[WildRunner]

I was wondering if anyone has experience taking their dog trail riding with them. In the future I would like to do this, my dog Teagan has been raised around the horses and knows to respect them. His recall is good although I'm not sure if he would react differently because I'm not on the ground with him. Teagans familiar with the trails because I bring him hiking on them often, he is loose when I hike.

Id love to hear everyone's opinions and experiences on how they trained their dogs to go horseback riding with them!

 

[Kwenami]

Only in my dreams, lol. Reactive dog who has a not 100% recall + hasn't interacted with the horses yet = lots of work first. Plus not having my own horse here makes things hard.

Sounds like you might be okay though, it would sort of be like biking. The hardest part might be to not have the horses step on him on accident.

 

[WildRunner]

Thanks Kwenami, your dog is beautiful!
The thought of managing two animals with minds of their own makes me a tad apprehensive. I plan to work on commands while I'm riding at home, hopefully then the whole experience will go well!

 

[Cali]

I have only done it on private trails. I like for the dog to be able to range out pretty far (less chance of being in the way or crashing through some brush and spooking the horse). I wouldnt be comfortable with it on public trails in case there is an issue with either animal
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[WildRunner]

That makes a lot of sense Cali, thank you for the input!
I would definitely not be comfortable having teagan nor my horse on a public trail, seems like an accident waiting to happen

 

[raffles]

I used to take one of my JRTs but he was older and fairly sensible by then, and not really bothered by other animals. I did have to watch out for him getting too engrossed in a smell and not noticing the hooves getting nearer, but I didn't have any problems with him getting out of sight. I didn't train him any differently, just thought I'd see how it went as he was sensible!
Maybe you could try it in a field first to see how he responds to you being on horseback?

 

[Cali]

Maybe you could try it in a field first to see how he responds to you being on horseback?

This reminds me, not sure if your dog has seen you on a horse before but some dogs find it really confusing! The first time my aussie saw me riding she repeatedly tried to reach me and was jumping on my horse. Luckily he was a saint about it but it's something to be careful of!

 

[WildRunner]

How did your dogs keep up with your horse?
Riding in a field to start is a great suggestion, I have one close to me and have permission to use it. Luckily all the dogs are used to me riding around the yard. I've always been pretty watchful of where the dogs are in the barn after seeing a small terriers foot get stepped on at the barn I used to board at. Thankfully the vet was kind so he could be checked out immediately!
It sounds like you have a pretty great horse Cali!

Here's a picture on Teagan when he was 4 months with Brazen

 

[TiggerBounce]

I'm not sure I'd ever be comfortable with it. Tigger is great, but I'm just too paranoid. Even having him around horses makes me paranoid because one may kick. It doesn't help that the horses I've been around and ridden have just been crazy and unpredictable. Maybe some day when I have my own horse that I raise and train, I could do trail rides with Tigger, or whatever future BC I have...

 

[WildRunner]

I'm not sure I'd ever be comfortable with it. Tigger is great, but I'm just too paranoid. Even having him around horses makes me paranoid because one may kick. It doesn't help that the horses I've been around and ridden have just been crazy and unpredictable. Maybe some day when I have my own horse that I raise and train, I could do trail rides with Tigger, or whatever future BC I have...

Tigger sure is cute! That is completely understandable, you really have to trust your horse (and dog.)Teagans been the only dog that has seemed interested in coming with me, if I don't put him in the house before I leave he won't let anyone catch him because he doesn't want to leave the horse!

 

[raffles]

How did your dogs keep up with your horse?

It wasn't hard as we did mostly walking - though he could keep up for short bursts at a faster pace, I never really felt comfortable as it was harder to keep track of him. He tended to keep closer to the horse when going faster so I was worried about him getting under the hooves.
Another possibility to try is if you have someone who could walk Teagan along by the side of you on a ride to see how it goes.

 

[gsdhunter]

Sometimes I take Hunter out on a leash when I'm riding bc his recall is not 100 percent on the trail
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[WildRunner]

It wasn't hard as we did mostly walking - though he could keep up for short bursts at a faster pace, I never really felt comfortable as it was harder to keep track of him. He tended to keep closer to the horse when going faster so I was worried about him getting under the hooves.
Another possibility to try is if you have someone who could walk Teagan along by the side of you on a ride to see how it goes.

It sounds like your dog had a lot of fun riding with you! Since most of the snow melted today I plan to attempt to ride with him soon. I like the idea of having someone on the ground to watch him. Thanks!

Sometimes I take Hunter out on a leash when I'm riding bc his recall is not 100 percent on the trail

How did you teach Hunter to stay on one side of the horse? I tried that once and it was disastrous! Luckily my horse is a saint and waited for me to get him untangled.

 

[gsdhunter]

I taught him how to sit on the left side (lots off treats) and taught him to stay on the left using treats and giving the command "over here". I toss treats to him a lot and he misses a lot of them lol

I also use a 6 ft leash, so he can get in front or behind the horse but it isn't to hard to stop him.

I also practice off lead in an indoor arena
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[WildRunner]

Thanks gsdhunter! I think I'll work on that some more and use a shorter leash. The one I had used gave him a little too much freedom which resulted in him getting tangled up.

 

[MourningRain]

My dog Gabriel stuck close to my horse, never under hoof just close by he never wandered. Never really got to try it out with Anna, didn't want to over stress her still growing bones. Yuudai has not even met Onward so have no clue.

 

[Autumnwolf]

I used to go trail riding with my brittany spaniel I grew up with, he kept up right along with me, it was great and I sure do miss it!

 

[WildRunner]

My dog Gabriel stuck close to my horse, never under hoof just close by he never wandered. Never really got to try it out with Anna, didn't want to over stress her still growing bones. Yuudai has not even met Onward so have no clue.

I love your dogs (and horse) names! It sounds like Gabriel is great around horses.

I used to go trail riding with my brittany spaniel I grew up with, he kept up right along with me, it was great and I sure do miss it!

That seems like a lot of fun! I hope to do that soon...if only there was more time in the day!

I finally brought teagan with me but we were only in the field, he did very good. I might ride in the field a few more times before I hit the trails.

 

[Delete]

I had an Aussie that I never went on a trail without. I trail rode alot on my own and even if the park I went to had an "on leash" policy I'd take him. He always stayed right with us and never left our sight. Even with people walking along the trail he ignored them. He was a trail dog, it was his "job" and he loved it. Whenever we hooked up the trailer he'd jump in the truck. I've taken him all over the state on trails and he was perfect. I'd always keep him on a leash till we hit the trail then Id let him go. I'll never go on a trail without a dog again. It just an added security.

 

[dogdragoness]

I used to trail ride with Izze when I lived in the city, it was a great way to zap her at the time seemingly endless energy because I can go faster for longer then I ever could on foot, I also prepared her for this from the time she was very young by doing a lot of ling line training and hiking on foot and drilling recall into her head lol

I look forward to seeing lots of pics