# Group riding woes



## Shortyhorses4me (Jun 17, 2018)

Hello folks. Looking for tips on riding in a group. Tends to like this: horses in front go slower than my horse's natural, easy walk, so I end up holding him back alot. Then the longer the ride, the more he won't then slow down once we're all going fast, cuz I've been hanging on his mouth the whole time, now he's tuned it out. He's great at the start of the ride, then worse towards the end. I don't usually lead the group either.


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## rambo99 (Nov 29, 2016)

My horse walks fast so in a group ride I make sure' he's not behind a slower horse.

He gets really worked up if you hold reins tight. 
Constantly holding on to their mouth does become inefective. I would try to be behind horses who Walk same pace as you're horse.


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## loosie (Jun 19, 2008)

Well when I was a young hoon I would have suggested you stay at the front... & I'd just canter off & back, until my horse settled & went with the flow.

But now I'd say... He might be happy to go with the flow off you were at the front. But whatever, check him back as needed, but don't ever hang off his mouth. Ask for a slower pace then as soon as he is, release the rein pressure, dont try to hold him into it. You might want to practice this at home or alone, as he is probably more excited & distracted in a group too. 

And whether too fast or too slow, if the people you ride with always want to go a different pace to you & your horse, maybe find a different bunch to ride with, at least until you have got better on this note. I'm very choosy who I ride with on lesser trained horses.


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## trailhorserider (Oct 13, 2009)

I would usually either ride in front (preferred) or if I'm stuck behind circle around a bush or tree (could get the horse more worked up) or ask them to stand for a few seconds, give a treat from the saddle, let them catch up again, etc. The good thing about the treat method is they start anticipating stopping and getting a treat instead of charging ahead. But if you are on a long ride, that might be a pain. Usually, if I am on the faster horse, I end up in front by default. And then if the other horses are a distance behind, I circle around or stop/wait/treat while waiting for them to catch up. 

It can be hard when everyone's horses walk at different speeds. I've been both the rider of the slow horses and the fast ones. It's really hard mixing gaited/non-gaited horses. But really, it's not a biggie as long as the riders don't mind. I think I prefer riding the fast horse because I don't mind waiting but if I am on the slow horse I feel like I'm being rushed or annoying other people.


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## carshon (Apr 7, 2015)

I ride a TWH mare (gaited horse) who even for her breed has a really fast walk. She becomes entirely miserable when I hold her back when we are trying to ride with others. I have tried so many things to get her to walk slower but just really came to realize that it is her natural walk and I let her do it. We pass other riders and a lot of times end up riding by ourselves at the front - she has learned to stop and look for the horses behind her to catch up - and there are some days when she actually wants to ride with other horses and will pace herself to ride with them.

Horses are like people some walk faster than others - and mixing a gaited horse with non gaited just makes it more complicated. Group rides will become very frustrating for your horse because they are constantly rated or you are hanging in their mouth. This could lead to other issues


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## TXhorseman (May 29, 2014)

Constantly trying to hold a horse back generally does not produce good results. Instead, I recommend a smooth taking up of the reins followed by an equally smooth giving before the horse can tense against the pressure. Such action can be repeated as often as necessary. Constant pressure, however, can only be followed by applying more pressure.


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## Dustbunny (Oct 22, 2012)

I will not ride in a group. 1-2 more riders, maybe, and that's a very iffy maybe. These very large rides seem like the Oklahoma Land Rush to me.

If you are fortunate enough to find a friend or two with horses of similar speed and humans that are in agreement as to the speed and distance, and who are tolerant if one of you might have a horse in need of experience, then I say you have struck gold as far as trail companions are concerned. In other words, patience and consideration of each other.

Even riding with a partner can be difficult if your horses are not compatible. I KNOW. Riding one that naturally moves out with a steady but slow mover does not make for a really fun time. This is supposed to be recreation and enjoyable for both horse and rider. Just be watchful to not put yourself and your horse in a situation where it isn't.

Take this for what it's worth. I'm a cranky old person!


