Rating Horseback Riding Vacations At Dude Ranches

by: Bayard Fox

Dude ranches in general have a bad reputation among
many of those who are truly interested in riding and
horsemanship. This is true of many dude ranches which
cater to a clientele knowing little about horses or
riding and offer a pseudo western vacation where square
dances, wranglers with big hats, hay rides and cookouts
are the main attractions. Not all ranches are like that
and they are as contrasting in character and philosophy
as the individualistic types who run them. If serious
horseback riding on fine horses is your main interest,
here are some important points to consider in seeking
the dude ranch which will best suit you.

1. OWNER ATTITUDE – Do the dude ranch owners or
managers ride personally with their guests or do they
feel they have more important things to do? If horseback
riding is a top priority with them, they will
participate often. If they don’t, then riding cannot be
all that important in their program. Family ranches with
an established history are generally a better bet than
ones which have only been offering horseback riding
vacations for a few years.

2. THE HORSES – Do the horses used at the dude ranch
belong to the ranch itself or are they rented? Many
ranches rent horses during the season only and are often
unfamiliar with the horses they get at the start of the
season. They have little control over the quality of
these animals and rented horses are usually not of top
quality. It is certainly the cheapest option for a dude
ranch with a comparatively short season and requires
little investment, but it is not likely to produce as
good a string as the horses which have been carefully
selected over the years or raised and trained on a
ranch. If a dude ranch has its own horses and many or
all of them have been raised and trained there, it shows
a real commitment to an excellent riding program. It is
also a pleasure for many guests to see newly born foals,
stallions, brood mares and young horses in training. If
the ranch has a broad selection of different breeds and
types, you are more likely to find the horse that suits
you.

3. CLIENT/HORSE RATIO – A vital factor to consider is
the client/horse ratio. If a dude ranch has only one
horse per client, the horses are going to be exhausted
long before the end of the season unless they are used
very lightly. A hard riding cowboy will need half a
dozen horses used in rotation so that they can be fresh
enough to work well for months on end. Guests are
unlikely to ride that hard, but if they are going to put
a horse through its paces and cover some ground in rough
country, they will need at least two or better three
horses per serious riding client.

4. TERRAIN AND LOCATION – Dude ranches vary greatly
in the kind of terrain they have for horseback riding.
Some are surrounded by flat, uninteresting country.
Sometimes the ground is very rocky and there are few
places where one can ride safely at any speed. There are
superbly beautiful locations in steep mountain valleys
which severely limit the possible rides which are on
steep and rocky trails or up and down the valley. Some
dude ranches can ride in every direction with a great
variety of terrain from mountains and forest to alpine
meadows and sagebrush plains. Others are very limited by
steep mountains, highways and no trespass neighbors.
Some ranches are far from paved roads and signs of
civilization, but others are located near highways and
have buildings nearby. Some dude ranches have rides in
pristine wilderness areas and others have fences,
traffic noises, paved roads, houses near the riding
trails and numerous hikers. It is important to find out
how favorable the ground will be for the kind of riding
you want to do.

5. PACE OF RIDES – Few ranches today allow riders to
gallop around freely. Liability issues have become too
important and it can be hard on horses. Many ranches do
not want riders to get out of a walk and others go no
faster than a trot. Rides can move at a faster pace
safely if they are kept small and it is important to
find out how big the riding groups will be. Some dude
ranches will take up to twenty people together
regardless of their experience. Others will send out
groups of six or less carefully matched according to
ability which allows guests to ride to the top of their
ability. Determining ability is vital in putting guests
in the most suitable group for them. To do this properly
a ranch must not only get the riders own assessment
beforehand, but also evaluate them on the spot. In this
way a ranch can avoid having skilled riders bored and
inexperienced ones terrified. If a ranch has a broad
selection of horses, it is of the utmost importance to
match the rider to the most suitable mounts. The most
spirited and highly trained horses would quickly be
ruined by inexperienced riders who would be in jeopardy
on their backs.

6. TACK – It is vitally important that the tack
should be comfortable for both riders and horses. Does
the dude ranch have a broad selection of saddles? Are
they careful to select a saddle which will not have
uncomfortable pressure points on a horse? The rider can
tell you if the saddle does not suit, but the horse
cannot. A poorly fitting saddle can cause a horse to
buck or act strangely and detract greatly from the
riding experience. Is care taken to give each horse a
bit which suits him and is fitted properly? The best
procedure is to have a separate bridle for each horse.
Obviously the equipment must be well maintained and
headstalls, reins, girths and latigoes checked and
replaced periodically.

