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Horseback Trail Riding Checklist

The weather’s warming up & you’re itching to load your horse up & do some trail riding. Before you saddle up and head out to the great outdoors, here’s a checklist of essentials to make your trip safe & enjoyable.

Check over your truck and trailer

Check tire pressure & wear
Check your floorboards for rot & cracks
Check gates and latches for damage
Check your hitch for wear
Check your brake lights and turn signals
Look for any sharp edges or rust holes

Check your horse over – your horse should be able to:

Be tied safely
Stand calmly when being tacked up
Go forward, backward, left, right & most importantly, stop on command
Cross water, bridges or fallen trees if you anticipate any of those on your ride
Load and unload from the trailer easily
Be in good enough shape for the length of ride and terrain

What to bring with?

Map of where you’re going, noting parking areas for trailers
Copy of Health Papers if required and a Trail Pass
Clothes appropriate for the weather that’s been forecasted
First aid kit for you & the horse
Tack that’s been thoroughly checked over along with extra reins, cinches, halter & lead lines
Fly spray for the horse, bug spray for you.
Water & hay, buckets & hay net
Cooler with water & snacks for you
A friend or cell phone – let someone know where you’re going & when you expect to be back if you’re going alone

Trail riding can be fun & relaxing. Using this checklist can make it stress free.

Suzi Sevcik loves to go trail riding & is the owner of PetLabels.com, a company that produces high quality, full color address labels with your pet’s photo on them. For more information, go to: http://PetLabels.com or email her at suzi@petlabels.com

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