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## mslady254 (May 21, 2013)

Good suggestions already given, and I completely agree that constantly holding back isn't a solution as you've already experienced. Depending on how helpful and cooperative the people you ride with are, and if the trail is wide enough, (bottom line safe enough) you can ride serpentines interspersed with going straight,,,make circles if able, avoid holding him back as much as possible. Of course, being in the lead might be the best option. Another thing is to play games on the trail, leap frog is one. Let the horse in the rear position go to the lead, either simply passing the others on one side, or weaving thru them. Once that horse is in the lead position, then the next one comes up. That way horses who aren't usually in the lead, or unconfident in the lead , don't have to be lead for long. Hopefully a very forward horse like yours, will settle upon realizing that he will have the opportunity to move out occasionally, or at least it might reduce his frustration at being held back. Another game I've done, though with only one other rider, possibly could be adapted to a group. One of us would stop and stay in place while the other went forward. As soon as the horse staying back started getting antsy at being left behind, that rider would call out for the other rider to stop. Then the horse would be allowed to go forward and catch up, then go on forward until the second horse started getting jiggy or impatient. At first, the distance might be very small. Our goal was to get to the point that the horse left behind could stay calm even though the front horse went out of sight and/or the rider was almost out of hearing range. We felt that it helped our horses feel confident being left behind (practice for when they were the slowest horse in a group) and confident being a leader (practice for when they were the fastest one in the group. 

Good luck!


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## Painted Horse (Dec 29, 2006)

I ride Foxtrotters and they can walk faster than other horses. Since I don't always with with other Foxtrotters, I have taught my horses to be comfortable in the front, middle and bringing up the rear. I don't think it fair for me to always be breathing clean air while others bring up the rear in the dust.

What I don't like is being in the rear when the folks upfront take off at high speed. I'm fighting that with a young gelding right now. He's herd bound and feels getting left behind and stops listening to me.

But it's all about training your horse. When I'm in the middle or back, I often peel off and go ride off the trail. Still paralleling the group. But just a 100-200 yards to the side. Of course my horses get ancy and we dance around bushes and trees as they usually want to get back to the group. So it becomes a "I can rest and walk slow if I'm behind another horse" vs I have to work harder if we leave the group. I do this not only to teach the horse that he has to behave in the group, But also to break the herd bound issue. Often times when I'm gathering cows, I have to leave the group and go collect a cow/calf that is over on that ridge. My horses often fight that the first few times, But quickly learn, The quicker we go get them, the sooner they get back to the group.

Years ago, a friend called and invited me at the last minute to join a group for a ride. He told me I usually wasn't invited because my horses always moved out and dragged the rest of the group along at a faster speed. I spent that weekend riding at the back of the group to show that my horse didn't have to be the leader and drag everybody along at his speed. At the end of the ride my friend commented. "Wow, your horse was the best behaved, Everybody that had complained had the horses up front causing problems" 

Horses can learn to walk at the speed you select. Depending on how herd bound and spoiled they are, may take more or less effort on your part to teach them to listen to you.


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## Shortyhorses4me (Jun 17, 2018)

Great advice so far! Hopefully with more experience it will get better. We've only been on a handful of trail rides, I am stuck in the arena most of the time right now. I go out with a group of all Icelandic horses with mine. It's hard for me to tell if he's just more forward or actually has a bigger stride. Overall he's a lazy horse and in the arena it's all about getting him going. So we don't have as much practice slowing down if he's forward. I would honestly rather ride by myself, but I should have more experience probably, safety advice from others-but I do like hearing other folks ride alone. I do like riding parallel, but the trail isn't always wide enough. He's a good boy, I'm sure we'll figure it out. I'll try and focus on releasing well and practice stopping and backing up softly. I don't know if the trails are wide enough to do circles. I always feel like I have a chance to work on things in the arena but then on the trail its "ok were going". I really like the idea of one horse waiting while the other goes out and back.


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## therhondamarie (Sep 18, 2019)

I love riding alone. I also like riding with other people, but there is seriously nothing like being out there on a trail in the solitude with just your horse. For me, it's incredibly mind clearing. I think riding with a group is a little more stressful especially if you're dealing with a few training issues. My mare thinks she is racing when riding with others. We have been riding with others in the arena to work on that, so I totally get what you mean about in the arena things are working just fine then on the trail it's a little more hectic. I think it's partially us as riders feeling a little less secure not in an enclosed space. Speaking for myself, I probably just need to be less cautious about doing corrections on the trail and do them the same way I am doing in the arena and getting results!


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## loosie (Jun 19, 2008)

If you're always 'arguing' with your horse in a group, particularly if you have only gone out in a group with him a few times, then I don't believe you are safer than riding alone - just that there will be people to pick up the pieces... I'd suggest being very choosy who you ride with & sticking to small groups or just one other for now. Let the person/people know you are working on training him & would appreciate their help, to not take off when you're asking him to stop for eg. 

You say he's a lazy horse in the arena - maybe he doesn't like/can't see the point of arena 'work' but enjoys trails & is just more enthused & energetic when out.


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