tip though! Another thing for me is that my horses are all getting ridden in rope halters as I am not a big fan of people (beginners but even worth experienced riders) pulling on the reins and hurting the horse, I mean that can happen in a halter as well but as I said I try to make sure that the people give them long rein most of the time. And the horses know exactly what their job is but I still be proud to say that you can actually ride my horses, they are responsive and will listen to the rider as long as the commands make sense and that is one of the bad experiences with trail riding companies I had, making the horses go left or ride was nearly impossible :0( If you hop on mine and dont do anything they just go along with the group but if you ask them to do something they will actually do it! Another thing we do offer is swimming with the horses, all our horses are trained to swim and they are doing aweseome (in beach and lake) and I was riding for so many years before I came to Cananda and never did this before on the horse and it is def. one of the most amazing things I have ever done with a horse! Thanks for all your input and I really appreciate it and we try to improve our business all the times so feel free :0) The most important thing for me is that horses and people are safe and happy! Cheers,


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## Allison Finch (Oct 21, 2009)

You might want to rethink putting people on horses with just a rope halter for control. As we all know...Ka Ka happens. If a bee stung a horse and it bolted, with no form of real control, I suspect your insurance company might try to mitigate their liability by claiming you were not using due diligence. Sorry for the legal words but that is how it might come out. I would put an almost portless and very short shanked curb bit on the horses. It would take a lot for that to harm a horse, but there would be some ability to control the horse.

There are no such things as totally reliable horses, IMO. They all have a brain that may misfire at the most inopportune time.


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## amp23 (Jan 6, 2011)

I have to quote on this (just since it was the first post I read through and wanted to add to!) since I am a trail guide.



callidorre said:


> I live in a area with a high amount of tourism. I could go on all day about the different trail riding businesses that operate at my local trail system located on a very popular historical site. I know two of the 3 main businesses very well and have seen the third operating on the trails many times.
> 
> Some suggestions I can think of-----
> 
> ...


Great post with some great points, callidorre!


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## amp23 (Jan 6, 2011)

Also want to quote on these points 



DraftyAiresMum said:


> The barn that I board at offers dude string rides. In fact, one of my best friends is the head wrangler and leads the rides (usually).
> 
> Everything that callidorre said is great. There are only a couple of things I would add.
> 
> ...


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## callidorre (Dec 7, 2011)

Thanks everyone!

I actually board at one of the trail riding business I was talking about, so I've gotten to see my barn owner manage her business first hand at the farm and on rides when she has room for my horse on her trailer occasionally. She does an excellent job, takes great care of all the horses, and is constantly working. 

And I'm friends with some wranglers at another trail riding business and have ridden there a bunch of times on wrangler rides and customer rides. It's a topic I could talk all day about since I get to see how everyone operates and their differences.


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## mildot (Oct 18, 2011)

Offer english tack for customers who prefer it.

Offer the opportunity to do more than just nose to tail rides for customers who prefer that and can demonstrate acceptable (to you) competence at the trot, canter, and basic lateral work (i.e. can turn a horse without reefing on its mouth).


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## Island Horselover (Apr 4, 2012)

As for the "riding in rope halter", we had that situation last year when my gelding got stung by a bee and he took it really well if you can say so, he took a step to the side but thats it... I know there are situations where the horse could freak and spook and such things but in my opionion they would do it with no matter what tack on... If your horse decides to buck or take off because of the bee sting they do it nomatter what gear you have.... and my job as a trail guide is to stop horses from doing that, I will be in front and do my best to keep control and not to let anybody take off - and again, it never happend and I have never been in the situation as the horses are really calm but you never know...
We make every single person filling out a waiver before they get on the horses, there are some statements about riding and e.g. How to safely bend a horse to a stop, how to do an emergency dismount and and and, each person has to initial each statement and we make sure to give each rider a proper demonstration before they get on the horses and they have to show us the bend and some other stuff before we start the ride to make sure that they know what we mean and understand! But thanks again for all the tips and your input! As for english and western tack, we have 9 horses and only offer western tack as it can get pretty expensive to provide both sorts of tack for the clients :0) There are so many english stables around here, that I see no need in offering that. But yes, we have some people from Britain coming in the summers and they always ask for english tack - so might be worth getting some at least for some of the horses.... thanks


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## mildot (Oct 18, 2011)

Island Horselover said:


> As for english and western tack, we have 9 horses and only offer western tack as it can get pretty expensive to provide both sorts of tack for the clients :0) There are so many english stables around here, that I see no need in offering that. But yes, we have some people from Britain coming in the summers and they always ask for english tack - so might be worth getting some at least for some of the horses.... thanks


I can see that it would be a huge up-front expense to get two sets of tack for every horse right off the bat. Just get it for two or three of your best horses and see how it goes. You already have customers asking for it; once it is known that you do offer a choice of tack, you may be surprised at how much more often european tack is requested.

In any case, while there may be english barns near you, if none of them offer trail rides to the public then they are not really relevant to your business as competitors.


