The Right Horse and Gear
The right horse and gear can also help us stay in the saddle as we age. For instance, a horse built for sprinting is typically heavily muscled for acceleration and lateral ability, and is likely built with his rear end higher than his withers. For all his wonderful attributes, he's probably rough-gaited and perhaps a little lacking in the endurance department.
And, if something should go wrong with such a horse - a bad spook, a runaway, or a bucking session - his quick-twitch muscles will assure that it happens in a sudden, bone-jarring fashion.
If riding the trails is your greatest love at this later point in life, maybe you should look at a horse specifically tailored for the task and specifically tailored for your own body. Smoothness of gait is obviously desirable, but there are other considerations.
A horse whose chest is narrow to moderate in width but deep from withers to sternum, conformational features often associated with endurance, spreads your legs less widely than a horse with a torso like a barrel. This narrower build does wonders for your knees. Knees are designed to bend just one way. A wide torso begs your knees to bend sideways to conform to the animal's build. A narrower horse allows your legs to remain straighter side to side. The difference in knee strain is astounding.
Your horse's height is another consideration. I frequently see trail riders whose horses are too tall for their riders' builds and/or physical conditioning. It may sound harsh, but if you can't get on your horse without a mounting block or a leg up, I question whether you have a proper trail horse, or even a safe one.
What happens when your rest stop in a high mountain clearing is interrupted by a sudden, violent thunderstorm and you need to get down the mountain as quickly as possible? Riders who can't mount without searching out the right stump or rock can jeopardize the rest of the party, or at the very least, annoy them.
Since many small breeds are superb weight-carriers, perhaps it's time to consider a Paso Fino, an Icelandic, a Galiceno, or, if you're not concerned about gaitedness, a Pony of the Americas. Perhaps it's time to recognize that your 16.2-hand dressage animal, lovely as he is in his way, isn't the best possible trail horse for you.
Equipment improvements can also help. A light saddle still sturdy enough for trail use will be easier on your arms, shoulders, and back each time you throw it on.
A high/low stirrup attachment can help with mounting. My wife Emily is a smidge over five feet tall, but her stirrup attachment lowers three inches for mounting, making her horse's 15.2 hands shrink to 14.3, a considerable difference. (One model is the E-Z Up Stirrup Extender; 877/865-1497; www.ezupstirrup.com.)
Few of us are likely to be so blessed as my late friend Walt Sipes, who rode with our group until he was over 90. But we can all try! See you on the trail. (I'll be one of the guys with gray hair.)
Dan Aadland (http://my.montana.net/draa) raises mountain bred Tennessee Walking Horses and gaited mules on his ranch in Montana. His most recent books are The Best of All Seasons, The Complete Trail Horse, and 101 Trail Riding Tips. Sketches from the Ranch: A Montana Memoir is now available in a new Bison Books edition.
