he horse is an elegant majestic animal that is on loan to us from our Maker for a short time. I feel strongly that we have an obligation to train that which we have bred and an obligation to protect that which we train. In order to keep the horse safe and sound while training for Mountain Trail we need to take certain steps. All obstacle training comes with a certain amount of risk for injury but with properly training and leg protection we can limit and manage the risk. I will share with you some tips that have worked well for us at Bolender Horse Park to keep the horse sound and limit injuries.
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I feel strongly that we have an obligation to train that which we have bred and an obligation to protect that which we train. In order to keep the horse safe and sound while training for Mountain Trail we need to take certain steps. All obstacle training comes with a certain amount of risk for injury but with properly training and leg protection we can limit and manage the risk. I will share with you some tips that have worked well for us at Bolender Horse Park to keep the horse sound and limit injuries.
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First and foremost, start with safe well-maintained obstacles. Check for loose nails, screws and boards. Make sure the obstacle has been properly constructed to carry the weight of the horse and rider times two. Check to make sure that there are no rotten boards and it is stable and will not move other than what it was designed for. Make sure that all footings entering into water have been designed in a manner that allows repeated usage without the horse sinking into which may cause possible severe injury. We have redesigned all water footing at Bolender Horse Park and all courses that we design and build around the world to have a footing that will hold up to repeated usage. There is no protection to protect the horse and keep it sound and healthy from a leg injury do to a break-through in the water. What I mean by a break-through is the horse may cross the water in the same place many times with no apparent problem and then the horse seems to just go up to its belly in the blink of an eye.
where it will support no weight. If the horse is at a canter/lope this can be extremely dangerous if the horse breaks through. Footings and the Mountain Trail Course are of critical importance.
When we first introduce the horse to the obstacles we have already put ground work into the safe environment of the arena. We also introduce them to leg wraps and or leg protection before going out to the Mountain Trail Couse and we make sure that their legs are well protected. Once the horse has locked onto us and is moving with us in the arena then we introduce it to simple obstacles that have rounded edges such as some logs and rocks. The reason we must have the horse moving with us before introducing them to the obstacles is some tend to rush through and forget where their feet are and can nick themselves. If Mountain Trail is taught correctly it looks easy and is safe for the horse. However, if the horse has not been prepared then the risk of injury is much higher and leg protection becomes even more critical. Polo wraps do not work well in water but they work great in the dry parts.
Make sure that you round all edges on the man-made obstacles. The horses will slip off of them and may scrape their legs. This is where leg protection comes in and my feeling is you can’t have too much. It is critical that when you train you start with the simple low obstacles in order to build their confidence before moving to the higher more difficult obstacles where the risk of injury is greater.
When the horse comes off the obstacle with the front two feet such as the turn-around box it is common to see a person try to push the horse back up and upon the box or any other obstacle. I caution on from doing this for the majority of time the horse will scrape the back of their legs and you run the risk of injuring the tendons which are in the back of the leg. Once these tendons are damaged, irritated and inflamed it is no easy task to rehab and help the horse to heal.
This elegant majestic animal called the horse has stolen our heart. Even though they will give their heart, we have an obligation to protect them to the best of our ability while we train the horse in order to keep them safe and sound.
MOUNTAIN TRAIL
Keep Them Safe and Sound
By Mark Bolender