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## amp23 (Jan 6, 2011)

Regarding the English tack, we have 2 English saddles where I work for rides.. They only fit 2 of the horses. The main stables offers English lessons if people want it. But often the people that ask for English are the ones that act like they know what they're doing and what they're talking about but don't have a clue, so for us it's safer not to offer English up front or allow a guest to ride english unless we KNOW the guest can ride.


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## mildot (Oct 18, 2011)

amp23 said:


> But often the people that ask for English are the ones that act like they know what they're doing and what they're talking about but don't have a clue, so for us it's safer not to offer English up front or allow a guest to ride english unless we KNOW the guest can ride.


Circular logic at its finest.


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## amp23 (Jan 6, 2011)

mildot said:


> Circular logic at its finest.


Yeah... Lately we keep getting "experienced" riders that hold onto the horn the whole ride and/or can't keep their horses from eating :/ really frustrating when you match people and their experience with horses..


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## Darrin (Jul 11, 2011)

What I find amusing about this thread, as an experienced rider I have zero desire to ride on rental horses or go on a touristy guided ride. I do see some of the pictures of thsoe rides and think to myself "Just how much would it cost to ship my horse there with me?"


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## mildot (Oct 18, 2011)

amp23 said:


> Yeah... Lately we keep getting "experienced" riders that hold onto the horn the whole ride and/or can't keep their horses from eating :/ really frustrating when you match people and their experience with horses..


I understand how you can get many like that. I bet most are men who simply talk big and want to show the little lady how manly they are.

It wouldn't bother me whatsoever to have to give a demo of my ability to someone in the trail ride business if I ask for english tack.


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## mildot (Oct 18, 2011)

Darrin said:


> What I find amusing about this thread, as an experienced rider I have zero desire to ride on rental horses or go on a touristy guided ride. I do see some of the pictures of thsoe rides and think to myself "Just how much would it cost to ship my horse there with me?"


Having access to one's horse does change things, doesn't it?

But sometimes you can't take her with you and you make do or don't ride, I guess.


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## Nuala (Jan 2, 2012)

There are a few here that I have gone to or worked at. There are always good and bad things about outfitters. One place I was at they set me on a horse with the wrong bit and when the horse tried to take off because it was getting pinched they said it was because I couldnt hold her back and every other mistake or incident with a horse was MY FAULT. Their horses were not properly trained or handled and they did not have sufficient equipment. I ended up riding in a 20" saddle because it was the only one left that didnt have dry rot or was a childs saddle and I ride in a 15". They also claimed that the horse I ended up riding most of the time I was there was a cow horse but she was terrified of cattle and I had to dig my heels in to get her into the herd then to top it off she decided that it was more fun to tear hide off the cattle then cut them. This same horse was "abused by the people they sold her to and then bought her back from" I was the ONLY one who could cinch her and supposedly the wrangler had breezed her before anyone got there even though the said wrangler couldnt even get near her. This place was pretty horrible they didnt even have cleared trails and one horse nearly rolled back trying to go up the side of a cliff (it was actually more the till slope at the base of a mountain).

HOWEVER do not get discouraged by all the horror stories. I have also been to a guest ranch as a counselor for the Girl Scouts that was phenomenal. Not only did they make sure that the kids had fun learning about what the horses if for and to not be scared of it but they took time with EACH rider to make sure the horse was right for them that they felt comfortable that the horse wasnt getting sores from the saddle that each horse on the property had its own bridle. They did not only provide a joyful ride on some very well trained horses, yes some thought it was necessary to run up the others tails, but it was also educational and relaxing. They told of the history of the property. We got to go to an old Indian camp and look at the tepee rings. We were told stories that the tribe had told. We got to learn old trail songs. They kept the pass faster for those who were comfortable with it but not so fast that anyone got left behind. They also set aside a day to teach everyone how to round up and cut cattle before going out to do the work. They had a couple extra riders along to take anyone back if they needed to quit the ride. It was a lot of fun, even for us rodeo girls. 

Hope things work out for you.


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## amp23 (Jan 6, 2011)

mildot said:


> I understand how you can get many like that. I bet most are men who simply talk big and want to show the little lady how manly they are.
> 
> It wouldn't bother me whatsoever to have to give a demo of my ability to someone in the trail ride business if I ask for english tack.


Unfortunatey where we leave for rides is basically from a gravel parking lot so we can't do that.. We try to suggest that people take a lesson at our main barn (we have to trailer them to where we take beach rides from) and if they do well there, we allow them to trot/canter if possible. 

We are also very careful when choosing which horses for people to ride. Is based on size, experience, and what the trail and weather are like. We have a few awesome horses for the nervous rider or the beginner and we have a few that more experienced people love yet beginners can handle (all they try to do is eat with beginners). It's definitely sometimes hard to judge this and make it work out perfect, some pairs get along great and some clash.

Simply trying your hardest to please the customers within reason is the best thing to do  sometimes we even get tipped for doing something to make a persons ride even more enjoyable.


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## Island Horselover (Apr 4, 2012)

I know there are a lot of "bad" companies offering trail rides but it is nice to hear that there are also some out there you guys have good experiences with! 
http://s1148.photobucket.com/albums/o572/IslandHorselover/?action=view&current=beach.mp4


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