7. Safety – If you are enjoying your life, safety
should be a major consideration. Never ride without a
hard hat. After 65 years of serious riding, at least a
hundred falls and seeing and studying many accidents, I
have developed some ideas about how to reduce danger.
Like most of the world’s exciting sports, horseback
riding has inherent risks. They can never be eliminated,
but they can be minimized without losing much of the
potential thrill and pleasure. Here are some of the ways
to reduce risk: A) Match the horse and the rider
carefully. B) The pace of the ride should be slow enough
for the ability of the least skillful rider in the
group. C) Each rider should get careful instructions in
how to handle this particular horse. A rider who is not
in control of his horse can endanger others as well as
himself. D) All ride leaders should be well qualified,
have first aid training and be attentive to all the
riders with them. E) It is a vital safety feature that
ride leaders should have quick communications to summon
help in case of an accident. Having a good plan in place
beforehand can save precious time. F) It is important to
see that cinches are properly tightened, neither too
loose nor too tight. They should be checked before the
rider mounts and again after a few minutes of riding
since horses often puff up at the start. G) The ride
leader needs to be alerted to and aware of hazards like
badger holes, quicksand, down barbed wire and potential
scares which might spook horses from game like moose,
elk, bear and deer. H) As is the case with people, a
small percentage of horses cause most of the accidents.
Safety conscious dude ranches will be vigilant in
getting rid of potential problems. They cannot do this
if they are not familiar with the horses they have. That
is one reason why owning, raising and training them on
the ranch is best. I) Head accidents are probably the
worst kind. Wearing a hard hat greatly reduces the
danger of them. One has to decide whether a pseudo
Western experience with a Marlboro style hat is worth
the risk. Most dude ranches allow riders to ride without
hard hats, but some do not.

8. Attitude to Horses - Ranches have totally
different philosophies toward handling and training
horses. Training can range from the often brutal, hell
for leather methods of the old West to the gentle
persuasion of the Linda Tellington-Jones (WWW.horseplaza.com)
TTouch approach. Some ranches have about the same
feeling for a horse that they do for a motor bike and
others treat their horses like loved members of the
family.

9. Working Ranches – Some dude ranches have their own
working cattle operation and others get all their income
from paying guests. Working cattle in partnership with a
good horse in the traditional Western sense can be an
exciting and rewarding experience. In many parts of the
West it is still the best way to move cattle from one
part of a range to another and to round them up in the
fall. Remember that there is a big difference between
rounding up cattle over a wide grazing area with varied
terrain and driving a herd of cows down a dusty road at
a slow pace. Some ranches have authentic chances to work
cattle and others stage it purely for the guests. If
team penning or team sorting is something you want to
try, check to see if the dude ranch offers this
opportunity.

10. Pack Trips – If the dude ranch is near a national
forest, it may offer the opportunity to take a pack trip
into the wilderness for an overnight or more. These
wilderness trips can be a marvelous experience and
provide a chance to bond with the horses who will be
your close companions throughout the trip. You will see
country which would be difficult to visit in any other
way. Keep in mind that this is usually not an
opportunity for fast riding as pack horses should
usually go at a walk and trails are often steep and
rocky.

11. Wranglers – America has been late in setting up
instruction programs for wranglers, but the Certified
Horsemen’s Association now has an excellent program to
instruct potential ride leaders. The British Horse
Society has excellent instruction programs for many
years and the Federation Francaise d’Equitation has long
had stiff requirements for ride leaders in France. A
good wrangler needs not only to know how to ride well,
but they should be attentive to those behind them and
their problems. Sensitivity to riders and horses is the
great virtue, not macho strength.

12. Instruction – The horses at each dude ranch are
trained in a particular way which may not be the kind of
riding you are used to. For instance, if you are a
dressage rider, you will need to adapt to the dude ranch
horses. They cannot be retrained for the week you are
there. Most places will give at least some basic
orientation as to how they expect you to handle the
horses. Some will offer instruction from qualified
riding instructors which can be videotaped for your
later viewing to get the best results. If you are not
familiar with the approved style of riding at the dude
ranch you visit, you will be more comfortable and get
more out of the riding with a few hours of instruction.
On some ranches the horses are used to having their
riders post the trot. Other places just expect riders to
sit in the saddle and bounce along.

At their best, dude ranches can provide a superb
horse riding experience now impossible in many parts of
this highly developed planet. The scenery is
spectacular, the air is clean and the climate excellent.
It is ideal country for horses. Few places can rival the
Rocky Mountain West for riding holidays.

Copyright 2005 Bayard Fox and Equitours, Ltd.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons
Attribution-NoDerivs 2.5 License.

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.5/

About The Author Bayard Fox has been riding for 70 years on six continents and has ridden enough miles to circle the globe several times. He is owner and founder of Equitours Worldwide Horseback Riding Vacations http://www.ridingtours.com. He and his wife also own the Bitterroot Dude Ranch http://www.bitterrootranch.com where they raise horses.

