Sometimes it’s nice to escape the monotony and pressure of the ring and venture onto the trails with your horse. Not only is it pleasant for the rider, but it’s good for your horse as well – if you had to run around in circles day after day, odds are that you’d be pretty bored, too. What many people fail to realize is how important it is to mix things up sometimes and occasionally take your horse somewhere other than the riding ring. Horses who a lot of their time in the ring, such as school horse, can sometimes become what is called ‘ring sour’. That means that this horse will become very obstinate and unruly in the ring, and will often refuse to do what you ask, since they are so frustrated and bored. When I deal with a horse like this, I find myself feeling sympathetic instead of upset. Horses are animals, not machines – you can’t reasonably expect them to happily plod around a ring all day. Continue reading “Ring Sour Horses” »