While it's usually safer to ride with someone than it is to ride alone, you should take several things into consideration when planning your group ride. All it takes is one bad experience to realize that not everyone with a horse makes a good trail-riding buddy.
"Safety is always the most important thing when riding in a group," says top trainer/clinician Lynn Palm. For an enjoyable ride that is safe for all participants, she recommends coming up with a game plan well before you hit the trail.
Discuss how long you'd like to ride and at what gaits. An amble down the trail with an occasional jog, or plenty of trotting and loping? Smooth terrain or rough? What about water crossings and steep hills?
Find out how experienced the other riders and their horses are on the trail, and whether their horses tend to be spooky or nervous. You don't all have to be at the same skill level, but you should be able to agree on pace and difficulty of terrain.
If you're introducing a young, inexperienced horse to the trail for the first time, plan to go with riders who have solid, reliable horses. And, for the safety of the group, the trail leader should always be experienced and aboard a quiet, reliable horse.
In the Arena
You can get your green horse used to riding in company, as well as passing and being passed by other horses, at home before his first group ride.
First, partner up with another rider on a dependable horse. Practice riding in an arena side-by-side. Then change positions from front to back, always keeping that 8- to 10-foot separation between horses for safety's sake. Pass on the long, open side of the arena instead of between the other horse and the rail.
You can also pony your green horse off a steady, solid horse to get him used to being in close company with others.
If some riders have gaited horses and others are on nongaited ones, consider dividing into at least two groups, then meeting up at a designated spot. This way, riders on gaited horses don't have to constantly slow their horses, and riders on other breeds don't have to continually hurry up.
"The more you don't ask, the more you don't know," says Palm. "If you're riding with people you haven't ridden with before, talk about your horses, and ask plenty of questions. When you start adding numbers to the group, this increases the degree of difficulty, because not everybody has good control of their horse. This can become very obvious when one horse spooks and it 'trickles down' through the other horses."
And be alert. "Just like riding a bike or car, always listen, and look in front and behind you when you're riding," says Palm. "Be on guard and alert to the horses around you. You can't blame other riders for negative incidents; you have to be proactive."
Here, Palm describes four rules to follow for safe group riding: (1) Follow trail etiquette; (2) change up the lead horse; (3) curb jigging; and (4) stop with care.
