“Crossing bridges, closing gates, walking past shower towels hanging between trees and trunks lying on the road. It is not a simple gymkana nor an original walk in the woods: it is the Mountain Trail Horse, a discipline created in America by the rider Mark Bolender and increasingly popular also in Italy, where, since 2015 , it has had a particular spread. The philosophy of the Mountain Trail is to show a total teamwork with your horse, managing to juggle paths formed by narrow passages, Tibetan bridges, walkways over the water and some tests of control and skill, such as bringing your own horse at a table while eating and drinking Discover now all our travels, tours, holidays and horse trekking in the USA. Mainly outdoor, with at least six natural and artificial obstacles , lately the Mountain Trail has started to be set up also indoors to be more usable. The MT is a huge game of trust and collaboration between horse and rider, and the reason that makes it so trendy is that it is really within everyone’s reach , even for those who do not ride assiduously. For beginners, for example, the path can be of great use even just by walking with the horse by hand.
Being within everyone’s reach is not just about riders, but horses too. The Mountain Trai discipline, in fact, is open to any breed and all forms of riding because, not being focused on aggressive performance, it is based solely on the relationship of trust between the pair. During MT competitions, the evaluation of the work done is judged taking into account the technique with which obstacles are overcome, precision and any penalties can be assigned if you fail to complete the exercise on horseback or after more than three refusals. The purpose and importance of this discipline is that everything is done calmly and naturally : the horse must calmly juggle the various obstacles, not be afraid of them and, above all, trust their rider. The victory of the second over the first must always be mental, never physical. In Italy, as we have said, the Mountain Trail discipline began to spread considerably in 2015, but in reality it has been there since 2000. Useful for any rider and any discipline he practices, the MT routes can be found quite easily to try a different and very educational experience with your horse.
The horse , always at the side of man, has really made history … transport, agriculture and wars … in this heart-warming photo from 1918, 650 soldiers, who survived the First World War, line up to pay homage to their four-legged companions who died during the battle. Over 8 million horses, mules and donkeys died […]
For some years we have been hearing about ethological training, but what exactly is it? It is a method that comes from the USA, tested by great American trainers and is based on the use of an intraspecific communication code that has evolved over the years among horses. One of the ways of creating a […]