Learning Horse Riding

The joy of horse riding. It is like nothing youve ever tried in the past. Picture
yourself zooming up and down hills, though woods, across fields, and back. The breeze slaps
your face and pulls your hair, the sun beats down, and all you can hear, bedsides the sound of
yourself laughing and screaming with joy, is the sound of hooves pounding down on hard soil.
The speed, the independence, the sense of adventure, few activities in the world can rival
horsee riding for real excitement.

Learning how to ride a horse can be loads of fun. Whether you wish to ride for the sense of
freedom or you are just a horse lover, it can be very rewarding. With just some essential gear
and a good teacher you can be on the way to having hours of fun on a horse. There are myriad
different styles of horse riding. The primary horse riding styles are Western and
English. Western style is easier to learn and not as strict as English style. If you are just riding
for fun, look for an trainer that will train Western style. Although, if you think you might be
attracted in riding for show, it might be significant to learn the English style.

When taking horse riding lessons make certain you let your trainer know that you are
a beginner. This way they will put you on a horse that is slower and sufficiently trained. It is
important that you get a horse that is effortless to ride for your safety and your confidence

Numerous books have been written on the subject of horse riding, but so many of them
have gone into such depth, that the novice or the hopeful rider very soon gets bogged down in the
technicality.

Tthere is no substitute to appropriate instructions by an expert. If your son or daughter is
nagging you into having riding lessons, there are many books on the subject of
horse riding that will get them startedd, but bear in mind there is no substitute
for proper instruction.

When looking for an instructor, it is best to ask around and see who people suggest, not
just responding to an ad in an advertisement. Many professional instructors will have teaching
certifications and first aid experience. Other instructors have just learned from others
and are willing to teach you. No matter who you choose make sure they have a temperament
that you get along with. Also make sure that they teach the style you want to learn.

The gear you require for the horse is called tack. This includes everything from the
saddle to the reins and stirrups. This can be costly to buy on your own. Usually the
instructor can provide the equipment. It is important that you check over the saddle
and reins before each ride for signs of wear and for a proper fit.

Safely should be your number one concern when learning to ride. Always be sure to
wear a helmet and long pants in case you fall off. Many people don't wear a helmet when
riding a horse, but it should be required attire for anyone riding a horse.

Learning to ride a horse can bring a enormous sense of freedom. By finding a good
instructor and a caring horse you are well on your way. Remember horses are very strong
animals so always be sure to wear your helmet and ride with friends. Accidents can take
place when you least anticipate them.

John Wrigley maintains blogs and websites on many subjects. If you would like to visit
his blog on Horse Training - Horse Riding go to:
http://horse--training.blogspot.com
or his website at http://horse-training.onlineinfomationsite.com

Horse Training 101

by Ray La Foy

Each horse is different in how it learns and how it reacts to outside stimuli. Certain methods of horse training may apply to some horses, but it does not mean that it will be effective to all breeds of horse.

To start horse training you must develop a communication system with the horse. This might take time. In the same way as children may not fully grasp the idea of things at an instant, baby horses in training may not get every pressure, pat or way of holding the reins at once.

When you apply a certain pressure, you expect a certain response. During horse training, you must make the horse understand that a certain pressure should elicit a corresponding response. We don’t expect full compliance in the beginning, but as time goes by, these actions will be part of the horse’s vocabulary.

Throughout the course of the horse training, one by one these actions will be added to his vocabulary. But these actions should still be broken down into minute details that the horse can take in one at a time. Learn how to pace with each individual horse. Training is something that should be done slowly and surely.

You must also learn how to “speak” to your horse in a way that it will be able to comprehend. This manner of speaking would mean fewer words and more body language.

Horses are herd animals. They learn well by imitating the leaders of the herd. You should be that “leader” your horse will follow. Patience is a key in training your horses.

You must also take into consideration that no one, animal or human, learns well when under stress. You should not force lessons into your horse during horse training. They don’t appreciate the yelling and whipping, especially if they do not know what all the harshness is for. Unlike humans who can speak their minds, horses resort to more physical responses. And you certainly wouldn’t want your horse to whirl, kick, strike and do out of hand movements.

You must create an environment wherein the horse can learn on its own, aside from the horse training that you give it. It is also important to see the difference between having been able to teach the horse something and it just accepting it. If a horse is relaxed when you do something, this does not necessarily mean that it is trained. This might just mean to it as another thing a human being normally does. Resistance at first is needed in order to see that the horse recognizes that something new is being taught to him.

The horse’s daily training routine should not be based on a set of particular things you want to teach to the horse. It should be based on how your horse reacts to your actions. Don’t teach something new to it without reviewing what it already knows.

Most importantly - don’t force your horse to go on horse training if it doesn’t feel well. A good routine does not only maintain the horse’s attention level, but also its comfort level.

Ray La Foy
Horses and Ponies. Learn more at http://www.horseandponys.com
win@bizbin.biz